Polling the Occupy Wall Street Crowd  —  In interviews, protesters show that they are leftists out of step with most American voters.  Yet Democrats are embracing them anyway.  —  President Obama and the Democratic leadership are making a critical error in embracing the Occupy Wall Street movement …

Thieves steal truck with President's equipment  —  HENRICO, VA (WWBT) - NBC12 has uncovered one of those stories that makes you think: “How in the world does that happen?!”  A truck filled with President Obama's podiums and audio equipment was stolen in Henrico just days before his visit to Chesterfield.

Cain Used Campaign Funds to Buy Autobiography  —  Republican presidential contender Herman Cain used campaign funds to buy his own books from his motivational speaking company, Federal Election Commission records show.  —  Although his autobiography was published by a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. …

New Mortgage Plan Floated  —  Underwater Borrowers Current on Payments Would Get Help  —  State and federal officials are pushing a plan that could help some “underwater” borrowers get refinancing assistance in the latest government bid to break a legal impasse with big banks …

What the CLASS Act says about health-care reform  —  Back in January, I published an “omnibus” look at the various criticisms conservatives were lobbing at the Congressional Budget Office's score of the health-reform law.  Only one, I concluded, had real merit: the case against the CLASS Act.

Nevada Mitt: Romney and the primary  —  At 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman filed to run in the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary.  An hour and a half later, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney held a grand opening for his state presidential campaign headquarters — in Las Vegas.

Gilad Shalit reunited with family in Israel; Palestinian prisoners freed  —  TEL NOF AIR FORCE BASE, Israel — Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit returned to Israel Tuesday morning after five years of captivity in the Gaza Strip, gaunt and frail-looking but apparently healthy.

United States needs to reevaluate its assistance to Israel  —  As the country reviews its spending on defense and foreign assistance, it is time to examine the funding the United States provides to Israel.  —  Let me put it another way: Nine days ago, the Israeli cabinet reacted to months …

Republicans lay groundwork for healthcare repeal  —  Seeing a chance to regain power next year, GOP activists are making sure they're ready to act on a full rollback of President Obama's overhaul.  —  Reporting from Washington— Republican activists, increasingly optimistic they can win …

On GOP jobs plan, an epic media fail  —  Look, I know this sounds terribly earnest.  And I know I'm repeating myself.  But still: Many major news organizations and neutral commentators are simply not engaging on one of the central questions at the heart of our politics right now …

Long-life Texas GOP Latino Leader Leaves Republican Party After Herman Cain Advocates the Death of Immigrants  —  The Republican Party lost a long life Republican, Lauro Garza, who is a Texas Latino GOP leader due to the continued betrayal of the Republican Party.

The Great Restoration  —  If, in the 1960s, you had tried to judge America by looking at the sit-ins and Woodstock, you would have had a very distorted picture of where the country was heading.  You wouldn't have been able to predict that Richard Nixon would win the youth vote in 1972, which he did.

Herman Cain: 'I'm Very Proud Of The Relationship That I Have With The Koch Brothers'  —  Newly minted GOP frontrunner Herman Cain acknowledged his long relationship with the conservative billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch yesterday.  Cain has “close” and “long ties” …

Climate change pushing coffee to extinction?  —  PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO  —  Millions of people enjoy a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, but a group of scientists says that daily ritual could be on its way to extinction.  —  The driving force behind the new information is coffee giant Starbucks …

In tight Virginia races, Democrats cutting ties to Obama  —  ROCKY MOUNT, Va. — Three years ago, Democrats in Virginia couldn't get enough of Barack Obama — a popular, transformational figure running for his first term as president.  —  But as Obama arrives in Virginia Tuesday for a two-day swing …

“Christopher Columbus Was the First Zionist”  —  Someone leaked a batch of emails that have been exchanged by leaders of the Occupy Wall Street group.  I've only dipped into them briefly, but some are pretty entertaining.  This thread reminded me of my days as a leftist …

From OWS to OSCOTUS  —  As Occupy Wall Street protesters look to the Supreme Court, they'll find more to be outraged about than the Citizens United case.  —  The protesters at Occupy Wall Street and all the mini-occupations that have sprung up around the country in recent days have started to connect two important dots.