Romney and Perry Clash, Drawing Lines in G.O.P. Sand  —  SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The fight for the Republican presidential nomination began narrowing into an intense and ideological battle at a debate here Wednesday night, with Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Mitt Romney sharply clashing over Social Security …

Eric Cantor weighs in on Rick Perry's ‘Ponzi’ rhetoric  —  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Thursday offered Texas Gov. Rick Perry a softer way to describe Social Security, instead of calling it a Ponzi scheme.  —  The Virginia Republican, speaking to a group of reporters at a lunch organized …

FBI serves search warrants at Solyndra  —  (09-08) 09:35 PDT FREMONT — FBI agents served search warrants this morning at Solyndra, the Fremont solar company that abruptly closed last week, two years after receiving more than $500 million in federal stimulus money, an agency official said.

Court rejects health law challenges  —  A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out two challenges to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul on procedural grounds.  —  Delivering a two-pronged win to the Obama administration, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said Virginia has no right …

Longshoremen storm Wash. state port, damage RR  —  LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Hundreds of Longshoremen stormed the Port of Longview early Thursday, overpowered and held security guards, damaged railroad cars, and dumped grain that is the center of a labor dispute, said Longview Police Chief Jim Duscha.

Rep. Bachmann fills vacuum, announces rebuttal to president's jobs speech  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), struggling to maintain visibility as a Republican presidential candidate, will rebut President Obama's jobs speech to Congress on Thursday, her congressional office said.

Why liberals fear the ‘Lochner’ decision  —  Liberal certitudes continue to dissolve, the most recent solvent being a robust new defense of a 1905 Supreme Court decision that liberals have long reviled — and misrepresented.  To understand why the court correctly decided Lochner v. New York …

The Obama Presidency by the Numbers  —  The president constantly reminds us that he was dealt a difficult hand.  But the evidence is overwhelming that he played it poorly.  —  When it comes to the economy, presidents, like quarterbacks, often get more credit or blame than they deserve.

‘Reason To Believe’: Joe Scarborough Releases Powerful Antiwar Song … For all the similarities between America's war in Vietnam and those in Iraq and Afghanistan, this past decade's wars have not yielded the singular pop-cultural response that the earlier quagmire did.

DCCC Drops A Half-Million To Save Weiner Seat  —  From National Journal:  —  PICTURES: Pols and Wonks Who Went to Hollywood  —  INSIDERS POLL: Dems Hold on to Hope  —  Perry: Powerful but Unpolished  —  Democrats are showing the clearest sign yet of concern ahead of next Tuesday's special election …

Holder Denies Prior Knowledge of ‘Fast and Furious’  —  The head of the U.S. Justice Department launched his strongest personal defense yet in the growing furor over Operation Fast and Furious, the controversial sting targeting Mexican drug cartels and American gunrunners.

Haley rules out Huntsman endorsement  —  Washington (CNN) - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Thursday that she will not support Jon Huntsman's Republican presidential bid, a serious blow to the former Utah governor's chances in the key early primary state.

Dick Cheney: Hillary Clinton should challenge Barack Obama  —  Go for it, Hillary!  —  That was former Vice President Dick Cheney's advice to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - take on Barack Obama in 2012.  —  “I think it would be good for the country [for Clinton to run for president] …