These guys are incredibly brave. Painting the lines as Manhattan traffic zips by.

The full list of material cited on tonight's show will appear here later, but for now here are the links Rachel mentioned specifically:

December 14, 2008 - President Bush and Iraq Prime Minister Maliki Sign the Strategic Framework Agreement and Security Agreement

Party Polarization: 1879 - 2010

Ok, here we go. The full list:

President Bush and Iraq Prime Minister Maliki Sign the Strategic Framework Agreement and Security Agreement

How It Went Down

McCain discovers a distaste for ‘politicization’

McCain’s terror errors

Cheney says ‘wrong choice’ would risk attack

Income Inequality and the Great Recession (pdf)

Party Polarization: 1879 - 2010

Income Inequality and Political Polarization 1947-2009

The Purpose of Spectacular Wealth, According to a Spectacularly Wealthy Guy

Santorum wins Louisiana, flexing Southern muscle

Ron Paul supporters dominate Louisiana's Republican presidential caucuses

State GOP's caucus picks leave Romney slate slighted

Romney Wins Iowa Caucus by 8 Votes

Santorum wins Iowa, officially

Ron Paul backers sweep into GOP party roles in Iowa

Politico Mistakes State Flag for Union Flag, Idiocy Ensues

About That New Obama Slogan

New Obama slogan has long ties to Marxism, socialism

Mao, Lenin and a century of Marxist radicals: The controversial origins of Obama's new campaign slogan 'Forward'

In the course of being side-tracked while helping to do some research for yesterday's show, I learned that the above is called a Beam Splice Moment Connection.

Moment connection? Like eyes that meet across the subway platform?

No, but....

Moment is a mechanical engineer's word for torque, although it has a little bit different meaning in the mechanical context. Cribbing from Wikipedia:

The definition of torque states that one or both of the angular velocity or the moment of inertia of an object are changing. And moment is the general term used for the tendency of one or more applied forces to rotate an object about an axis, but not necessarily to change the angular momentum of the object (the concept which in physics is called torque).

So the joint above is meant to secure two beams against twisting forces.

Forces acting to twist or turn an object are called a couple. A couple, even a "simple couple" of just two forces, produces a* "pure moment." And so two beams are joined at a moment connection to resist the tendency of a couple to turn them through a pure moment.

Does this sound as romantic to those of you who actually use these terms on a regular basis as it does to me?

___________

*Is it "a" pure moment or just pure moment? The way moment, torque and couple are used to define each other makes it hard for the layman to break in.

The American Family Association's Bryan Fischer has a new and typically innovative theory about the motivations of President Obama. To wit (with our own annotations):

"And I believe I understand now what Barack Obama is about.1 And it is intentional, it is not ineptitude on his part,2 it is intentional and his mission in life is to punish the United States for being a racist country.3 That's what drives him, it's what animates him, it's what energizes every single thing he does4 to punish this country, to cut it down to size, to wound it, to hurt it, to damage it, to diminish it in order to punish the United States for being a racist country.5

To Barack Obama, the entire United States of America is one big, giant Ku Klux Klan6 and the Constitution, for Barack Obama, is the membership charter for this giant Ku Klux Klan7 ... And I honestly believe8 that this is how Barack Obama sees the United States of America; one big, giant Ku Klux Klan meeting9 and it's his job to punish the Ku Klux Klan, which is the United States of America in his worldview."10

1 — i.e. I've spent weeks thinking up something even less reality-based than my previous crack-pottery.
2 — Not ineptitude? Bryan Fischer, I'm starting to question your commitment to this cause…
3 — A country so racist, that it would elect someone named Barack Hussein Obama to be its president. Possibly twice.
4 — Drives, animates, energizes---Roget's Thesaurus salutes your use of active synonymous verbs, sir!
5 — Look at what he wears. Look at his family. Listen to how he speaks. Clearly Barack Obama is a rage-filled instrument of pure vengeance.
6 — This info will come as a HUGE surprise to the millions of non white male protestants who live in this country. Bit of a membership shocker for the Klan, too, I suspect.
7 — He must have learned that in one of those radical liberal civics madrassas used to indoctrinate Hawaiian kids.
8 — When people say, "I honestly believe" -- they honestly don't.
9 —Does he mean a big giant meeting of the Klan or a meeting of big giant Klansmen? Giant Klansmen—now there's a Marvel comics villain. Avengers Assemble!
10 —And how does he punish the Klan? By passing health care and killing Osama bin Laden. BAM! Want some more? Huh? Huh….?

