Turnout  —  You have to hand it to Wisconsin's electorate: they are passionate about their politics.  When we first polled the Dairy State's voters about Republican Gov. Scott Walker's plummeting approval ratings, many right-leaning types let the blogosphere know how We Ask America's minions …

Rachel Maddow fails the Carney test  —  Last night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow attributed statements to Mitt Romney that he did not make.  —  In a segment pegged, ironically, to White House criticism of the Washington press corps, Maddow attempted to rise to the White House's challenge by calling …

NBC polls: Obama edges Romney in three key battleground states  —  President Barack Obama holds a narrow advantage over presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney in three of the most pivotal presidential battleground states — Florida, Ohio and Virginia — according to new NBC-Marist polls.

Bill Clinton — SURROUNDED By Porn Stars in Monaco  —  SURROUNDED  —  By Porn Stars  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  Bill Clinton just out-Clinton'd himself — posing with two famous porn stars in Monaco moments ago ... and one of them's a real up-and-comer.  —  Clinton's in a Monte Carlo casino right …

What Does President Obama's May Approval Rating Tell Us About His Reelection Chances?  —  According to a Gallup Poll analysis of recent polling data on the mood of the American public, President Obama appears to face a difficult road to winning a second term in November.

My break with the extreme right  —  I worked for Reagan and wrote for National Review.  But the new hysterical right cares nothing for truth or dignity  —  Gosh!  When did I end up in bed with Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber?  Could it be because I did specialize in blowing things …

Senate Dems Betray Lilly  —  A group of Democratic female senators on Wednesday declared war on the so-called “gender pay gap,” urging their colleagues to pass the aptly named Paycheck Fairness Act when Congress returns from recess next month.  However, a substantial gender pay gap exists …

Study: Most individual insurance plans fall short of health law's standards  —  Most people who buy their own health insurance would get a much more generous policy under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new study published in Health Affairs.  —  Most individual policies today fall short …

Forget Bain — Obama's public-equity record is the real scandal  —  Despite a growing backlash from his fellow Democrats, President Obama has doubled down on his attacks on Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital.  But the strategy could backfire in ways Obama did not anticipate.

'Those of us who've spent time in the real world ...'  —  The Obama campaign has tried in a number of ways to define Mitt Romney as a guy who's out of touch with the reality most Americans experience, and at a campaign event in Denver last night the president trotted out this Mitt-just-doesn't-get-it line:

Man Confesses to Strangling Etan Patz, Police Say  —  A man in custody in Manhattan has confessed to strangling Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy who vanished in SoHo on his way to school in 1979, wrapping his body in a bag and putting it in a box, a law enforcement official said on Thursday.

FBI: Mayor hacked critical website  —  A New Jersey mayor and his son were arrested Thursday by the FBI for allegedly hacking into an email account and website tied to a recall effort — and then intimidating those associated with the site.  —  Felix Roque, 55, the Democratic mayor of West New York …

Maryland Polling Memo  —  A new Public Policy Polling survey in Maryland finds a significant increase in support for same-sex marriage among African American voters following President Obama's historic announcement two weeks ago.  The referendum to keep the state's new law legalizing same-sex marriage …

Competitive Senate race shaping up in North Dakota  —  MINOT, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's prosperity from an energy boom as the rest of the country slowly crawls out from under a collapsed economy is making a contest of a Senate race that Democrats had all but conceded.

Unabomber sends Harvard class update  —  Ted Kaczynski — the domestic terrorist known as the Unabomber, who is serving life in prison for sending deadly mail bombs — will not be able to attend his 50th class reunion at Harvard College.  But he did contribute a bizarre entry to the alumni report for the class of 1962.

Obama Appeared At 1996 Event Hosted By Socialist Group  —  It's a reminder that the President presented himself as much more progressive during his time in Chicago.  In this little-seen advertisement that ran in the Hyde Park Herald in 1996, Obama was listed on a panel sponsored …

Elizabeth Warren pulls even with Scott Brown in new poll  —  Elizabeth Warren, emerging from what many consider the roughest patch yet in her Senate campaign, has pulled into a virtual tie with US Senator Scott Brown, according to a new Suffolk University/7News poll.

Romney Campaign Offers Chance To Dine With Donald Trump  —  The Donald wants you!  The latest Romney fundraising contest.  Democrats attack “birther” association.  —  Source: secure.mittromney.com  —  Source: secure.mittromney.com  —  UPDATE: Melanie Roussell, DNC Press Secretary released this statement:

Real federal deficit dwarfs official tally  —  The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Obama Misses His Entrance  —  President Obama failed to appear on cue last night at the Fox Theater in Redwood, California, a weird lapse for a president who may have been exhausted at the end of a marathon day of speechifying and campaigning.  —  Pool reporter Peter Baker of the New York Times offers …