Court's health ruling could shake fall elections

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is likely to shake the presidential election race in early summer. But the winners in the court will not necessarily be the winners in the political arena.

No doubt, a decision to throw out the entire law would be a defeat for Obama. His judgment and leadership, even his reputation as a former constitutional law professor, would be called into question for pushing through a contentious and partisan health insurance overhaul only to see it declared unconstitutional by the court.

But it would not spell certain doom for his re-election. In fact, it would end the GOP argument that a Republican president must be elected to guarantee repeal of the law. It also could re-energize liberals, shift the spotlight onto insurance companies and reignite a debate about how to best provide health care.

If the court upholds the law, Obama would be vindicated legally. Republican constitutional criticisms would be undercut because five of the nine justices were nominated by Republican presidents.

But opposition would intensify in the political world. Without legal recourse, Republicans would gain new energy to argue that the only path to kill the law would be to elect a Republican president and enough GOP candidates to control the House and Senate. They might be wary of promising overnight repeal because a filibuster-proof Senate majority seems beyond their reach in the November election.

Central to the dispute over the law is a provision that requires individuals to have health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. Polls show that this mandate is opposed by 3 of 5 Americans. Among Republicans, calls for its repeal are a surefire applause line.

Of the four federal appeals courts that have ruled, two upheld the law, one struck down only the insurance mandate and one punted, saying an obscure tax law makes it premature to decide the merits until the main coverage provisions take effect in 2014.

With the court hearing arguments Monday through Wednesday, operatives from both parties have been playing out the potential outcomes. It's a calculation complicated by the intensely polarized public attitudes toward the law, by the still unsettled race for the Republican nomination and, most important, by the range of potential decisions by the court.

"A lot of the arguments that are being made against it right now are that they violate basic constitutional rights and principles," said Tad Devine, a veteran consultant of Democratic presidential politics. "If the Supreme Court, controlled by Republicans, doesn't agree with that, I think it's going to be hard to make that argument."

"If they strike down the mandate," he added, "it takes away a lot of the attack against the president on that issue."

White House and Obama campaign officials would not publicly discuss the options ahead, worried they would be perceived as trying to influence the court. But the Obama campaign has begun to draw attention to the benefits of the law, hoping to counter the beating the law has taken from the GOP presidential candidates.

This past week, it posted a new health care app online where users can find out how the health care law affects them. It also launched a website that features testimonials about the law.

The campaign's Obama Twitter account drew attention Thursday to that "Faces of Change" website and to the law's second anniversary, a day after White House spokesman Jay Carney dismissed any observance of the bill's signing as something "that only those who toil inside the Beltway focus on."

On Friday, the White House released a report that promoted achievements such as coverage for young adults and omitted any mention of problems, including the little or no progress toward carrying out the law in many states. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement the law "gives hard working middle-class families the security they deserve."

Privately, many Democrats concede that repeal of the law would be represent a huge public relations problem for Obama, though one he could overcome if the court issues its opinion in June, as expected.

Republicans appear divided on the results.

Republican strategist Greg Mueller, who works on many conservative causes, said that if the law is upheld, the conservative base will be energized; if the law is declared unconstitutional, it will display Obama's overreach.

"I don't think there is a bad scenario for Republican candidates," he said.

Not all see it that way.

Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa said this past week an Obama victory would be more assured if the court strikes down the individual mandate, as King would like.

"I think then that there is more risk that President Obama will be re-elected because people will think they are protected from this egregious reach into our freedom," King said.

"If the Supreme Court finds it constitutional," he added, "then I believe Barack Obama will not be re-elected because they will understand that they have to vote him out of office to repeal it."

The public's broad respect for the Supreme Court as an institution is also a factor.

"I think a wide swath of the people will say 'if the court says it's kosher, then it's kosher.' I think in many ways that will be the final word," said John Feehery, a former top Republican House leadership aide. "That doesn't mean the controversy is going to go away because this law is so massive and has so many parts that haven't been implemented yet, including the individual mandate."

The court's decision could affect the Republican presidential contest, too.

