Romney Talks  —  In a 36-minute Wednesday Manhattan interview with Mark Halperin, Romney pushes back on President Obama's Bain attack, predicts he can drive unemployment down to six percent by the end of his first term and says he wants Washington to sit still during the lame-duck session.

FAKE EXPLICIT IMAGE OF S.E. CUPP REPORTEDLY APPEARS IN HUSTLER (GRAPHIC)  —  The Blaze has been alerted to a fake explicit image apparently published in Hustler magazine depicting GBTV host and conservative commentator S.E. Cupp engaged in a sex act with what appears to be a penis in her mouth.

Free speech moment: Standing with Stacy McCain, Patterico, Liberty Chick, and Aaron Walker  —  I know what it's like to find out that you've been targeted for violence — real violence, as in being targeted for death by an extremist who has picked out his target based on nothing more than writing about politics.

White Resentment, Obama, and Appalachia  —  Steve Kornacki tries to do the math on Obama's unpopularity throughout Appalachia: … I think that “Chalking this up up only to race” is a strawman, and its one that I often see writers invoke when talking about white resentment and Obama.

“Pro-Choice” Americans at Record-Low 41%  —  Americans now tilt “pro-life” by nine-point margin, 50% to 41%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as “pro-choice” is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009.

After President Obama's announcement, opposition to same-sex marriage hits record low  —  Public opinion continues to shift in favor of same-sex marriage, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, which also finds initial signs that President Obama's support for the idea may have changed a few minds.

Actually, the Obama spending binge really did happen  —  Until Barack Obama took office in 2009, the United States had never spent more than 23.5% of GDP, with the exception of the World War II years of 1942-1946.  Here's the Obama spending record:  — 25.2% of GDP in 2009  — 24.1% of GDP in 2010

Alan Simpson flips out at Calif. seniors  —  The nice thing about being out of office?  You can say whatever you please.  —  Which is exactly what former Sen. Alan Simpson did in a harsh letter he sent to the California Alliance for Retired Americans and which was obtained by POLITICO:

American Airlines Rejects Female Passenger Because Political Pro-Choice T-Shirt is “Inappropriate”  —  Yesterday I attended a meeting of pro-choice colleagues working to ensure women throughout this country get safe, compassionate abortion care.  Today, I received an email from one of those colleagues …

Several George Zimmerman witnesses change their accounts  —  Evidence released last week in the second-degree-murder case against George Zimmerman shows four key witnesses made major changes in what they say they saw and heard the night he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford.

Congress wins fight for election docs  —  Responding to the threat of a congressional subpoena, the Federal Election Commission this afternoon released reams of previously secret documents that detail how it enforces election law.  —  It appears to end — for the moment …

Man Arrested for OWI with Zebra, Parrot in Front Seat of Truck  —  The zebra and parrot at the Reiter's home in Cascade.  (KCRG/The Gazette)  —  DUBUQUE, Iowa - It sounds like the beginning of a joke.  A man, a zebra, a parrot walk into a bar.  —  A Cascade man was arrested outside …

The Conservative Fantasy History of Civil Rights  —  Ronald Reagan, Strom Thurmond, and other civil rights heroes.  Not pictured: black people.  —  The civil rights movement, once a controversial left-wing fringe, has grown deeply embedded into the fabric of our national story.

About Peter R Orszag  —  History Shows U.S. Can Stimulate Now, Cut Later  —  From 2017 to 2022, Social Security's normal retirement age is scheduled to gradually increase to 67.  And I'll bet that not only happens as planned, but does so with little fanfare — which is pretty …

Will.I.Am attends climate change talk in helicoper  —  Musician Will.I.Am has been criticised for arriving at a climate change debate in a private helicopter, producing the same amount of CO2 most people do in a month.  —  It is understood the journey, which is a 286 mile round-trip from London …

Survey: NPR's listeners best-informed, Fox viewers worst-informed  —  People who watch no news at all can answer more questions about international current events than people who watch cable news, a survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind finds.