It's Aggregate Demand, Stupid  —  David Wessel explains Christina Romer's view of the economic situation: … Here's the nominal GDP situation:  —  Brad DeLong remarks: … Every time there's a downturn a certain swathe of the elite starts to label it unfixable and structural.

Is the Obama Administration Behind An Astroturf Anti-Tea Party Website?  —  “Cass Sunstein has favored the government using outside parties as government propaganda agents to paint their opposition as fringe and undermine their credibility.”  —  Astroturf is the act of professional interest …

McCain Denies That He Is ‘Running Away From The Maverick Title’: ‘I Prefer Great American Myself’  —  Facing a tough primary challenge from former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been moving hard to the right.  In an interview with Newsweek earlier this month …

Editorial: With Financial Reform, Whose Side Are the Republicans On?  —  Last month Democrats on the Senate banking committee passed a reasonably tough financial regulatory reform bill.  Now Republican leaders have suddenly begun lashing out against it.  —  Did they belatedly discover some problem?

Tea parties fight Obama's culture of dependence  —  “Do you realize,” CNN's Susan Roesgen asked a man at the April 15, 2009, tea party in Chicago, “that you're eligible for a $400 credit?”  When the man refused to drop his “drop socialism” sign, she went on, “Did you know that the state …

Clinton: If Obama Offers Peace Plan, ‘I Will Support It’  —  Discussing the Middle East peace process on ABC's This Week, host Jake Tapper asked former President Bill Clinton whether he thought it was “time for President Obama to put a peace plan on the table,” as has been reported the administration is considering.

Gibbs: White House proposed end to anonymous administration sourcing  —  Press Secretary Robert Gibbs approached White House reporters earlier this year in an attempt to end the long-standing practice of sourcing claims to anonymous administration officials, he told CNN on Sunday.

NHS bars woman after she saw private doctor  —  A WOMAN has been denied an operation on the NHS after paying for a private consultation to deal with her severe back pain.  —  Jenny Whitehead, a breast cancer survivor, paid £250 for an appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon …

David Gregory: “No, I won't fact check my guests and you guys can't make me...” A time line.  —  David Gregory, the host of NBC's Meet the Press, has painted himself into a strange corner with his assertion that there's no need to fact check what his guests say on the air because viewers can do that “on their own terms.”

The Republicans' 2012 problem  —  November 2010 is looking awfully good for the GOP.  But November 2012?  Not so much  —  Talk to most Democratic activists, and they'll concede that a Republican takeover of the House this fall is entirely possible.  Some will even contemplate …

Schumer: Five major airlines commit to no carry-on fees  —  Washington (CNN) - Sen. Charles Schumer announced Sunday that several major airlines have promised not to charge passengers for carry-on baggage.  —  Schumer, D-New York, said he personally contacted officials at American Airlines …

57% Have More Trust In Those In Congress Who Voted Against Bailouts  —  Government bailouts are still a sore subject with most voters.  But the Political class remains supportive of efforts to have taxpayers bail out troubled and failing companies.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national …

Fleeing Drug Violence, Mexicans Pour Into U.S.  —  FORT HANCOCK, Tex. — The giant rusty fence of metal bars along the border here, built in recent years to keep illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States, has a new nickname among local residents: Jurassic Park Gate …

UK Election Comments 1.0  —  Expat TPM Reader TG checks in from the UK ...  (ed.note: In consultation with TG, one passage of the original email was deleted to obscure just which constituency TG's working in.)

Koch Industries denies funding tea parties, but official filings say otherwise  —  For some odd reason, the Koch folks want to be one degree of separation from the tea parties.  I don't understand it, since the good tea party people are simply grassroots, everyman movements, based on Mom …

How Clinton exploited Oklahoma City for political gain  —  Former President Bill Clinton (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File) (AP)  —  With the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing Monday, former President Bill Clinton is playing a starring role in the liberal effort to draw what the New York Times calls …