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Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
Fla. Senator Mel Martinez to Chair RNC — Sen. Mel Martinez, the first-term lawmaker who previously served in President Bush's Cabinet, will assume the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, GOP officials said Monday. — Martinez, 60, will replace current chairman Ken Mehlman …
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Daily Pundit
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Redstate:
Oh, Joyous Day. — I ONLY PUT THIS IN "REPUBLICANS" BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A "BONEHEADS" CATEGORY. — Oh, this is simply priceless. With Ken Mehlman retiring, we need a new RNC Chair. — We could have had a promising up-and-comer with a great life story, fantastic political skills, and odds-on-sharps like you wouldn't believe.
The Allen Report:
The Honeymoon Is Over — After five days of giddiness, Democrats express dismay that their new House leader has thrown herself into the fight to become her Number 2, creating a potentially lose-lose situation where she could either be defeated in her first public contest since the election, or brand herself as a dove.
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Wake up America, Scared Monkeys, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Don Surber and The Strata-Sphere
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Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
For Democrats, How Long a Honeymoon? — The media kept saying the war was going badly. The Bush administration said progress in Iraq was being obscured by relentlessly negative coverage. — The media kept saying the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina was badly botched.
Reuters:
California man arrested for mail threats to celebs —Text+WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California man suspected of mailing threatening letters containing a suspicious white powder to celebrities and U.S. politicians has been arrested and could face federal charges on Monday, the FBI said.
Discussion:
Sadly, No!, Seeing the Forest, Shakespeare's Sister, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune and KnoxViews
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John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
RWN's Mark Steyn Interview #3 — John Hawkins: Give people who haven't read your book yet a quick description of what you think Europe is going to look like in, let's say, 20 years because of declining birth rates, the enormous social benefits they pay out, and the enormous number …
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Robert Novak / Chicago Sun Times:
Rout brings no reform to House GOP — The depleted House Republican caucus, a minority in the next Congress, convenes at 8 a.m. Friday in the Capitol on the brink of committing an act of supreme irrationality. The House members blame their leadership for tasting the bitter dregs of defeat.
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Robert D. Novak / Townhall.com:
Stupid party decides
Stupid party decides
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, The Moderate Voice, Riehl World View, QandO, The Mahablog, Hyscience, Think Progress and Reason Magazine
Josh Manchester / TCS Daily:
Why Intellectuals Love Defeat — James Carroll, recently writing in the Boston Globe, wondered if America could finally accept defeat in Iraq, and be the better for it, comparing it to Vietnam: — "But what about the moral question? For all of the anguish felt over the loss of American lives …
USA Today:
Bush's post-election approval hovers near lowest of presidency — WASHINGTON — President Bush's job approval ratings have slumped in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup poll, with the president's rating hovering near the lowest of his tenure. — In the poll, taken Thursday through Sunday …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Emily Smith / The Sun:
Borat spanked by angry Yank — BORAT star Sacha Baron Cohen was beaten up by a passer-by after he tried to play a prank as his alter ego. — He approached the man and said: "I like your clothings. Are nice! Please may I buying? I want have sex with it." — But the bystander didn't see the joke.
Washington Post:
GOP Fliers Apparently Were Part Of Strategy — The six Trailways motorcoaches draped in Ehrlich and Steele campaign banners rumbled down Interstate 95 just before dawn on Election Day. — On board, 300 mostly poor African Americans from Philadelphia ate doughnuts, sipped coffee and prepared to spend the day at the Maryland polls.
Charles Babington / Washington Post:
Time in Senate May Be Irrelevant if Obama Runs — Historically, Governors Have Fared Far Better In Presidential Campaigns — Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) might be well advised to stay in the Senate several more years before running for president, as many strategists have suggested.
Naftali Bendavid / Chicago Tribune:
The House that Rahm Built — Rahm Emanuel, Chicago's profane, ruthless, savvy operative, remade the Democrats in his image—and helped the party overcome 12 years of humiliation — Rahm Emanuel was seething. — He was hurtling down an asphalt road in upstate New York on the 47th trip …
USA Today:
Democrats: Identify pork sponsors — WASHINGTON — Democrats aim to open the next Congress in January with a new rule that identifies lawmakers who use legislative "earmarks" to help special interests — a change Republicans promised but didn't implement. — House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Influence Peddler, Democrats.com, TIME, QandO and The Democratic Daily
Bill Gertz / Washington Times:
China sub secretly stalked U.S. fleet — A Chinese submarine stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected, The Washington Times has learned. — The surprise encounter highlights …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Confederate Yankee, Murdoc Online, QandO, Don Surber, Security Watchtower, Iowa Voice, Michelle Malkin, protein wisdom, Hyscience and The Peking Duck
San Francisco Chronicle:
Olbermann taps a well of discontent as the anti-O'Reilly — Keith Olbermann just needed to find his voice. He'd been a droll sportscaster, a serious news anchor and a bickering critic of Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. But none of those personas really clicked. — Then he found one.
Jonathan Alter / Newsweek:
Out of the Gloom, A Silver Lining — Bush must now admit that America is not Dittohead Nation. — The Category 4 political hurricane of 2006 was more than a referendum on an unpopular war and president: it signals the end of the conservative tide that began rising 40 years ago …
James Kitfield / govexec.com:
What Now? — The American people have rejected the war and voiced their disapproval of the president's management of it. But what exactly can Democrats do? They've already labeled the war a tragic mistake, and some of them have called for a withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:
Clinton Outlines Legislative Priorities — Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday outlined an ambitious agenda of legislative priorities while continuing to deflect questions about her presumed presidential ambitions. — "I will look at the possibilities, but I …