PERRY BLOSSOMS AS BACHMANN WILTS IN VIRGINIA GOP RACE, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS; ROMNEY, PERRY BOTH NECK AND NECK WITH OBAMA  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the presidential choice of Virginia Republicans 25 - 19 percent, with U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann …

Some Democrats Are Balking at Obama's Jobs Bill  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama anticipated Republican resistance to his jobs program, but he is now meeting increasing pushback from his own party.  Many Congressional Democrats, smarting from the fallout over the 2009 stimulus bill …

What should the White House do?  Panic!  —  Editor's note: James Carville is a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, appearing frequently on CNN's “The Situation Room” as well as other programs on all CNN networks.  Carville remains active in Democratic politics and is a party fundraiser.

Books of The Times: Joe McGinniss's ‘The Rogue,’ on Sarah Palin - Review  —  On May 22, 2010, Joe McGinniss moved into a strategically well-situated house in Wasilla, Alaska.  It was next door to the home of former Gov. Sarah Palin and her family, but that understates the highly exploitable proximity of the two places.

Seeing Ripple in Jewish Vote  —  WASHINGTON — Not since Jimmy Carter in 1980 has a Democrat running for president failed to win a lopsided majority of the Jewish vote.  This has been true during times of peace or war, and even when there has been deep acrimony between the White House and the Israeli government.

Crony Capitalism on Steroids from GE to Solyndra  —  In my recent speech in Iowa, some eyebrows were raised when I took on our government's enormous economic problems caused by crony capitalism.  As if on cue, just days later President Obama selected someone who exemplifies …

UPDATED: Right-Wing Lip Readers Take Michelle Obama Derangement Syndrome To A Whole New Level  —  UPDATE: Kristina Schake, communications director for First Lady Michelle Obama, made the following statement about these attacks: … Before today, when the right-wing media made up quotations …

Report: ‘Romneycare’ a jobs killer  —  Study finds Bay State lost thousands of jobs  —  The Bay State's controversial 2006 universal health-care plan — also known as “Romneycare” — has cost Massachusetts more than 18,000 jobs, according to an exclusive blockbuster study that could provide ammo …

Should Faking a Name on Facebook Be a Felony?  —  Congress contemplates draconian punishment for Internet lies.  —  Imagine that President Obama could order the arrest of anyone who broke a promise on the Internet.  So you could be jailed for lying about your age or weight on an Internet dating site.

New Jobless Claims: 428K  —  Bad news: … Exacerbating the problem is the rise in headline inflation: … This is bad because the folks that want Austerity Now! get to yell Inflation!  The reality is that core inflation is 2% due to slack demand.  But energy and food prices go up more because demand for these items is inelastic.

Attack Watch, new Obama campaign site to ‘fight smears,’ becomes laughing stock of the Internet  —  As the 2012 presidential campaign heats up, President Obama's campaign team has set up a new Web site, AttackWatch.com, to challenge negative statements about the president made by Republican presidential candidates and conservatives.

President pauses for beer with future Medal of Honor recipient  —  Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama enjoyed a beer with Dakota Meyer on the patio outside the Oval Office Wednesday.  The president will present Meyer with the Medal of Honor Thursday during a ceremony at the White House.

House to vote on bill targeting Boeing labor case  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is poised to pass a measure that would undermine the government's high-profile labor case against Boeing Co. by curtailing the National Labor Relations Board's enforcement power.

Poll: Republicans Blamed Most for Ineffectiveness  —  A majority of Americans are angry and frustrated with elected officials, and more than four in 10 have given up hope in Washington's ability to help them get through the economic slump.  —  “It's the bickering that I can't stand …

Obama green-tech program that backed Solyndra struggles to create jobs  —  View Photo Gallery —  President Obama announced a new Advanced Manufacturing Partnership that will bring together manufacturing companies, universities and the government to help create high-tech products …

UBS Hit by $2 Billion in Unauthorized Trades  —  ZURICH—UBS AG was rocked early Thursday by its disclosure that a rogue trader racked up about $2 billion in losses, an announcement that came hours after British police arrested a man on suspicion of fraud.  —  A person familiar with the matter …

Rick Perry Exclusive: The GOP's Fiery Front-Runner on His Rise, Record and Rhetoric  —  The hard-charging governor commands a Texas-sized lead in the polls.  In an interview with TIME's Richard Stengel and Mark Halperin, Perry defends his controversial résumé and explains …

In Battle Over Job Creation Ideas, GOP Offers Deregulation Of Pythons  —  “I have had it with these mother f***ing regulations on these mother f***ing snakes!”  —  Yesterday, taking their anti-regulatory zeal to absurd new heights, House Republicans claimed that a proposed rule …

Obama Allies: Time to Wake Up  —  Crushing defeats for the Democratic party in two special congressional elections on Tuesday, an economy that's showing no signs of revival, and Obama's declining approval ratings have become too much to defend, even for some of the party's most zealous spin doctors.

My Plan to Revive Economic Growth  —  It is inherently American to work, to risk and to dream.  Our government's policies should encourage that.  —  Last week, President Obama unveiled his eagerly anticipated jobs plan.  After 43 minutes of his speechifying, Americans were left wondering: We waited 30 months for this?