Bachmann involved in unusual campaign moment  —  Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was at the center of an unusual campaign moment on Friday that involved reporters trying to ask her questions - and the Republican presidential candidate essentially being cocooned by a ring of protectors.

Palin leaves her options open, jabs her employer, at the fair  —  Sarah Palin arrived at the Iowa State Fair today to assure a swarm of reporters that she's still considering running for president, even as the space for her in the Republican field seemed to narrow.

Appeals court rules against Obama healthcare law  —  (Reuters) - An appeals court ruled on Friday that President Barack Obama's healthcare law requiring Americans to buy healthcare insurance or face a penalty was unconstitutional, a blow to the White House.  —  The Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit …

Rick Perry on the Record  —  From scrapping Social Security and Medicare to immigration to Constitutional amendments, Texas Governor Rick Perry spoke openly last fall with Andrew Romano.  —  In Fed Up!, you criticize the progressive era and the changes it produced: the 16th and 17th Amendments, Social Security, Medicare, and so on.

Email rendezvous entangles state Rep. Phillip Hinkle  —  Lawmaker calls encounter set up with young man on Craigslist a ‘shakedown’  —  State Rep. Phillip Hinkle, shown speaking on a motion during the recent session, said he is “aware of a shakedown taking place.”  / Charlie Nye / 2011 Star file photo

The Case for Calling Them Nitwits  —  They blow each other up by mistake.  They bungle even simple schemes.  They get intimate with cows and donkeys.  Our terrorist enemies trade on the perception that they're well trained and religiously devout, but in fact, many are fools and perverts …

Debate Showcases Pandering That Repels Voters  —  If you really want to know why voters keep dumping incumbents of both parties and registering an alarming disdain for Washington generally, then go back and watch a scene from Thursday night's Republican debate in Iowa.

G.O.P. on Defensive as Analysts Question Party's Fiscal Policy  —  WASHINGTON — The boasts of Congressional Republicans about their cost-cutting victories are ringing hollow to some well-known economists, financial analysts and corporate leaders, including some Republicans …

Michelle Obama Spent 42 Days on Vacation this Past Year  —  First Lady Michelle Obama over the last year has spent a total of 42 days on vacation, or a little more than one out of every nine days, according to a White House Dossier analysis of her travel.  —  Her vacations, the cost …

Romney wealth valued up to $250 million  —  (CNN) - The turbulent financial climate of recent years has not had a noticeable impact on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's own wallet, according to personal financial information released Friday by his campaign.

White House Identifies Two Economists for Fed Board  —  The Obama administration has identified two economists, one Democrat and one Republican, for two empty seats on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board, according to several people familiar with administration deliberations.

The Morning After: Fox Shows Teeth in Debate  —  Eight Republican presidential candidates debated on Fox News from Ames, Iowa, in advance of its straw poll this weekend.  My colleague Michael Scherer liveblogged it at Swampland, and I'll let you pick the winner: was it Mitt Romney …