Tonight's guests include:

Dr. Paul Krugman, Nobel prize winning economist, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, Princeton professor and author of the new book “End This Depression Now!”

Steve Clemons, Washington editor at large for The Atlantic, editor of the Washington Note and editor in chief of Atlantic Live

While watching tonight's video preview, take a listen to tonight's soundtrack. (Just be sure to allow the ad below to play out entirely before starting the song)

Executive producer Bill Wolff shares a preview of tonight's show:

Today President Obama honored the contributions, triumphs, and wisdom of older Americans, proclaiming May Older Americans Month. He said:

Our seniors have devoted their entire lives to building the future their children and grandchildren deserve. During Older Americans Month, we celebrate their successes and recommit to supporting them as they shape America's next great generation.

Since his election, President Obama has worked to ensure that the needs and concerns of older Americans are a focus of his administration. To that end, seniors have seen legislation like the Affordable Care Act close prescription drug loopholes and provide for free preventive care; the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $1.3 billion to ensure the health and independence of seniors; and of course, the administration remains committed to strengthening Medicare and protecting Social Security.

Read the entire presidential proclamation here.

Suwin Chan writes from Westerly, Rhode Island:

On a recent show, Rachel described how booms don't work so well in trapping spilled oil. Please let her know that booms do work perfectly well... you just have to use them for the right purpose!

[Saturday] they worked perfectly in trapping 20,000 rubber duckies swimming down the Pawcatuck River during the 14th annual duck race in Westerly, RI.

The race benefits the schools and local nonprofits, who get $2.85 for each duck they sell.

(We love getting pictures from where you live -- send more, please.)

This November, something no woman should have to ask for, much less fight for—equal pay—is at stake.

Last month, a study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research found that on average, women earn 77 cents to every dollar earned by men. In some industries, the disparities are greater still: Women make between 55 and 62 cents for each dollar their male counterparts do.

Equal pay isn't just a women's issue. It's good for families, and it's good for our economy as a whole. President Obama knows that, and upon taking office, he signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. The law is named after an Alabama woman who worked at a tire factory for 17 years but was denied the pay that her male counterparts received. Ledbetter took her fight all the way to the Supreme Court, but it wasn't till President Obama's signature put her name in the history books that she received some measure of justice.

The fact that the Lilly Ledbetter Act was the first law of his presidency sent an unmistakable signal that in President Obama, American women have a leader who is fighting on their behalf every single day.

But this November, something no woman should have to ask for, much less fight for—equal pay—is at stake as voters face a choice between, as DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz puts it, "a guy who gets it and a guy who doesn’t." The Republicans' presumptive nominee, Mitt Romney, won't say whether he would have voted for basic legislation that would ensure women earn equal pay for equal work. And to add insult to injury, over the weekend, a top Republican strategist dismissed the issue entirely, saying it's just not true that women are paid less than men.

Lilly Ledbetter has a few words for these Republican men:

"It’s condescending, and it’s insulting.

"It’s unfortunate that Romney and the Republicans want to dismiss the facts and write their own version of reality. But I will tell you what reality looks like: Reality is when a woman works day in and day out just as hard as everybody else but makes just 77 percent of what her co-workers make because of the mere fact that she is a woman."

For Ledbetter—and the thousands of women who share a similar story—the choice in this election is clear. It's up to all of us to support President Obama and the policies that make a difference in the lives of women across the country. Sign up to volunteer here.

Today's edition of quick hits:

* President Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan today, and in Kabul, signed "a strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan meant to mark the beginning of the end of a war that has lasted for more than a decade."

