Santorum condemns boos; Romney and Perry don't  —  It was one of the more jarring moments in Thursday night's debate.  Stephen Hill, a U.S. Army soldier serving in Iraq, asked whether he, as a gay American, would be able to continue serving if one of these Republican candidates won.

Web verdict on Perry: Brutal  —  The conservative commentariat spoke with near-unanimity Friday on Rick Perry's debate performance: The Texas governor didn't just lose, he bombed.  —  There was no election-ending gaffe or singularly disqualifying remark.  But his second consecutive weak …

Chris Christie Reconsidering 2012 Run, Will Decide in Days  —  More ways to share...  Mixx  —  Stumbled  —  LinkedIn  —  Vine  —  Buzzflash  —  Newstrust  —  Technocrati  —  Forward Article  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is reconsidering his decision not to enter …

Elizabeth Warren's campaign revises pay from TARP panel  —  The campaign for Democratic Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren said Friday she had been paid $192,722 for serving as chairman of a congressional committee that monitored the 2008 federal bank bailout, three times as much as had originally been acknowledged.

Problems For The President: Americans Give Him Lowest Approval Rating Ever  —  This week's Economist/YouGov Poll is full of bad news for President Barack Obama.  The frontrunners for the GOP nomination in the 2012 contest are pulling very close to him in head-to-head matchups …

President Solyndra  —  And his mean green wealth-wasting machine.  —  The spectacular collapse of Solyndra has all of the trappings of an epic Washington scandal, with serial revelations of embarrassing and potentially improper White House machinations to secure a $535 million federal loan guarantee …

Putin Will Seek Russian Presidency in 2012  —  MOSCOW — Vladimir V. Putin, who for over a decade has labored to consolidate authority in Russia under his control, will run for president next year, replacing his protégé, Dmitri A. Medvedev, and possibly extending his rule until 2024.

Midwest Farmers Are on Alert Against Pig Thieves  —  LAFAYETTE, Minn. — Here in pig country, the pigs are vanishing.  —  This month, 150 pigs — each one weighing more than an average grown man — disappeared from a farm building in Lafayette despite deadbolts on its doors.

Partisanship flares again, thwarts passage of stopgap funding bill  —  The unexpected flare-up of partisan rancor over a minor line-item in the federal budget this week left lawmakers feeling increasingly gloomy about their ability to address issues of greater consequence …

Obama Administration to Ban Asthma Inhalers Over Environmental Concerns  —  Remember how Obama recently waived new ozone regulations at the EPA because they were too costly?  Well, it seems that the Obama administration is would rather make people with Asthma cough up money …

Snobby Illiterati to Protest Wall St. ‘Hippies’ With Champagne Toast  —  As the first week of the #occupywallstreet protest against corporate stuff draws to a close, some classy capitalists have decided to dust off their favorite Nixon-era jargon and hold a champagne-soaked counter-protest of their own.

Jury: Muslim students guilty of disrupting speech  —  SANTA ANA, California (AP) — A California jury found 10 Muslim students guilty Friday of disrupting the Israeli ambassador's university speech about U.S.-Israel relations, a case that stoked a debate about free speech.

Teacher calls local Tea Party president a Nazi  —  SAN ANTONIO - Tempers flared during a town hall meeting on the Dream Act Tuesday night.  During the meeting a high school government teacher from John F. Kennedy called the local Tea Party president a Nazi.  —  The exchange was recorded and posted on You tube.

CRUNCH TIME: House GOP Jams Senate With Government Funding Bill, Partisan Budget Cuts For Disaster Aid  —  House Republicans closed ranks just after midnight on Friday morning, and passed legislation to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month.  The vote tally was 219-203.