Top Items:
Matthew Mosk / Washington Post:
Defections to Fred Thompson Pose a Major Threat to McCain — John Dowd represented Sen. John McCain in his darkest hour, the "Keating Five" scandal. He supported McCain the first time he ran for president in 2000 and signed up to be a major fundraiser for him in this year's presidential race.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Redstate, Feministe, MSNBC, TIME, DownWithTyranny!, Needlenose, Wonkette, Townhall.com and On Deadline
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Dan Balz / Washington Post:
A Failure of Leadership in a Flawed Political Culture — The collapse of comprehensive immigration revision in the Senate last night represents a political defeat for President Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the bill's most prominent sponsors.
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
The Inside Story Of How The Senate Immigration Bill Died — A GOP Aide, who's one of my sources in the Senate, gave me the rundown on what happened to the Senate bill today. — After the 2nd cloture vote failure at noon on Thursday, Harry Reid could not get unanimous consent to call …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Townhall.com, Shakesville, The Young Turks, The Moderate Voice, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Sister Toldjah and IMAO
New York Times:
Immigrant Bill, Short 15 Votes, Stalls in Senate — The sweeping immigration overhaul endorsed by President Bush crumbled in the Senate on Thursday night, leaving the future of one of the administration's chief domestic priorities in serious doubt. — After a day of tension and fruitless maneuvering …
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Two Years of Humble Pie — In Britain, Canada and other civilized places, national elections are often called, run and concluded within six weeks. In America, election campaigns go on forever. It used to be one year, now it's two. No one planned this, but like other evolutionary artifacts …
Discussion:
PoliBlog (TM), Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Carry on America, Blue Crab Boulevard, Central Sanity and QandO
Fouad Ajami / Opinion Journal:
Fallen Soldier — Mr. President, do not leave this man behind. — Mr. President, some weeks ago, I wrote a letter of appeal, a character reference, to Judge Reggie B. Walton, urging leniency for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Scooter, I said, has seen the undoing of his world, but he comes before a …
Discussion:
The Anonymous Liberal, Power Line, Unqualified Offerings, Eunomia, Brendan Nyhan and National Review
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Lies, Sighs and Politics — If early campaign reporting is any guide, the bad media habits that helped install the worst president ever in the White House haven't changed a bit.
Jill Gardiner / New York Sun:
Peace Corps Is Edwards Terror Plan — Senator Edwards is outlining a new national security strategy that hinges on the creation of a 10,000-person civilian peace corps to stem the tide of terrorism in weak and unstable countries. — Mr. Edwards's plan, which he presented in Manhattan yesterday …
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Gregory / The Belgravia Dispatch:
WILY VLADIMIR — PUTIN TO BUSH: So, what's so special about putting the interceptors in Poland? (Putin and Bush comment here). — Putin, I think it's fair to say, rather outmaneuvered Bush on this issue at the G-8 meeting, first by making the case there's nothing particularly magic …
Discussion:
White House
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New York Times:
It's Subpoena Time — For months, senators have listened to a parade of well-coached Justice Department witnesses claiming to know nothing about how nine prosecutors were chosen for firing. This week, it was the turn of Bradley Schlozman, a former federal attorney in Missouri, to be uninformative and not credible.
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Muckraked:
Turning the Page: The Real Che? — He's the ultimate symbol of radical chic but was Che Guevara really a homophobic, racist square who personally ordered the jailing and executions of innocent men, women and children? — That's according to Humberto Fontova, the author of …
Discussion:
Hot Air
Stephen Benjamin / New York Times:
Don't Ask, Don't Translate — IMAGINE for a moment an American soldier deep in the Iraqi desert. His unit is about to head out when he receives a cable detailing an insurgent ambush right in his convoy's path. With this information, he and his soldiers are now prepared for the danger that lies ahead.
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
Berger Is Disbarred After Archives Case — Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger, a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, was voluntarily disbarred from the practice of law yesterday by the D.C. Court of Appeals. — Berger agreed last month to relinquish his law license to the D.C. Board …
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org
Keith Bradsher / New York Times:
Rise in China's Pork Prices Signals End to Cheap Output — Few things are as essential to the Chinese as their pigs. — From pork spare ribs and mu shu pork to char siu bao — barbecued pork buns — pork is a staple of the Chinese diet. So in this Year of the Pig, an acute shortage …
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Light shines on authors of earmarks — Members of the House Armed Services Committee have requested millions of dollars in federal earmarks for companies that have contributed thousands of dollars to their reelection funds, according to a review of funding requests made publicly available for the first time.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters
Marc Kaufman / Washington Post:
Complaints Heard About NASA Inspector General — Former top associates of embattled NASA Inspector General Robert "Moose" Cobb accused him in an unusual House-Senate congressional inquiry yesterday of being abusive, vulgar, unprofessional and seemingly beholden to top management of the agency he oversees.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice