From the Center for American Progress, a special report on The Power of the President: Concentrating on executive powers presents a real opportunity for the Obama administration to turn its focus away from a divided Congress and the unappetizing process of making legislative sausage. Dan Froomkin on how Obama can pursue an ambitious agenda without Congress's help. A review of Bought and Paid For: The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street by Charles Gasparino. Still the best Congress money can buy: Two years after the economic meltdown, most Americans now recognize a caste system where everyone remains (at best) mired in economic stasis except the very wealthiest sliver. Let’s try to get more precise: America’s super rich aren’t "buying" our elections, they’re making an "investment" in prosperity — their own. Ezra Klein on the political psychology of Mitch McConnell — and the rest of us. Destroying the Village: Just how far will Republicans go in opposing Obama? John Dean on the Tea Party's apparent willingness to shut down the federal government and what the consequences may be. A review of The Whites of Their Eyes: the Tea Party’s Revolution and the Battle Over American History by Jill Lepore. An interview with Matt Taibbi on deluded Tea Partiers, Ayn Rand and how the U.S. is like the Soviet Union (and more and more on Griftopia). Why do Americans keep getting suckered by right-wing lies?