A court opinion in June would come at the tail end of the GOP primaries and ahead of the Republican National Convention.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has elevated the health care law to his top campaign issue. He argues he would be best equipped to carry the repeal banner. Front-runner, Mitt Romney, as governor of Massachusetts, signed into law a health overhaul similar to Obama's, with an insurance requirement as part of it.

Romney has said he would seek to repeal the federal health care law, but has stood behind Massachusetts'. He argues these decisions should be left to states.

"Well, that's pretty compelling," Santorum countered sarcastically Wednesday at a rally near the shores of Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain.

"Why would conservatives, Republicans, take the biggest issue in this race ? freedom, and its impact on the economy, on your life, on your economic well-being, on your religious liberty ? why would we take that issue and turn it around and give it to Barack Obama instead of using it like a sledge hammer?" he asked.

It's a case that Santorum pledges to take all the way to the floor of the convention, if he somehow manages to accomplish his long-shot goal of denying Romney enough delegates to win the nomination outright.

___

Online:

Health care law: http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform

Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/PPAACA.aspx

EDITORS NOTE _ This is part of a weeklong package of stories previewing the Supreme Court's consideration of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/courts-health-ruling-could-shake-fall-elections-140135111.html

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Speed Up Windows Vista

User Account Control (UAC) is a security feature that is supposed to provide better protection for a computer, by asking the user for confirmation every time an action is performed. This feature is not only annoying, it wastes a lot of time stopping processes that are not threats to the computer ? that?s why Windows 7 has a much scaled back version of UAC.

You can only enable or disable it for Vista Home Basic and Home Premium. It is your choice: Computer security is very important; but you do have other choices - for example, Norton UAC and other third-party utilities. To see more information about the Norton UAC, skip the below procedure and go to the next screen.

I do not recommend disabling UAC; but I do recommend using an alternative. However, if you don't want to do either, here is how to disable the Windows UAC:

To disable UAC, perform the following steps:

1. Click on the Start Button
2. Select ?Control Panel?
3. Select ?User Accounts and Family Safety?
4. Select ?User Accounts?
5. Select ?Turn User Account Control on or off?
6. Select ?Continue? at the UAC prompt
7. Uncheck the box ?Use User Account Control?, click ?Ok?
8. Click ?Restart? and reboot your computer

Restarting your computer may take some time to complete. When Windows restarts, UAC will be disabled.

After you have made these changes to your system, measure success. It your computer is still not as fast as you think it should be, follow the instructions in the article "Top 9 Ways to Speed Up Your Computer".

Source: http://windows.about.com/od/customizingwindows/ss/speed_up_windows_vista_8.htm

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94% Pina

All Critics (87) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (5) | DVD (1)

A remarkable -- and likely enduring -- tribute to an artist committed to creating dance theater drawn from humanity's deepest physical and emotional reserves.

For anyone with an interest in dance, "Pina" is a must-see. For anyone not interested in contemporary dance, "Pina" is a should-see. It could change your mind.

Pina is a tribute of an artist by an artist, a friend to a friend. But its great genius comes from the mournful, as well as celebratory, reckoning of the performers Bausch pushed, collaborated with and inspired.

What might seem like a convenient bid for publicity - the first 3-D art-house film! - turns out to be the only logical way to showcase the action.

This meditation on movement and space, transportation and transcendence is not to be missed.

What the filmmaker has created is an inspired simulacrum - a jewel-box that contains more of Bausch's kinetic soul than film has any right to.

'Undefeated' won the Oscar, but the most truly inspiring of the Documentary Feature nominees is 'Pina.' I know next to nothing about dance, and I was mesmerized.

Mondern-dance documentary is visually dazzling but it doesn't make the slightest effort to invite the unconverted to the party.

Watching Pina is like being inside one of Bausch's surreal pieces.

Bring someone who doubts that movies can surprise us anymore. ... Bring somebody who isn't yet excited about stereoscopic cinema. They'll change their minds.

Most documentaries put us inside people's heads. The dazzling, experimental Pina puts us inside people's feet.

[An] utterly transfixing, exhilarating spectacle of bodies in motion.

The 3-D is so subtle, unobtrusive and low-key that at times I felt like I was watching the movie through a View-Master rather than the requisite plastic glasses. That's not meant as a knock.

