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White House:
President's Address to the Nation — THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Three days ago, in large numbers, Iraqis went to the polls to choose their own leaders — a landmark day in the history of liberty. In the coming weeks, the ballots will be counted, a new government formed …
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt, The Political Pit Bull, chicagoboyz.net, Althouse, The Carpetbagger Report, This Blog Is Full Of Crap, The Claremont Institute, Blogs for Bush, CALIFORNIA YANKEE, No More Mister Nice Blog, Conservative Thinking, Balloon Juice, BizzyBlog.com, In the Bullpen, Barcepundit and Suitably Flip
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Pajamas Media:
From the Oval Office to the blogs — Michelle Malkin liveblogged Bush's prime time speech in the Oval Office last night, and blogs started commenting right after it ended: — Instapundit: "[O]ne big thing struck me: In this national televised speech, Bush went out of his way to take responsibility for the war.
Gateway Pundit:
After Only 1,000 Days, Bush Takes Credit for Iraq — "We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction... Saddam may well hide his most lethal weapons in mosques, schools and hospitals. If our forces attempt to strike such targets …
Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
A SURPRISE IN BUSH'S IRAQ SPEECH: — I am not, to say the least, a fan of President Bush. But a portion of his speech tonight genuinely moved me and made me think more highly of him. It was the part where he addressed opponents of the Iraq war, said he understand their passion but asked …
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:
BUSH DOUBLES DOWN: I just watched Bush's speech. Nothing new there for anyone who's been paying attention to the speeches he's been giving over the past couple of weeks. But one big thing struck me: In this national televised speech, Bush went out of his way to take responsibility for the war.
Discussion:
Let Freedom Ring, Solomonia, PunditGuy, In the Bullpen, TigerHawk, All Things Conservative, Dean's World, Viking Pundit, Ed Driscoll.com and firedoglake
Michelle Malkin:THE BUSH SPEECH: NO CUT AND RUN
Discussion:
Right Wing Nut House, The Reaction, Betsy's Page, The Strata-Sphere, California Conservative and Blogs for Bush
Washington Post:
Gonzales Defends Eavesdropping Program — Congress 'Authorized' Domestic Surveillance in Iraq War Resolution, Claims Attorney General — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales this morning defended the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping operation, saying it derived its legality …
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Asking for Patience, Bush Cites Progress in Iraq — WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 - President Bush declared to the nation on Sunday night that the United States was winning the war in Iraq and pleaded with his viewers not to "give in to despair" over a conflict that has cost more than 2,100 American lives and an estimated 30,000 Iraqi deaths.
Discussion:
ScrappleFace
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New York Times:
Rice Defends Domestic Eavesdropping — WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday defended President Bush's decision to secretly authorize the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without seeking warrants, saying the program was carefully controlled …
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Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns and Money:The Schmittian Libertarians
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Michael Bérubé Online, Jay Currie, The Heretik, Obsidian Wings, The Political Pit Bull and Pandagon
Tom Shales / Washington Post:
From the Oval Office, a Call to See the Light at the End of the Tunnel — Determined to sound determined, President Bush addressed the nation on the troublesome subject of Iraq in a 16-minute speech last night from the Oval Office. Grim-faced, yet with a trace of anxiety in his eyes …
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, The Next Hurrah, NewsBusters.org, TKS on National Review Online and The American Thinker
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Peter Baker / Washington Post:Bush Brings More Realistic View of War to Forefront
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
David Finkel / Washington Post:
U.S. Ideals Meet Reality in Yemen — On the first day, which would turn out to be the best day, the one day of all 180 days when everything actually seemed possible, the president of Yemen hadn't yet dismissively referred to an American named Robin Madrid as an old woman.
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Haaretz:
Sharon aide: PM's condition improved, he looks excellent — A senior aide to Ariel Sharon said after visiting him Monday morning that the prime minister's condition had improved overnight, and that there were no external signs of the mild stroke he suffered Sunday night.
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New York Times:
The Business of Voting — Diebold, the controversial electronic voting machine manufacturer, is coming off a tumultuous week. Its chief executive, Walden O'Dell, resigned. It was hit with a pair of class-action lawsuits charging insider trading and misrepresentation …
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William M. Arkin / Early Warning:
9/11 Gone Wild — Yesterday's New York Times editorial on National Security Agency spying in the United States refers to "your mail and your e-mail" and "your telephone conversations" being monitored. — The connotation of course is that the "you" is some New York Times reading Cappuccino …
Oliver Poole / Telegraph:
Iraqis in former rebel stronghold now cheer American soldiers — In the low-slung concrete buildings of Tal Afar, a city built on dirty sand and mud, George W Bush sees the potential for military success in Iraq. — In recent weeks it has been one case study the American president …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
NewsMax.com:
John McCain: Bush Right to Use NSA — Sen. John McCain disappointed Democrats on Capitol Hill on Sunday by defending the Bush administration's decision to use the National Security Agency to monitor a limited number of domestic phone calls in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
Discussion:
MyDD
Walter Pincus / Washington Post:
Pentagon's Intelligence Authority Widens — Fact Sheet Details Secretive Agency's Growth From Focus on Policy to Counterterrorism — The Pentagon's newest counterterrorism agency, charged with protecting military facilities and personnel wherever they are, is carrying out intelligence collection …
