On the domestic front, Avent assessed the latest job numbers, Andrew hearted Barack, Sprung Obasmed everywhere, and Tumulty shared Romney's love for Teddy. Michele Bachmann undermined the GOP, a tea-partier railed against the RNC, Greenwald pwned White House reporters, and one reporter admitted as much. George Packer check in on Burma, a gay Oklahoman died mysteriously, and an MS patient was incarcerated for pot.

Erickson got a Malkin for CNN, Jay Rosen suggested reforms for the network, and Sady Doyle dissented over an ad. Creepy one here. Kick-ass compilation here, creative MHB here, clever song here, and hilarious sketch here.

Andrew explained the reason for this long post and how weekend blogging is going to change.

Butte, Montana, 10.18 am

Thursday on the Dish, Andrew tackled the Vatican at length – scrutinizing its latest attack on the NYT, explaining why reports of abuse popped up in the '60s and '70s. and analyzing why so many of the abusers appear to be gay. A reader shared a revealing experience with Ratzinger, another offered her expert opinion on girl abuse, and another put forth more evidence of a dark ancient past. Also, E.D. Kain returned fire, the John Jay authors sided with Andrew, and the Vatican invoked legal immunity.

As Palin escalated her TV career, her favorables plummeted. Reader commentary on "Drill, Barack, Drill" here and here. Related Yglesias Award here and Moore here. Unrelated Hewitts here and here and Malkins here, here, and basically here. Cool ad here. April Fools coverage here, here, and here. Awesome MHB here.

Wednesday on the Dish we watched Obama adopt "Drill Baby, Drill!" Follow-up here. In Vatican coverage, Andrew dug up previous praise for Ratzinger but took him to task for his failings. Hitch was a bit harsher. A Kentucky lawsuit took aim at the Church, June Thomas brought up the abused girls, an Italian bishop spewed some bigotry, and Bill Donohue followed suit.

Palin backed Bibi, tried to hide Willow, peeved her "guests," and got some competition in the reality-show arena.

In other coverage, Suzy Khimm noted some strides in ending DADT, Friedersdorf sounded off on gender pay, readers pounced on the "misogynist asshole," and PZ Myers challenged Andrew on Christianity. More Romney commentary here and here. Animal-suicide blogging turned into parasite blogging. Marcotte got a Moore Award. And a real-life Cartman crashed Chatroulette.

(Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

Tuesday in Vatican watch, Douthat deflected the outcry of Archbishop Dolan, Paul Moses countered George Weigel, Andrew differed with Father Brundage, victims activist David Clohessy called for disclosure, Tom McNichol compared the crisis to Watergate, a reader raised a double standard for prison rape, and another asserted that abuse has gone undetected for centuries.

In other coverage, Obama hugged Romney tight, Friedersdorf instructed us not to donate to the RNC, Erickson faced the music on CNN, Ravitch graded the president, David Corn revisited Bush's war rhetoric, and Larison danced on the grave of the UK special relationship. Brooks and Andrew heralded marriage, Bella DePaulo differed, Kate Pickert killed the buzz over preexisting conditions, and TNC talked video games.

Readers continued the feminist threats on stripping and salary. Another alerted us to April 19. Tax-blogging here, here, and here. Beard-blogging here and here. Blog-blogging here. Winnie the Poof met Alien, Obama looked at awesome things, and LBJ said "bunghole." Adorable animals here, badass ones here, and suicidal ones here.

Get your civic asset forfeiture fix here.

Monday on the Dish we kept up our coverage of the Vatican crisis. The big news was the Legionaries of Christ condemning its founder, Marcial Maciel, for his long history of abuse. Theocons such as George Weigel continued to defend the Church and cast blame on the media – a strategy not unlike Palin's. Meanwhile, David Link got to the crux of the crisis.

In Dennis Ross coverage, Andrew defended Rozen's post against Goldblog, Steinglass countered Andrew, and Exum added two cents. Mario Loyola ventured that Israel has no real desire for a two-state solution, Andrew pointed out a potential UN veto on settlements, and a reader dissented over Andrew's analysis.

In other coverage, Musings In Iraq assessed the elections, Andrew reacted to the Christian militia story, Podhoretz and Hinderaker fawned over Palin, Kristol invoked the blowback argument, and Murdoch readied the paywall. Jill Lepore discussed the futility of marriage counseling, Ricky Martin came out, Iceland banned strippers, and readers responded to the gender wage gap.

More AEI-gate here. A fascinating photo series here, fart blogging here, and more animal-suicide blogging here. Weekend coverage here.

— C.B.