TRANSPARENCY: Congressman asks NPR for documents about its use of lobbyist in Congress.

DESPERATION: “Nonpartisan” Think Tank Goes Into the Tank for Obama in Misrepresenting Romney’s Tax Plan. I trust Obama’s “tax gurus” about as much as I trust the “economic gurus” who made the failed predictions about his failed stimulus.

Hey, let’s run that graphic one more time:

THE PROVINCES ARE STARVING, BUT THINGS ARE FINE IN CAPITAL CITY: D.C. Home Prices Reach Record High.

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: A lot went wrong at Y-12; NNSA says cameras didn’t work, guards didn’t respond. “Despite receiving numerous alarms from an array of sensors on the fence line, the plant’s protective force failed to react as protesters used bolt-cutters to cut through three fences. Even when security guards did respond, they took an excessive amount of time getting to the scene and, once there, failed to take control of the situation until a supervisor took charge and removed the protesters.”

A SOMEWHAT GLOOMY LOOK at our economic future.

A PRIMARY WIN FOR THOMPSON in Wisconsin.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Is America becoming a ‘socialist state’? 40 percent say yes.

WASHINGTON POST: Romney’s right: Obamacare cuts Medicare by $716 billion. Here’s how.

AT AMAZON, bestsellers in Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense.

PAUL RYAN TO DEMOCRATS: Admit It, I Scare The Ever-Loving Shit Out Of You, Don’t I? “I’m young, I’m handsome, I’m smart, and I’m articulate. And that scares the ever-loving shit out of you. You can pretend like you have this thing in the bag, but you know good goddamn well that this race just got real interesting, real fast.”

Sometimes, The Onion is way ahead of Politico. This is one of those times.

CHARLIE SPIERING: Campaign Roundup: With Ryan, Romney polling higher than Obama.

POINTS AND FIGURES: Mayor Bloomberg, Money and Politics. “This morning I was at a Chicago Economic Club breakfast. The two panelists were Mayor Bloomberg from NYC, and Obama’s former chief of staff, Bill Daley. It was moderated by Andrea Mitchell. That’s about as middle of the road as we get in Chicago!”

Shockingly, the discussion reflected a “deep distrust” of individuals’ ability to make their own decisions. “Bloomberg believes in centralization and crony capitalism. He came out in favor of it today.”

JIM TREACHER: And as long as we’re talking about Obama eating dogs… …let’s listen to Obama talking about eating dogs.

“The same people who chuckled indulgently at Obama reading this in 2001 are the ones condemning Romney for ‘torturing’ his dog. Fine. Let’s keep talking about it. Obama eats dogs.”

UPDATE: “That’s like this one time Obama ate a dog, only a dog actually did die in this story.”

STACY MCCAIN: Romney’s Best Speech of the Campaign. Full text at the link.

The most interesting thing about the Ryan pick, it seems to me, is how it’s changed Romney. Some Republicans won’t like this, but this reminds me of how the Gore pick seemed to re-energize a tired Bill Clinton in 1992.

Related: “Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago.”

JIM GERAGHTY: This is your choice, America: an approach that Obama’s own debt commission co-chair calls “sensible, straightforward, honest and serious” … or dog-on-the-roof jokes and an accusation of a return to slavery.

A READER EMAILS, “IT’S ALMOST LIKE THEY’RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE.” Fisker Lights Fire Under CEO Post, Hires Former Chevy Volt Head.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION: Whistle-blower, documents: Ill. state workers forced to attend Pelosi, Jesse Jackson Jr. event on taxpayer dime.

IT’S PART OF THE GENERAL TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA INTO A GIRLY-MAN NATION, PERHAPS: What Happened to America’s Dog? Pit Bulls were once loved and revered in America. How did they become so maligned in today’s society? “During the first half of the 20th century, Pit Bulls were the closest thing the United States had to a national dog. They were featured on U.S. recruiting posters in World Wars I and II, prominently featured as corporate mascots and cast as the ideal family dog in television and movies. Now the breed is demonized and battles everything from a media-driven reputation for being predators, to abuse from their owners, to legislation that seeks to outlaw their existence. How did this happen to a dog that was once America’s sweetheart?”

HMM: About that Enthusiasm Gap . . .

UPDATE: Bob Zubrin saw Paul Ryan speak in Colorado and files this report. “To say the crowd received Ryan with enthusiasm would be an understatement. In fact, his reception became literally thunderous, as many started stamping or pounding on the gym benches, and they repeated this several times when Ryan made strong points. In his talk, Ryan was all substance, avoiding cheap campaign shots yet repeatedly bringing the audience to their feet by making clear, powerful points about energy independence, the need to deregulate, fiscal soundness, the difference between a culture of self-reliance and one of dependence, and the doctrines of Natural Law and the Declaration of Independence. That’s right, he spoke about Natural Law and the origin of rights to a campaign crowd, and they got it. In fact, along with his discussion of energy independence, it was one of the two high points of the event. I can’t remember when I’ve seen a candidate address a mass audience at such a high level and pull it off. But he did.”

Plus: “Previously, the support of many Colorado Republicans for Romney had been primarily based on the fact that he wasn’t Obama. With his speech today, Ryan did a lot to change that.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Photo of the crowd waiting for Romney in Chillicothe, Ohio.

ALLEN WEST has won his primary. Pretty handily.

SORRY ABOUT THE OUTAGES: The problem is basically just that traffic has grown beyond capacity. They’ll be doing a server upgrade tonight. The RSS feed is screwed up too, for some reason. Working on that as well.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Recession Generation Opts to Rent Not Buy Houses to Cars.

Anselmo and many of his peers are wary about making large purchases after entering adulthood in the deepest recession and weakest recovery since World War II. Confronting a jobless rate above 8 percent since 2009 and student-loan debt hitting about $1 trillion, 20-to-34-year-olds are renting apartments, cars and even clothing to save money and stay flexible.

As the Great Depression shaped the attitudes of a generation from 1929 until the early years of World War II, so have the financial crisis and its aftermath affected the outlook of young consumers like Anselmo, said Cliff Zukin, a professor of public policy and political science at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey.

Not quite what some envisioned back in 2008.

FISCAL TIMES: Fact Check: Dems Lie about Ryan’s Medicare Plan.

IF SO, MAYBE IT REALLY IS INCURABLE: Is “Incurable Optimism” A Genetic Trait?

RESEARCH: What Your Favorite Music Says About You.