What should the White House do?  Panic!  —  Editor's note: James Carville is a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, appearing frequently on CNN's “The Situation Room” as well as other programs on all CNN networks.  Carville remains active in Democratic politics and is a party fundraiser.

Idiot Box: And the Winner of the Fox News Primary Is...  It was a self-inflicted, eye-glazing marathon—50 hours in late August spent watching a full sampling of the Fox News lineup.  Looking back, it seems like a nine-day hallucination of strident voices, blonde hair, and more pitchmen hawking gold coins …

Rick Perry Exclusive: The GOP's Fiery Front-Runner on His Rise, Record and Rhetoric  —  The hard-charging governor commands a Texas-sized lead in the polls.  In an interview with TIME's Richard Stengel and Mark Halperin, Perry defends his controversial résumé and explains …

White House initially denies rep.'s request to attend Medal of Honor event  —  The White House initially denied a request by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) to attend a Medal of Honor ceremony for a fellow Marine Corps and Afghanistan war veteran, a congressional source said.

Books of The Times: Joe McGinniss's ‘The Rogue,’ on Sarah Palin - Review  —  On May 22, 2010, Joe McGinniss moved into a strategically well-situated house in Wasilla, Alaska.  It was next door to the home of former Gov. Sarah Palin and her family, but that understates the highly exploitable proximity of the two places.

Romney says record consistent on health care  —  Washington (CNN) - Mitt Romney rejected the notion that he's shifted his positions on health care Thursday, telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer that his record shows consistent evidence of conservative platforms and beliefs.

Barry Manilow on Ron Paul: ‘I agree with just about everything he says’  —  Grammy award-winning musician Barry Manilow told The Daily Caller that he agrees with “just about everything” 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul says, calling him a “solid” contender for the highest office in the land.

White House Pressure for a Donor?  —  The Pentagon has worried for months that a project backed by a prominent Democratic donor might interfere with military GPS.  Now Congress wants to know if the White House pressured a general to change his testimony.

Professors offer more than $10,000 for proof that Bachmann's story about HPV is true  —  Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's story about a woman who claimed that her daughter suffered “mental retardation” after receiving a vaccine against HPV could fetch the woman's family thousands of dollars.

Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist Resigns Over Global Warming  —  The global warming theory left him out in the cold.  —  Dr. Ivar Giaever, a former professor with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the 1973 winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday …

But Black People Govern Like This ...  Via Angry Black Lady, I know Michael Moore and Bill Maher think this is a great line: … But it really isn't.  In fact, it's racist, and Michael Moore would do well to stop repeating it.  It really is no better than the Kenyan anti-colonial bit, and in fact is good deal worse.

Skeptical Dems get W.H. jobs pitch  —  Top White House advisers took their sales pitch of President Barack Obama's jobs plan to a skeptical audience Thursday afternoon: Senate Democrats, many of whom have already been openly critical of the $447 billion plan.

Rick Perry's HPV Stance Grounded in Case of Heather Burcham, Who Died of Cervical Cancer  —  Heather Burcham, who died of cervical cancer, is often cited by Gov. Rick Perry as a reason he issued an order mandating girls in Texas get vaccinated against HPV.  It's an order he now regrets.

House Clears Bill Restricting N.L.R.B.  —  WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to approve a G.O.P.-backed bill that would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board from continuing to pursue its effort to block Boeing from operating a new $750 million aircraft assembly line in South Carolina.

LA Porn Studio Begins Construction On ‘Post-Apocalyptic’ Underground Bunker … San Fernando Valley-based porn studio Pink Visual said the bunker is envisioned as “far more than a mere bomb shelter or subterranean survivalist enclave”, complete with a digital studio, gun racks and a rotating hydraulic stage.

Bam's terrible risk  —  Do President Obama's advisers realize they've got him frittering away the last political asset he has left?  —  As unpopular as the president's policies — and especially his results — have proved, a majority of Americans still like and, somehow, even trust him personally.

UPDATED: Right-Wing Lip Readers Take Michelle Obama Derangement Syndrome To A Whole New Level  —  UPDATE: Kristina Schake, communications director for First Lady Michelle Obama, made the following statement about these attacks: … Before today, when the right-wing media made up quotations …

Supreme Court asked to halt Texas execution  —  HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Attorneys for a Texas death row inmate are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court just hours before the man's scheduled execution.  —  Forty-eight-year-old Duane Buck is scheduled for lethal injection Thursday evening …

VIDEO: Liberty University Students Call It ‘Un-Christian’ To Allow People To Die Because They Lack Health Insurance  —  ThinkProgress filed this report from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.  —  The most distasteful moment in Monday's Republican presidential debate …

First lady makes headway calling for healthy foods  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Calorie by calorie, first lady Michelle Obama is chipping away at big portions and unhealthy food in an effort to help America slim down.  —  In the two and a half years since she announced her campaign to curb childhood obesity …

Should Faking a Name on Facebook Be a Felony?  —  Congress contemplates draconian punishment for Internet lies.  —  Imagine that President Obama could order the arrest of anyone who broke a promise on the Internet.  So you could be jailed for lying about your age or weight on an Internet dating site.