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 …

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.

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.”

First, define the problem  —  I HAVE been meaning to summarise my thoughts on financial regulatory reform in the wake of the Hyman Minsky conference on same.  I have to say, it has left me with a sense of resigned cycnicism.  I'll get to details in a moment, but I think that the most important thing …

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 …

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 …

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?

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.

A Clinton on the Court?  Go Younger, They Would Advise  —  I asked former President Bill Clinton why he isn't on the short list for a Supreme Court appointment, to follow in the footsteps of President William Howard Taft, the last former president to be appointed to the Court.

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 …

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 …

Pope Meets Victims Abused by Priests in Malta  —  VALLETTA, Malta — In his first such encounter since a sexual abuse scandal began to envelop the Catholic Church in recent months, Pope Benedict XVI met privately on Sunday with a small group of victims of sexual abuse by priests, expressing his …

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.)

Time's Klein: Beck, Palin Potentially Committing Sedition against U.S. Government; Heilemann Adds Limbaugh  —  Liberals are all too often eager to charge conservative personalities of using hyperbole to gain a political advantage, especially when it contradicts their world view …