The year of the ‘surrogate’  —  Hilary Rosen.  Bill Maher.  Rush Limbaugh.  Foster Friess.  Even Ted Nugent.  —  They are the non-surrogate surrogates of the 2012 presidential campaign — consultants, public figures or quasi-celebrities who sometimes thrive on the fringes …

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 …

Obama, Romney in dead heat among registered voters, CBS News/New York Times poll finds  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  Mitt Romney has closed the gap with President Obama among registered voters …

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 …

U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers  —  An American soldier says he released the photos to the Los Angeles Times to draw attention to the safety risk of a breakdown in leadership and discipline.  The Army has started a criminal investigation.

Kelly wins GOP primary in contest for former Rep. Giffords's seat  —  Jesse Kelly won a special primary election in Arizona on Tuesday, securing the Republican nomination to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).  —  Kelly, an Iraq War veteran and project manager …

IRS Might Have Stalinist Powers Under New Law  —  Liberty: The Republican House of Representatives may soon follow the Democratic Senate and give the IRS the power to confiscate your passport on mere suspicion of owing taxes.  There's no place like home, comrade.

Romney says ‘vast left wing conspiracy’ in media is attacking him  —  Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said a “vast left wing conspiracy” in the media was working with the Obama campaign to coordinate attacks against him.  —  “There will be an effort …

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.

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.

Revealed; Official fears from U.S. and UK over President Obama's ‘anti-American’ and ‘anti-white’ father  —  In his three years as U.S. president, Barack Obama has been dogged by claims he is not patriotic enough.  —  Last year he even had to publish his birth certificate to silence doubters who suggested he was not born an American.

VAN JONES: OBAMA ‘FORCED’ TO SIT WITH ‘RACIST’ COP AT BEER SUMMIT  —  In an April 3rd appearance on the left-wing Democracy Now TV show, Van Jones has offered his own behind-the-scenes take on an incident that made race a political issue three years before the Trayvon Martin case.

'Don't Say Gay' bill advances in the House  —  Tennessee's elementary and middle school teachers could face more pressure not to talk about homosexuality with their students next year after the so-called Don't Say Gay bill cleared a House education committee Tuesday.

Baptist pastor backs Romney in spite of Mormonism  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Southern Baptist pastor who last October called Mormonism a cult and said Mitt Romney is not a Christian is now endorsing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.  —  The pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas …

White House threatens veto of highway bill over Keystone pipeline provision  —  The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto House legislation to extend transportation programs because it contains GOP language that mandates approval of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.

Biden works to rev up youth vote  —  Vice President Joe Biden rallied a standing-room-only crowd of young people in a DC theater on Tuesday night by inviting the audience to envision what the country would look like with Republicans in charge.  —  “Does anybody in this audience …

With Voters Focused on Economy, Obama Lead Narrows  —  Social Issues Rank as Lowest Priorities  —  As the general election campaign gets underway, Obama's slim 49% to 45% edge over Mitt Romney is based on his continued support among women, college graduates, blacks, Latinos and lower-income voters.

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.

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 …