Top Items:
Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:
Russert on the Hot Seat in Libby Trial — WASHINGTON (AP) — NBC's Tim Russert got the sort of "Meet the Press" interrogation he usually gives to his guests as attorneys Thursday flashed excerpts of his previous statements on a video monitor and asked him to explain inconsistencies.
Discussion:
Dean's World
RELATED:
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Tim Russert, on The Uncomfortable Side of a Question — From the moment he hobbled into the wood-paneled courtroom on a single crutch from an ankle injury, Tim Russert seemed very different from the familiar television figure of Sunday morning combat. — He was careful, sober and subdued.
Discussion:
New York Times
Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
7 GOP Senators Back War Debate — Lawmakers Had Blocked Action on Troop Resolution — Senate Republicans who earlier this week helped block deliberations on a resolution opposing President Bush's new troop deployments in Iraq changed course yesterday and vowed to use every tactic at their disposal to ensure a full and open debate.
Discussion:
Unclaimed Territory, Captain's Quarters, The Washington Note, Associated Press, The Left Coaster, PoliBlog (TM), Decision '08, Angry Bear, The Carpetbagger Report, The Moderate Voice, DownWithTyranny!, Blue Crab Boulevard, AMERICAblog, Power Line, Jules Crittenden, State of the Day, Middle Earth Journal and The Heretik
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Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Allied With Democrats, Lieberman Easily Aligns With Republicans — It came as little surprise that when Senate Republicans blocked debate Monday on a resolution that would have opposed President Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, erstwhile Democrat, sided with them.
Discussion:
Sirotablog
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
House Sets Path for Iraq Vote, but Must Decide What to Say — As the House prepares for three days of debate next week on Iraq, Democratic leaders sought Wednesday to reconcile deep differences within the party in order to shape a symbolic resolution denouncing President Bush's troop buildup plan.
Washington Times:
Pentagon limits Pelosi jet size — The Department of Defense yesterday sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that puts limits on the size of the plane she may use to travel across the country and restricts the guests she can bring, The Washington Times has learned.
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Edward Epstein / San Francisco Chronicle:
GOP makes much ado about the size of Pelosi's plane — The House speaker has had the use of a government jet since the Sept. 11 attacks — (02-08) 04:00 PST Washington — The way Speaker Nancy Pelosi will travel home to San Francisco and on official business is the latest tempest to hit the House of Representatives.
MSNBC:
Pelosi: I'll fly commercial — Speaker says politics behind whispers she wants a bigger plane — WASHINGTON - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hinted her opposition to the war in Iraq is behind the storm over her desire to fly non-stop from Washington to her home in San Francisco.
New York Times:
Mormon Candidate Braces for Religion as Issue — As he begins campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is facing a threshold issue: Will his religion — he is a Mormon — be a big obstacle to winning the White House?
Ryan Grim / The Politico:
Bush Wants Funding Jump for Anti-Drug Ads Rated as Useless — President Bush has proposed a significant jump in funding for an anti-drug advertising campaign that government-funded research shows is at best useless and at worst has increased drug use among some teens.
New York Times:
Copter Crashes Suggest Change in Iraqi Tactics — With two more helicopter crashes near Baghdad, including a Marine transport crash on Wednesday that killed seven people, the number of helicopters that have gone down in Iraq over the past three weeks rose to six.
Discussion:
TAPPED, The Moderate Voice, The Heretik, Talking Points Memo, The Carpetbagger Report and The Daily Background
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
2008 Field Sprouts Rootless Candidates — The 2008 presidential campaign has already produced the next generation of American politicians. They don't have local accents. That's because they don't have local roots. Nor do they boast legions of home-state friends, teachers and mentors …
Rasha Madkour / Associated Press:
Charged Astronaut Returns to Texas — HOUSTON (AP) - Hiding her face from the cameras, astronaut Lisa Nowak returned to Texas on Wednesday, a day after being charged in Florida with trying to murder the woman she believed was her romantic rival for a space shuttle pilot's affections.
Jim Lindgren / The Volokh Conspiracy:
MANY 1967-72 SPITTING INCIDENTS ARE DOCUMENTED IN THE PRESS. Hundreds of Vietnam-era veterans have publicly claimed in recent decades that they were spat on by citizens or anti-war protesters because of their military status either before they went to Vietnam, on leave, or after their return from overseas.
Nibras Kazimi / New York Sun:
Blackout of the Press — Abu Omar al-Baghdadi made his grand entrance onto the jihadist stage on October 12, 2006, and since then he's delivered two very important speeches — the more recent one came out last week — and has taken credit for much of the spectacular outbreaks of violence in Iraq of late …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Heart-ache: Islamist parasite Abu Izzadeen arrested for inciting terrorism; Update: Whitewash headlines added! — It's bittersweet. How can it not be? He's practically the mascot of this site, from his first big splash this summer to the famous heckling incident with Home Secretary John Reid …