"Pina" isn't just for dance fans or those curious about the latest in 3-D. It's a celebration of life.

An immersive moviegoing experience beyond imagination.

A unique and often sublime artistic experience, "Pina" is a 3-D dance film that immerses us in the movement, letting us feel that we could reach out and touch these dancers as they float past us.

Outsiders might have more difficulty comprehending Bausch's mastery, especially whacked up into bite-sized pieces of inscrutable emotion and abrupt movement.

Dance fans won't want to miss it, but be prepared to be frustrated almost as often as you're awed.

Exciting if elusive - appealing to dance enthusiasts

Wenders and the Tanztheater company have combined to offer a masterful tribute to Bausch's unique vision, one that's enhanced by 3D.

A spectacular show of movement and stagecraft.

Sans 3D, Pina becomes a more unified work of undisputed merits, a passionate, fitting tribute from one of Europe's preeminent filmmakers and documentarians.

More Critic Reviews

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pina_3d/

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Obama defends handling of Keystone pipeline

CUSHING, Okla. (AP) ? President Barack Obama firmly defended his record on oil drilling Thursday, ordering the government to fast-track an Oklahoma pipeline while accusing Congress of playing politics with a larger Canada-to-Gulf Coast project.

Deep in Republican oil country, Obama said lawmakers refused to give his administration enough time review the controversial 1,170-mile Keystone XL pipeline in order to ensure that it wouldn't compromise the health and safety of people living in surrounding areas.

"Unfortunately, Congress decided they wanted their own timeline," Obama said. "Not the company, not the experts, but members of Congress who decided this might be a fun political issue decided to try to intervene and make it impossible for us to make an informed decision."

Facing fresh criticism from Republicans who blame him for gas prices near $4 a gallon, Obama announced Thursday that he was directing federal agencies to expedite the southern segment of the Keystone line. The 485-mile line will run from Cushing, Okla., to refineries on Texas' Gulf Coast, removing a critical bottleneck in the country's oil transportation system. The directive would also apply to other pipelines that alleviate choke points.

"Anyone who says that we're somehow suppressing domestic oil production isn't paying attention," Obama said, speaking at the site of the new Oklahoma project.

Shawn Howard, a spokesman for TransCanada, said the company welcomed Obama's support for the Oklahoma-to-Texas portion of the pipeline but couldn't say whether his involvement would impact the timeline for completing the project.

Construction is expected to begin in June with completion next year.

Republicans said the moves were little more than a publicity stunt.

"The American people can't afford more half-measures on energy from the president," said Kirsten Kukowski, a Republican National Committee spokeswoman. "No matter what he says, the reality is he killed the Keystone pipeline and the energy production and 20,000 jobs that went with it."

Environmentalists were also critical of Obama's move. Susan Casey-Lefkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council said it was "downright foolhardy to cut corners on safety reviews for permitting" the Texas-to-Oklahoma line, "especially when the industry has a history of oil spills."

Obama's order urges speedy review of the Cushing project and directs federal agencies to incorporate previous environmental studies of the Keystone proposal that included the southern route.

The use of previous studies should help move the project forward more quickly than if a review of the project started from scratch, although it's unclear exactly how much time the expedited review will save.

Republicans call the president's actions a belated attempt to take credit for a project over which he has relatively little control. While federal agencies play a role in the approval process for the domestic portion of the pipeline, states have a more direct say in approving the route.

The full Keystone pipeline became a political flashpoint late last year when congressional Republicans wrote a provision forcing Obama to make a decision and environmental groups waged a campaign to kill the project. Obama delayed the project in January.

Obama has been highlighting his energy agenda this week in Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma and later Thursday in battleground Ohio, a trip that reflects the degree to which high gas prices have begun hitting consumers in their pocketbooks.

Before a boisterous crowd at Ohio State University, Obama said his administration had shown a commitment to drilling all over the nation, then mocked his critics again, saying he did have his limits. "I'm not drilling in the South Lawn," he said. "We're not drilling next to the Washington Monument."

In the midst of his prepared comments, Obama was unusually sharp in admonishing a protester who was interrupting his speech. The president told the man that he would read the book he was apparently offering but said: "Show me some courtesy."

