Obama to Offer ‘Accomodation’ on Contraception Rule  —  With the White House under fire for its new rule requiring employers including religious organizations to offer health insurance that fully covers birth control coverage, ABC News has learned that later today the White House …

Low Turnout and the Big Tune-Out  —  Voters aren't bothering with the GOP, but Obama has lost their attention too.  —  The Romney campaign is better at dismantling than mantling.  They're better at taking opponents apart than building a compelling candidate of their own.

Mitt Romney's Struggles Take Republican Angst To New Heights … Barack Obama , Mitt Romney , Republican Presidential Primary , Rick Santorum , Cpac , Elections 2012 , Newt Gingrich , Rick Perry , Video , Politics News  —  WASHINGTON — The angst within the Republican Party …

Is 2012 Slipping Away From the GOP?  —  For a long time, I was confident that Republican voters would oust Barack Obama in 2012, hold the House and, in all likelihood, take the Senate.  Obama is a weak incumbent, who has been chronically unpopular since early in his term.

Rep. Spencer Bachus faces insider-trading investigation  —  The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee over possible violations of insider-trading laws, according to individuals familiar with the case.

Washington state governor to sign gay marriage bill on Monday  —  (Reuters) - Governor Christine Gregoire plans to sign newly passed legislation on Monday to legalize gay marriage in Washington state, making it the seventh with a law on the books to recognize same-sex nuptials, her office said on Thursday.

Foreclosure Deal to Spur U.S. Home Seizures  —  The $25 billion settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses may result in a wave of home seizures, inflicting short-term pain on delinquent U.S. borrowers while making a long-term housing recovery more likely.

Fox Pundit Tells CPAC Crowd That Rachel Maddow Is ‘The Best Argument In Favor Of Her Parents Using Contraception’  —  In the “closed circuit world on the right,” MSNBC's Rachel Maddow is often the subject of ugly denigrations.  Whether it's being mocked for her sexual orientation, her name …

The Crowd Pleaser  —  At first glance, President Obama and Mitt Romney share some similar traits.  Both Harvard Law School grads are smart and analytical.  Both are emotionally reserved rather than touchy-feely.  Both are traditionalist in their family and personal lives.

Evangelical group holds firm on ‘pro-life’ link to EPA rule  —  A green evangelical group won't bow to conservative anti-abortion-rights leaders or Republicans who are pressuring them to stop casting support for new EPA pollution rules as a “pro-life” position.

UPDATED: Mississippi Rep. Wants ‘Gulf Of Mexico’ Changed To ‘Gulf Of America’  —  Mississippi State Rep. Steve Holland, a Democrat, introduced a bill in the state's lower chamber calling for the part of the Gulf of Mexico that borders his state to be renamed the “Gulf of America.”

Obama Raises $1.4 Million at D.C. LGBT Fundraiser  —  President Barack Obama cited the repeal of the ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers as his administration's most important LGBT-specific accomplishments at a private fundraiser in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night that raised $1.4 million for his re-election campaign.

Santorum: Combat concerns  —  Rick Santorum, in an interview with CNN's John King a bit ago, was asked whether he thinks it's a good idea or a bad idea for the Pentagon to relax some of the rules about women taking frontline roles in combat, “perhaps opening the door to a broader role for, ultimately, women in combat.”

Swinging job markets  —  EZRA KLEIN wrote yesterday that rougher-than-average economic conditions in swing states could create trouble for Barack Obama in November: … This gives me an opportunity to reproduce the chart in this post, from June, in which I showed that while the level …

Marine scout snipers used Nazi SS logo  —  Marine Corps scout snipers used the logo of the notorious Nazi SS organization while in Afghanistan in 2010, the service acknowledged Thursday.  —  The logo appeared on a flag in a photograph of the platoon taken in September 2010 in Sangin district …