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 …

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 …

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 …

'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:

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

“Refreshing Contacts”: The Revolving Door Shuffle in Washington  —  Keeps on spinning (photo: lrargerich/flickr)  —  I always find the revolving door to be an intriguing subject of inquiry.  The combination of big money in influencing policy, as well as the transient nature of most political jobs …

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 …