For Obama's advisers, rising gas prices pose a threat to his re-election bid because they could undermine the benefits of a payroll tax cut that he made the centerpiece of his jobs agenda last fall ? Congress approved the tax cut extension in February ? and throttle the economic recovery.

Republicans view rising gas prices as emblematic of Obama's energy record and hope to tag him with the blame even though no president has much control over prices at the pump. Gas prices have risen more than 50 cents a gallon since January.

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, campaigning at a Harvey, La., company that services oil rigs, said Obama's administration should open more federal lands for leases to boost U.S. oil production and revenue for the federal government.

"Here's an opportunity for us in this country to do something about it: increasing jobs, lowering energy prices, decreasing the deficit, all of the things you would think the president of the United States would be for," Santorum said.

Mitt Romney, Santorum's chief rival for the Republican nomination, has labeled Obama's top energy advisers the "gas hike trio," urging the president to fire three Cabinet secretaries because of the high prices.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Daly in Washington and Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston contributed to this report.

___

Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-defends-handling-keystone-pipeline-154231425.html

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Romney routs Santorum in GOP primary in Illinois

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (AP) ? Mitt Romney took a major stride toward the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night, routing Rick Santorum in the Illinois primary for his third big-state win in a row and padding his already-formidable lead in the race for convention delegates.

"What a night," Romney exulted to cheering supporters in suburban Chicago. Looking beyond his GOP rivals, he said he had a simple message for President Barack Obama, the man Republicans hope to defeat next fall: "Enough. We've had enough."

Returns from 98 percent of Illinois' precincts showed Romney gaining 47 percent of the vote compared to 35 percent for Santorum, 9 percent for Ron Paul and 8 percent for a fading Newt Gingrich.

That was a far more substantial showing for Romney than the grudging victories he eked out in the previous few weeks in Michigan and Ohio, primaries that did as much to raise questions about his ability to attract Republican support as to quell those questions.

Santorum, who hopes to rebound in next Saturday's Louisiana primary, sounded like anything but a defeated contender as he spoke to supporters in Gettysburg, Pa. He said he had outpolled Romney in downstate Illinois and the areas "that conservatives and Republicans populate. We're very happy about that and we're happy about the delegates we're going to get, too."

"Saddle up, like (Ronald) Reagan did in the cowboy movies," he urged his backers.

Romney triumphed in Illinois after benefitting from a crushing, 7-1 advantage in the television advertising wars, and as his chief rival struggled to overcome self-imposed political wounds in the marathon race to pick an opponent to Obama.

Most recently, Santorum backpedaled after saying on Monday that the economy wasn't the main issue of the campaign. "Occasionally you say some things where you wish you had a do-over," he said later.

Over the weekend, he was humbled in the Puerto Rico primary after saying that to qualify for statehood the island commonwealth should adopt English as an official language.

Initial results showed Romney's victory was worth at least 41 delegates in Illinois.

That gave him 563 in the overall count maintained by The Associated Press, out of 1,144 needed to win the nomination. Santorum has 261 delegates, Gingrich 135 and Paul 50.

Exit polls showed Romney preferred by primary goers who said the economy was the top issue in the campaign, and overwhelmingly favored by those who said an ability to defeat Obama was the quality they most wanted in a nominee.

He won among votes who said they were somewhat conservative or moderate, while Santorum prevailed among those who said they were "very conservative."

While pre-primary polls taken several days ago in Illinois suggested a close race, Romney and Restore Our future, a super Pac that backs him, unleashed a barrage of campaign ads to erode Santorum's standing. One ad accused the former Pennsylvania senator of changing his principles while serving in Congress, while two others criticized him for voting to raise the debt limit, raise his own pay as a lawmaker and side with former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to support legislation allowing felons the right to vote.

In all, Romney and Restore Our Future outspent Santorum and a super PAC that backs him by $3.5 million to $500,000, an advantage of 7-1.

In the long and grinding campaign, Santorum looked to rebound in next Saturday's primary in Louisiana, particularly given Romney's demonstrated difficulties winning in contests across the Deep South.

A 10-day break follows before Washington, D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin hold primaries on April 3.

