Top Items:
Jim Rutenberg / The Caucus:
Romney Favors Hubbard Novel — "What's your favorite novel?" is a perennial campaign question, the answer to which presumably gives insight into leadership. — A "Moby-Dick" lover may understand the perils of obsessively chasing of a goal. A fan of "To Kill a Mockingbird" may well focus on racial justice.
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Matthew Yglesias:
The Weird Religions Candidate — Dave Weigel notes that Mitt Romney says his favorite novel is L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth: … Dave comments: "No, that isn't true. Battlefield Earth is awful. Nobody reads that book except Scientologists and smartasses who want to giggle at Scientologists …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
David Weigel / Reason Magazine:
Mitt Romney: As Happy as a Baby Psychlo on a Straight Diet of Kerbango — Reporters who ask politicians fluff questions like "what's your favorite novel?" rarely get answers like this. … No, that isn't true. Battlefield Earth is awful. Nobody reads that book except Scientologists …
Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
FAVORITES....Today's mandatory blogging is about Mitt Romney's …
FAVORITES....Today's mandatory blogging is about Mitt Romney's …
Discussion:
Unfogged
Think Progress:
ABC: Reports Of Masri's Death False, 'Part Of A Misinformation Campaign' — According to ABC News, reports that al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been killed are "unconfirmed and part of a misinformation campaign." ABC has not posted its full story yet, and details are unclear …
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Evan Kohlmann / Counterterrorism Blog:
Al-Qaida in Iraq Leader Dead? Don't Count Your Chickens Just Yet...
Al-Qaida in Iraq Leader Dead? Don't Count Your Chickens Just Yet...
Discussion:
Pajamas Media
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
House Committee Readies for Gonzales Redo — For those of you eager to relive Alberto Gonzales' hearing from two weeks ago, you're in luck. Gonzales is scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee next Thursday, May 10. — Along with the expected questions about the U.S. attorney firings …
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New York Times:
Bill on Iraq to Be Delivered 4 Years After Bush's Words — Democratic leaders in Congress are planning a special ceremony on Tuesday afternoon to send President Bush a bill that sets timetables for troop withdrawal from Iraq. — The timing is no accident.
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Republicans Buck Bush On Iraq Benchmarks
Republicans Buck Bush On Iraq Benchmarks
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, First Read, Pandagon, Connecting.the.Dots, Daily Kos and The Democratic Daily
Think Progress:
'Mission Accomplished' By The Numbers … U.S. Troops Wounded … U.S. Troops Killed … Contractors Killed … Journalists and Media Assistants Killed … U.S. Forces in Iraq … Size of Iraqi Security Forces … Number of Insurgents … Insurgent Attacks Per Day … Cost to U.S. Taxpayers
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, Firedoglake, The Garlic, abw.mee.nu, On Deadline, The Heretik and On Politics
RELATED:
The New Republic:
The Left's New Machine — MOST POLITICAL ACTIVISTS can point to one catalyzing event, an episode in each of their lives (or, more often, in the life of their country) that shook them from their complacency and roused them to change the world. You can find many such stories if you troll through …
Discussion:
Political Animal, The Corner, MyDD, Lawyers, Guns and Money, theGarance.com, TalkLeft and TPMCafe blogs
Martin Peers / Wall Street Journal:
News Corp. Offers $60 a Share In Unsolicited Bid for Dow Jones — Dow Jones & Co., parent of The Wall Street Journal, said it received an unsolicited $5 billion offer from News Corp. — The publisher said the board and members and trustees of the controlling Bancroft family are evaluating …
Discussion:
The Big Picture, BuzzMachine, Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, Valleywag, Romenesko, Media Blog and TigerHawk
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Amanda / Think Progress:
State Dept: Iraq Has Been 'Good For The Effort To Reduce Terrorism' — Yesterday, the State Department released its annual terrorism report, showing that the number of terrorist attacks worldwide rose by 20,000 (40 percent) last year. Iraq accounted for nearly two-thirds of last year's terrorism-related deaths.
Discussion:
US Department of State, NewsBusters.org, MSNBC, The Carpetbagger Report and Liberty Street
RELATED:
Arwa Damon / CNN:
Shadowy Iraq office accused of sectarian agenda … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraq's prime minister has created an entity within his government that U.S. and Iraqi military officials say is being used as a smokescreen to hide an extreme Shiite agenda that is worsening the country's sectarian divide.
George W. Bush / White House:
Loyalty Day, 2007 — A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America — America was founded by patriots who risked their lives to bring freedom to our Nation. Today, our citizens are grateful for our Founding Fathers and confident in the principles that lead us forward.
Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
Wolfowitz Goes on the Attack, but Hints at a Deal — Paul D. Wolfowitz defended himself vigorously on Monday, declaring that it would be "unjust and frankly hypocritical" for the World Bank's board to find him guilty of ethical lapses. But he also hinted that he would discuss whether …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Democratic Daily, Majikthise, The Osterley Times and A Tiny Revolution
RELATED:
Bret Stephens / Opinion Journal:
Notes on a Scandal — How ethical are Paul Wolfowitz's detractors?
Notes on a Scandal — How ethical are Paul Wolfowitz's detractors?
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Paul Kane / Capitol Briefing:
DeLay's PAC closes shop — The political action committee for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was quietly closed last week after a decade-long run as one of the most influential - and infamous - PACs run by members of Congress. — With a final $1,400 payment …
Robert B. Bluey / The Hill:
Give bloggers Capitol access — This is the first article in a weekly series, exclusively in The Hill, exploring the recommendations of the Sunlight Foundation's Open House Project, which advocates online transparency in Congress. — Members of Congress are increasingly turning to bloggers …
Eric Boehlert / Media Matters for America:
What haircut stories tell us about the press — Only because it would save time and make them more efficient, I think members of the Beltway press corps should consider starting up a new reporting pool, to duplicate the one currently in place for shadowing the president …