Top Items:
Associated Press:
Lott succeeds in leadership comeback — WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Trent Lott, ousted from the top Senate Republican leadership job four years ago because of remarks considered racially insensitive, won election to the No. 2 post Wednesday for the minority GOP in the next Congress.
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Laurie Kellman / ABCNEWS:
Trent Lott Wins Back Leadership Slot — Trent Lott Wins Back Leadership Slot in Senate GOP Caucus, Edging Tennessee's Lamar Alexander — Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, ousted from the top Senate Republican leadership job four years ago because of remarks considered racially insensitive …
Michelle Malkin:
Another GOP Maalox moment — Just when the MSM focus had fixed on the Democrats' culture of corruption and business-as-usual, along come Beltway Republicans to remind us of how lame the GOP leadership is. — Trent Lott is back. — Flashback 2002: I called Trent Lott the Republican Party's eternal Maalox moment.
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:
Lamar Alexander For Minority Whip — Captain's Quarters has no hesitation in endorsing Lamar Alexander for the position of Minority Whip in the next session of the Senate. While I have regard for Senator Alexander, this decision has far more to do with his competition than with the Tennessean himself.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Hot Air, Redstate, protein wisdom, Ace of Spades HQ, Iowa Voice, Sister Toldjah, Riehl World View and Instapundit.com
Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
Unfit for Majority Leader — The videotape is grainy, dark and devastating. The congressman and the FBI undercover agents — the congressman thinks they represent an Arab sheik willing to pay $50,000 to get immigration papers — are talking business in the living room of a secretly wired Washington townhouse.
Discussion:
Opinion Journal, Michelle Malkin, Don Surber, The Neal Boortz Show, NewsBusters.org, Barone Blog, La Shawn Barber's Corner, Wake up America, Anchor Rising, Porkbusters, Instapundit.com, TIME, Gay Patriot, QandO, Op For, Blue Crab Boulevard, American Spectator, Hyscience, CNN, Preemptive Karma, Outside The Beltway and PoliBlog (TM)
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Steve Kornacki / New York Observer:
More Tip O'Neill Than Jane Fonda — When soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her support for John Murtha's bid for House Majority Leader earlier this week, the Fox News crowd went berserk. — Two of their favorite villains, it seemed, had formally locked elbows—in a doomed mission …
Josephine Hearn / The Hill:
Pelosi pulls out the stops for Murtha — Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is imploring her colleagues to support Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) for majority leader, multiple House Democrats said yesterday, dealing an unexpected but not necessarily fatal blow to Murtha's opponent, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Get Out Now? Not So Fast, Experts Say — One of the most resonant arguments in the debate over Iraq holds that the United States can move forward by pulling its troops back, as part of a phased withdrawal. If American troops begin to leave and the remaining forces assume a more limited role …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, AMERICAblog, The Moderate Voice, Right Wing Nut House, CBS News, JustOneMinute, CNN Political Ticker, The Glittering Eye, Wake up America, Big Lizards, The Sundries Shack, Blue Crab Boulevard, On Deadline, AMERICAN FUTURE, Pajamas Media and Needlenose
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Anne Plummer Flaherty / Associated Press:
U.S. Commander Warns Against Iraq Cutoff — WASHINGTON — The top U.S. commander in the Middle East warned Congress Wednesday against setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, saying it would impede commanders in managing U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Robin Wright / Washington Post:
Bush Initiates Iraq Policy Review Separate From Baker Group's — President Bush formally launched a sweeping internal review of Iraq policy yesterday, pulling together studies underway by various government agencies, according to U.S. officials. — The initiative, begun after Bush met …
The Blotter:
Abramoff Reports to Prison; Officials Focus on Reid, Others — Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz Report: — As convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff reported to federal prison today, a source close to the investigation surrounding his activities told ABC News that Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The BIDINOTTO BLOG, Firedoglake, Hot Air, The Anchoress, Iowa Voice, Stop The ACLU, The Jawa Report and Power Line
Jim Webb / Opinion Journal:
Class Struggle — American workers have a chance to be heard. — The most important—and unfortunately the least debated—issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century.
Associated Press:
Bush reappoints overseas broadcast chief — WASHINGTON —President Bush on Tuesday renominated the chairman of the agency that directs U.S. overseas broadcasts even though the nomination has been stalled in the Senate amid allegations of misconduct. — Kenneth Y. Tomlinson was nominated again …
Discussion:
Media Blog
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Los Angeles Times:
Conservatives wary of choice to lead RNC — Martinez should appeal to Latinos, but may lose support on immigration. — WASHINGTON — President Bush's decision to back Sen. Mel Martinez to help lead the Republican Party, a move intended to appeal to disaffected Latino voters …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, Political Animal, Reuters, Matthew Yglesias, Right Wing News and Daily Kos
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Michael Howard / Guardian:
Scores of academics seized in mass kidnap — Five senior Iraqi police officers were arrested last night after gunmen in police uniforms seized scores of people at a prominent scientific research institute in Baghdad in an audacious operation that underlined the lawlessness gripping …
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Ralph Peters / New York Post:ARABIAN NIGHTMARES — YESTERDAY, 80 terrorists in police …
Discussion:
Confederate Yankee
Randy Hall / CNSNews:
Giuliani 'Unacceptable' for President, Conservatives Say — (CNSNews.com) - Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani enjoys "a lot of good will" from Republicans from his handling of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but his stance on social issues like abortion and gun control …
Peter Carlson / Washington Post:
Lame-Duck Texas Rep. Gets Down to Work Without DeLay — Shelley Sekula-Gibbs was sworn in as a congresswoman on Monday night and already she's a lame duck. Because of a weird electoral quirk, her brief term in office expires next month. — But you couldn't tell that by listening to her.
Mark Leibovich / New York Times:
Enter, Pariah: Now It's Hugs for Lieberman — Senator Joseph I. Lieberman strode into a Democratic caucus gathering like he owned the place or, at the very least, like someone who is a flight risk and could leave at any minute, taking the Democrats' new majority with him.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, JustOneMinute, Reason Magazine, Booman Tribune, Blue Crab Boulevard, TBogg and The Horse's Mouth
The Sandmonkey / Rantings of a Sandmonkey:
Sexual harrasment protesters arrested — Yesterday was the second sexual harrassment protest in downtown cairo against what went down in the eid incident. And while the first one passed without incident, the police has cracked down on the second one. On my way there I bumped into Sharkawy …
Patrick O'Connor / The Hill:
House GOP may go back to the future — Former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) is gone, Democrats will soon control the floor and House speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) will be just another member of the minority — if a member at all. — As much as last week's momentous loss ushered in a new era …
Scott Shepard / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Carville Says Dems Should Dump Dean over "Rumsfeldian" Incompetence — Democratic strategist James Carville says his party should dump Howard Dean as chairman of the Democratic Party because of incompetence. — Carville, during coffee and rolls with political reporters today …
Washington Wire:
One More Time for Judicial Nominees — After calling for bipartisanship, President Bush surprised Senate Democrats with plans to renominate a controversial list of judges - some of whom may be unacceptable even to a few Republican senators. "It's an unfortunate signal," said one senior Democratic Senate aide.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Keith Olbermann / MSNBC:
What motivated man accused of sending threats? — Chad Castagana linked to several right-wing blogs … MSNBC TV — Anchor, 'Countdown' — Keith Olbermann — Anchor, 'Countdown' … OLBERMANN: Federal authorities still expect the preliminary hearing for Chad Conrad Castagana to continue day after tomorrow.
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