Top Items:
Huma Khan / Political Punch:
Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship — “Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney's office today,” said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint …
Discussion:
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New York Times:
Obama's Intervention for Ethics Bill Indirectly Led to Case Against Governor — In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of Barack Obama's rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed …
Greg Hinz / Chicago Business:
Illinois' top lawmakers to strip Blago of senate pick power — (Crain's) — The state's top two legislative leaders Tuesday said they will move fast to seize control of the process of selecting a replacement for Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, taking that power away from Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Carol E. Lee / The Politico:
Attorney: Blagojevich has no plans of resigning — CHICAGO— The attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor will be vindicated and he has no plans to resign. — “He didn't do anything wrong,” attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters after Blagojevich was arraigned.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Aide: Ax ‘misspoke’ — An Obama aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, took back David Axelrod's remark last month that Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich had spoken recently. — “What the president-elect said today is correct, David Axelrod misspoke,” the aide said.
Scott Shane / New York Times:
Fond Ties Have Grown Between Chicago and Its Corruption Fighter — WASHINGTON — In New York, he earned his prosecutorial spurs going after terrorists and mobsters. In Washington, he brought down the powerful top aide to the vice president. — And as the United States attorney in Chicago …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Criminal Complaint Alleges That Gov. Blagojevich Threatened to Block Tribune Co.'s Business Deals if Staffers Were Not Fired — On Sept. 29, a Chicago Tribune editorial ripped Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for his “notorious pay-to-play politics” and said the legislature should investigate whether to impeach him.
Matt Cooper / Portfolio:
Dear Governor Blagojevich: — I know you've had a long day. — Apparently, federal agents showed up at your house to arrest you at 6 a.m. for trying to sell Barack Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder. — You're probably wondering what to do. I have some advice.
Ron Kampeas / JTA:
Blagojevich arrest could send Jewish rep to Senate
Blagojevich arrest could send Jewish rep to Senate
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Volokh Conspiracy, Sunlight Foundation, Soccer Dad, Ben Smith's Blogs, Gawker, TalkLeft and The Debate Link
Joe Weisenthal / Silicon Alley Insider:
Alleged: Blago Hoped To Shake Down Warren Buffett!
Alleged: Blago Hoped To Shake Down Warren Buffett!
Discussion:
DealBook
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Chicago reporter suggests Rahm Emanuel may have ‘tipped’ …
Chicago reporter suggests Rahm Emanuel may have ‘tipped’ …
Discussion:
The Hill, Emptywheel, Wizbang, Ben Smith's Blogs, Gawker, TPM Election Central, The Caucus, Don Surber, CNN, Gates of Vienna, The Heretik, Chicago Breaking News, Wonkette and culturekitchen
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Source: ‘SEIU official’ was Stern
Source: ‘SEIU official’ was Stern
Discussion:
Marc Ambinder, FiveThirtyEight.com, TalkLeft, Atlas Shrugs, Firedoglake, The Swamp, Associated Press and The Crypt's Blogs
Michaelscherer / Swampland:
BlagoGate: Obama's Burden
BlagoGate: Obama's Burden
Discussion:
Political Punch, American Prospect, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, ArchPundit, RedState and Kevin Drum
Chicago Breaking News:
Lt. Gov. Quinn urges Blagojevich to ‘step aside’
Lt. Gov. Quinn urges Blagojevich to ‘step aside’
Discussion:
Daily Kos, TPM Election Central, FiveThirtyEight.com, Open Left, BuzzFlash.org, CNN and The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
James P. Pinkerton / Fox News:
Prosecutor: Blagojevich Engaged in ‘Political Corruption Crime Spree’
Prosecutor: Blagojevich Engaged in ‘Political Corruption Crime Spree’
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Joe the Plumber: McCain ‘appalled me’ — Joe Wurzelbacher lashed out at former GOP presidential nominee John McCain Tuesday, the man who made Wurzelbacher famous as “Joe the Plumber.” — Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Glenn Beck that he felt “dirty” after “being on the campaign trail …
Dee Dee Myers / Vanity Fair:
Favreau's Sexist Photo Is No Laughing Matter — Oh, what to do. An incredibly talented young aide, to an impossibly idealistic new president, gets caught doing something indefensibly stupid and undeniably sexist. Everyone is uncomfortable. But should anyone be held accountable? Apparently not.
CNN:
Man who lost family when jet hit house: I don't blame pilot — SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) — A Korean immigrant who lost his wife, two children and mother-in-law when a Marine Corps jet slammed into the family's house said Tuesday he did not blame the pilot, who ejected and survived.
New York Times:
Investors Buy U.S. Debt at Zero Yield — When was the last time you invested in something that you knew wouldn't make money? — In the market equivalent of shoveling cash under the mattress, hordes of buyers were so eager on Tuesday to park money in the world's safest investment …
Discussion:
The Big Picture, Associated Press, The Heretik, DownWithTyranny!, Matthew Yglesias and AMERICAblog News
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Richard Norton-Taylor / Guardian:
Out by June: UK plans Iraq withdrawal — Britain's six-year occupation of south Iraq will begin drawing to a close in March, and the last troops will leave Basra by June, a senior defence source disclosed yesterday. — But instead of handing over to Iraqi authorities …
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
O'Reilly And Rove Agree: Reports On The Bad Economy Are Part Of A Media Cabal To Help Obama — Yesterday on Fox News, Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove went on a tirade against the media for hyping the struggling state of the economy. They claimed that it's not as bad as reports are making it out to be …
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
$73 an Hour: Adding It Up — Seventy-three dollars an hour. — That figure — repeated on television and in newspapers as the average pay of a Big Three autoworker — has become a big symbol in the fight over what should happen to Detroit. To critics, it is a neat encapsulation …
Christopher Drew / New York Times:
A Fighter Jet's Fate Poses a Quandary for Obama — Two of President-elect Barack Obama's stated goals — cutting wasteful spending and saving or creating millions of jobs — are on a collision course in a looming decision over whether to keep building the F-22 fighter jet.
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Ethics committee expands Rangel probe — The House ethics committee has voted to expand its investigation of Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) to include allegations that he helped a $1 million donor to the Charles B. Rangel Center at the City College of New York retain a lucrative tax loophole.
Discussion:
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