* Also note, Obama will deliver a national address this evening from Bagram Air Base. It will air at 7:30 p.m. eastern.

* Ohio plot thwarted: "Five men described by federal authorities as anarchists who were angry with corporate America and the government have been charged with plotting to bomb an Ohio bridge. The men were arrested Monday night after unknowingly working with an FBI informant for months."

* Speaking of thwarted plots, Adis Medunjanin was convicted today on "a host of terrorism charges on Tuesday for participating in a plot led by Al Qaeda to stage suicide attacks in the New York subways."

* Murdoch's media scandal: "A startlingly damning report on the hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers concluding that Mr. Murdoch was 'not a fit person' to run a huge international company threatens bruising divisions within the [British] political establishment."

* The Dow Jones industrial average has closed at its highest level in more than four years.

* Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) has reportedly been cleared of allegations of insider trading by a congressional ethics panel.

* President Obama will welcome the University of Kentucky's NCAA championship men's basketball team to the White House on Friday. He invited Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to participate, but McConnell turned the president down.

* And following Mitt Romney's cheap shot yesterday, James Fallows offers some worthwhile context to former President Jimmy Carter's background.

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.

Today's sign that the recall election of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is as much about national politics as politics in Wisconsin comes from state Democrats' "Pocket Change" ad. Verbate:

"Equality? A dollar for him, 77 cents for her. Republicans say it's because money is more important for men. Even though she does the same work as him, she gets 23 percent less. And until Scott Walker's out of office, Wisconsin can't do anything about it."

Governor Walker signed away workers' right to sue in state court over unfair wages. The reference to money mattering more for men comes from Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman. He told the Daily Beast last month: "You could argue that money is more important for men. I think a guy in their first job, maybe because they expect to be a breadwinner someday, may be a little more money-conscious."

Just two weeks ago, the Romney campaign hired Richard Grenell to serve as the Republican's spokesperson on foreign policy. And while this isn't ordinarily a high-profile position, the decision proved to be problematic for a couple of reasons.

From the left, Grenell proved to be controversial because of a series of social-media messages that targeted women in politics and media with sexist language. From the right, Grenell was criticized for being gay, which some religious right activists found outrageous because, well, they just don't like gay people.

Today, Jennifer Rubin reports that Grenell has been "hounded from the Romney campaign by anti-gay conservatives," just two weeks after joining Team Romney.

Pieces in two conservative publications, the National Review and Daily Caller, reflected the uproar by some social conservatives over the appointment. [...]

The ongoing pressure from social conservatives over his appointment and the reluctance of the Romney campaign to send Grenell out as a spokesman while controversy swirled left Grenell essentially with no job.

The larger significance of this is what it tells us about Romney's relative weakness in the face of pressure from his base. The former governor hired a qualified former Bush administration official; the right said gay people are bad people; so Romney quickly accepted his own staffer's resignation, despite the fact that the aide had done nothing wrong on the job. Romney was comfortable with Grenell's misogynistic tweets before getting the job, but uncomfortable with anti-gay animus from the right after Grenell was already on the job.

If Romney had more courage, he would have stood by his staffer, and told the religious right to get over it. But since that backbone doesn't exist, and Romney's afraid social conservatives' hatred of the president won't be enough on Election Day, Grenell gets to experience firsthand Romney's fondness for firing people who provide services for him.

For more on Grenell's background, here's a segment we aired after he got the job.

Update: Romney aides have since told Rubin that the campaign urged Grenell not to resign. This seems hard to believe -- he was on the job for 10 days, during which time, as Rubin reported, the campaign "did not put Grenell out to comment on national security matters and did not use him on a press foreign policy conference call. Despite the controversy in new media and in conservative circles, there was no public statement of support for Grenell by the campaign and no supportive social conservatives were enlisted to calm the waters."

As Ed Kilgore joked, "Whatever. It doesn’t much matter if Grenell was fired or was made so uncomfortable that he decided to 'self-deport.'"

Charlie Rose asked Mitt Romney this morning about the likelihood of a negative campaign through the fall. The presumptive Republican nominee offered an interesting response.

