Boosted by improved public confidence in his economic stewardship, President Obama for the first time holds a clear edge over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a hypothetical general-election matchup, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

President Obama will use the backdrop of a White House science fair Tuesday to highlight a nationwide shortage of math and science teachers and unveil a plan to invest $100 million to help train 100,000 new educators over the next decade.

In many ways, President Obama is right when he calls the folks on Capitol Hill a “do-nothing Congress.” But you can’t say that about House Republicans who have marched to a steady beat in pressing legislation that would make life more difficult for federal employees.

The United States’ view of warfare has been changing.

To deter potential conflicts, the nation will have forward-based sea, air and ground forces in strategic areas around the globe. It will also retain its nuclear triad of land- and submarine-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Eagerly awaiting the results of tomorrow’s GOP nominating contests in Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota?

Not so fast.

On the eve of the trio of races, the Republican National Committee sent out a memo reminding reporters that no delegates actually will be awarded in Tuesday’s presidential caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado or in Missouri’s nonbinding presidential primary.

Newt Gingrich has dropped his Virginia quest, Michele Bachmann already found the perfect candidate, a House member was tricked by the Onion and Mitt Romney is changing targets.

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Congressional ethics investigators concluded there “is substantial reason to believe” that Florida’s Rep. Vern Buchanan, one of the top Republicans in the House, violated ethics laws by failing to report his position with a half-dozen firms, according to records released Monday.

Democrats have been saying for a long time that the House could be in play in 2012, and now some Republicans are starting to join them.

“For Democrats to take 25 seats, they will need a wave,” former congressman Tom Davis wrote in an op-ed in The Hill recently. “Continued polarization and obstruction could create such a wave.”

While Chrysler’s Super Bowl ad has become a political football, an actual campaign ad aired during the game is also causing controversy.

Michigan Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra (R) aired his first campaign ad of the cycle Sunday night, and Asian-American groups are crying foul.

Forget dieting dogs and Ferris Bueller — or Mario Manningham’s clutch catch for that matter. As far as Washington was concerned, the biggest moment in last night’s Super Bowl was that Clint Eastwood ad touting Chrysler.

There was one perfect candidate in the GOP presidential race, says Michele Bachmann.

And that candidate was Michele Bachmann.

The Minnesota congresswoman, who dropped her White House bid after placing sixth in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, told Bloomberg TV’s Al Hunt in an interview that aired over the weekend that GOP primary voters had their chance, but they missed it.

Four years ago, Mitt Romney swept Minnesota’s GOP caucuses with 41 percent to Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 22 percent.

Will the former Massachusetts governor win just as handily when Minnesota votes tomorrow?

A Chrysler ad aired during the Super Bowl Sunday night has inspired ire among some Republicans and admiration among some Democrats — with both sides seeing a political message that boosts President Obama.

Newt Gingrich predicted during a press conference following Saturday’s Nevada caucuses that he would emerge as the GOP front-runner again by the Texas primary.

The one problem with that: We have no idea when Texas will hold its primary. A spat over redistricting is likely to push it beyond its scheduled date, April 3.

More than a third of the advertising tied to the presidential race has been funded by nonprofit groups that will never have to reveal their donors, suggesting that a significant portion of the 2012 elections will be wrapped in a vast cloak of secrecy.

It’s a family affair.

Last month, Jon Huntsman’s post-campaign plans began to come into clearer focus when the Huntsman Cancer Foundation announced that the former Utah governor and ambassador to China would succeed his father, Jon Huntsman Sr., to become the organization’s new chairman.

Good news for NASA!

The Washington Post- ABC News poll released Monday contains some good news for the increasingly underfunded space agency and some excellent news for presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.