Obama holds key leads on Romney, as economy malaise looms over reelection bid  —  With the general-election campaign beginning to take shape, President Obama holds clear advantages over Mitt Romney on personal attributes and a number of key issues, but remains vulnerable to discontent …

BREAKING: George Zimmerman Launches Website, Features Vandalized Black Cultural Center  —  According to NBC News correspondent Mara Schiavocampo, George Zimmerman has launched a new website: … On the website — therealgeorgezimmerman.com — Zimmerman solicits donations to support his “living expenses and legal defense.”

Health-care law will add $340 billion to deficit, new study finds  —  President Obama's landmark health-care initiative, long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation's budget woes over the next decade, according to a new study by a member of the board that oversees Medicare financing.

Buffett rule not solution to debt, W.H. says  —  The Obama administration is emphasizing “fairness” over deficit reduction in its renewed pitch for the “Buffett rule” ahead of next week's scheduled Senate vote.  —  Introducing a minimum 30 percent income tax on millionaires …

Report Disputes Christie's Basis for Halting Tunnel  —  Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey exaggerated when he declared that unforeseen costs to the state were forcing him to cancel the new train tunnel planned to relieve congested routes across the Hudson River, according to a long-awaited report …

The end of my white guilt  —  My white guilt died on Good Friday, April 6, 2012.  That was the day my bike got stolen.  —  I was at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., for the Stations of the Cross — the pre-Easter Catholic ritual of recounting the events …

Ashley Judd Slaps Media in the Face for Speculation Over Her ‘Puffy’ Appearance  —  Ashley Judd's ‘puffy’ appearance sparked a viral media frenzy.  But, the actress writes, the conversation is really a misogynistic assault on all women.  —  The Conversation about women's bodies exists largely outside …

IPT Exclusive: State Department Barred Inspection of Muslim Brotherhood Delegation  —  The State Department broke with normal procedures last week when it ordered the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) not to conduct a secondary inspection on members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom …

Gates Foundation Will Withdraw Support for ALEC Nonprofit  —  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation today became the latest backer to withdraw financial support for the American Legislative Exchange Council.  —  A foundation spokesman told Roll Call that it does not plan to make future grants …

Interviewing Herman Cain On The VP Slot, Improper Sexual Conduct Charges, & Whether Obama Will Cause America To Default On Its Debt  —  Late last week, I was pleased to get the opportunity to talk to former Presidential candidate, former Godfather's Pizza CEO, and former talk radio host Herman Cain.

TPMMuckraker  —  Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Legal Bulldog Faces Disbarment  —  If things went differently, Andrew Thomas might have had a bright career in Arizona politics.  —  In six years as the top prosecutor in Maricopa County, he stood side-by-side with Sheriff Joe Arpaio and earned …

1,500 Missouri veterans have been hired under state's Show-Me Heroes program  —  By Melissa Miller ~ Southeast Missourian  —  Justin Stuhr works as a welder Friday at Ole Hickory Pits in Cape Girardeau.  The veteran was hired through Missouri's Show-Me Heroes program.

George W. Bush: Wish tax cuts not in my name  —  George W. Bush said Tuesday that he wishes the tax cuts originally approved under his watch didn't carry the burden of his family name.  —  “I wish they weren't called the Bush tax cuts,” the former president said as he kicked off …

Pryor will not actively campaign for Obama  —  U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said he will not actively campaign in Arkansas for President Barack Obama during the 2012 general election cycle.  —  Pryor noted his unwillingness to support the Obama, the titular head of the Democratic Party …

Gas Prices Grow More Under Obama than Carter  —  Marking the similarities between President Barack Obama's time in office and former president Jimmy Carter's is nothing new.  But as of Monday, Obama has hit one more Carter benchmark - both saw gas prices double in their first term of office.

Obama faces pressure over same-sex marriage  —  As the Democratic Party considers adding support for the issue to its official platform, the president is urged to give his blessing.  —  Momentum is building to declare official support for same-sex marriage in the Democratic Party's platform.

Maine Equality Opponents Distribute ‘Sodomy Based Marriage’ Truth Pledge  —  (Click on the image to read the pledge in its entirety.)  —  This November, Maine residents will have the first-ever opportunity to vote for marriage equality at the ballot, and though polling is strong and steady for the measure …

Obama weighs in against Minnesota's marriage ballot  —  One Republican called the statement “unfortunate.”  —  President Obama's Minnesota campaign waded into the state's marriage amendment fight on Monday with a statement saying the president opposes the proposal that would define marriage only as the union of a man and woman.

WaPo WAY Off on Social Security  —  I was about to go after Robert Samuelson's terribly misleading attack on Social Security this AM—it has become welfare!...FDR would hate it!—when it occurred to me that this is just the type of spurious attack the drives Dean Baker nuts …