McCain: Palin was ‘better candidate’ than Romney  —  Mitt Romney's tax returns had nothing to do with Sen. John McCain's decision to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008, according to the Arizona Republican, saying he chose the former Alaska governor because she was a “better candidate.”

Romney Backer Wishes Obama “Would Learn How To Be An American”  —  Sununu grabs the third rail.  The Romney campaign lets the dogs out.  —  Source: youtube.com  —  In a brutal campaign conference call Tuesday organized by Mitt Romney's campaign, several of the candidate's surrogates went …

Raising Taxes on Rich Seen as Good for Economy, Fairness  —  OVERVIEW  —  By two-to-one (44% to 22%), the public says that raising taxes on incomes above $250,00o would help the economy rather than hurt it, while 24% say this would not make a difference.  Moreover, an identical percentage …

George W. Bush: ‘Eight years was awesome’  —  In case there was any doubt, George W. Bush made it abundantly clear in a recent interview that although it was “awesome” being president for eight years, he doesn't miss life in political office.  —  “Eight years was awesome and I was famous and I was powerful …

Obama switches off his teleprompter  —  President Obama is weaning himself off his teleprompter.  —  At recent campaign events in Pennsylvania, Virginia and again Monday in Ohio, Obama spoke to crowds in high school gymnasiums and at crowded outdoor events without his teleprompter, instead using written notes.

Is Romney Overreacting to Bain Attacks?  —  Mitt Romney's campaign has begun to push back against the notion that President Obama's critiques on his tenure at Bain Capital have damaged him.  A memo released by Mr. Romney's pollster, Neil Newhouse, suggests that the margin between Mr. Romney …

Romney Knocks It Out of the Park  —  By all accounts, Mitt Romney was sensational today in Pennsylvania.  His theme was Barack Obama's revelatory “you didn't build that” speech.  Over the lunch hour (here in the Midwest), Twitter was burning up with commentary from those who were watching Romney's speech live.

Obama campaign sues Ohio over early voting restrictions  —  President Barack Obama's campaign filed a lawsuit in Columbus this afternoon, seeking to restore the three days of early voting prior to Election Day that the GOP-controlled legislature eliminated, the campaign announced in an exclusive interview with the Beacon Journal today.

The Capitalism Debate  —  Let's say you are president in a time of a sustained economic slowdown.  You initiated a series of big policies that you thought were going to turn the economy around, but they didn't work — either because they were insufficient or ineffective.

How did vaunted Romney Death Star break down?  —  More Photos  —  Popular in Politics  —  A few days before the January 31 Florida Republican primary, a number of Mitt Romney's top aides took to the pages of the New York Times to brag about how they had destroyed Newt Gingrich.

Welcome to ‘Panthers Stadium’  —  National Democrats have repeatedly touted their stand against taking corporate money for their convention in September, and so it was striking to see two emails from the DNC host committee referring to the Charlotte venue where President Obama will speak as “Panthers Stadium.”

Bachmann defends her witch hunt  —  The Minnesota representative offers “evidence” of Islamic infiltration of the U.S. government in a 16-page letter  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann defended her attempt to root out “deep penetration” by the Muslim Brotherhood into the U.S. government Friday …

Paul Ryan rips Obama's comment that 'if you've got a business — you didn't build that.  Somebody else made that happen'  —  It was Rep. Paul Ryan's wife, Janna, who first saw — via Twitter — President Obama's recent comments about American entrepreneurs, that “if you've got a business — you didn't build that.

John Rocker is still throwing heat  —  Look out, George Will.  Watch your back, Charles Krauthammer.  There's a new conservative columnist in town: former Major League Baseball pitcher John Rocker.  —  Rocker, who last pitched in the majors in 2003, was known more for his talk off the field …

The Elton John-Rush Limbaugh bond  —  To the shock of many (given the gap in their political ideologies), Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh's wedding in 2010 and, in a new interview with USA Today, the performer opened up about his friendship with the conservative talk show host.

New Yahoo CEO Mayer is pregnant  —  She told Fortune exclusively that her first child is due in October.  —  FORTUNE —Marissa Mayer, the Google (GOOG) executive who today was named Yahoo's (YHOO) new chief executive, is pregnant.  —  Mayer told Fortune exclusively that her first child is due October 7.

Serious Attack on Ryan Budget Takes Toll on Mitt Romney  —  The most recent survey and focus groups by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democracy Corps reveal deep opposition to the Ryan budget- and its potential to damage Mitt Romney's candidacy if he embraces it in the coming campaign.

From our partners  —  Around the Web:  —  President Obama lands in the Tri-State  —  Jerry Springer: President Obama's ‘excellent’ - PATRICK GAVIN ...  Obama Meets Jerry Springer  —  Jerry Springer: Talks politics  —  Share your Comment: … As I sat on my neutral nest, upon my hive …

Behind Jeers for Clinton in Egypt, a Conspiracy Theory With U.S. Roots  —  Tuesday, 10:03 a.m. The news that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's motorcade was pelted with shoes and tomatoes by Egyptian protesters, who also taunted her by chanting “Monica!