Mitt Romney's Etch-a-Sketch Disaster  —  I've been thinking about this all night: Eric Fehrnstrom's etch-a-sketch gaffe yesterday may go well beyond a momentary embarrassment and become a campaign-defining disaster, much as John Kerry's “I voted for it before I voted against it” …

John Edwards is First Name Uncovered in ‘Millionaire Madam’ Investigation … MANHATTAN — A call girl working for alleged “Millionaire Madam” Anna Gristina told investigators she was paid to have sex with former U.S. Sen. John Edwards when he was in New York raising money for his failed presidential bid, DNAinfo has learned.

Health law could hinge on wheat, pot and broccoli  —  The survival of President Barack Obama's signature health care law may come down to wheat, pot, guns — and a nagging question about broccoli.  —  Strange as it may seem, those diverse topics are apt to surface repeatedly during next week's arguments …

Please Stop Apologizing  —  THIS week, Robert De Niro made a joke about first ladies, and Newt Gingrich said it was “inexcusable and the president should apologize for him.”  Of course, if something is “inexcusable,” an apology doesn't make any difference, but then again, neither does Newt Gingrich.

Karl Rove: Bin Laden killing was no biggie  —  Keep an eye on this one, too, because it will also be central to GOP efforts to rewrite the history of the Obama presidency.  —  In his big Wall Street Journal Op ed piece today atttacking Obama's campaign documentary and minimizing the magnitude …

Embattled Sanford police chief temporarily steps down  —  A case critics say was bungled from the start may have cost the Sanford police chief his job.  —  FROBLES@MIAMIHERALD.COM  —  SANFORD — Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, under fire for his handling of the investigation into the killing …

Va. middle-schoolers assigned opposition research on GOP candidates  —  A Virginia middle school teacher recently forced his students to support President Barack Obama's re-election campaign by conducting opposition research in class against the Republican presidential candidates.

French Slaying Suspect Dead After Police Raid Hideout  —  TOULOUSE, France —A 23-year-old Frenchman who claimed responsibility for the killings of four men and three children died on Thursday after jumping from a balcony as security forces stormed the apartment where had been holed up for more than 30 hours …

When Romney Liked High Gas Prices  —  As he campaigns for president, Mitt Romney is ratcheting up his attacks on Barack Obama over high gas prices, putting the issue at the center of his economic message.  He is calling for Obama to fire his Energy secretary, EPA administrator …

Obama's Keystone XL Visit A Potemkin Village Photo-Op  —  Politics: The president stages a photo-op in Oklahoma to take credit for the portion of the Keystone XL pipeline that doesn't need his approval and for oil production on private and state lands beyond his jurisdiction.

Supreme Court Voids Part of Family Leave Act  —  I'll be damned if the conservatives on the Supreme Court weren't getting jealous of all the congressional and state-level battles in the war on women and decide that they needed to take up arms themselves.  Is there no area that these conservatives …

Joe Biden in 2016?  Not so crazy  —  For the past couple of years, Vice President Joe Biden has quietly assembled an A-team of advisers who would, without doubt, be considered the nucleus of a presidential campaign — if only he wouldn't be 73 in 2016.  —  Biden's age would snuff the last embers …

Obama on Solyndra: ‘This Was Not Our Program Per Se’  —  At the nation's largest solar energy plant Wednesday, President Obama doubled down on his commitment to government subsidies for clean energy technology and green jobs — and deflected blame for instances when those investments have failed.

Why Politicians Can't Give Honest Answers About Military Service  —  I'd love to hear, just once in my life, a presidential candidate give a blunt and honest account of why he hasn't served.  —  In The New Republic, Alec MacGillis says one reason Mitt Romney has trouble connecting with Southern voters …

Mitt Romney In 2002: I Have A Different View Than Most Republicans  —  Republican Presidential Mitt Romney has come under fire recently for statements an advisor made saying the former Governor could “reset” his positions in the fall “almost like an Etch A Sketch.  It stung because of Romney's journey from right to left and back.