People on twitter might be joking, but in all seriousness, we would see a bigger boost in spending and hence economic growth if the earthquake had done more damage.

Why Another Democrat Wouldn't Do Better Than Obama in 2012  —  You know that a president is having a rough time when you start to see speculation that his party would be better off if it replaced him on the ticket.  —  There has been more of this recently: the political scientist Matthew Dickinson argued …

Rick Perry: The God-Fearing, Know-Nothing, Pistol-Packing Embodiment of Liberals' Worst Nightmares  —  What Rick Perry has achieved in his inaugural strut on the political stage is unprecedented in the annals of modern conservative history from Barry Goldwater to Sarah Palin.

Fears for Nancy Reagan, 90, as she slips and falls on way in to watch speech by Tea Party favourite Marco Rubio  —  Nancy Reagan last night lost her balance and fell as she arrived to watch a speech by Republican freshman senator and Tea Party darling Marco Rubio

Perino: Bushes want Jeb to run someday  —  Dana Perino, the former White House Press Secretary to George W. Bush, tells Fox News today that the Bush family hopes Jeb Bush runs for president one day, and that she thinks he will. … Jeb has repeatedly denied (most recently, yesterday) …

Publisher's ‘social’ ties pushed RedState toward Allen  —  A leading conservative blogger and commentator, Erick Erickson, said he shifted his stance in a key Senate race because the company that publishes his RedState.com is “socially connected” to former Virginia Senator George Allen.

If you're a famous guy with a head full of deep thoughts and nobody to tell you when it might be in your own best interest not to express them, Twitter is the best thing ever.  As long as you've got your iPhone in hand, you can give the whole world instant, unfiltered access to your keenest insights …

Washington Monument cracked in quake  —  The earthquake didn't cause widespread damages or injuries, but it did put a crack in the Washington Monument.  —  After unconfirmed reports suggested the monument was tilting, park officials said Tuesday night that the 550-foot obelisk suffered …

With more than 10,000 millionaires, why is Israel still a charity case?  —  At what point should the Diaspora communities say to Israelis that enough is enough- we will give, but we will not allow those in your own society to shirk their responsibilities?  —  The past few years have seen …

Obama, Tiger, Golf and Politics  —  Despite the carping by critics, I'm glad the president went on vacation because one of the most useful things he could do right now is play golf — a lot of golf — but not that friendly foursome thing with his aides that he usually does.

Sarah Palin's Sept. 3 Speech Will Be ‘Major,’ but Will It Be the Big One?  —  ABC News' Shushannah Walshe (@shushwalshe) and Sheila Marikar (@sheilaym) report:  —  With Sarah Palin's next Iowa visit mere days away, the will-she-or-won't-she frenzy is at an all time high.

The GOP will raise taxes — on the middle class and working poor  —  America's presumably anti-tax party wants to raise your taxes.  Come January, the Republicans plan to raise the taxes of anyone who earns $50,000 a year by $1,000, and anyone who makes $100,000 by $2,000.

Ron Paul's Strange Freedom  —  For the past couple of weeks I've seen some complaints from liberty-minded friends and acquaintances that Ron Paul isn't getting the level of media attention he deserves.  My view is that the media is probably ignoring him because he's a crank who obviously won't be the GOP nominee.

Earthquake?  It's Obama's fault.  —  When disaster strikes, the online commentariate...shows the worst of itself.  Gateway Pundit's Jim Hoft has already made the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that rattled the East Coast a dumb partisan issue, writing: … Judging by the comments below Hoft's post …

PPP Poll: Perry Takes Double-Digit Lead Over Romney  —  More ways to share...  Mixx  —  Stumbled  —  LinkedIn  —  Vine  —  Buzzflash  —  Newstrust  —  Technocrati  —  Forward Article  —  A new poll shows Texas Gov. Rick Perry with a double-digit lead nationally …

Michelle Obama shows up her husband in tiny purple bike shorts as the President lags behind in jeans  —  Michelle Obama showed off her enviably toned thighs as she powered past the President in tiny purple cycling shorts on the first family's bike ride on Martha's Vineyard today.

Gay candidate can't get seat at GOP convention  —  LAGUNA BEACH — Fred Karger, the only Californian - and the only gay candidate - in the 2012 Republican presidential field, says he knows plenty about closed doors.  But shut out by his own party - and in his own state?

National Organization For Marriage Repeatedly Rebuked For Disclosure Violations … WASHINGTON — The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is one of the best known and well funded anti-gay marriage advocacy groups in the country.  It is also one of the biggest opponents …

Texas GOP Congressional Candidate Compares Welfare Recipients To Donkeys In New Ad  —  Former TX Secretary of State and GOP congressional candidate Roger Williams  —  Former Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams is running for Congress on a staunchly anti-Obama, anti-government platform.

Naked man goes on stabbing rampage, killing one and wounding four in Washington Heights  —  A naked madman went on a stabbing spree in a Manhattan apartment building Tuesday, wounding four people and killing one, cops and neighbors said.  —  Christian Falero, 23, rampaged in the buff through …

Romney turns down DeMint Labor Day forum  —  (CNN) - Mitt Romney will not attend a Labor Day forum in South Carolina organized by conservative kingmaker Sen. Jim DeMint, who endorsed Romney's run for president four years ago.  —  Romney spokesperson Ryan Williams, citing scheduling conflicts …

Eric Fehrnstrom offers sneak peak at Brown's 2012 Strategy  —  Bumped.  This is actually not an insignificant story, especially given the clear tracks back to the Brown campaign as revealed in the comments.  No comment from Fehrnstrom yet, as far as I can tell.

Sprint to Get iPhone 5  —  Sprint Nextel Corp. will begin selling the new version of the Apple iPhone in mid-October, people familiar with the matter said, filling a huge hole in the No. 3 U.S. carrier's lineup and giving Apple Inc. another sales channel for its popular gadget.

Inside A Huntsman Fundraiser  —  Put your checkbook away.  If you want a peak inside a Jon Huntsman fundraiser (and who doesn't, really) look no further.  —  During his quick visit to Utah recently, the former governor addressed a crowd of about five dozen for a little over 12 minutes - and here's the recording of the event.