Top Items:
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
I want to play poker with Harry Reid. Really I do. — Rather than call for a special election in Illinois, Reid sends a letter to Blagojevich signed by everyone in the Democratic caucus asking him to step down. They assert that they will not seat anyone he appoints. — Harumph.
Discussion:
The Swamp, On Deadline, The Hill, Emptywheel, theheretik.us, BitsBlog, BuzzFlash.org and Jack & Jill Politics
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The Huffington Post:
Dem Aide: Obama Team Pushed To Seat Burris — The apparent decision to seat Roland Burris came after aides to President-elect Barack Obama contacted senior Senate Democrats and suggested that they reverse course and accept Gov. Rod Blagojevich's controversial appointment, according to a senior Dem congressional aide.
Chicago Breaking News:
Senate leader leaves door ajar for Burris — WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opened a potential path to seating Roland Burris in the Senate after a 45-minute meeting with the former Illinois attorney general at the Capitol this morning. — After days in which Senate leaders …
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, TPM Election Central, Hot Air, The Capitol Fax Blog and Real Clear Politics
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Reid vows to lead till at least 2015 — Harry Reid vowed Tuesday that he'll lead the Senate until 2015 and beyond, taunting Republicans who'd like to unseat him and dashing the hopes of Democrats who'd like to succeed him. — The Nevada Democrat, who is up for reelection in 2010 …
Jacob Sullum / Reason:
Reid Is Backing Down As Fast As He Can — The Washington Post and The Boston Globe are both reporting that the Senate's Democratic leaders, after insisting that no one appointed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich would be allowed to replace Barack Obama, are getting ready to let Roland Burris take his seat after all.
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Report: Burris Will Get Obama Senate Seat — Roland Burris, the man appointed to Barack Obama's Senate seat by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, will be allowed to take the seat, according to the Associated Press. — Spokespersons for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin are denying the report.
The Politico:Burris heads into pivotal meeting
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, New York Times, CBS News, Associated Press, Reuters, D-Day, The Politico, TIME.com, AmSpecBlog and The Note
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
The Mideast's Ground Zero — The fighting, death and destruction in Gaza is painful to watch. But it's all too familiar. It's the latest version of the longest-running play in the modern Middle East, which, if I were to give it a title, would be called: “Who owns this hotel? Can the Jews have a room?
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Marc Ambinder:
Ross, Holbrooke, Haass To Serve As Envoys — Transition officials confirm that President-elect Obama has asked Dennis Ross, Richard Haass, and Richard Holbrooke, to serve as his chief emissaries to world hot spots. — It's expected that Ross will get the Iran portfolio, that Holbrooke …
Haaretz:Sarkozy: Israel and Palestinians agree to terms of Gaza truce
Discussion:
Jerusalem Post, Associated Press, Reuters, Israellycool, MyDD, The Washington Independent and ATTACKERMAN
Juan Cole / Informed Comment:Al-Fakhoura School Bombed, 42 Killed, Including Children …
Discussion:
Sandbox
Washington Post:
Blair House Mystery Solved: It's John Howard — The veil is lifted. We now know who is booked at Blair House, kicking President-elect Barack Obama and his family to the waiting list and across Lafayette Park to the Hay-Adams Hotel. — The only overnight visitor at the presidential guest manse …
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Ali Frick / Think Progress:
White House Asked Howard To Stay In Blair House To Give ‘Some Plausible Reason’ For Refusing Obama — In December, President-elect Obama asked the White House if he and his family could move into Blair House — the White House's guest house — a week early, so that his daughters Malia and Sasha could start school.
New York Times:
Obama Warns of Prospect for Trillion-Dollar Deficits — WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday braced Americans for the unparalleled prospect of “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come,” a stark assessment of the budgetary outlook that he said would force his administration …
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Kevin Vance / Weekly Standard:
Team Sarah Infiltrated — Administrators of Team Sarah have uncovered evidence on a left-wing online thread that some Internet trolls sought to discredit the organization by posing as conservative racists on Team Sarah's forums. — Team Sarah, an online community supportive of Gov. Sarah Palin …
A Soldier's Mother:
The Images they Show... There are images that break your heart. The news is filled with them today and they can easily sway you to think that all of the situation in the Middle East comes down to a picture. How horrible, truly tragic, unacceptable and wrong it is to have a child die.
RELATED:
Jeff Stein / SpyTalk:
CIA Man: Spies' Reaction to Panetta ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ — A retired senior CIA operations officer who quit last summer after 20 years tracking terrorists says the rank-and-file reaction to President-elect Obama's choice of Leon E.Panetta to run the spy agency has been “overwhelmingly negative.”
Discussion:
The Washington Independent, MoJoBlog, Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Dish, The Reaction and TPM Election Central
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Sweet on Caroline — Ask not, you know, what your country can, like, do for you. Ask what you, um, can, you know, do for your country. — After a lifetime of shying away from the public spotlight, Caroline Kennedy asked herself what she could do for her country.
Martin Kramer / Sandbox:
ABC: Anything But Cole — Juan Cole is running two campaigns on his blog. One is against Israel—business as usual for Cole. The other is promoting his blog in the 2008 Weblog Awards competition (Middle East category), where there are ten finalists (I am one).
Washington Post:
Obama Is Under Fire Over Panetta Selection — Current, Ex-CIA Officials Criticize ‘Opaque’ Process — President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday that he has selected a “top-notch intelligence team” that would provide the “unvarnished” information his administration needs, rather than “what they think the president wants to hear.”
Discussion:
MSNBC, The Moderate Voice, Commentary, Wall Street Journal, The Caucus, Spin Cycle, At-Largely and Obsidian Wings
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The DOJ pursues the “real criminal” in the NSA spying scandal — There are few viewpoints, if there are any, which trigger more fervent agreement across the political and media establishment than the view that George Bush, Dick Cheney and other top officials should not be criminally investigated …
Discussion:
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