Frank James

A 204 vote lead may not be much when nearly 1.5 million people cast votes.

But it was enough for the Democratic candidate in a nationally watched contest for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat to declare victory after all precincts were finally counted Wednesday.

JoAnne Kloppenberg, an assistant attorney, claimed victory in her race against Republican incumbent Justice David Prosser that was partly seen as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker.

You wouldn't necessarily expect a Republican messaging strategist to give NPR talking points to defend itself against the House Republican effort to defund the public radio network.

In yet another attempt to avert a partial shutdown of the federal government that could could start as early as Saturday, President Obama has invited Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to the White House for a Wednesday evening meeting to try and reach a spending deal.

In case anyone still harbors the hope that President Obama will, in his bid for re-election, ditch Vice President Biden despite the president in the past giving every indication that he won't, NPR's Peter Overby sends this note:

So much for the Dump Biden movement. Obama's statement of candidacy, filed Monday at the FEC, includes both Obama & Biden on the candidate line. And both [electronically] signed it.

Maybe the Obama Administration is trying to scare Americans into pressuring House Republicans reach a budget deal for the rest of the year by outlining the potential affects of a government shutdown.

If that's the case, they've picked some truly effective examples.

One that leaps out immediately. Members of the U.S. armed services would not receive paychecks.

Servicemembers would still be credited for the pay due which they would receive in future checks. But they wouldn't be paid during the time of the shutdown.

Many people probably don't realize that members of Congress can raise unlimited cash for state redistricting efforts.

I know I didn't. Somehow I missed the Federal Elections Commission opinion issued nearly a year ago that members of Congress can raise unregulated cash for this purpose.

The FEC reasoned that since the money wasn't being raised for elections, it didn't fall under federal campaign money limits.

Richard Florida, a thinker who ponders many subjects, including demographic trends, makes a fascinating if controversial observation. Conservative states seem to be becoming even more so. And that seems to be linked to growing conservatism among Americans in those states at the relatively lower end of the income ladder.

He writes in a blog post on The Atlantic web site:

There are just two weeks left before the latest temporary spending legislation under which the federal government is now operating ends and Democrats and Republicans seem no closer to an agreement on a budget for the rest of the year than before.

The latest news reports suggest that the odds of a government shutdown have risen significantly even though both sides have said such a disruption of government services is the last thing they want to happen.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike, as well as journalists, have asked White House officials: why doesn't President Obama address the nation about Libya?

The president has heard those calls. The White House said late Friday Obama will speak Monday evening.

Their news release:

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has been drawing heavy criticism for his frequent flights to political events on his state's Cessna Citation jet.

Barbour and his aides have defended the Republican governor who's considering a presidential run by saying that he's conducting the state's business on these trips.

And Barbour defended himself more Friday by telling an Associated Press reporter he's not doing anything much differently than his Democratic predecessor in the Magnolia State's governor's mansion.

Americans tend not to pay as much attention to Canadian affairs as they probably should.

So it will no doubt come as a surprise to many below the 49th Parallel that the Canadian government was in trouble.

That's actually putting it mildly. Canada's coalition minority government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper actually fell Friday, losing a historic no-confidence vote, requiring new elections that will likely be held May 2. It will be the fourth election in seven years.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has drawn significant attention lately because of her travels to places like South Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire that will presumably play important roles in deciding who the Republican presidential nominee will be. (That New Hampshire trip didn't turn out so well, as you'll recall.)

At the one-year anniversary of President Obama's signing of the Affordable Healthcare Act, perhaps the truest thing that can be said is the healthcare overhaul remains controversial and confusing.

Usually a year's passage brings greater clarity to an issue. But one year on it seems there are more questions than answers.

In part, that's because various pieces of the law take effect over several years. In part, it's because of the legal challenges likely to only be resolved when the Supreme Court decides the constitutionality of the law.