Top Items:
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Death Knell May Be Near for Public Election Funds — The public financing system for presidential campaigns, a post-Watergate initiative hailed for decades as the best way to rid politics of the corrupting influence of money, may have quietly died over the weekend.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Outside The Beltway, PoliBlog (TM), Matthew Yglesias, Don Surber and The Moderate Voice
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Mike Dorning / Chicago Tribune:
Big bucks needed to wage presidential campaign — WASHINGTON — The Iowa caucuses that kick off the presidential campaign are nearly a year away. For the most viable contenders, make that one year and $100 million away. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has that capacity, and other contenders believe that they do as well.
New York Times:
Bush, at Low Point in Polls, Will Push Domestic Agenda — Carrying some of the worst public approval ratings of any president in a generation, President Bush is heading into his State of the Union address on Tuesday night seeking to revitalize his domestic agenda but facing stiff resistance …
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Michael van der Galien / The Moderate Voice:
Guest Voice: Governor Schwarzenegger's Office on Health Care
Guest Voice: Governor Schwarzenegger's Office on Health Care
Discussion:
Polimom Says
Liz Cheney / Washington Post:
Retreat Isn't an Option — Sen. Hillary Clinton declared this weekend, " I'm in to win." Anyone who has watched her remarkable trajectory can have no doubt that she'll do whatever it takes to win the presidency. I wish she felt the same way about the war.
Josephine Hearn / politico.com:
Black Caucus: Whites Not Allowed — Freshman Rep. Stephen I. Cohen, D-Tenn., is not joining the Congressional Black Caucus after several current and former members made it clear that a white lawmaker was not welcome. — "I think they're real happy I'm not going to join," said Cohen …
Los Angeles Times:
Scant evidence found of Iran-Iraq arms link — U.S. warnings of advanced weaponry crossing the border are overstated, critics say. — BAQUBAH, IRAQ — If there is anywhere Iran could easily stir up trouble in Iraq, it would be in Diyala, a rugged province along the border between the two nations.
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New York Times:
Key Republican Senator Offers Bipartisan Call to Reject Bush Plan for More Troops in Iraq — Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, one of Congress's leading authorities on the military, presented a bipartisan proposal on Monday that soundly rejected President Bush's plan to send more American troops …
Discussion:
the talking dog, DownWithTyranny!, Kiko's House, CNN Political Ticker and Andrew Sullivan
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Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Headmaster Disputes Claim That Obama Attended Islamic School — Fresh doubt was cast yesterday on a magazine's allegation that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) attended a madrassah, or religious school that teaches a fundamentalist version of Islam. — Hardi Priyono, deputy headmaster …
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CBS News:
Poll: Bush Approval Rating At New Low — On Eve Of State Of Union, President's Approval Rating Falls To 28%, A New Low — (CBS) President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night to a nation that's strongly opposed to his plan for increasing troops in Iraq …
Haaretz:
1 dead, 10 hurt as opposition moves to topple Lebanon gov't — At least 11 men were wounded Tuesday in clashes during the first hours of a Lebanese general strike called by the Hezbollah-led opposition to try to topple Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Western-backed government.
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Nadine Elsibai / Bloomberg:
Bush Poll Ratings Before Speech Fall to Nixon's Level (Update2) — Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush's approval ratings are now the lowest for any president the day before a State of the Union speech since Richard Nixon in 1974, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
USA Today:
Lawmakers have loved ones in combat zone — WASHINGTON — Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., lost his nephew, Philip, in Iraq. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., says his son, Alan, had two close calls: one from an improvised explosive device, the other from a sniper. — Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo. …
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden
PJM / Pajamas Media:
The State of the Union is a Disaster: — The Speech George Bush Should Make Tuesday Night — Don't bother standing up or clapping, any of you. I already know who won the election, and I know how you feel. — I come before you tonight not to make amends, not to make it good, curry any favor or find any middle ground.
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack
David Kopel / The Volokh Conspiracy:
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT: If you take Second Amendment issues into account when deciding whom to support, or if you simply are interested how the candidates will likely fare with an important bloc of voters, here's a preliminary assessment of some of the people who have been listed as likely or definite candidates.
Reuters:
MP says Iran bars 38 atomic inspectors: agency — TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has barred 38 inspectors with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), from entering the country, an Iranian lawmaker was quoted by Iran's ISNA news agency on Monday as saying.
White House:
Press Briefing by Tony Snow — White House Conference Center Briefing Room — MR. SNOW: Good morning, hope you all had a good weekend. Here is a quick run-through on the President's schedule. He is at Camp David right now; he's had normal briefings through the morning.
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
Nearly two-thirds in U.S. have given up on Iraq — NBC/WSJ poll: Bush 'really in the cellar of public opinion' — WASHINGTON - When President Bush delivers his next-to-last State of the Union address Tuesday night, he will confront this reality, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll …