Top Items:
Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Iraqi Journalist Throws His Shoes At Bush During Press Conference In Baghdad (Updated) — Iraqi Journalist Throws His Shoes At Bush During Press Conference In Baghdad (Updated)» — President Bush is in Baghdad today on a surprise farewell visit highlighting the security deal recently reached between the U.S. and Iraq.
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Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
Bush Arrives in Iraq for a Final Visit — BAGHDAD — President Bush flew to Iraq on Sunday, a final trip to highlight the recently completed security agreement between Iraq and the United States. — Air Force One arrived in Baghdad at 4 p.m. after a 10-and-a-half-hour overnight flight from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.
Jules Crittenden:
Victory Lap — Bush makes a last visit to Iraq. Reuters:
Victory Lap — Bush makes a last visit to Iraq. Reuters:
Discussion:
Kansas City Star, Mudville Gazette, PoliBlog, Outside The Beltway, Right Wing Nut House, BBC, Dean's World and Gateway Pundit
Mike Allen / The Politico:
McCain scolds GOP for whacking Obama — In a surprising rebuke to the warriors who fought for him through tough times, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday sided with President-elect Barack Obama and scolded the Republican National Committee for fanning the Illinois corruption scandal.
Discussion:
The Marathon Blog, Scared Monkeys, A Blog For All, MyDD, Sweetness & Light, JammieWearingFool, Macsmind, Gateway Pundit and Reuters
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Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Obama team's ‘unanswered questions’ — The “unanswered questions” — as the Republican National Committee and others are calling them — will continue to haunt President-elect Obama and staff in the sordid case of the Illinois governor accused of attempting to sell Obama's Senate seat.
Jennifer Parker / George's Bottom Line:
McCain: RNC's Obama-Blagojevich Focus Not Helpful
McCain: RNC's Obama-Blagojevich Focus Not Helpful
Discussion:
The Fix, The Note, TPM Election Central, Washington Monthly, TIME.com and Chicago Breaking News
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Pressure builds on Obama to release his Blagojevich contacts
Pressure builds on Obama to release his Blagojevich contacts
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Pajamas Media, NO QUARTER, RedState, Althouse, Hot Air, Dean's World and Doug Ross
Michael Isikoff / Newsweek:
The Fed Who Blew the Whistle — Is he a hero or a criminal? — Nigel Parry / CPI for Newsweek — From the magazine issue dated Dec 22, 2008 — Thomas M. Tamm was entrusted with some of the government's most important secrets. He had a Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance, a level above Top Secret.
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blogs, Balloon Juice, Macsmind, theheretik.us, Power Line and Pacific Views
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Associated Press:
Palin's church damaged in suspicious fire — ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — Gov. Sarah Palin's home church has been badly damaged in an arson fire. — Damages to the Wasilla Bible Church were estimated at $1 million, authorities said today. No one was injured in the fire, which was intentionally set while people …
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Carol E. Lee / The Politico:
Biden to shrink VP role — big time — Joe Biden is laying plans to significantly shrink the role of the vice presidency in Barack Obama's White House, according to an official familiar with his thinking. — It's not just that Biden won't sit in on Senate Democrats' weekly caucus meetings …
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post, Commentary, The Caucus, Becoming 44, Below The Beltway and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
Deborah Blum / The Huffington Post:
Why My Dog (And I) No Longer Watch CNN — In my home office we are boycotting CNN. Of course, my home office is a room at the back of my house occupied by myself and the family dog, a boxer named Dodger, who contributes by snoring musically while I work. — Nevertheless, we take this boycott seriously.
Bill Marsh / New York Times:
Illinois Is Trying. It Really Is. But the Most Corrupt State Is Actually . . . Where is officialdom most crooked? Last week, many guessed it must be Illinois, after news that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taped making brazen personal demands in exchange for his selection of a Senate successor to President-elect Barack Obama.
Peter Baker / New York Times:
The Lasting Effects of Political Poison — WASHINGTON — It came to John D. Podesta during a jog through the scenic Rock Creek Park over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. His boss was going to be impeached and there was no way around it. It took Rahm Emanuel a little longer to reach that conclusion.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Kevin Drum, No More Mister Nice Blog and Capital Gains and Games blogs
Andrew Orlowski / The Register:
Google cranks up the Consensus Engine — Manufacturing isn't dead - it just went to Mountain View — Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. It's a historic statement - and nobody has yet grasped its significance.
Thomas Erdbrink / Washington Post:
Iranian Woman Blinded by Spurned Suitor Persuades Court to Punish Him Similarly — TEHRAN — Ameneh Bahrami once enjoyed photography and mountain vistas. Her work for a medical equipment company gave her financial independence. Several men had asked for her hand in marriage …
Discussion:
Althouse
Satyam Khanna / Think Progress:
Rove Reportedly Will ‘Help Lead’ GOP's Fight Against Eric Holder For Attorney General — Senate Republicans, including Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Jon Kyl (R-AZ), are trying delay confirmation hearings for Attorney General nominee Eric Holder …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, AMERICAblog News, Emptywheel, DownWithTyranny! and United States Senator …
New York Times:
A Champion of Wall Street Reaps Benefits — “We are not going to rest until we change the rules, change the laws and make sure New York remains No. 1 for decades on into the future.” — WASHINGTON — As the financial crisis jolted the nation in September, Senator Charles E. Schumer was consumed.
Discussion:
Commentary, NewsBusters.org, Kevin Drum, BloggingStocks, Booman Tribune, JammieWearingFool, The Big Picture, TPMCafe and The Agonist