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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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Fox News:
MORE RESIGNATIONS EXPECTED AT PENTAGON AFTER RUMSFELD'S DEPARTURE — WASHINGTON — More senior Pentagon officials are likely to step down in the coming days in the wake of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's announced departure, Pentagon officials told FOX News on Thursday.
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
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.
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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.
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.
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Firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, The Ross Report, No More Mister Nice Blog and PSoTD
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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 …
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Redstate, TPMmuckraker, Ezra Klein, Captain's Quarters, The Heretik, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Democratic Daily and PoliPundit.com
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Democrats Turned War Into an Ally — The presidential advisers Karl Rove, left foreground, and Dan Bartlett, right, as President Bush spoke Wednesday at a news conference. Republican strategists displayed tentativeness on the Iraq war. — On a warm night in mid-September …
Newsweek:
Old Names, Old Scandals — Robert Gates was a controversial figure in the Iran-contra affair. Will his Reagan-era activities hamper his confirmation as Rumsfeld's successor? — By choosing Robert Gates as his new Defense secretary, President George W. Bush is once again turning …
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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.
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.
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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 …
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.
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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.
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.
Associated Press:
Democrat Vilsack launches run for White House — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa took the initial step in his long-shot bid for the White House Thursday, establishing a presidential campaign committee and seeking an early jump on 2008. — "Americans sent a clear message on Tuesday.
Mark Pazniokas / Hartford Courant:
Still A Democrat, Joe Says, To Preserve Seniority — Now that he's won re-election as a petitioning candidate, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman is pledging to remain a Democrat, if for no other reason than to keep his 18 years' seniority in the Senate. — "I'll sign up with the caucus to protect my seniority," Lieberman said Wednesday.
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
A Come-to-Daddy Moment — Poppy Bush and James Baker gave Sonny the presidency to play with and he broke it. So now they're taking it back. — They are dragging W. away from those reckless older guys who have been such a bad influence and getting him some new minders who are a lot more practical.