Perry ‘taken aback’ by debate crowd reaction  —  TAMPA, FL — The morning after a sometimes-rocky appearance in front of a Tea Party debate audience, Gov. Rick Perry said he was “taken aback” by cheers from some crowd members on a hypothetical question of whether a young man who decides …

Social Security hurting Perry?  —  Americans strongly disagree with the statements Rick Perry made about Social Security in last week's Republican Presidential debate, and Barack Obama has nearly doubled his lead over Perry nationally in the span of just 3 weeks.

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010  —  Summary of Key Findings  —  The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2010, median household income declined, the poverty rate increased and the percentage without health insurance coverage was not statistically different from the previous year.

Axelrod: 'We're not in a negotiation' on Obama $447B jobs package  —  Obama's top political adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday that the administration was unwilling to break up the president's $447 billion jobs plan if Republicans were only receptive to passing certain elements.

Weiner flees amid Dem panic over vote today  —  Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner did his fellow Democrats no favors yesterday — moving out of his district just as his panicking party struggled to hold on to his endangered congressional seat.  —  Winer took the last ramining items …

Elizabeth Warren To Announce Senate Run Wednesday … Elizabeth Warren , Scott Brown , Scott Brown Senate , Warren Senate , Elizabeth Warren 2012 , Elizabeth Warren For Senate , Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts , Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts Senate , Elizabeth Warren Scott Brown …

House GOP widening scope of Solyndra probe, wants answers from White House  —  House Republicans are planning to widen the scope of an investigation into a California solar company that declared bankruptcy last month after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration.

The Death of the Confidence Fairy  —  In the first half of last year a strange delusion swept much of the policy elite on both sides of the Atlantic — the belief that cutting spending in the face of high unemployment would actually create jobs.  I went after this stuff early and hard …

Some real Shock and Awe: Racially profiled and cuffed in Detroit  —  Silly me.  I thought flying on 9/11 would be easy.  I figured most people would choose not to fly that day so lines would be short, planes would be lightly filled and though security might be ratcheted up …

Stop and frisky  —  The NYPD has launched an investigation after a raunchy YouTube video surfaced featuring uniformed officers gyrating and rubbing their crotches against semi-nude women at the violence-racked West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn.  —  The explicit footage shows the cops wildly bumping …

TPM2012  —  Tea Party Debate Audience Cheers Idea Of Letting Sick Man Without Insurance Die (VIDEO)  —  The last two Republican presidential debates have been some of the most macabre on record.  Last time around, at the Reagan Library, the crowd gave the biggest applause of the night …

Change proposed for state's electoral vote process  —  HARRISBURG — A new proposal is pushing the often-forgotten Electoral College into the spotlight as Pennsylvania officials ponder the state's role in next year's presidential race.  —  Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi is trying …