Santorum is not on the ballot in the nation's capital.

Private polling shows Romney with an advantage in Maryland, and Restore Our Future launched a television ad campaign in the state during the day at a cost of more than $450,000.

Wisconsin shapes up as the next big test between Romney and Santorum, an industrial state next door to Illinois, but one where Republican politics have been roiled recently by a controversy involving a recall battle against the governor and some GOP state senators who supported legislation that was bitterly opposed by labor unions.

Already, Restore Our future has put down more than $2 million in television advertising across Wisconsin. Santorum has spent about $50,000 to answer.

Neither Newt Gingrich nor Ron Paul campaigned extensively in Illinois.

Gingrich has faded into near-irrelevance in the race, but he was defiant in a statement issued after Romney sealed his victory.

"To defeat Barack Obama, Republicans can't nominate a candidate who relies on outspending his opponents 7-1. Instead, we need a nominee who offers powerful solutions that hold the president accountable for his failures," it said.

Gingrich said his campaign will spend the time leading to the party convention "relentlessly taking the fight to President Obama."

Illinois fell into Romney's column far more easily than Michigan or Ohio had.

The night's vote count was plagued by ballot difficulties. Rupert Borgsmiller, executive director, of the Illinois State Board of Elections, said in late afternoon that 25 counties and the city of Aurora were affected by the ballot problem. He didn't know how many ballots were affected but said "clearly you can say more than hundreds."

Romney and Santorum campaigned energetically across the state, and not always in respectful tones.

"Senator Santorum has the same economic lightweight background the president has," Romney said at one point. "We're not going to replace an economic lightweight with another economic lightweight."

Santorum had a tart reply. "If Mitt Romney's an economic heavyweight, we're in trouble."

Anticipating a primary defeat, Santorum's campaign argued that the race for delegates is closer than it appears.

Santorum contends the Republican National Committee at the convention will force Florida and Arizona to allocate their delegates on a proportional basis instead of winner-take-all as the state GOP decided. Romney won both states.

On Tuesday, about four in 10 voters interviewed as they left their polling places said they were evangelical or born again. That's about half the percentage in last week's primary states of Alabama and Mississippi, where Santorum won narrowly. Despite an unusually lengthy race for the nomination, less than a third of those voting said in the polling-place survey they hoped the primary season would come to a quick end even if that meant their candidate might lose the nomination.

The findings came from preliminary results from the survey of 1,555 Illinois Republican voters, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The exit poll was conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks by Edison Research at 35 randomly selected polling places around the state.

As Illinois Republicans voted on Tuesday, Romney raised more than $1.3 million at a luncheon in Chicago.

Illinois was the 28th state to hold a primary or caucus in the selection of delegates to the nominating convention, about halfway through the calendar of a Republican campaign that has remained competitive longer than most.

A change in party rules to reduce the number of winner-take-all primaries has accounted for the duration of the race. But so has Romney's difficulty in securing the support of the most conservative of the GOP political base. Santorum and Gingrich have struggled to emerge as the front-runner's sole challenger from the right.

___

David Espo reported from Washington

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romney-routs-santorum-gop-primary-illinois-010809695.html

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AP Interview: Prince Ali wants Asian clout in FIFA

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[ [ [['French police stepped up the search',17]], ', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-prince-ali-wants-asian-clout-fifa-132642020--soccer.html

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Backlash on 'Dancing'? Judges nitpick Melissa

ABC

Melissa Gilbert delivered a tough cha-cha, but the judges weren't impressed.

By Ree Hines

Aaaaaaand they're off! Monday night, the stars put on their dancing shoes (and some really questionable costumes) and strutted their ballroom stuff on the season 14 premiere of "Dancing With the Stars." The results? Mixed, to say the least.

Basically, the ballroom romps broke down into three categories: Good, fun and fair. Oh, wait! There was one more category: Unfair.

That's because just one night into the competition, things are already getting personal on the part of the panel of experts. What else could explain the bounty of nitpicks actress Melissa Gilbert received after tackling one of the most difficult dances of the night alongside ballroom's bad boy, Maksim Chmerkovskiy?

