Democrats: Is Rick Santorum for real?  —  Last week, the Obama campaign made what seemed, on its surface, like a startling announcement: They were steering some of their opposition researchers, who had been mostly trained on Mitt Romney, to a rocketing Rick Santorum.

Ron Paul Fans Outraged At Hearty Post-Debate Handshake  —  “Ron Paul has got arthritis.  That must have hurt him, f**k you Rick!”  —  Follow  —  More from Rosie Gray ›  —  Source: youtube.com  —  Rick Santorum topped off a disappointing debate performance with an oddly enthusiastic handshake with Ron Paul.

Females on Campaign Trail Go For Sexpot Look  —  Forget about SexyTwitPics.  Washington has its own crop of would-be sexy females on the loose.  And an unusual trend is developing among campaign and White House reporters of the XX persuasion.  They're using provocative …

New York Times Columnist Mocks Romney's ‘Magic Underwear’  —  I hope you're proud.  —  Mr. Blow may attempt to delete that Tweet, but it can, for now, be found here.  Of course, this is the Internet.  Nothing ever goes away completely.  —  One of your columnists responds to a comment he does not like …

Exclusive: Marco Rubio's Mormon Roots  —  As a child, he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Ticket balancing is a great tradition, and this could affect Romney's Vice Presidential calculation.  —  Do Rubio's Mormon roots complicate the Republican's electable dream ticket?

Maryland Senate passes gay marriage bill  —  O'Malley will sign, but voters likely will have the last say  —  The Maryland Senate approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage Thursday night, sending the Civil Marriage Protection Act to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature.

John Edwards Sex Tape Suit Settled, Tapes to Be Destroyed  —  The long-running court battle over a sexually explicit videotape featuring former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his mistress, Rielle Hunter, has been settled out of court today and all copies of the tape will be destroyed, ABC News has learned.

Ninth-Largest Yacht In The World Spotted Near Venice  —  LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Yachts, by definition, are supposed to be luxurious, but one docked near Venice goes above and beyond mere luxury.  —  A yacht named “Serene” was spotted by Sky 9 Wednesday night - all 440 feet of it.

Chris Christie Smacks Down WaPo's Capehart: 'I'm Not Going to be Cross-Examined By You'  —  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart got into quite a heated debate about same sex marriage on MSNBC's Morning Joe Thursday.

Female Witness Hits Back At Issa: 'I'm A Woman Who Uses Contraception, That Makes Me Qualified' To Testify  —  Democrats on the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee held a special hearing Thursday morning in response to the GOP's decision to prevent women from testifying in support …

Jason Alexander Responds To Mitt Romney's George Costanza Misquote  —  Ryan Alexander Jenkins [Second Update] Is a Person of Interest to the Police!  Megan Wants A Millionaire contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins is being sought for questioning about the murder of Jasmine Fiore.

Obama tells Univision he'll be in White House ‘another five years’  —  President Obama declared Monday that his presidency “is not over” and that he'll be occupying the White House for another five years.  —  In an interview with Univision, a seemingly confident Obama said he'll …

Romney Goes Occupy: The ‘1%’ Need to Pay ‘Fair Share’  —  Having recognized that he cannot outflank Rick Santorum from the right, Mitt Romney is now mimicking Newt Gingrich's anti-Romney strategy, moving to the left with populist economic rhetoric.  —  Here's what he said in Arizona yesterday:

‘Lunch-In’ Protests Crackdown on Homemade Lunches  —  The National Center for Public Policy Research hosted a “lunch-in” today at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C. The target of the protest?  “[F]ederal school nutrition guidelines that allegedly forced at least one student to forgo …

Obama: Use ‘algae’ as substitute for oil  —  President Obama admitted today that he does not have a “silver bullet” solution for skyrocketing gas prices, but he proposed alternative energy sources such as “a plant-like substance, algae” as a way of cutting dependence on oil by 17 percent.

Project Icarus: Laying the Plans for Interstellar Travel  —  Andreas Tziolas is drafting a blueprint for a mission to a nearby star.  Here, he discusses how we'll get there — and why we try.  —  We humans have known for a very long time that going to the stars will be difficult, if not impossible.

TPM2012  —  GOP Rep: I'd Have To Personally Kill Some Senators To Get The Ryan Budget Passed (AUDIO)  —  Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) sent TPM a public apology Thursday after we obtained audio of the five-term Republican telling constituents at a town hall this week that he'd have to personally shoot members …

The compression of generations - 25 million adults live at home with parents because they're unemployed or underemployed.  The crushing cost of a college education today.  —  The thought of moving out on your own and making your individual way in the world is very much an American trait.

Susan G. Komen Hires Consulting Firm To Assess Damage To Reputation … Komen Planned Parenthood , Politics News  —  After Susan G. Komen for the Cure's controversial decision several weeks ago to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, and the subsequent reversal of that decision …

Michelle Obama's pitch: Share the wealth  —  First lady Michelle Obama has joined her husband's bandwagon to hit the rich and spread the wealth, questioning how well-off families can feel good if others are struggling.  —  To about 300 supporters wealthy enough to pay $300-$10,000 to attend …

Muslim Admits to Attacking Atheist; Muslim Judge Dismisses Case  —  The Pennsylvania State Director of American Atheists, Inc., Mr. Ernest Perce V., was assaulted by a Muslim while participating in a Halloween parade.  Along with a Zombie Pope, Ernest was costumed as Zombie Muhammad.