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.

Gingrich's Secret Service detail likely costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars a day  —  Even though by his own estimates he has very little prospect of winning the Republican nomination, Newt Gingrich is still likely costing the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars a day with his Secret Service detail on the campaign trail.

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 …

Marco Rubio Says He Would Turn Down VP Slot If Asked  —  Sen. Marco Rubio said today he would decline any offer from Mitt Romney to be a part of the GOP ticket this fall.  —  “I don't want to be the vice president,” the Florida Republican said during an interview with Major Garrett of the National Journal.

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.

Gov. Mitt Romney to deliver 2012 Commencement address  —  Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. announced today that Gov. Mitt Romney will address Liberty University graduates at the 2012 Commencement ceremony to be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, at Arthur L. Williams Stadium.

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 …

The Business of Ending a Presidential Campaign  —  Hours after dropping out of the presidential race this month, Rick Santorum fired off an e-mail to supporters asking for “one more” contribution: “I am planning to do everything in my power to bring a change about in the White House,” he wrote.

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 …

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).

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 …

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 …

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.

Congressional Approval Recovers Slightly, Now 17%  —  Highest rating since July  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans still hold Congress in low regard, but its 17% job approval rating is the highest since last July.  Congress' approval had dipped to a record-low 10% in February.

Respecting the Constitution and the role of the Supreme Court  —  (Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg / March 25, 2012)  —  Respect for the independence of the judiciary is a principle deeply embedded in our Constitution and reaffirmed by case law for more than two centuries.

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.

Dick Clark: 10 Ways He Changed Pop Culture Forever  —  Will anyone be as influential over pop culture as Dick Clark was?  Not likely.  —  Yes, musicians like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson revolutionized popular music, and TV owes its very bones to innovators such as Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin.

Raese: Smoking regs like Hitler's Jewish star  —  Lots of Senate candidates rail against onerous government regulations.  But West Virginia Republican John Raese , who's looking to knock off Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, took it to another level recently at the Putnam County Lincoln Day dinner.