FEELING THE HEAT: David Axelrod Bails on Bill Maher. “Maher has come under fire for calling Sarah Palin a ‘c**t’ during his stand-up act and a ‘dumb tw**t’ on his HBO show, among other sexist comments. . . . On Thursday, The Daily Caller reported that the Alabama Democratic Party had scrubbed its website of an announcement for its upcoming fundraiser headlined by Maher.”

A NEW ADVERTISER for Rush Limbaugh. This seems like a smart way to capitalize on listener loyalty.

MICHAEL BARONE: Pundits gasp as economy dents Obama’s poll numbers. “The media narrative for the last four weeks has been that the president’s job approval has been rising in response to good economic news. But the economic news has not been all that striking.”

I don’t think it’s just the economy. I think it’s the increasingly up-front meanness, which contradicts the brand of 2008.

THE MACHINERY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: From Public Morality Play to Hidden Plea Bargaining Machine.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE BATTLE brews in Massachusetts. Well, they can always pledge allegiance to this flag without worrying about similar objections.

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WHO SHOW UP: Radical Feminists: Shakers Without The Furniture?

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Career Lies My Graduate School Told Me. It’s not just law schools that have to worry: “Although the lawsuits seem somewhat quixotic right now, if they succeed in pressuring schools to provide more detailed information about how their graduates perform in the job market (and maybe even prompt some schools to issue tuition rebates as part of broader settlements), the legal action could reverberate well beyond law. The next target could well be university graduate programs that for years have been producing Master’s and PhD grads for whom there is little or no gainful employment. Programs in fields like the humanities, where some professors claim schools have been misleading students for 40 years about job prospects, or grad schools in disappearing fields like journalism, might suddenly find themselves ripe for similar suits.”

DID THE WEAK DOLLAR cause the Great Recession?

INSIDE THE BELTWAY: Drivers fume as local gas prices break the $4 barrier. “Gas prices are soaring past $4 in the District, and they’re not expected to drop anytime soon, leaving Washingtonians to think about changing their driving habits and maybe their votes. . . . AAA Mid-Atlantic’s John Townsend said local prices are even higher because five Northeast U.S. refineries shut down in the last two years.” I wonder what could have caused that?

JAMES TARANTO: Where’s The Afterglow: Sex Doesn’t Sell Barack Obama. “By 51% to 40%, respondents think employers should be permitted to opt out. By 57% to 36%, they think religiously affiliated employers should be permitted to opt out. That is, a majority agree with the Blunt Amendment, while barely a third agree with the supposedly winning Obama position.”

#BLUEFAIL: California: The Sick Man Of America. “In 2011, more businesses (254) quit California than the year before (202), which was a high-water mark over 2009 (51). Last year, roughly five businesses left in any given week, one more than left in each week of 2010 when the average was 3.9.”

#GREENFAIL: Dan Akerson Says First Year Sales Of Volt As Good As Prius, Grows Long Nose. “In the first year, the Volt sold half of what the Prius had sold in the first year. And that in a market twice the size. It gets worse. . . . In the first year, the Volt sold half of what the Prius had sold in the first year. And that at a time when gasoline did cost twice as much as when the Prius was launched.”

Plus, how to offer a lame excuse that’s not a lie.

ANNALS OF THE ONE PERCENT (CONT’D): Biden hails middle class at wealthy fundraiser. “Vice President Joe Biden addressed 87 wealthy Democrats last night attending a fundraiser at the home of Sen. John Kerry in Georgetown. As they dined on grass-fed New York strip steaks and white truffle mashed potatos underneath a outdoor tent, Biden criticized Republicans for being out of touch. . . . 87 guests paid a minimum of $10,000-per-couple to attend the dinner.”

SOPA FALLOUT: Nobody in Congress all that interested in new “anti-piracy” legislation. Until after the election, anyway. Keep an eye on them.

JEFF CARTER: What Do You Invest In Today?

People who bought politicians seem to be getting a good return.

SHOCKER: Democrats Face Ideological House Primaries.

DOG BITES MAN: A double standard at the New York Times.

WISCONSIN: “It’s a shame activist Dane County judges continue to stand in the way of common sense.”

THEY CHOSE. . . POORLY: Limbaugh Will Not Forgive Or Negotiate With Companies That Pulled Advertising.

JENNIFER GRANHOLM: “Guys, I’m thinking it’s hard for you to imagine what it’s like to have your most private decisions made for you. By women.”

You mean like needing your wife’s permission for a vasectomy?

UPDATE: A reader emails: “Yeah, my doc wanted to know that my wife was on board with severing all prospects of intramarital impregnation. So remind me … do abortion clinics need the guy’s consent before they terminate the end product?”

Nope. That would be sexist.

TEN YEARS AGO ON INSTAPUNDIT: “WANT A NATIONAL ID? Remember, it will be administered by the same people who just approved Mohammed Atta’s application to go to flight school. Just last week. No, really.”

J.D. JOHANNES: I Am Optimistic About Afghanistan.

AT AMAZON, coupons galore.

SHOCKER: Slut-Gate Hypocrisy: Explosive Audio of NBC’s Al Sharpton Trashing ‘Homos,’ ‘Chinamen,’ and ‘Crackers.’

READER BRIAN KUHN WRITES:

On one of the hottest days in stocks so far in 2012…

Carbonite, Inc. tanks again.

Idiots.

Indeed.

UPDATE: Check out this chart comparing Carbonite with the Dow, courtesy of reader Dave Converse.