As any loyal "Dancing" fan knows, Maks has had his share of verbal run-ins with Len Goodman and the gang, and last season the tension between the pro and the panelists escalated right past the spinning mirror ball and through the roof. This season? It seems like his partner (and by extension, Maks) is paying for it.

The "Little House on the Prarie" star took the stage for the sort of cha-cha-cha one might expect halfway into the competition. The intense choreography, which required many more solo moves than any of the other cha-chas of the night necessitated, showed off some early strengths from the star -- such as a great sense of musicality from a non-musician/non-dancer and near-perfect timing. It also revealed some tiny, typical first-night weaknesses -- most notably imperfect arm lines and shoulders that could use more finesse in the future.

Anyone familiar with the early routines would expect such a dance to earn a decent score -- maybe a couple of 8s and a 7, which seemed the score of the night for equal dancers and for several lesser ones. But no, after a string of nitpicks about the shape of Melissa's free arm, the judges gave her 7s and a 6, unfairly landing her in the back of the pack and presumably punishing Maks for last season's sins (if you want to call them that).

Melissa was far from the only good dancer of the night, just the only one held back for it. Also from the plus side of the dance floor was actor Jaleel White, who left his "Family Matters" character, Steve Urkel, behind for a fantastic foxtrot. (Of course, there may have been a little Stefan Urquelle in those smooth moves.) For his effort, he earned two 9s, one 8 and whole lot of praise.

"I'm telling you, I thought I was watching the great Gregory Hines," said Bruno Tonioli.

Tying Jaleel on the scoreboard with a flowing foxtrot of her own was Welsh operatic-pop star Katherine Jenkins, otherwise known as "who?" to most viewers. Only time will tell if her moves are enough to overcome her lack of stateside fame.

Which might have been a concern for former model and actor William Levy, if he hadn't totally blown the ballroom away with his sexy (seriously sexy) cha-cha. Levy no doubt secured plenty of votes as he moved alongside partner Cheryl Burke and showed off moves that were part Chippendales and part ...?something else almost too naughty for ballroom. The end result? Carrie Ann Inaba has a new favorite and William has a matching set of 8s.

Disney Channel star Roshon Fegan impressed the crowd with his precision cha-cha moves, but there was a darned good reason for that. While his partner, Chelsie Hightower, may have shown him a few cha-cha pointers, the routine, influenced heavily by hip-hop moves, played right into his ringer status. After all, before getting his 23, Roshon admitted he was a lifelong freestyle hip-hop dancer.

Another one dancing for Team Good was actor Jack Wagner. Not surprisingly, given his musical background, Jack was strong on musicality. In a sweet foxtrot, he kept up with pro partner Anna Trebunskaya nicely, if not excitingly, and took 23 points for it.

Those looking for excitement found plenty of it from the fun crowd. There was Donald Driver, who saw 7s for his action-packed cha-cha with Peta Murgatroyd. Sherri Shepherd also made a fun impression with her 23-point foxtrot with the self-proclaimed "better looking" Chmerkovskiy, Val. And then singing legend Gladys Knight put the Pips to shame with her equally scored cha-cha with Tristan MacManus.

As for the just fair dancers, they were led by Derek Hough's rare non-ringer partner actress and "Extra" host, Maria Menounos, who earned 7s for her cha-cha. It was one less for Gavin DeGraw's foxtrot with pro Karina Smirnoff. And the likable Martina Navratilova, who surely won't be bringing home Tony Dovolani's much-desired mirror ball this season, tied Gavin (and Melissa?!) with her foxtrot.

So, who's premiere-night dance was worthy of the premiere ballroom boot of the season? Luckily for the stars, they won't have to worry about it yet. There's no elimination this week, so all of the hopefuls will return next Monday for another shot to show what they can do ? and more importantly, how much better than can do it than they did this week.

Who topped your personal ballroom scorecard? And who do you think should hang up their dancing shoes? Share all your "DWTS" premiere night perspectives on our Facebook page.?And don't forget to join me and Anna Chan for our weekly chat at 3:30 ET Tuesday!

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Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/19/10764365-ballroom-backlash-on-dancing-with-the-stars-judges-nitpick-melissa-and-maks

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