Top Items:
Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
RNC asks Steele to replace Mehlman — Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, whose party just lost both chambers of Congress, will leave his position in January, and the post as party chief has been offered to Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.
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Mark / CNN Political Ticker:
Mehlman likely to leave RNC — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Several Republican sources tell CNN that Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman is all but certain to step down at the end of the year, and the White House already is searching for a replacement or replacements to lead the party into the 2008 presidential campaign cycle.
Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:Mehlman to step down from RNC post
Discussion:
AMERICAblog, Brilliant at Breakfast, All Spin Zone, Democrats.com, Blue Crab Boulevard and Shakespeare's Sister
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Troops Fear The Loss Of Rumsfeld — American troops concerned with the loss of Donald Rumsfeld spoke to Martin Fletcher of the Times of London, worried that the new Secretary of Defense would pull them out of Iraq before they could complete the mission: … The American troops believe in the mission they serve.
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Martin Fletcher / Times of London:
Troops fear Rumsfeld's exit will end their Iraq mission — Half of America and the upper echelons of the US military may be cheering Donald Rumsfeld's resignation from the post of Defence Secretary, but there was no rejoicing yesterday among those most directly affected by his decisions: the frontline soldiers in Iraq.
C. J. Chivers / New York Times:
Marines Get the News From an Iraqi Host: Rumsfeld's Out. 'Who's Rumsfeld?' — Hashim al-Menti smiled wanly at the marine sergeant beside him on his couch. The sergeant had appeared in the darkness on Wednesday night, knocking on the door of Mr. Menti's home.
Discussion:
Flopping Aces
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Removal of Rumsfeld Dates Back to Summer — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld walking back to his motorcade Thursday after touring the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kan. — President Bush was moving by late summer toward removing Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary, people inside and outside the White House said Thursday.
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Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Extremely odd behavior from the Washington Post re: the President's Rumsfeld lie — It is now conclusively clear that President Bush lied last week, several days before the election, when he vowed definitively to reporters that Donald Rumsfeld would remain as Defense Secretary for the next two years.
Oskar Garcia / Associated Press:
McGovern to Meet With Congress on War — George McGovern, the former senator and Democratic presidential candidate, said Thursday that he will meet with more than 60 members of Congress next week to recommend a strategy to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by June.
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Only a Minor Earthquake — How serious is the "thumpin' " the Republicans took on Tuesday? Losing one house is significant but hardly historic. Losing both houses, however, is defeat of a different order of magnitude, the equivalent in a parliamentary system of a vote of no confidence.
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The Big Trunk / Power Line:
TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI — Today is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Museum (depicted above) opens today in Quantico — "a monument to honor, courage and commitment." Earlier this week Mark Yost previewed the museum in an excellent column (subscribers only) for the Wall Street Journal.
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Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
With Power Set to Be Split, Wiretaps Re-emerge as Issue — The Bush administration escalated its defense of the National Security Agency's domestic wiretapping program on Thursday, even as Democrats in Congress vowed to investigate the program aggressively once they assume power.
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Kate Ackley / Roll Call:
Out-of-Work GOP Aides Face Tough Road Ahead — The hundreds of Republican staffers — not to mention more than a few Members — who will lose their jobs in the next few weeks are going to face a hostile marketplace on K Street as unemployed Republicans flood the market.
Jeanne Cummings / Wall Street Journal:
Redistricting: Home to Roost — How Republicans' — Gerrymandering Efforts — May Have Backfired — WASHINGTON — Gerrymandering was supposed to cement Republican control of the House of Representatives, offering incumbents a wall of re-election protection even as public opinion turned sharply against them.
Discussion:
The Next Hurrah
Associated Press:
NY congressman says no offense intended with Mississippi remark — JACKSON, Miss. - A Democratic congressman from New York says he wasn't trying to insult Mississippi in published remarks Thursday, but a Republican colleague from Mississippi says Rep. Charles Rangel should apologize to the state.
Times of London:
Handover to Iraqi Army 'set for the end of next year' — American and Iraqi officials have set a date for giving Iraq's forces responsibility for security across the country. — Under a plan to be presented to the UN Security Council next month, the Iraqi Government would assume authority …
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
On a Shifting Field, a Sense of Rising Expectations — It was no doubt inadvertent, but it was hard not to find some symbolism in the moment Thursday in the Oval Office when President Bush seemed to forget that Vice President Dick Cheney was in the room. — Representatives Nancy Pelosi …
Associated Press:
Iraqi president says Democrats told him they will not pull out quickly — BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Jalal Talabani said Thursday that he had been assured by Democrat congressional leaders during a recent visit to Washington that they had no plans for a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces.
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