Top Items:
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Warren On? Party Off. — Not that he was planning to attend, but Barack Obama should know that my sister's inauguration night party — the one for which she was preparing Obama Punch — has been canceled. The notice went out over the weekend, by e-mail and word of mouth …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Wake up America, Commentary, Babalu Blog, Stop The ACLU, Macsmind, Riehl World View and The Huffington Post
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E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
A Gamble for Obama — By inviting Pastor Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation, President-elect Barack Obama has alienated some of his friends on the left. By accepting, Warren has enraged some of his allies on the right. — Obama and Warren have helped each other in the past, and both know exactly what they're doing.
Digby / Hullabaloo:
One Way Street — I saw something very interesting today on MSNBC. Barnicle, filling in for Matthews on Hardball, hosted Reverend Eugene Rivers, a well respected, uncontroversial African American preacher, and Mike Rogers, strident gay activist. — Loaded for bear, Rivers came out firing …
Susan Kelleher / Seattle Times:
Seattle refuses to use salt; roads “snow packed” by design — To hear the city's spin, Seattle's road crews are making “great progress” in clearing the ice-caked streets. — But it turns out “plowed streets” in Seattle actually means “snow-packed,” as in there's snow and ice left on major arterials by design.
Quinnipiac University:
New York Is Semi-Sweet On Caroline, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Cuomo Is Favored By Upstate Voters — New York State voters split 40 - 41 percent on whether Caroline Kennedy is qualified to be a U.S. Senator, but they expect by a 48 - 25 percent margin that Gov. David Paterson will name …
Discussion:
TPM Election Central, Hotline On Call, Liberal Values, MyDD, The Daily Politics, Real Clear Politics and Spin Cycle
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Bush Legacy — Ed Gillespie's RealClearPolitics article on “Myths and Facts About the Real Bush Record” is about as stupid and dishonest as you'd expect. But after “debunking” five perfectly accurate alleged myths, Gillespie gets into the whopper that really gets my goat:
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John O'Sullivan / Wall Street Journal:
Conservative Snobs Are Wrong About Palin — I know Maggie Thatcher. The two women have a lot in common. — Being listed in fourth place for Time magazine's “Person of the Year,” as Sarah Palin was for 2008, sounds a little like being awarded the Order of Purity (Fourth Class).
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Kyle Hopkins / Anchorage Daily News:
Palin invited to speak at conservative gathering
Palin invited to speak at conservative gathering
Discussion:
PoliPundit.com
Maggie Haberman / New York Post:
O, MY BOD! IT'S BEACH BARACK — NEXT PREZ HEATS UP HAWAII — Just call him “Ab"-bama. — Buff-bodied President-elect Barack Obama put his chiseled frame on full display - as seen on Page 1 - during a stroll in Hawaii while on vacation with his family.
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Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Obama Is to Report on Blagojevich Contacts
Obama Is to Report on Blagojevich Contacts
Discussion:
The Swamp, CNN, The Hill, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Caucus, Spin Cycle, TIME.com, Real Clear Politics, Taegan Goddard's … and The Note
The Politico:
Obama to use Lincoln Bible — From the transition team: — “Washington, D.C. - On January 20th, President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office using the same Bible upon which President Lincoln was sworn in at his first inauguration. The Bible is currently part of the collections of the Library of Congress.
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Bob Owens / Pajamas Media:
The Op-Ed the New York Times Wouldn't Run — An FBI informant's response to Bill Ayers' rewriting of history got the cold shoulder — but you can read it here. — On December 5, the New York Times afforded former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers a chance to publish an op-ed …
Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:
The Price Of Their Security — Understanding isn't the same as forgiving. The history-be-my-judge interviews that President Bush and Vice President Cheney have been giving recently help me understand why they acted with such contempt for our Constitution and our values …
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Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO ABOUT IT. — Over at BoingBoing, Clay Shirky engages in a bit of self-congratulatory schadenfreude for predicting the collapse of the newspaper business model back in 1993. And no doubt: He was prescient. But like a lot of folks (many of them named Jeff Jarvis) …
James H. Burnett III / MiamiHerald.com:
Quirky Festivus holiday gains followers — Those who celebrate Festivus display a pole instead of a tree and air grievances instead of exchanging gifts. — JBURNETT@MIAMIHERALD.COM — Alexandra Casuso was only 11 years old when Festivus made its TV debut on Seinfeld in 1997 …
Media Research Center:
Quote of the Year — Co-anchor Chris Matthews: “I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My — I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often. — “Co-anchor Keith Olbermann: “Steady.
Discussion:
Don Surber
New York Times:
As Economy Dips, Arrests for Shoplifting Soar — Richard R. Johnson is the first to admit it was a bad idea. — Recently laid off from a job building trailers in Elkhart, Ind., Mr. Johnson came up a dollar short at Martin's Supermarket last month when he went to buy a $4.99 bottle of sleep medication.
Little Green Footballs:
NPR Rewrites Rathergate History to Cover Up Fraud — National Public Radio does their best to rewrite history in this shockingly disingenuous piece on the Rathergate affair, told from Dan Rather's perspective as he openly states (and NPR doesn't challenge) that the memos in his infamous 60 Minutes II piece …
Discussion:
NPR
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
APPLY ECONOMICS TO ECONOMISTS. — Over e-mail, Dean Baker offers an explanation why so few economists accurately saw the trembling instability beneath the economy, much less sounded the alarm. “They didn't know” is not an operative explanation. The analysis was public …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
Peter J. Parisi / Washington Times:
Why do retailers fear using the word ‘Christmas’? — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — In the fall 2008 edition of “FYI Alexandria,” which the city bills as “Alexandria's Official Resident Newsletter,” a front-page blurb announced: “City Seeks 2008 Holiday Tree.” — Alexandria at the time was …
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
GOP recount guru advises Coleman — EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - A veteran of the nation's most famous recount has been quietly advising Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who is fighting a fierce battle to hang on to his seat. — Florida recount guru Benjamin Ginsberg, who played a prominent role …
Wall Street Journal:
Bush and Scooter Libby — The former White House aide deserves a full pardon. — Rarely can Presidents improve their legacy in an Administration's twilight days. But President Bush now has that opportunity, by undoing a measure of the injustice inflicted on I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Shuster Pushes Inhofe On Global Warming Skepticism: 'If There Is A Hoax, Isn't It This Report Of Yours?' — Earlier this month, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) released a report citing “more than 650 international scientists” who back up his claims that manmade global warming is a hoax.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly