Top Items:
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Obama On Rick Warren Pick: We Have To Be Able To Agree To Disagree — Obama, at his presser today, defends the decision to choose Rick Warren to deliver the invocation as his inauguration with a restatement of his commitment to gay rights and, more broadly, to the principles of unity that have been a hallmark of his rise to power:
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, First Draft, Pam's House Blend, Eschaton, Box Turtle Bulletin, AMERICAblog News and Shakesville
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The Huffington Post:
Obama's Talking Points On Rick Warren — At his press conference on Thursday, Barack Obama for the first time addressed the flurry of protest that has erupted over the choice of Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation. — Stressing his own advocacy of equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs, Wonkette, site.pfaw.org, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!, Liberal Values, The Daily Dish, CNN and Salon
Sarah Posner / The Nation:
What's the Matter With Rick Warren? — Now it has officially gone too far: Democrats, in their zeal to appear friendly to evangelical voters, have chosen celebrity preacher and best-selling author Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration.
John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
Feinstein reportedly had nothing to do with Warren choice; it was Obama.
Feinstein reportedly had nothing to do with Warren choice; it was Obama.
Discussion:
Salon, Matthew Yglesias, Firedoglake, Wilshire & Washington, Pam's House Blend and Wake up America
New York Times:
The Torture Report — Most Americans have long known that the horrors of Abu Ghraib were not the work of a few low-ranking sociopaths. All but President Bush's most unquestioning supporters recognized the chain of unprincipled decisions that led to the abuse, torture and death in prisons run …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Salon, The Other McCain, Open Left, theheretik.us, Booman Tribune, Prairie Weather, TalkLeft and Democrats.com
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CNN:
Cheney to Emanuel: Control your VP — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Vice President Dick Cheney had some blunt — and humorous — advice for incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel at a private breakfast earlier this month, CNN has learned. — “The best thing you can do is keep your VP under control …
Rob Bluey / The Foundry:
Conservative Leader Paul Weyrich Dies; First to Lead Heritage — Paul M. Weyrich, chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and first president of The Heritage Foundation, died this morning around 1 a.m. He was 66 years old. Weyrich was a good friend to many of us at Heritage, a true leader and a man of unbending principle.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, The Corner, Townhall.com, The Other McCain, Outside The Beltway, The Caucus, Hot Air, The Next Right and Salon
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
Conservative icon Paul Weyrich dies — Paul M. Weyrich, 66, who helped found the Heritage Foundation and at one time was one of Washington's most visible conservatives, died this morning. At his death, he was president and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.
Lynn Sweet:
Emanuel's deeper involvement in pressing for Jarrett Senate appointment — My Sun-Times colleagues Natasha Korecki and Fran Spielman in a story in the Thusday paper report Rahm Emanuel's involvement in pushing Gov. Blagojevich to appoint Valerie Jarrett to replace President elect Barack Obama was deeper than previously known.
Brian Sharp / Democrat And Chronicle:
Kennedy visits Rochester as part of effort to learn about upstate New York — In her first visit to Rochester, U.S. Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy met Wednesday with Mayor Robert Duffy and Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, asking questions about upstate but not asking for an endorsement.
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
NO LOVE FOR LIEBERMAN.... About a month ago, Senate Democrats made it abundantly clear that they're not angry with Joe Lieberman for his campaign antics throughout the year. Lieberman's constituents, however, are far more peeved. — A new Quinnipiac poll shows Lieberman's approval rating tanking …
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Hartford Courant, TBogg, Daily Kos and Quinnipiac University
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Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Gay man backed for Navy secretary — Foes cite 'Don't ask, don't tell' — Some top retired military leaders and some Democrats in Congress are backing William White, chief operating officer of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, to be the next secretary of the Navy - a move that would put …
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, MSNBC, ATTACKERMAN, Don Surber, The Washington Independent and Salon
Jordy Yager / The Hill:
With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise — A crumbling economy, more than 2 million constituents who have lost their jobs this year, and congressional demands of CEOs to work for free did not convince lawmakers to freeze their own pay. — Instead, they will get a $4,700 pay increase …
ScienceInsider:
Sources: John Holdren to be Nominated as Obama's Science Adviser — Strong indications are that President-elect Barack Obama has picked physicist John Holdren to be the president's science adviser. — A top adviser to the Obama campaign and international expert on energy and climate …
Associated Press:
Frigid Storm Closes California Freeways, Drops Snow in Malibu — LOS ANGELES — Snow snarled major mountain highways and even dusted Malibu on Wednesday as a cold storm hit parts of California. One person was killed by a wind-related helicopter crash, and an overflowing river …
Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
Big News in Washington, but Far Fewer Cover It — WASHINGTON — A new president arrived from a new party. The balance of power shifted in Congress. Legions of fresh new faces showed up in the nation's capital with new ideas, eager to upend the way the country does business.
Discussion:
Jossip, Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, Silicon Alley Insider, The BRAD BLOG, Gawker, The Swamp and Oliver Willis
Eli Saslow / Washington Post:
Obama's Chief Speechwriter, 27, Works on Inaugural Address While Making His Own Transition — The job requires him to work unnoticed, even in plain view, so Jon Favreau settles into a wooden chair at a busy Starbucks in the center of Penn Quarter. Deadline looms, and he needs to write at least half a page by the end of the day.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Questions That Are Too Hard for Me — Kevin Drum raises the specter of the trade deficit: … This goes back to the fraught issue of global savings imbalances. For reasons that I don't think people understand very well, we not only have a number of high-savings perpetual-surplus countries …
Christina Bellantoni / Washington Times:
MSNBC host Brzezinski mugged in D.C. — UPDATED: — Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty was confronted face-to-face Thursday with some of the district's crime problems, when it turned out the host of the morning talk show he appeared on had been mugged in the city an hour earlier.