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Noah Shachtman / Popular Mechanics:
Rumsfeld Reaction: 4 Policy Battles That Could Shape Our Military — When President Bush appointed former CIA Director Robert Gates (right) to the Defense Secretary post today, several of Donald Rumsfeld's pet projects began to enter the political crossfire.
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CBS News:
"He certainly was a reporter's reporter." — (CBS) Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley died Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan of complications from leukemia. — Bradley joined the staff of the venerable news magazine 26 years ago. His consummate skills as a broadcast journalist …
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Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Ed Bradley of '60 Minutes' Dies at 65 — Ed Bradley, the veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent and one of the pioneering black journalists of his generation, died today of leukemia at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. He was 65. — Bradley, who had won 19 Emmy awards, covered an incredible array …
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The Moderate Voice
Mike Glover / Associated Press:
Iowa's Vilsack to Run for President — DES MOINES, Iowa — Gov. Tom Vilsack said he will officially launch his presidential campaign Thursday when he files documents with the Federal Election Commission. — The filing comes two days after his fellow Democrats scored overwhelming victories in state and national elections.
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HeraldTribune.com:
Dist. 13 voting analysis shows broad problem — SARASOTA COUNTY — A review of Sarasota County voting results shows that in almost every precinct a high percentage of voters didn't cast ballots in the hotly contested 13th Congressional District, a trend that likely affected the outcome of the race.
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TPMmuckraker, The Carpetbagger Report, The Caucus, D-Day, MyDD, Daily Kos, The Poor Man Institute and Bark Bark Woof Woof
Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
Allen to Concede Election This Afternoon — Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) will concede that he has lost the election to Democrat James Webb at a 3 p.m. news conference in Alexandria, according to a source close to the campaign with direct knowledge of the senator's intentions.
Matt Gouras / Associated Press:
Sen. Burns concedes Montana race — HELENA, Mont. - U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns (news, bio, voting record) conceded defeat to Jon Tester on Thursday, acknowledging that a tight election had gone to the Democrats' favor, Burns' campaign told The Associated Press.
Paul Wiseman / USA Today:
Poll: Afghans express confidence in country's direction, security — Most of the 6,200 surveyed say they are satisfied with democracy, but corruption is a major problem — Despite a raging pro-Taliban insurgency, the people of Afghanistan say they are optimistic about the future …
TCS Daily:
Speaker Pelosi's Impending Intelligence Failure — Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is in line to make history as the first female Speaker—and second in line of succession for the presidency—when the new Congress convenes in January. As with any election, a wide variety of issues factored into the dynamics of this year's midterms.
Michael Grunwald / Washington Post:
Republicans' Angry Factions Point Fingers At Each Other — After minutes upon minutes of soul-searching, Republicans are now in recrimination mode. And the GOP's various factions all agree: This wouldn't have happened if the party had listened to us. — In the aftermath of the historic …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, TPMmuckraker, Ezra Klein, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Democratic Daily and PoliPundit.com
Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:
Justices Hear Arguments on Late-Term Abortion — There were moments on Wednesday, during Supreme Court arguments on a federal law that bans a disputed method of abortion, that the proceedings seemed more like a medical school seminar than an appellate argument.
Stewart Stogel / NewsMax.com:
John Bolton Likely to Depart U.N. — New York — NewsMax has learned that U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton will likely leave his post next month. — After a rocky series of Senate confirmation hearings, Bolton was sent to the U.N. by President Bush in August 2005 under a recess appointment.
George F. Will / Washington Post:
A Loss's Silver Lining — At least Republicans now know where the "Bridge to Nowhere" leads: to the political wilderness. But there are three reasons for conservatives to temper their despondency. — First, they were punished not for pursuing but for forgetting conservatism.
Dick Armey / Opinion Journal:
End of the Revolution — Advice to Republicans: Don't go back and check on a dead skunk. — If there was still any doubt, the Republican Revolution of 1994 officially ended Tuesday night with the loss of at least 28 seats and majority control of the House of Representatives.
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The Thumpees Try Their Luck at the Blame Game — President Bush had many explanations for what he called the "thumping" his party took on Tuesday, but the most creative was the notion that his chief strategist, Karl Rove, had spent too much time reading books.
Ian Bishop / New York Post:
RANGEL 'MEANS' TO IRK VP — NEW TOP-DOG NYER: I'LL GRAB THE S.O.B.'S OFFICE — Rep. Charles Rangel, the incoming chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, revealed yesterday that he's got his eye on Capitol Hill office space now held by the man he recently called a "son of a bitch" - Vice President Dick Cheney.
Huffington Post:
CENSORED BY CNN: BILL MAHER SUGGESTS RNC CHAIR MEHLMAN IS GAY.... From CNN: … Partial transcript of Bill Maher's Live appearance on Larry King Live: — BM: A lot of the chiefs of staff, the people who really run the underpinnings of the Republican Party, are gay.