• Romney Court Could Turn America Into A Tea Party Utopia: Experts 
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Tim Jost, a liberal law professor at Washington & Lee University, warns that the Roberts Court has already, to a still unknown extent, limited Washington’s authority over federal-state programs and the regulation of interstate commerce. [....] But Jost doubts that a Romney-shaped Court would rapidly make radical changes. “I suppose it’s conceivable that we would go back to a sort of Ayn Rand situation where Congress really had no power to do anything but provide for the national defense and a few other specifically enumerated powers in the Constitution,” he said. “But boy that would be a radical change. I don’t know if we’re getting there anytime soon.”      View blog reactions

• • Obama: Ayn Rand Is For Misunderstood Teenagers 
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Paul Ryan  | In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, President Obama said Ayn Rand's writings are appealing to those who are "17 or 18 and feeling misunderstood." But "as we get older," he said, people recognize its "narrow vision."      View blog reactions

• • Paul Ryan Hits Back At Catholic Critics Of His Budget 
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Atheism  |Capitalism  |Paul Ryan  |Inaccurate  | Ahead of Ryan’s speech, 90 faculty members at Catholic-affiliated Georgetown wrote a letter lambasting Ryan for “continuing misuse of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates food programs for struggling families,” among other things. “In short, your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ,” they wrote. In a sign that the criticism bruised Ryan, he proceeded to label his well-documented affinity for Rand an “urban legend” in an interview with National Review published Thursday, saying he rejects her “atheist philosophy.” He did not, however, comment on Rand’s anti-government views that more closely reflect his political philosophy.      View blog reactions