Romney Wins Arizona; Tight Race in Michigan  —  SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Mitt Romney won the Arizona primary on Tuesday, based on surveys of voters leaving polls, but was locked in a tight battle with Rick Santorum in Michigan, where Mr. Santorum hoped to use his strong showing in his rival's native state …

Will Olympia Snowe Join Americans Elect?  —  Olympia Snowe's retirement statement seemed like it dropped a huge hint, and I'm surprised it hasn't received any attention: … This sounds exactly like the kind of rhetoric emanating from Americans Elect, the third-party group that believes …

Franklin Graham apologizes for questioning Obama's faith  —  WASHINGTON (RNS) Evangelist Franklin Graham apologized Tuesday (Feb. 28) to President Obama for questioning his Christian faith and said religion has “nothing to do” with Graham's decision not to support Obama's re-election.

Worried Dems pressing Obama on gas prices  —  Congressional Democrats are ramping up pressure on President Obama to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to prevent rising gas prices from threatening the economy and their election-year prospects.  —  They are growing anxious that the price …

Support for gay marriage takes dramatic leap in California, new poll shows  —  A new poll shows gay marriage has arrived in California - in public opinion if not in state lawbooks.  —  Golden State registered voters now favor same-sex unions by 59 percent to 34 percent …

Despite Detroit Comeback, Public Opposes Bailout  —  A majority of Americans think the federal government should not have helped out U.S. automakers that were in financial trouble, but rather should have allowed them to go it alone, according to a new United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll.

Obama makes a play for Scalia  —  Not surprisingly, the federal government quotes that opinion a lot in its court briefs.  —  Sutton hinted that he didn't like the mandate but said Supreme Court precedent favors a growing expansion of Commerce Clause power and that Congress has latitude to address national problems.

US: NK agrees to suspend nuclear activities  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States says North Korea has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and agree to a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests.  —  State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also said Wednesday the North …

Geithner and the ‘Privilege’ of Being American  —  The Founders argued that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were rights that preceded government—not things to be granted by it.  —  Last week Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said that the “most fortunate Americans” …

Barone: Puzzling cheers for higher taxes  —  Copies of the president's FY2013 budget request are seen after they were delivered to the Senate Budget Committee on Feb. 13, 2012.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)  —  I have long been puzzled by the enthusiasm with which many young liberal bloggers cheer …

Rules Chairman Dreier announces retirement after 16 House terms  —  House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) on Wednesday morning announced from the House floor that he would not seek reelection this year.  —  “We all know that this institution has an abysmally low approval rating …

McDonnell signs repeal of one-gun-a-month law  —  Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a bill Tuesday to overturn Virginia's landmark one-handgun-a-month law, a restriction put on the books in the early 1990s when gun trafficking was seen as a problem along the East Coast.