Humility or Cynicism?  Whatever is Driving Obama is Better Than Nothing  —  Tumbling polls have turned the president into the schmoozer-in-chief  —  President Obama's burst of congressional and public outreach coincides with declining poll numbers.  (AP Photo)

In President's Outreach to G.O.P., Past Failures Loom  —  WASHINGTON — For all the attention to President Obama's new campaign of outreach to Republicans, it was four months ago — on the eve of bipartisan budget talks — that he secretly invited five of them to the White House for a movie screening …

Is he serious?  —  President Barack Obama's unusual tour of Capitol Hill this week could answer a central question dogging his renewed effort to strike a grand bargain on deficit reduction:  —  How serious is he?  —  Starting Tuesday, Obama will shuttle between basement House meeting rooms …

McClatchy-Marist poll shows Obama tumbling in voters' eyes  —  WASHINGTON — If President Barack Obama had piled up political capital with his impressive re-election, it's largely gone.  —  His approval rating has dropped to the lowest level in more than a year, with more voters now turning thumbs …

Ryan to rally GOP on 10-year plan  —  The target set by Ryan (R-Wis.), the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is more aggressive than the one Democrats rejected last year that took until nearly 2040 to balance.  —  Ryan will take center stage for the third year in a row to roll …

Save the sequester, crush the children!  —  If American politics has but one purpose in modern times, it is to crush the hopes and dreams of young people everywhere.  —  And this is why President Barack Obama's closing of the White House to public tours makes so much sense.