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MSNBC:
Trent Lott announces his resignation — Minority whip says he will leave Senate before end of the year — Pascagoula, Mississippi - Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, announced Monday he will retire from the Senate by end of year.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Fix, Firedoglake, Hot Air, The Rothenberg Political …, MyDD, michellemalkin.com, Capitol Briefing, The Politico, CNN, TalkLeft, Big Head DC, Taegan Goddard's …, Political Machine, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Outside The Beltway, Captain's Quarters, Associated Press, Pensito Review, The BRAD BLOG, Cheat Seeking Missiles, BitsBlog, Beltway Blogroll, PoliBlog (TM), Left in the West, JammieWearingFool, The Carpetbagger Report, The Plank, Sweetness & Light, Detroit Times, Talking Points Memo and Swing State Project
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The Politico:
Top official: Lott to resign — Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) plans to resign his seat by year's end, a senior Republican official told Politico. — The announcement took Capitol Hill by surprise because Lott, the former majority leader, seemed to be relishing his job as minority whip, the second-ranking GOP leadership job.
Qassim Abdul-Zahra / Associated Press:
Iraqis may offer US deal to stay longer — BAGHDAD - Iraq's government, seeking protection against foreign threats and internal coups, will offer the U.S. a long-term troop presence in Iraq in return for U.S. security guarantees as part of a strategic partnership, two Iraqi officials said Monday.
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Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
White House Releases "Principles" for Permanent Iraqi Presence — So it begins. After years of obfuscation and denial on the length of the U.S.'s stay in Iraq, the White House and the Maliki government have released a joint declaration of "principles" for "friendship and cooperation."
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Iraqis Offer Long-Term Security Partnership — The Iraqi government has offered the US a long-term security partnership that envisions a lower profile for American troops, as well as economic advantages for US investors. The agreement would replace the current UN mandate, which Iraq wants extended only to the end of 2008.
Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:
The False Conservative — Who would respond to criticism from the Club for Growth by calling the conservative, free-market campaign organization the "Club for Greed"? That sounds like Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich or John Edwards, all Democrats preaching the class struggle.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, CNN Political Ticker, Weekly Standard, MoJoBlog, Associated Press, The Mahablog, michellemalkin.com, NewsBusters.org, Left in the West, The Anonymous Liberal, Firedoglake, Outside The Beltway, Detroit Times, Transterrestrial Musings, Vox Popoli, The Carpetbagger Report, Say Anything, BitsBlog, Paul Krugman and Confederate Yankee
The Politico:
Clinton and Obama switch roles in Iowa — DES MOINES — In a reversal of fortune, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is barnstorming Iowa with a front-runner's swagger while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) scrambles like an underdog. — In ways big and small over the weekend …
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Drudge Report:
DON'T GO THERE: BRIT PAPER STARTS 'UGLIEST MONTH' — The TIMES of London starts 'The Ugliest Month' with a full page photo takeout on Hillary Clinton and her beautiful personal assistant. — "Hillary Clinton has been accused of having an affair with Huma Abedin," reads the caption.
Patrick Ruffini / Townhall.com:
Ron Paul Has Won — He won't win the nomination. He won't win any primaries. But for Ron Paul's quixotic bid for the White House, it's "Mission Accomplished." — Take a look at this from Sunday's Washington Post. Not just the article but the killer packaging:
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Rice's Turnabout on Mideast Talks — At President Bush's first National Security Council meeting in January 2001, he announced that he did not want to be drawn into the shattered Middle East peace process, people at the meeting recalled, because he believed that former President Bill Clinton …
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
President Bush and 'Madame Rice': A Personal Bond Helps Align Policy — Condoleezza Rice and President Bush are often described as opposites, but their closest advisers say they are remarkably alike. Both are products of their own elites — Mr. Bush from the old East Coast establishment …
Sara A. Carter / Washington Times:
Islamists target Arizona base — Fort Huachuca, the nation's largest intelligence-training center, changed security measures in May after being warned that Islamist terrorists, with the aid of Mexican drug cartels, were planning an attack on the facility. — Fort officials changed security measures …
Discussion:
AMERICAN DIGEST, Argghhh!, Captain's Quarters, Wizbang, The Sundries Shack, YID With LID, Say Anything and PrairiePundit
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Rudy: It's time to unmask Romney — WINDHAM, N.H. — In a big strategic shift, Rudy Giuliani hammered Mitt Romney's record on three fronts, saying it was time to "take the mask off and take a look at what kind of governor he was." — Using some of the toughest language of his campaign …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Captain's Quarters, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Political Radar, Flopping Aces, MSNBC, PrairiePundit and JustOneMinute
Joe Hagan / New York Magazine:
Dan Rather's Last Big Story Is Himself — If he weren't famous, he'd be mistaken for a veteran of a long-ago war: khaki safari shirt on his back, scuffed combat boots on his feet, that wiry crest of a brow, rheumy eyes under heavy lids, lower lip jutting out like an ornery fish resisting a hook.
The Corner:
Hastert Resigns Today — I am told that former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) is faxing his resignation letter to Gov. Rod Blagojevich this afternoon. — Once the resignation is official, the governor has five days to set the special election within 120 days of the resignation.
Stephanie Coontz / New York Times:
Taking Marriage Private — WHY do people — gay or straight — need the state's permission to marry? For most of Western history, they didn't, because marriage was a private contract between two families. The parents' agreement to the match, not the approval of church or state, was what confirmed its validity.
Jed Babbin / Human Events:
The Second Amendment Wedge — Hillary calls them, "kitchen table issues," the political questions Americans take seriously enough to talk about them privately, in their homes, among family and friends. Whether she likes it or not, one of those issues is gun control.
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