Top Items:
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
Bush to Expand Size of Military — President Bush said today that he plans to expand the size of the U.S. military to meet the challenges of a long-term global war against terrorists, a response to warnings that sustained deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched the armed forces to near the breaking point.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, A Blog For All, Liberty Street, jules crittenden, Don Surber, Macsmind, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, The Reaction, Daily Kos, Redstate, First Draft, SOTUblog, Blue Girl, Red State, Blue Crab Boulevard, Bark Bark Woof Woof, TalkLeft, The Political Pit Bull, State of the Day and Oliver Willis
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Washington Post:
President Bush on Iraq, Elections and Immigration — This 25-minute interview was conducted yesterday in the Oval Office by Washington Post staff writers Peter Baker, Michael A. Fletcher and Michael Abramowitz. — President Bush: Listen, a couple of things before we get going.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, The Road to Surfdom, The Heretik, Crooks and Liars and Blue Crab Boulevard
Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:
The Robert Gates Riddle — Will Defense Secretary Robert Gates be a voice of realism within the Bush administration? Or will he bend his knee to the ideologues? — Gates offered hints to support both possibilities yesterday at his swearing-in ceremony. But his true allegiance will soon be put to a very public test.
Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:
Bush Sees 'Opportunities' on Social Security, Immigration — President Bush said yesterday that he intends to work with the new Democratic majority in Congress on a broad range of domestic issues, declaring that despite the impending power shift there are "some wonderful opportunities" …
Discussion:
Beat the Press
Peter Baker / Washington Post:
U.S. not winning war in Iraq, Bush says — President seeking expansion of Army, Marine Corps — President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and said he plans to expand the overall size of the "stressed" …
Sen. Harry Reid / The Huffington Post:
The Clock is Ticking, Mr. President — Frankly, I don't believe that more troops is the answer for Iraq. It's a civil war and America should not be policing a Sunni-Shia conflict. In addition, we don't have the additional forces to put in there. We obviously want to support what commanders …
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Chris Bowers / MyDD:
Reid on the Surge — I assume there will be endless spleen about this post online:
Reid on the Surge — I assume there will be endless spleen about this post online:
Discussion:
Eschaton
Joseph Rago / Opinion Journal:
The Blog Mob — "Written by fools to be read by imbeciles." — Blogs are very important these days. Even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has one. The invention of the Web log, we are told, is as transformative as Gutenberg's press, and has shoved journalism into a reformation, perhaps a revolution.
Salamander Davoudi / Financial Times:
UK report says robots will have rights — The next time you beat your keyboard in frustration, think of a day where it may be able to sue you for assault. Within 50 years we might even find ourselves standing next to the next generation of vacuum cleaners in the voting booth.
Associated Press:
Reality check: 95 percent of Americans had premarital sex — NEW YORK (AP) — More than nine out of 10 Americans, men and women alike, have had premarital sex, according to a new study. The high rates extend even to women born in the 1940s, challenging perceptions that people were more chaste in the past.
baldilocks:
A Warning To The Right — I'm tired of it all. — I'm tired of the insinuations about Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) because his dead father was a Muslim. I'm tired of the insinuations about his middle name—Hussein—and the racist/bigoted insinuations that I've seen on the Right that flow from there.
Katherine Baldwin / Reuters:
Blair to urge Middle East states to rein in Iran — DUBAI (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair will call on Wednesday for Middle East states to rein in what he calls the threat from Iran and to help advance peacemaking between Israelis and Palestinians.
Adam Zagorin / Time:
Syria in Bush's Crosshairs — Exclusive: A classified document suggests the Administration is considering a plan to fund political opposition to the Damascus government. Some critics say it would be an unwarranted covert action — The Bush Administration has been quietly nurturing individuals …
Discussion:
Right Wing News
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Swamped by Muslims — By Glenn Greenwald — The following is a letter sent by Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) to various constituents as a result of what his office claims is "a flood of e-mails from constituents in response to newly elected Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison's declaration …
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David Schraub / The Moderate Voice:
Give Him A Shot — I'm an admitted Obama-phile. But I'll agree that there are questions as to whether he should run in 2008. It is not a foregone conclusion that he is the best candidate—or best Democrat—in the field. He has a lot to prove over the coming months to show that he ought to be President.
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Adam Nagourney / The Caucus:
Gilmore, Courting Conservatives, Explores 2008 Bid — James S. Gilmore III, a former Virginia governor and chairman of the Republican National Committee, announced today that he would form a committee to explore a presidential bid in 2008, saying the Republican field lacked a "committed conservative" …
Discussion:
SOTUblog
Dan / Daniel W. Drezner:
HOW GOOD IS THE DATA ON GIULIANI? — I received an e-mail today about the join Rudy website. This triggered a question that's been in the back of my head since I read Ryan Sager's The Elephant In The Room. Sager mentioned in the book that in a 2005 CPAC straw poll, Rudy Giuliani was the co-leader.
White House:
Press Briefing by Tony Snow — White House Conference Center Briefing Room — MR. SNOW: Before we begin the questions, just a couple of comments on bill signings today, and then I'll be happy to take any questions you have. — Today, the President, accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs. Bush, signed the following bills into law.