Top Items:
Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:
Franken Camp's Claim: We're Now Ahead! — In a briefing going on right now with reporters, Al Franken's lead recount lawyer Marc Elias made a stunning announcement: According to the campaign's methodology of tracking the recount results, they believe Al Franken now leads Norm Coleman by a margin of 22 votes.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, MyDD, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Senate Guru, Daily Kos and Wonkette
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Jason Hoppin / TwinCities.com:
Minneapolis discovery costs Franken 46 votes — What Maplewood giveth, Minneapolis taketh away. — Elections officials in Minnesota's largest city today discovered that one precinct came up 133 ballots short of election day totals, resulting in a net loss for Democratic challenger Al Franken of 46 votes.
Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
Franken camp: 'We're winning' — Al Franken's campaign attorney Marc Elias said today that, based on its latest internal tally, Franken has taken the lead over Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) for the first time in the recount process. — In a conference call, Elias said Franken leads Coleman by 22 votes at the end of last night's count.
Discussion:
Associated Press, McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Note, Wilshire & Washington, Washington Monthly, Salon and The Politico
The Trail / Washington Post:
Obama or an Obama-Impersonator? Ros-Lehtinen Flubs the Call — Twice on Wednesday, President-elect Barack Obama tried to reach across the partisan divide with a phone call to Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida. — And twice, according to her office, she hung up on him.
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Amie Parnes / The Crypt's Blogs:
Ros-Lehtinen hangs up on Obama. Twice. — Is Ileana Ros-Lehtinen a little paranoid? — Maybe. — On Wednesday, the Republican congresswoman got a call from President-elect Barack Obama, didn't believe it was him, and hung up on him. Twice. — According to Ros-Lehtinen's flack Alex Cruz …
Discussion:
TIME.com
Cal Fussman / Esquire:
Bill Richardson: What I've Learned — The just-tapped Secretary of Commerce shares intimate new stories on how Barack Obama saved his ass before he became his boss, Saddam Hussein's guile, Bush's charm, racial politics and more. — After the campaign, I grew a beard as a rebellion …
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Frank James / The Swamp:
Obama calls on Fox News, mourns beard — At the recently completely press conference at which President-elect Barack Obama officially named Gov. Bill Richardson his choice for Commerce Secretary, Obama called on Fox News's White House reporter. — The interchange was interesting for a few reasons.
The Huffington Post:
Chambliss: Palin Key To My Win (VIDEO) — Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss, fresh off his victory in a runoff election against Democrat Jim Martin, says Sarah Palin gave him the boost he needed. “I can't overstate the impact she had down here,” the Republican Senator said in an interview on Fox News Wednesday morning.
Discussion:
News Hounds
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Martin Samuel / Times of London:
Mumbai police to use truth serum on ‘baby-faced’ terrorist Azam Amir Kasab — Indian police interrogators are preparing to administer a “truth serum” on the sole Islamic militant captured during last week's terror attacks on Mumbai to settle once and for all the question of where he is from.
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Marc Ambinder:
Discourse Watch: Obama's Citizenship A Legit Topic? — Townhall.com is a mainstream, legitimate, comprehensive, informative, and entertaining conservative news and opinion magazine and website. Disclosure: they've written nice things about me. To liberals and non-conservatives, their content can sometimes be edgy.
Discussion:
Townhall.com, I Don't Like You Either, 24Ahead, Liberal Values, Whiskey Fire and Macsmind
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
RENDELL APOLOGIZES FOR AZ GOV COMMENT — From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum — During a news conference on budget reductions today, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) apologized for a hot mic statement he made yesterday, saying Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) is perfect for the position …
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Cspanjunkie / Crooks and Liars:
The Buck Stops There: Bush Blames Iraq Mess on Bad Intelligence — The Preznit, out working on that Legacy Thing, was on ABC with Charles Gibson last night, and had this revealing exchange: … David N: As always with Bush, the Buck Stops Over There, Or There — Anywhere But Here.
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John Koblin / New York Observer:
Meet Slate's New Columnist: Eliot Spitzer — Media Mob has learned that former New York governor Eliot Spitzer will write a new column for Slate beginning tomorrow. The column will appear every other week and it'll be about government, regulation and finance.
Discussion:
City Room, Gawker, StephenBainbridge.com, Ben Smith's Blogs, Jobwire, DealBook and Wonkette
In Transition:
Last Call for a Bipartisan Cabinet — Now that President-elect Barack Obama's Cabinet is, by his count, half picked, the odds are fading that he'll have more than one Republican on his team — suggesting that his campaign promise to include Republicans may have meant nothing more than the usual token appointment from the other side.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:NO TRANSITION FROM NONESENSE — Congressional Quarterly bemoans …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Ben Rooney / CNNMoney.com:
Poll: 61% oppose auto bailout — Survey shows that Americans think federal aid for the Big Three is unfair and won't help the economy. — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A majority of Americans oppose a bailout of the troubled U.S. auto industry, according to a poll released Wednesday.
Discussion:
Truthdig
RELATED:
Paul Steinhauser / CNN:Six in 10 oppose auto bailout, poll shows
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Where's the Outrage?, Buck Naked Politics, Hot Air, TIME.com, Don Surber and Michelle Malkin
Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Eyes Plan to Lift Home Sales — Treasury Considers Encouraging Banks to Offer Mortgages at Rates as Low as 4.5% — WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department is considering a plan to revitalize the U.S. home market that would push down interest rates for loans to purchase a home, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ken Thomas / Associated Press:
Automakers plead with Congress; votes lacking — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - Imperiled automakers and their union worked feverishly Wednesday to sell a skeptical Congress on a $34 billion aid plan, promising labor concessions and restructuring.
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Ian Welsh / Firedoglake:
Why Nationalizing GM and Citi Makes Sense — The government needs to stop giving money without getting either control or a reasonable chance of repayment of the money. If it doesn't do so, it won't be able to fix the economy. — When Citigroup got its bailout, the market capitalization of Citi was about 20 billion dollars.
Nick Britten / Telegraph:
School cancels Christmas nativity in favour of Muslim Eid celebrations — A primary school has cancelled its Christmas nativity in favour of Muslim festival of Eid celebrations because it would be too much for the children to do both. — Greenwood Junior School sent out a letter …
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
The Community Reinvestment Act and the Recent Mortgage Crisis — Good morning. I am pleased to welcome you to the Board and even more pleased to introduce today's discussion of the study conducted by the Federal Reserve System's Community Affairs program in partnership with The Brookings Institution …
FOX Forum:
Why Is the Left So Threated By My Poll? — Writer/Director/Producer, “Blocking the Path to 9/11″ — It has been quite a strange couple of weeks since I decided to commission a Zogby poll of Obama voters. I chose to do this at great personal expense to determine whether interviews …
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