For those who can't watch clips online, Romney said:

"I think what you've seen so far with the president and I won't rehearse all of the attacks, but you began with Romney wouldn't have gone after Osama bin Laden. These silly kinds of attacks, it's like, what has that got to do with getting our economy going?

"Of course, I would have taken out Osama bin Laden, but what's the right course for the economy? What should we do with taxes? What should we do with regulation? What should we do with trade overseas? What should we do with our energy policy? How about our labor policy? These are important issues people care about."

I haven't seen a full transcript of the interview, so in fairness to Rose, I don't know what follow-up questions were asked, if any. But I have a few of my own for Romney:

* When you say you're focused on "important issues people care about," why do you exclude counter-terrorism? Do you believe targeting the al Qaeda leader behind 9/11 is an unimportant issue people don't care about?

* When you said four years ago that an Obama victory would be "a surrender to terror," do you still think that was a sensible argument?

* When you say "of course" you would have launched the raid on bin Laden, do you realize that completely contradicts your campaign promises from four years ago? And do you understand the complexities and enormous risks of the decision itself?

* When you decided to visit New York firefighters today with Rudy Giuliani, are we to think this wasn't a political move associated with the one-year anniversary of killing bin Laden?

* Republicans politicized the fear of terrorism in several recent election cycles. Why didn't you complain then? And do you recognize a qualitative difference between politicizing fear and politicizing a victory?

Inquiring minds want to know.

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued the following statement on May 2012 being the seventh Jewish American Heritage Month:

"This May, as we celebrate the seventh annual Jewish American Heritage Month, we recognize the many contributions of the Jewish community to our great nation. The American Jewish community has a longstanding history of active involvement in policy and politics, as our tradition guides us on issues ranging from foreign policy, to energy and climate change, to our support for the health and social safety net. Our community’s values like tzedakah and tikkun olam have become a natural extension of our civic lives.

“It is this enduring commitment to social justice that makes the Democratic Party the political home of the American Jewish community. As Democrats and as Jews, we have much to be proud of in President Obama, who honors our community’s historic contributions to America’s cultural fabric as he prioritizes and embodies the values and policies we hold dear. From passing the Affordable Care Act and ardently protecting a woman’s right to choose; to standing up for women’s equality with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act; to tirelessly advocating for student loan reform to invest in our children’s future; to bolstering America’s special bond with Israel through diplomatic, financial, and military support – President Obama’s priorities are our priorities, too.

"This May, as we celebrate and honor all our community has contributed to our national story, we rededicate ourselves to making the world a better place.”

The FBI arrested five suspects last night in what law enforcement describes as a plot to blow up a bridge near Cleveland today. The local Cleveland Scene screengrabs some of their Facebook pages, including the one belonging to Douglas Wright, above.

On the right, the arrests are showing up as a case of "Occupy Leaders" gone way wrong. And it's true that you can find a couple of the suspects had been called Occupy organizers, in a Tumblr post and in this local report. Setting aside that Occupy is leaderless by design, these guys don't seem to have found fertile ground for destruction.

From the FBI affidavit:

WRIGHT firrther stated that there were not enough anarchists in Cleveland to do what he wanted to do and that more people would be needed in order to help confuse and   deter law enforcement. WRIGHT talked about how in other cities anarchists form a large crowd and the outer ring of the crowd will cause damage and riot. When the police show up, the outer ring merges into the center of the group and the center moves to the outside. This technique is called a "Black Block" and is designed to make it difficult for law enforcement to figure out who to arrest. WRIGHT said not enough people are in Cleveland to conduct this type of riot.

Occupy Cleveland has responded to the news by canceling a May Day demonstration. Minutes ago, the Occupy Cleveland posted this on Facebook:

While the group arrested Monday evening by the FBI were associated with Occupy Cleveland they were in no way representing or acting on behalf of Occupy Cleveland or the event that was planned for later today at the GE Lighting building. The May Day Event that was sponsored by Occupy Cleveland, the North Shore AFL-CIO, Cleveland Jobs with Justice, Fight for a Fair Economy and SEIU Local 1 has been cancelled because of the alleged actions of the autonomous group arrested last night. Occupy Cleveland has had affirmed principles of non-violence since its inception on October 6, 2011.

