Top Items:
Martin Arnold / Financial Times:
Defeated Socialists search for scapegoats — Let the finger-pointing begin. Ségolène Royal's defeat on Sunday night left the French Socialist party in disarray and searching for someone to blame. There is hardly a shortage of scapegoats. — It is the party's third consecutive presidential defeat.
Discussion:
The Independent, Outside The Beltway, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Times of London, QandO, Andrew Bolt, Redstate and Babalu Blog
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Craig S. Smith / New York Times:
Sarkozy Wins the Chance to Prove His Critics Wrong — Arrogant, brutal, an authoritarian demagogue, a "perfect Iago": the president-elect of France has been called a lot of unpleasant things in recent months and now has five years to prove his critics wrong.
John Fund / Opinion Journal:
L'Adulte — Can Sarkozy reform France? — Conservative Nikolas Sarkozy's comfortable victory over Socialist Ségolène Royal in France's presidential race may that indicate Europe's slowest-growing major economy is finally ready for some change.
Angela Charlton / Associated Press:
Nicolas Sarkozy wins French presidency — PARIS - Nicolas Sarkozy, a blunt and uncompromising pro-American conservative, was elected president of France Sunday with a mandate to chart a new course for an economically sluggish nation struggling to incorporate immigrants and their children.
New York Times:
French Voters Pick Sarkozy to Be President; Turnout High — Nicolas Sarkozy, an immigrant's son who had the French presidency in his sights for three decades, won a decisive victory in the election on Sunday, keeping the right in power for the next five years.
Discussion:
Charles Bremner, Publius Pundit, theGarance.com, Matthew Yglesias, The Australian and Pajamas Media
MSNBC:
Nicolas Sarkozy elected French president — Socialist Royal concedes; U.S. 'can count on our friendship,' new leader says — French President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy is cheered Sunday by supporters at the Gaveau concert hall in Paris, shortly after polls closed. — NBC video — At the polls in France
Economist:
A force for change — Nicolas Sarkozy is comfortably elected as president.
A force for change — Nicolas Sarkozy is comfortably elected as president.
Discussion:
Daniel W. Drezner
Angelique Chrisafis / Guardian:
Cheering crowds hail Sarkozy's triumph
Cheering crowds hail Sarkozy's triumph
Discussion:
International Herald Tribune, Mercury Rising, The Reaction, Swords Crossed, Captain's Quarters and Andrew Bolt
Matthew Campbell / Times of London:
French suburbs threaten riotous dawn for the reign of Sarkozy
French suburbs threaten riotous dawn for the reign of Sarkozy
Discussion:
Tim Blair
Charles Bremner / Times of London:
There'll be a new, hands-on style of presidency . . . and a fair bit of pain
There'll be a new, hands-on style of presidency . . . and a fair bit of pain
Hugh Hewitt / Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog:
Newspaper Suicide: The Star Tribune Kills Lileks' Column — Let's see. Your circulation is crashing. The value of your paper has plummeted. Everyone in the industry recognizes that the the future is online, and most realize that the byline has become the brand and that writers …
Discussion:
Riehl World View, Roger Ailes, CorrenteWire, Don Surber, Minnesota Monitor and Ed Driscoll.com
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See-Dubya / Hot Air:
Lileks could use a hand — James Lileks is a funny guy and a damn fine writer. I've been reading him at Lileks.com since 2002 and am amazed that he hasn't been snapped up by a major national paper. For a long time he did have an indispensible political column with Newhouse News Service …
Discussion:
JunkYardBlog
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
CBS's Late Bloomer — NEW YORK—Byron Pitts was chatting with students at a Harlem charter school the day before a recent visit by President Bush when the CBS correspondent had a realization: They viewed him as just another empty suit who couldn't possibly understand their problems. Little did they know.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
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Real Cities:
Congress considers broadening Justice Department inquiry — WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators are beginning to focus on accusations that a top civil rights official at the Justice Department illegally hired lawyers based on their political affiliations, especially for sensitive voting rights jobs.
Charlie Savage / Boston Globe:
Missouri attorney a focus in firings — Senate bypassed in appointment of Schlozman — Bradley Schlozman now works handling sentencing matters and cybercrime for the Justice Department. — WASHINGTON — Todd Graves brought just four misdemeanor voter fraud indictments during his five years …
Los Angeles Times:
Bring them home — Iraqis need political reconciliation, not occupation; and U.S. troops shouldn't referee a civil war. — WHATEVER THE future holds, the United States has not "lost" and cannot "lose" Iraq. It was never ours in the first place. And however history will judge the war …
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Associated Press:
Al Qaeda Video Mocks Bush, Withdrawal Bill — Bin Laden Deputy Prays On Tape For 200K To 300K More Americans Dead Before U.S. Pullout — (AP) A new video of al Qaeda's No. 2 leader mocks President Bush and legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq …
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
California Gains Clout With Earlier Primary — When Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, finished a speech on foreign policy recently in Northern California, he was surrounded by reporters who wanted to ask about another topic: global warming and how it was contributing to the state's water shortage.
Joel Garreau / Washington Post:
Bots on The Ground — In the Field of Battle (Or Even Above It), Robots Are a Soldier's Best Friend — The most effective way to find and destroy a land mine is to step on it. — This has bad results, of course, if you're a human. But not so much if you're a robot and have as many legs …
Sonya Geis / Washington Post:
Flavoring Suspected in Illness — Calif. Considers Banning Chemical Used in Microwave Popcorn — SOUTH GATE, Calif. — She was once in constant motion; her co-workers compared her to a roadrunner because of the way she darted around the workplace. But now Irma Ortiz sits at the edge of her couch …
Discussion:
The Pump Handle