Top Items:
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
New York Housing Chief Is Chosen for Cabinet — WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has picked the widely respected housing commissioner for New York City, Shaun Donovan, to be the secretary of housing in his cabinet. — Assuming that Mr. Donovan, 42, is confirmed by the Senate …
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Caucus, The Daily Politics, MSNBC, Powering Up, The Politico, Gothamist, Washington Monthly, NY Daily News, TIME.com, Corrente, Ben Smith's Blogs and Macsmind
RELATED:
Glenn Thrush / The Crypt's Blogs:
HUD pick foresaw subprime crisis in '04 — Barack Obama's pick for HUD — former New York City Housing Commissioner Shaun Donovan — was one of the earliest public officials to foresee the magnitude and destructive capacity of the subprime crisis. — In the middle of 2004, I sat down with Donovan …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
New York Times:
Shaun Donovan — As he prepares to take office, President …
Shaun Donovan — As he prepares to take office, President …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News
Digby / Hullabaloo:
They Can't Be That Desperate — Dear God: … I honestly don't know quite how to deal with this. Over the past year I have strained and even broken treasured friendships over the idea that allowing a Republican to win over a Democrat, no matter how bad he or she is …
AJStrata / The Strata-Sphere:
The Obama Administration Is Now Damaged Goods, Obama Lied To America — Update: A consensus is brewing about Obama's pending troubles - see here, here, here and here. — Major Update Below! — The big dominos seem to be falling already, less than a week from the news breaking.
RELATED:
Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Rahm Emanuel, Blagojevich staff talked — Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Tribune has learned.
Discussion:
On Politics, Taegan Goddard's …, New York Times, Don Surber, A Blog For All, Commentary, Flopping Aces, TIME.com, Cold Fury, American Power, Wake up America, QandO, Chicago Tribune and Macsmind
New York Times:
Sorry, Obamas, Early Check-In Not Available — CHICAGO — To the list of people having trouble finding somewhere in Washington to stay in early January, there can now be added one more entry: the Obama family. — President Bush's aides have turned down a request from President-elect Barack Obama …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Chicagoist, Gawker, The Impolitic, Comments from Left Field, Prairie Weather, Kevin Drum, On Deadline and USA Today
Salon:
Meet the GOP's wrecking crew — Why did a small group of Southern Republicans turn the auto bailout into a demolition derby? Introducing the senators who hate unions and love foreign cars. — WASHINGTON — On July 15, Bob Corker was a happy man. — “I cannot think of a more exciting day …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, Prairie Weather and New York Times
Chicago Sun Times:
Blago could decide future by Monday — Gov. Blagojevich will decide early next week — perhaps as early as Monday — whether he should resign, a source close to the governor told the Chicago Sun-Times. — “He was blindsided by this,” the source said. “He needs some time to digest what's going on.
New York Times:
Now Accused of Fraud, Wall St. Wizard Had His Skeptics — For years, investors, rivals and regulators all wondered how Bernard L. Madoff worked his magic. — But on Friday, less than 24 hours after this prominent Wall Street figure was arrested on charges connected with what authorities portrayed …
RELATED:
Victoria Toensing / Wall Street Journal:
Fitzgerald Should Keep His Opinions to Himself — As in the Libby case, his behavior is ‘appalling.’ — Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's “conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” according to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. But Mr. Fitzgerald's statement would, at the very least …
David Airey / Logo Design Love:
Obama logo ideas that weren't chosen — Sol Sender, who led a design team for the Obama 08 logo, was recently interviewed about the project. — Here's a walk through the various logo options, with some of Sol's thoughts. The full interview videos can be watched on the website of VSA Partners (where Sol is now a strategist).
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Gates, in Iraq, Affirms Pullout Goal — BALAD, Iraq — In an unannounced trip to Iraq on Saturday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with the top American military commander, Gen. Ray Odierno, and reiterated the pledge made in an agreement with the Iraqi government to withdraw all American troops by the end of 2011.
RELATED:
Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:
The Other American Auto Industry — Plenty of car makers make a go of it in this country—they're just non-union and not headquartered in Detroit. — Drew Ferguson IV is a 42-year-old dentist whose family has lived in this town, population 3,300, “since God put us here.”
BBC:
Ecuador defaults on foreign debt — Ecuador is to default officially on billions of dollars of foreign debt it considers “illegitimate”, says President Rafael Correa. — Mr Correa said he had given the order not to approve a debt interest payment due on Monday, describing the international lenders as “monsters”.
Discussion:
PoliBlog
John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Senate Democrats Had Enough Republican Votes to Pass the Bailout — Nancy Pelosi says that Senate Republicans were “irresponsible” for opposing the auto bailout, which failed on a cloture vote last night 52 to 35. … The problem with Pelosi's statement is that 10 Republican Senators voted …
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight.com, NewsBusters.org, The Seminal, Fox News, QandO and The Crypt's Blogs
RELATED:
Countdown / MSNBC:
GOP: ‘ACTION ALERT - AUTO BAILOUT’
GOP: ‘ACTION ALERT - AUTO BAILOUT’
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Buck Naked Politics, Don Surber, Minnesota Independent and Crooks and Liars