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) caused a stir recently when he accused dozens of House Democrats of being secret members of the Communist Party. In his latest Facebook message, however, the right-wing congressman has a new label in mind.

Apparently complaining about Democratic efforts to keep student loan interest rates low, West complains that "President Barack Hussein Obama" is "bribing" voters. The Republican lawmaker added, "This is so reminiscent of the Twilight Zone episode 'To Serve Man'. Obama and his liberal progressive disciples are the modern day Kanamits."

And what, pray tell, are Kanamits? Tim Murphy had this helpful report:

What is a Kanamit? The Broward–Palm Beach New Times helpfully informs us that the Kanamit were "a race of nine-foot-tall aliens that come to Earth and cure famine, blight, and nuclear warfare." But that was all just a ruse for their real goal: "their kindness is really just a not-very-elaborate ruse to fatten up the human race so they can be carted back to the Kanamit home planet to be eaten. A Kanamit book called To Serve Man that was discovered by the humans turns out not to be about helping man at all -- it's a cookbook." It's people!

It was also the basis for a fun Halloween episode of "The Simpsons" a while back.

In any case, Allen West sees giant aliens intent on eating humans and draws a parallel to the president and congressional Democrats.

No word on whether West believes the Kanamits were also secret communists.

The theme is about giving voters a choice of directions.

When the Obama campaign unveiled a seven-minute video yesterday, making the case for the president's re-election, it also unveiled a new theme: "Forward." For those of us at MSNBC, the choice of words seemed pretty familiar.

But we were hardly the only ones. Zeke Miller highlighted all kinds of groups, outlets, and organizations that have also put "forward" to good use. It's also a common position in many team sports. It's even Wisconsin's official state motto.

But as Todd Gregory noted, some on the right have found a hidden socialist plot. No, seriously.

National Review's The Corner: "I knew that sounded awfully familiar. From Wikipedia: Vorwarts ("Forward") was the central organ of the Social Democratic Party of Germany published daily in Berlin from 1891 to 1933."

Daily Mail: "Mao, Lenin and a century of Marxist radicals: The controversial origins of Obama's new campaign slogan 'Forward'"

The Washington Times: "New Obama slogan has long ties to Marxism, socialism"

For the record, as best as I can tell, none of these pieces were published as satire, or presented as arguments to make conservatives appear foolish.

When voters see "forward," the Obama campaign wants them to think about progress, advancement, and aspirations. When the right sees "forward," they think about secret communist propaganda.

And people wonder why our public discourse is so stunted.

But the significance of Obama's new theme, at least for me, is the way in which it sets up a contrast with the president's Republican rival. After all, what's the opposite of "forward"?

Team Obama is eager to push the message that Mitt Romney would take the country backward, effectively representing a third Bush term.

Ezra Klein today touches on a point we've been discussing for weeks: it's easy to make this case against Romney, because the former governor has surrounded himself with members of Bush's team.

Last week, when CNN asked House Speaker John Boehner whom Mitt Romney, the likely GOP presidential nominee, should choose as his vice presidential running mate, he named Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Daniels and Portman served as budget directors in the Bush White House. Perhaps more surprising, a variety of big-name Republicans have openly yearned for Jeb Bush to get the nod -- and before that, to run for the nomination itself.

Meanwhile, Romney's campaign staff is thick with Bush administration veterans. Two of his economic advisers -- N. Greg Mankiw and Glenn Hubbard -- served as chief economists for Bush. His policy director, Lanhee Chen, worked on health policy in the Bush White House.

Ezra didn't even mention Romney's foreign policy team, led in part by John Bolton (Bush's U.N. ambassador) and Den Senor (Bush's media guy in Iraq in 2003).

That's why the president and his team in Chicago are going with "forward" -- not just because it's aspirational, but because the alternative, they'd argue, is to go back to the same Republican team and agenda that failed so spectacularly in the last decade.

