Top Items:
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 …
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Walter Dellinger / New York Times:
City of Cold Shoulders — THE scene of Roland W. Burris being escorted from the Senate by the Capitol police on Tuesday could be only the first act of an unpleasant and distracting drama. But in the days since Mr. Burris's appointment to Illinois's junior Senate seat was announced …
The Hill:
'I don't work for Obama' — Democrats must be “very, very careful” to avoid overreaching and will not rubber-stamp President-elect Obama's policies, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday. — In an interview with The Hill, Reid said it is essential for Obama …
The Politico:
Burris heads into pivotal meeting — Roland Burris heads into a pivotal meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin on Wednesday with an unmistakable sense of momentum. — He's now got a top Senate Democrat on his side, a growing chorus …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, D-Day, TPM Election Central, AmSpecBlog, The Politico, Time, TIME.com, Reuters, Flopping Aces and About.com US Politics
WGN Radio:
Jesse White: “Fall Guy” In Burris Drama {audio} — Claims Senate “Playing Games” with Burris — (WGN-AM) - U.S. Senate appointee Roland Burris is weighing his options, after being turned away by the Secretary of the Senate Tuesday. — Burris said his credentials were rejected …
Discussion:
The Corner
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Illinois Secretary of State backs Burris, downplays own role
Illinois Secretary of State backs Burris, downplays own role
Discussion:
CBS News
Betsy Newmark / Fox News:
Sen. Feinstein Breaks With Democrats to Back Burris Appointment
Sen. Feinstein Breaks With Democrats to Back Burris Appointment
Discussion:
The Note, Political Machine, RedState, NO QUARTER, Balloon Juice, The Confluence, George's Bottom Line and USA Today
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 …
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Caucus, Political Machine, TIME.com, Boston Globe, The Jed Report and Jules Crittenden
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?
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Commentary, Jules Crittenden, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Mondoweiss, The Agonist, Soccer Dad and Jerusalem Post
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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:
The Moderate Voice, MSNBC, At-Largely, The Caucus, Spin Cycle, New York Times and Obsidian Wings
Daily Mail:
Synagogue set ablaze and anti-Semitic assaults soar in UK following Israel's invasion of Gaza … The number of anti-Semitic attacks in London has risen sharply following Israel's land assault on Gaza, Jewish community groups said today. — Their leaders have compiled a dossier of attacks …
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John Leicester / Associated Press:
Gaza conflict spreads to Europe with Jews attacked
Gaza conflict spreads to Europe with Jews attacked
Discussion:
Vox Popoli
New York Times:
Obama Warns of Trillion-Dollar Deficit Potential — 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 …
The Atlantic Online:
The End of White America? — ANOTHER MOMENT FROM The Great Gatsby: as Fitzgerald's narrator and Gatsby drive across the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan, a car passes them, and Nick Carraway notices that it is a limousine “driven by a white chauffeur, in which sat three modish negroes, two bucks and a girl.”
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
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:
Firedoglake, The Washington Independent, The Daily Dish, ATTACKERMAN and Wall Street Journal
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:
theheretik.us
Associated Press:
Israel conditionally welcomes cease-fire proposal — GAZA CITY, Gaza - Israel ordered a three-hour pause in its Gaza offensive Wednesday to allow food and fuel to reach besieged Palestinians, and said it welcomed a cease-fire proposal as long as Hamas halts rockets and weapons smuggling.
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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.
Avi Shlaim / Guardian:
How Israel brought Gaza to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe — The only way to make sense of Israel's senseless war in Gaza is through understanding the historical context. Establishing the state of Israel in May 1948 involved a monumental injustice to the Palestinians.
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).
Hal Varian / Wall Street Journal:
Boost Private Investment to Boost the Economy — Excessive spending is what got us into this mess in the first place. — These days it seems like it is our patriotic duty to consume more. And if we don't choose to spend more money ourselves, the government will do it for us. — But wait a minute.
CNN:
Obama to tap new position, meet with predecessors — (CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday will announce his pick for “chief performance officer,” a newly created position that will work on the federal budget and to reform government, a Democratic official told CNN.
Ynetnews:
‘Hamas has nothing left but rockets’ — Defense officials estimate Hamas infrastructure sustained serious hit, but organization is rationing its rocket caches in order not to deplete them too soon. Organization's officials operating under perception that Israel has crossed all lines and means business
Benjamin Netanyahu / Wall Street Journal:
Militant Islam Threatens Us All — Hamas rockets have the same terror goal as Hitler's blitz. — Imagine a siren that gives you 30 seconds to find shelter before a Kassam rocket falls from the sky and explodes, spraying its lethal shrapnel in all directions.
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Specter Attacks Choice for Attorney General — WASHINGTON — A leading Republican senator issued a broad attack on Tuesday on President-elect Barack Obama's pick as attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., questioning his political independence. — The senator, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania …
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, The BLT, Law Blog, AmSpecBlog, TPMMuckraker and PointOfLaw Forum
CNN:
Time kind to former presidents, CNN poll finds — (CNN) - A new national poll appears to validate the adage that time heals all wounds, at least when it comes to two former presidents of the United States. — Sixty percent of Americans questioned in a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. survey …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly