'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:

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.

Cory Booker got it right  —  The attacks on Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker (D) by the more vitriolic liberal commentators for what he said about Bain Capital on this past Sunday's “Meet the Press” are just as indefensible as the Republican Party's cynical and dishonest attempt to exploit …

Two Dem recruits back away from Obama  —  National Democrats are upbeat about former North Dakota Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp's prospects as a Senate candidate.  And on the House level, Dems are optimistic that former Gabrielle Giffords aide Ron Barber will keep Giffords's open seat in Democratic hands.

Man implicated himself in Etan Patz disappearance: Commissioner Kelly  —  A man is in custody for the 1979 disappearance of Etan Patz, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly confirmed this morning.  —  Kelly issued a release stating that the man made statements to NYPD detectives implicating himself in the boy's disappearance.

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 …

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.

Air Force Academy Graduates First Openly Gay Cadets  —  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Eight months after a repeal of the military's “don't ask , don't tell” policy, the U.S. Air Force Academy today graduated its first group of openly gay cadets.  —  As President Obama addressed the graduates, no rainbow flags could be seen on display.

On Health Care, Romney Goes Retro  —  Editor's Note: After looking at the economic platform of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, this installment of our series on his policy plans examines the details of his health care agenda.  —  The gist: Repeal the Affordable Care Act …

Democrats stiffen spine on sequester  —  Power in Washington these days is most defined by saying “no,” which helps explain why Speaker John Boehner felt compelled last week — in the middle of May — to bring up a wintry debt ceiling fight more than six months away.

Bill Clinton's glamorous fundraiser called “worst party ever” by angry guests  —  An exclusive event hosted by Bill Clinton and attended by a host of celebrity friends has been criticised after guests who paid up to £1,000 for tickets were left queuing outside for hours.

Paul Fussell, Literary Scholar and Critic, Is Dead at 88  —  Paul Fussell, the wide-ranging, stingingly opinionated literary scholar and cultural critic whose admiration for Samuel Johnson, Kingsley Amis and the Boy Scout Handbook was balanced against his withering scorn for the romanticization of war …

Like an Anorexic, U.S. Sees Itself Fat With Taxes  —  NEW YORK — Are your taxes too high?  When Gallup asked that question in April , tax month in the United States, 46 percent said they were.  An additional 47 percent said their taxes were “about right.”  Just 3 percent said their taxes were too low.

Indelible Image of Boy's Pat on Obama's Head  —  WASHINGTON — For decades at the White House, photographs of the president at work and at play have hung throughout the West Wing, and each print soon gives way to a more recent shot.  But one picture of President Obama remains after three years.

Welcome End of a Pseudotheory  —  Many opponents of giving equal rights and protections to gay Americans — at the workplace, in the military, in marrying and forming families — make the claim that homosexuality is a chosen way of life.  They have long seized on the work of a towering figure in psychiatry to justify their position.

Has recall election made Scott Walker a GOP hero?  —  Democrats leapt at the chance to use Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to send a message to all the budget-cutting, union-busting conservatives across the land: If you mess with Big Labor, there's a heavy price to pay.  —  But if you shoot at the king, you'd better not miss.

Colombia allows gay US man to adopt two children  —  BOGOTA — Colombia on Wednesday approved the adoption of two children by a homosexual American man after custody had been revoked over his sexual orientation, in a ruling hailed by gay rights groups.  —  The judgment by the country's …

PRESS Pass: Ashley Judd  —  Actress and Obama supporter Ashley Judd believes that if Republicans continue to do “dumb things” about women's reproductive health, they will energize female voters to help re-elect the president in the fall.  —  “It's remarkable to me that I would be having conversations …

New York Lawmakers Encounter Comments Sections, Freak Out  —  Ah, the joys of someone with power who just encountered their first bonkers comments section.  Via Wired: … It's easy to make fun of the late Sen. Ted Stevens' for his description of the internet as “a series of tubes,” …

Europe Girds for Greek Exit  —  Leaders Plot Contingencies as They Find Little Compromise; Euro at 2-Year Low  —  BRUSSELS—European officials are stepping up contingency planning for a possible Greek exit from the euro zone, even as Europe's leaders struggled to overcome differences …

Reason-Rupe Poll on Wisconsin Recall: Walker Leads Barrett 50-42, Obama Leads Romney 46-36  —  Gov. Scott Walker leads Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett 50-42 among those likely to vote in Wisconsin's June 5 recall election, according to a new Reason-Rupe poll of 708 Wisconsin adults on cell phones and landlines.