TPMDC  —  Obama To GOP: Abide By Debt Limit Deal Or Else Face A Govt Shutdown Right Before The Election  —  In a major escalation of a slowly building fight over funding the government, the White House has warned House Republicans, in no uncertain terms, that the government will shut …

Secret Service Pre-Planned Party at Colombian Hotel  —  ABC News' Reena Ninan, Christine Romo and Mary Bruce Report:  —  CARTAGENA, Colombia — Secret Service officials planning a wild night of fun in Colombia did some of their own advanced work last week, booking a party space at the Hotel Caribe …

Chris Kleponis/AFP/Getty Images; Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images  —  NOTABLES:  — Voters have a way of seeing past the dog-eat-dog theatrics of the presidential campaign, and what's left?  Their pocketbooks.  A series of polls out this week all tell us one thing …

Obama: 'I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth'  —  ELYRIA, Ohio — President Obama took his economic argument on the road Wednesday, declaring at a community college in hard-hit manufacturing country that his commitment to workforce training programs — programs, he said …

Big Lead With Women Gives Obama An Edge On Romney, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Christie, Rubio, Ryan Top GOP Running Mate List  —  President Barack Obama holds a thin 46 - 42 percent lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today.

Jim Webb: Health-care law represents a leadership failure for Obama  —  President Obama's new health-care law will be his greatest liability as he attempts to once again win the critical swing state of Virginia, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) warned Wednesday.  —  “I'll be real frank here,” Webb said at a breakfast organized by Bloomberg News.

Allen West Says Congressional Progressive Caucus Is Communist But Won't Name Names  —  The fallout over Rep. Allen West's (R-FL) Joe McCarthy-style accusation that “there's about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party” continues.

OWS Celebrates Holocaust Day w/ Antisemetic Cartoons  —  To give them their due, there are a lot of people in the comments pissed off about the picture.  But, there are also 43 likes and 59 people sharing the photo (as of this writing).  —  So, is this a one-offer that we who already …

The coming conservative landslide  —  Wishful liberals and Chicken Little conservatives who watch the weekly fluctuations in the presidential polls have concluded that President Obama is a shoo-in for re-election.  They point out that Mitt Romney, the likely Republican nominee …

Vatican orders crackdown on American nuns  —  WASHINGTON — The Vatican has launched a crackdown on the umbrella group that represents most of America's 55,000 Catholic nuns, saying that the group was not speaking out strongly enough against gay marriage, abortion and women's ordination.

Letter details allegations of sexual harassment at N.C. Democratic Party  —  A former staffer accused the Democratic Party's executive director of showing him a picture of a penis, caressing his leg and discussing his sexual exploits, according to a new document obtained by The News & Observer.

Cantor Suggests Anti-Semitism Is A Problem Within The House GOP Caucus  —  A few weeks ago, the House GOP was up in arms over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-VA) $25,000 donation to anti-incumbent candidate Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who ultimately defeated his opponent, incumbent Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL).

Why the U.S. Economy Is Biased Against Men  —  That women earn 77 cents for every $1 earned by a man is a popular refrain.  But look closer.  Prejudice against guys in the economy is real and widespread.  —  You've just landed on Planet Zuto.  —  The Intergalactic Equal Employment …

Maddow Covers The Demise Of The Ex-Gay Movement  —  Rachel Maddow traced the mainstreaming of the ex-gay movement on her MSNBC show last night — from its rise in 1973 in defiance of the American Psychiatric Association's decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental illness …

Romney to speak at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University  —  Mitt Romney will deliver the commencement address at Liberty University, the school announced Thursday morning.  —  This will be Romney's first appearance at the influential Evangelical Christian school, which was founded …

Leon Panetta: U.S. ‘within an inch of war’  —  Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Wednesday that the United States was “within an inch of war almost every day” in the region around North Korea.  —  “We're within an inch of war almost every day in that part of the world …

Morning Jay: Obama the Underdog  —  Sean Trende has an important column that connects presidential job approval to reelection results.  You really should read the whole thing, but here is the big take home point: … This is exactly right, and something I have been discussing for some time now.