Top Items:
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama apologizes to Nancy Reagan for ‘careless’ joke — President-elect Barack Obama called Nancy Reagan this afternoon to apologize for a joke about her having held “séances” in the White House, an Obama aide said. — “President-elect Barack Obama called Nancy Reagan today …
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama has spoken only to living presidents — Obama says in his first post-election press conference that he's spoken to all the former presidents — Carter, Bush, Clinton, as well as the current Bush — and, looser than he's been in months, dares a joke at the expense of the widow of the most recently deceased.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, The Moderate Voice, The Caucus, Hot Air, HillBuzz, BizzyBlog, Scared Monkeys, Philly.com, Political Punch, NewsBusters.org and The E&P Pub
The Politico:
Byrd will voluntarily give up chairmanship — Senate legend Robert Byrd, approaching 91 this month and hailing a “new day in Washington,” said he would voluntarily give up the chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee with the new Congress. — “To everything there is a season …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reuters, Outside The Beltway, AMERICAblog News and The Washington Independent
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Ryan Grim / The Politico:
McConnell reaches out to Lieberman — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has reached out to Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) about the prospect of joining the Republican Conference, but Lieberman is still bargaining with Democratic leaders to keep his chairmanship, according to Senate aides in both parties.
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Byrd to Quit Powerful Senate Appropriations Post
Byrd to Quit Powerful Senate Appropriations Post
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WHAT LIEBERMAN FINDS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’.... As political theater goes …
WHAT LIEBERMAN FINDS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’.... As political theater goes …
Discussion:
TPM Election Central, Buck Naked Politics, ABCNEWS, CNN, ATTACKERMAN, The Crypt's Blogs, MyDD, Brian Beutler and The Sideshow
Pam Spaulding / Pam's House Blend:
The N-bomb is dropped on black passersby at Prop 8 protests — UPDATE: the openly gay president of People for the American Way, Kathryn Kolbert, has released a statement. It's below the fold. — You could see this coming, and this is what I'm talking about when you ignore the elephant in the room.
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Marc Ambinder:
Rumor Patrol: Romney Camp Spreading Palin Stories? — Rumor: Aides and advisers to Mitt Romney are responsible for spreading most of the anti-Palin stories that have been going around; during the campaign, they pressured reporters to look into reports of tension between McCain and Palin factions.
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Robynn Tysver / Omaha World-Herald:
Breaking News: Obama wins electoral vote in Nebraska — Barack Obama made history today in Nebraska. — The Democratic presidential candidate claimed an electoral vote in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District — the first time in more than four decades a Democrat won any of Nebraska's electoral votes.
Discussion:
Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight.com, Booman Tribune, PoliBlog (TM), TalkLeft, Liberal Values and Donklephant
CNN:
Transcript: 'I'm going to confront this economic crisis,' Obama says — CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Sen. Barack Obama spoke at a his first news conference as president-elect Friday afternoon. The following is a transcript of the conference: — Obama: Thank you very much, everybody.
Discussion:
FishBowlDC, The Caucus, Sister Toldjah, Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, The Impolitic and Connecting.the.Dots
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Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Complete transcript of Pres.-elect Barack Obama's first news conference
Complete transcript of Pres.-elect Barack Obama's first news conference
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reason, Crooks and Liars, TalkLeft, The Washington Independent and Unqualified Offerings
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Obama's First Press Conference: Mission Accomplished?
Obama's First Press Conference: Mission Accomplished?
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Scott Horton / The Daily Beast:
Palin's Mole at The Times — Exclusive: Palin's Mole at the New York Times By Scott Horton — Did Bill Kristol use the Gray Lady to fight the McCain campaign's civil war? — Was John McCain's senior foreign policy advisor Randy Scheunemann fired for leaking sensitive information to his friend …
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: “Governor Palin did nothing wrong,” …
Video: “Governor Palin did nothing wrong,” …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Flopping Aces, Rasmussen Reports, Right Wing News, PoliGazette, Climate Progress and Think Progress
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
“Irrelevant” — Thanks for the memories, but you were all completely “Irrelevant” during the historic victory that Barack Obama achieved during 2008 Presidential election. All your smears failed to change the course of history. — “Irrelevant” — “Irrelevant” — “Irrelevant” — “Irrelevant”
Discussion:
American Power
Emily Heffter / Seattle Times:
Reichert wins tight race for 8th District — U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert has survived a second Democratic wave election, bucking a national trend that flipped at least 24 Republican congressional seats to Democrats. His opponent, Darcy Burner, conceded tonight after The Associated Press determined tonight …
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Patterico's Pontifications:
Examples of Obama's Decency — I've had some people demanding evidence — any evidence — that Obama is a decent or good man. I've learned as a lawyer and a blogger that you can't convince someone who resists being convinced, and on the issue of Obama's positive qualities …
Mark Huffman / ConsumerAffairs.com:
Obama Eyes Consumer Activists for Agency Posts — FDA, EPA targeted as needing reformers to lead — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other government agencies that affect consumers, are likely to look very different under President Obama than they do under President Bush.
Brad Jacobson / MediaBloodhound:
The Wounded-Courier: Comedy World Devastated by Obama Victory — Comedy World Devastated by Obama Victory — As the majority of Americans continue to bask in the glow of Barack Obama's landslide victory on Tuesday, comedians nationwide have suddenly fallen on hard times. Some literally.
Discussion:
Alternate Brain
John / Power Line:
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MINNESOTA? — When the polls closed Tuesday evening, Minnesota's Secretary of State's office showed that Norm Coleman had a 725-vote win in his closely contested race against Al Franken. By the next morning, however, Coleman's victory was already shrinking.
Discussion:
www.redstate.com, The Big Question, The New Republic, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, PoliGazette, TigerHawk, Macsmind and Minneapolis Star Tribune
David Brooks / New York Times:
Change I Can Believe In — I have dreams. I may seem like a boring pundit whose most exotic fantasies involve G.A.O. reports, but deep down, I have dreams. And right now I'm dreaming of the successful presidency this country needs. I'm dreaming of an administration led by Barack Obama …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Prop 8: Chill — I totally understand the anger, hurt and pain now roiling the gay community and our families, especially in California. But it's important to keep our heads. I've been in the middle of this fight for two decades. It's important to remember that we have never had this level …