TRENDING: Nugent threatens death if Obama wins in November  —  (CNN) - Rocker Ted Nugent did little to quell his reputation as a conservative firebrand through comments at the National Rifle Association convention when he took aim (pun intended) at high profile members of the Barack Obama administration …

Hey, if we're going to talk about how presidential candidates treated dogs decades ago, let's talk about how presidential candidates treated dogs decades ago.  —  Can you name the author of this quote? … Give up?  That's Barack Obama, writing about his childhood with his stepfather Lolo Soetoro …

Michelle Obama: ‘This President Has Brought Us Out of the Dark and Into the Light’  —  Michelle Obama made a remarkable claim when talking up her husband, President Barack Obama, at a campaign event earlier today in Nashville, Tennessee.  —  “I am so in,” Michelle Obama said toward the end of her remarks.

THE ONE TRUE WANKER OF THE DECADE  —  Tom Friedman.  —  Tom Friedman, artist's conception.  —  Friedman possesses all of the qualities that make a pundit truly wankerific.  He fetishizes a false “centrism” which is basically whatever Tom Friedman likes, imagining the Friedman agenda …

Memeorandum Colors 2012: Visualizing Bias on Political Blogs  —  I don't watch sports, but every four years, I lose myself in the horse race of the U.S. presidential elections.  That competition kicked off in earnest Monday, as Gallup started its daily tracking polls for the general election between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

ALEC Sharpens Focus on Jobs, Free Markets and Growth — Announces the End of the Task Force that Dealt with Non-Economic Issues  —  ALEC Sharpens Focus on Jobs, Free Markets and Growth — Announces the End of the Task Force that Dealt with Non-Economic Issues

Romney up big, Clinton and Christie have early 2016 leads  —  PPP's newest- and perhaps final- poll on the national GOP race finds Mitt Romney running away with 54% of the Republican vote to 24% for Newt Gingrich and 14% for Ron Paul.  Those numbers don't suggest Gingrich will have much of an ability …

Catholic Bishop Claims Obama Is ‘Following a Similar Path’ To Hitler  —  In a mass proceeding a Catholic men's march this weekend, Bishop Daniel Jenky delivered a homily that appears better suited to an episode of the Glenn Beck Show than to a celebration of religious faith.

Kobach is not Mitt Romney's immigration adviser?  —  Como se dice “Etch a Sketch” en espanol?  —  Over the weekend, I noticed that Kris Kobach, Mitt Romney's unpaid immigration adviser — and the inspiration for Romney's “voluntary deportation” strategy - wasn't included …

Minister in ‘racist circumcision outrage’  —  Double click on a word to get a translation  —  Swedish minister of culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth's participation in a “racist spectacle” in which she carved up a cake depicting a naked black woman has sparked outrage and prompted calls for the minister's dismissal.

Taliban commander turns self in... for reward on ‘Wanted’ poster  —  Sometimes, capturing a Taliban commander requires vast resources and complex operations.  Last week in eastern Afghanistan, it hinged on an insurgent's “improbable stupidity,” as one U.S. official put it.

One for the Country  —  I had to catch a train in Washington last week.  The paved street in the traffic circle around Union Station was in such poor condition that I felt as though I was on a roller coaster.  I traveled on the Amtrak Acela, our sorry excuse for a fast train …

Inquiry points to wider Secret Service scandal involving as many as 21 women  —  Investigators believe that as many as 21 women were brought by U.S. Secret Service and military personnel to the Hotel Caribe in Cartagena, Colombia, last week during a night of carousing, a dramatic increase …

Chelsea Clinton, TV's Dork Diva, Struggles At NBC  —  Hillary and Bill have worked their way back into our hearts, and now it's Chelsea's turn.  The only problem: she's “terrible” on television, as network executives privately admit.  —  Amy Sly for BuzzFeed

Conrad announces budget markup for Wednesday  —  The Senate Budget Committee on Monday moved to take up a budget for fiscal 2013, renewing pressure from Republicans to bring the resolution up for a floor vote.  —  The budget panel announced it would hold a markup of the budget on Wednesday …

Tony Perkins blames Secret Service Prostitution Scandal on the Repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell  —  Yesterday Janet Mefferd hosted Family Research Council president Tony Perkins where they spent most of the time lamenting the inevitable nomination of Mitt Romney, as Mefferd was troubled by Romney's past …

Obama doing well in Florida  —  Barack Obama starts the general election with a 5 point advantage over Mitt Romney in Florida, 50-45.  This is the biggest lead Obama's had in Florida over the course of five polls PPP's done in the state since the beginning of 2011.

Edwards' ‘cut’ rate  —  NOW (left): John Edwards gets his hair done at Supercuts.  THEN (right): The VP rocked designer coifs in 2004.  —  CHAPEL HILL, NC — Oh, how the mighty 'do has fallen!  —  Disgraced former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards, reviled for his costy coifs …

Obama easily beating Romney among U.S. women: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  (Reuters) - American women favor Barack Obama by a 14-point margin over Mitt Romney, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Tuesday, despite the recent partisan “Mommy Wars” flap over the role of women in society.