Charlotte zings Reid from beyond the grave  —  Election 2010 has just heard from a member of the Silent Majority.  —  You know, from a deceased person.  —  Chances are good you never met Charlotte McCourt during her 84 years, but I'm willing to bet you'll be hearing about her in the coming days …

House Dems to vent frustrations over midterm strategy to Obama  —  House Democrats will vent their frustrations with the White House's political strategy during a Wednesday meeting with President Obama.  —  The session comes amid an uproar in the House over comments made by White House press …

EXCLUSIVE: Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston Are Engaged!  —  Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston reveal exclusively in the new Us Weekly that they are getting married.  —  And, they tell Us Weekly, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been kept in the dark about their plans ... until now.

McInnis's Colo. gubernatorial bid derailed by plagiarism charges  —  Former Rep. Scott McInnis's (R-Colo.) gubernatorial campaign is in a fight for its life as charges of plagiarism have led to questions of whether McInnis can stay in the race.  —  Republicans in Colorado say he's a dead man walking …

Tea Party billboard covered up in Mason City  —  Billboard featuring President Obama being covered up today in Mason City.  —  A billboard in Mason City that pictured President Obama flanked by Nazi leader Adolph Hitler and communist leader Vladimir Lenin has been papered over this morning.

Journalism Needs Government Help  —  Media budgets have been decimated as the Internet facilitates a communications revolution.  More public funding for news-gathering is the answer.  —  We have entered a momentous period in the history of the American press.

President Obama, White House: Al Qaeda Is Racist  —  In an interview earlier today with the South African Broadcasting Corporation to air in a few hours, President Obama disparaged al Qaeda and affiliated groups' willingness to kill Africans in a manner that White House aides say was an argument that the terrorist groups are racist.

How Bad is the Job Situation, Really?  —  (cross-posted at ProgressiveFix.com and FrumForum.com)  —  When it comes to economic conditions, I'm generally a glass-three-quarters-full kind of guy.  Take unemployment.  Quick—what was the risk in 2008 that an American worker would experience at least one bout of unemployment?

Time for Obama to make sacrifices  —  Later this week, the White House budget office is due to produce its midyear report on the nation's fiscal health.  —  If history is any guide, the administration will try to paint a rosy picture, but the truth is already obvious: Washington under President Barack Obama …

NBC, CBS refuse ground zero mosque ad  —  CBS and NBC have refused to air a provocative ad from the confrontational, well-funded National Republican Trust PAC that calls on Americans to oppose the building of a mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site.

VP Favorable Ratings: Gore Down, Cheney Up, Biden Flat  —  Americans more negative than positive toward Gore, Cheney  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' current views of former Vice President Al Gore have become significantly more negative compared with three years ago, and are among the worst for him in more than a decade.

WHEN AN ENTIRE POLITICAL PARTY MOVES TO BIZARRO WORLD.... Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) probably didn't realize the impact his remarks would have.  The right-wing Arizonan was asked on Fox News how his party would pay for $678 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy, which Republicans are currently demanding.

The Reeducation of Rand Paul  —  Soon after Rand Paul won Kentucky's GOP Senate primary in May, his campaign was rocked — not by an affair or a kamikaze YouTube clip, but by his own textbook libertarianism.  In a series of post-election interviews, Paul criticized parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 …

CBS News Poll: 7/13/10  —  Complete Data and Questions on the CBS News Poll on Obama, The Economy, Health Care and Other Issues  —  cbs_poll_071310  —  MORE FROM OPINION: CBS NEWS POLLS

Climategate and the Big Green Lie  —  By way of preamble, let me remind you where I stand on climate change.  I think climate science points to a risk that the world needs to take seriously.  I think energy policy should be intelligently directed towards mitigating this risk.  I am for a carbon tax.

Libtalker Bill Press Blames ‘Spoiled Americans’ For Obama's Poll Collapse  —  IT'S YOUR FAULT  —  Lefty Meltdown Over WaPo Poll, Libtalker Lashes Out  —  Are you ready to accept your share of the blame for Obama's collapsing poll numbers?  If only “spoiled Americans” …

Megyn Kelly-Kirsten Powers Cat Fight!  UPDATE: Video Added  —  The 10 Minutes fight between Megyn Kelly and Kirsten Powers on FNC may be the greatest ten minutes of television, ever.  —  I mean it.  —  Somebody please send me this clip.  Not only did Kelly reveal Powers …

Nobody Understands The Liquidity Trap (Wonkish)  —  Sigh.  In an otherwise useful article about divisions in the Fed, Jon Hilsenrath says this: … Sorry, but that's totally wrong.  The question is whether, at the zero bound, the Fed has the ability to increase aggregate demand — full stop.

Brown will oppose Dems' campaign finance reform bill  —  Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said Wednesday that he would oppose Democrats' campaign finance reform bill.  —  Brown, who'd been targeted by reform groups to support the Disclose Act, a Democratic-crafted bill in response …

Bunning: Steinbrenner ‘smart’ for dying in '10  —  Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) on Wednesday praised New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner for passing away in 2010 when there is no estate tax.  —  “Because he was smart enough to die in 2010, there is zero tax liability on the estate tax,” he said.

GOP senators float amendment to stop Arizona lawsuit  —  Two Republican senators announced Wednesday they will attempt to amend legislation to prevent the Obama administration from suing Arizona over its controversial immigration law.  —  Sens. Jim DeMint (S.C.) and David Vitter (La.) …