Top Items:
Associated Press:
Richardson withdraws as Commerce nominee — New Mexico governor cites pending investigation of business dealings — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, MoJoBlog, Reuters, The Gun Toting Liberal, The Huffington Post, Change.org's Blog Network, MSNBC, The Sundries Shack, The Caucus, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, Hot Air, rubber hose, The Politico, The Fix, Washington Monthly, The Confluence, Don Surber, TIME.com, Outside The Beltway, TigerHawk, PoliGazette, Wizbang, Corrente, The Economic Populist and Swampland
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Dschabner / Political Punch:
Obama Team Feels Richardson Wasn't Forthcoming About Investigation Before Being Offered Commerce — Sources tell ABC News that officials on the Obama Transition Team feel that before he was formally offered the job of commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was not forthcoming …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, NECN, Federal Eye, The Sundries Shack, MoJoBlog, Weekly Standard, Macsmind and Pajamas Media
Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
Va. Governor Kaine to Become DNC Chairman — Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will become chairman of the Democratic National Committee later this month, serving as the top political messenger for Barack Obama's administration even while he finishes his final year in the governor's mansion, several sources said.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Commentary, The Confluence, MyDD, The Raw Story, Firedoglake, The Fix, Political Machine, DownWithTyranny!, Scorecard's Blogs and Daily Kos
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Billygate: Why Obama dumped Gov. Richardson now — New Mexico Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his name as Commerce Secretary-designate this afternoon for the new administration of President-elect Barack Obama. — With an almost audible sigh of relief barely two weeks …
Discussion:
Commentary, Washington Post, Runnin' Scared, Wizbang, Ed Driscoll.com, Transterrestrial Musings and Wonkette
Wall Street Journal:
Obama Eyes $300 Billion Tax Cut — WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are crafting a plan to offer about $300 billion in tax cuts to individuals and businesses, a move aimed at attracting Republican support for an economic-stimulus package and prodding companies to create jobs.
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
Obama plans to unveil big tax cuts — Aiming to foster bipartisan support for his record-setting economic stimulus, President-elect Obama plans to propose huge tax cuts for businesses and middle-class workers that will total about 40 percent of the package, or up to $310 billion, congressional officials said.
Scott Shane / New York Times:
For Israel, Chance to Strike Before an Ally Departs — For nine days, as European and United Nations officials have called urgently for a cease-fire in Gaza, the Bush administration has squarely blamed the rocket attacks of the Palestinian militant group Hamas for Israel's assault …
Discussion:
Balkinization
RELATED:
Simon Tisdall / Guardian:
Barack Obama's silence on Gaza is damaging his reputation — Barack Obama's chances of making a fresh start in US relations with the Muslim world, and the Middle East in particular, appear to diminish with each new wave of Israeli attacks on Palestinian targets in Gaza.
Chris Welch / CNN:
Panel to declare Franken winner of Senate race — MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) — A state election board on Monday will announce Democrat Al Franken has defeated Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race, state officials told CNN Sunday.
RELATED:
Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:
Reid To Coleman: It's Over. Concede.
Reid To Coleman: It's Over. Concede.
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News
Martina Stewart / CNN:
Leading Democrat: Bush 'the worst president we've ever had' — WASHINGTON (CNN) - As the nation prepares for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, a leading Democrat is not letting up in his criticism of President George W. Bush. — “I really do believe President Bush …
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Martin Kramer / Sandbox:
Israel's Gaza strategy — In the fog of war, it isn't just the truth that falls casualty. So does common sense. Quite a few pundits seem to think that Israel lacks a strategy in Gaza. But unlike the Lebanon war of 2006, this war has been planned in advance, and every stage has been war-gamed.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Daily Dish, ATTACKERMAN, Los Angeles Times, Power Line and Commentary
RELATED:
Chris McGreal / Guardian:
Why Israel went to war in Gaza
Why Israel went to war in Gaza
Discussion:
Times of London, The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post and Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
Gideon Levy / Haaretz:
And there lie the bodies — The legend, lest it be a true story, tells of how the late mathematician, Professor Haim Hanani, asked his students at the Technion to draw up a plan for constructing a pipe to transport blood from Haifa to Eilat. The obedient students did as they were told.
Colin Moynihan / New York Times:
Activist Unmasks Himself as Federal Informant in G.O.P. Convention Case — When the scheduled federal trial begins this month for two Texas men who were arrested during the Republican National Convention on charges of making and possessing Molotov cocktails, one of the major witnesses …
Discussion:
Sweetness & Light
Stable Hand / The Jawa Report:
Influential Hamas Leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef's Son Renounces Islam — FNC documentary “Escape from Hamas” featured the son of Yousef, Mosab Hassan Yousef. Yousef now faces death for renouncing Islam and converting to Christianity. — Yousef, when asked; “Can the Palestinians and Israel live in peace?”:
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Charlie Savage / International Herald Tribune:
A donor's gift soon followed Clinton's help — WASHINGTON: A developer in New York state donated $100,000 to former President Bill Clinton's foundation in November 2004, around the same time that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessman's mall project.
Discussion:
Political Machine, RedState, Stop The ACLU, Philly.com, Scared Monkeys, BitsBlog and Right Wing News
Michael Calderone / The Politico:
ForeignPolicy.com gets a makeover — Susan Glasser, executive editor of Foreign Policy, has an ambitious goal for Monday's Web relaunch: Become the “daily magazine for people interested in the world.” — Under the stewardship of editor in chief Moises Naim, Foreign Policy evolved from a staid …
Discussion:
Daniel W. Drezner
John Kass / Chicago Tribune:
A show that Springer couldn't even conceive — Roland “Tombstone” Burris goes to Washington this week as part of the Illinois political freak show, and many of us back home will watch it and feel like cringing, at least at the beginning. — Who among us could not wince at the prospect …