It's not a secret communist plot; it's a message intended to give voters a choice between progress and regress.

Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) raised an astonishing $13 million in just three months for his recall campaign. That's almost on par with some presidential candidates.

* President Obama's campaign unveiled its second television ad this morning, which makes use of Mitt Romney's Swiss bank account. The spot will air in Ohio, Iowa and Virginia, beginning today.

* Romney will campaign with Rudy Giuliani today, which I'm sure has nothing to do with the anniversary of the bin Laden killing, and will feature no references to 9/11.

* The political action committee backing Sen. Richard Lugar in Indiana's Republican U.S. Senate primary has decided to give up with just a week to go. State Treasurer Richard Mourdock now appears favored to win.

* Newt Gingrich has announced that he will announce his departure from the presidential race.

* Though the Obama campaign voluntarily chooses to disclose all of its fundraising bundlers, the Romney campaign has decided to keep bundlers' names secret.

* And in Massachusetts, Sen. Scott Brown (R) has decided to make a campaign issue out of Elizabeth Warren's Native American heritage. I'm not sure why or what point voters are supposed to take away from this, but Brown's team seemed pretty worked up yesterday.

In 2009, President Obama issued a proclamation establishing May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to celebrate the culture, traditions and history of AAPI communities. The Democratic National Committee released the following statements today honoring AAPI Heritage Month and the President’s positive impact on AAPI communities:

Statement from DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz:

“Throughout this month, we honor the important contributions of AAPI communities to our national identity. From Hawaii’s plantations to America’s railroads to our vibrant Chinatowns and Japantowns, we recognize the role that AAPIs have played and will continue to play in American history. Members of AAPI communities across the country have given so much for our great nation, having suffered and sacrificed along the way. They have worked to achieve the American Dream and continue to invest in building a prosperous future for our country.

“We have seen significant progress under President Obama’s policies with respect to improving the lives of AAPIs nationwide. We’ve helped 7.6 million AAPI workers keep more money in their pockets, provided $7 billion and counting in loans to AAPI small business owners, and signed into law 18 different tax cuts for AAPI-owned small businesses. Through the Affordable Care Act, we have expanded access to preventive care and treatment and improved language access. The President appointed three AAPI members to his Cabinet, and he has doubled the number of AAPIs on the federal bench. While we’re proud of all that we have achieved, we also know there is more work to do. That’s why it is absolutely critical that we re-elect President Obama in November and continue to move our country forward, giving AAPIs and all Americans a fair shot at the American Dream.”

Statement from DNC Vice Chair Mike Honda:

“This Heritage Month, we are reminded of our hard-fought progress through the decades, and certainly in the last four years since President Obama’s historic election. Let us celebrate the progress we’ve made with AAPI communities and work together to eliminate disparities that negatively impact AAPIs. President Obama understands the diverse challenges our AAPI communities face. He reinstated the White House Initiative on AAPIs and the Advisory Commission on AAPIs, which have provided a constant voice connecting AAPI communities with federal agencies.

“We must not backslide from what we have accomplished for AAPI students, families, seniors and small businesses. We certainly need four more years to continue that work. In 2008, AAPI voters turned out in record numbers to vote for the President. With all that’s at stake, we will aim to have AAPI voters break records again in support of the President and Democrats running for Congress. There is too much at stake, and we need to support our President who will keep fighting to increase opportunities for AAPIs and all Americans.”

Statement from Bel Leong-Hong, Chair of the DNC Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus:

“For more than two centuries, Democrats have represented the interests of working families, representing values – hard work, equality and opportunity – shared by AAPIs. As we celebrate another Heritage Month, we should also look to the political empowerment that will move AAPIs and all Americans forward. I look forward to AAPIs helping re-elect President Obama and elect the record number of AAPIs running for public office. It’s crucial that AAPIs continue to support Democratic candidates who advocate for our issues and struggles. We need to support the President, maintain the Democratic majority in the Senate, and retake the majority in the House because there is still more work to do for AAPIs and all Americans.”