Top Items:
New York Times:
Senate Allies Fault Obama on Stimulus — WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama's economic recovery plan ran into crossfire from his own party in Congress on Thursday, suggesting that quick passage of spending programs and tax cuts could require more time and negotiation than Democrats once hoped.
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The Politico:
O-bummer — Congressional Democrats are firing a surprising number of unexpectedly sharp brush-back pitches at President-elect Obama and his staff over policy plans and personnel picks, making him look embattled during what was to be a triumphant debut week in Washington.
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Pelosi Urges Obama to Raise Taxes on Wealthy This Year — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is urging the incoming Obama administration to stick to its campaign pledge and immediately increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, a position that President-elect Barack Obama has wavered on since winning election.
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Commentary, The Confluence, MyDD, Time and George's Bottom Line
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Obama Gap — “I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible. If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years.” — So declared President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday, explaining why the nation needs …
CNN:Key Senate Democrats blast Obama tax proposals
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, The Washington Independent, Macsmind, TPM Election Central, Ben Smith's Blogs and Washington Post
Greg Hitt / Wall Street Journal:Democrats Raise Doubts on Obama Plan
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Suzanne Goldenberg / Guardian:
Barack Obama administration ‘prepared to talk to Hamas’ — The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon George Bush's doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Buck Naked Politics, A Blog For All, Jules Crittenden, Commentary, Boker tov, Boulder!, Fausta's Blog, The Other McCain, Right Wing News, Pajamas Media, Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations, Daled Amos, Atlas Shrugs, MyDD, Sister Toldjah, Snapped Shot, Firedoglake, The Muqata, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Don Surber, The Huffington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Soccer Dad, YID With LID, AMERICAblog News, Jihad Watch, Stop The ACLU, Israel Matzav, Macsmind, Time and American Power
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Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Lei-off: Obama snubs Dean — The conspicuous absence of Howard Dean from Thursday's press conference announcing Tim Kaine's appointment as Democratic National Committee chair was no accident, according to Dean loyalists. — Rather, they say, it was a reflection of the lack of respect accorded …
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Joby Warrick / Washington Post:
Jan. 1 Attack By CIA Killed Two Leaders Of Al-Qaeda — A New Year's Day CIA strike in northern Pakistan killed two top al-Qaeda members long sought by the United States, including the man believed to be behind September's deadly suicide bombing at a Marriott hotel in the Pakistani capital …
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Adam Nossiter / New York Times:
Sheriff Accused of Stealing Jail Food Allowance — DECATUR, Ala. — The prisoners in the Morgan County jail here were always hungry. The sheriff, meanwhile, was getting a little richer. Alabama law allowed it: the chief lawman could go light on prisoners' meals and pocket the leftover change.
Wall Street Journal:
Mere Presidents — American leaders are mortal, not magical. — He didn't seem distracted, like he was thinking about lunch, and he didn't seem to be deflecting responsibility, but taking it. This was a relief, and rather unusual in a Washington politician, or pretty much any politician.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Hoystory:
Cover-up continues — Pro-Israel and conservative blogs have been all over the story of CNN peddling a bit of Hamas theater today. As you watch this video, take a good look at the supposed “victim” and the medical treatment he receives. — After the uproar erupted …
Los Angeles Times:
Eric Holder pushed for controversial clemency — As deputy attorney general in 1999, Holder — now attorney general nominee — pressed subordinates to drop objections to clemency for 16 members of violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations. — Reporting from Washington …
David Cho / Washington Post:
Geithner Preparing Overhaul Of Bailout — Obama Team Broadens Scope to Secure Final $350 Billion for Rescue — Confronted with intense skepticism on Capitol Hill over the $700 billion financial rescue program, Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy F. Geithner and President-elect Barack Obama's economic team …
Brian Blackstone / Wall Street Journal:
Jobless Rate Surges to 7.2% in December — WASHINGTON — The final employment report for 2008 closed the books on a miserable year for U.S. workers with payrolls plunging last month by more than half a million, pushing the unemployment rate to a 16-year high.
Louis Uchitelle / New York Times:
Jobless Rate Jumps to 7.2% as U.S. Loses 524,000 Jobs — With the recession in full swing, the nation's employers shed 524,000 jobs in December, the government reported Friday, and a rapidly deteriorating economy promised more significant losses in the months ahead.
Joe Klein / Time:
The Bush Administration's Most Despicable Act — “This is not the America I know,” President George W. Bush said after the first, horrifying pictures of U.S. troops torturing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq surfaced in April 2004. The President was not telling the truth.
Discussion:
The Mahablog, JammieWearingFool, Salon, Swampland, Democrats.com, Liberal Values and NewsBusters.org
Confederate Yankee:
Pro-Hamas Doctors Caught Faking A Civilian Death... After CNN Airs Footage — Mads Gilbert, the radical Marxist Norwegian doctor that was the focus of a Fox News report earlier today for being an anti-Israeli Hamas apologist, has been positively identified as one of two doctors caught faking CPR …
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The Columbus Dispatch:
Voinovich said to be iffy about running in 2010 — WASHINGTON — Sen. George V. Voinovich reportedly is considering not seeking re-election in 2010, well-placed sources in the Republican Party tell The Dispatch. — Although Ohio GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett insisted tonight that Voinovich …
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Confidence Surplus — Christina Romer is Barack Obama's choice to lead his Council of Economic Advisers. In 1994, Romer and her husband, David, wrote an essay entitled “What Ends Recessions?” In the first paragraph, the Romers noted that “economists seem strangely unsure …
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Online, Sarah Palin Has Unkind Words for the Press — Sarah Palin, still smarting over coverage of her vice presidential run, calls the media's reporting on her family “very scary” and says there may be “a class issue” that explains the more sympathetic treatment of Caroline Kennedy.
R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Obama Picks CIA Veteran Brennan as Counterterror Adviser — Brennan Has Drawn Fire on Interrogations — Barack Obama has picked John O. Brennan as his top adviser on counterterrorism, a role that will give the CIA veteran a powerful voice on the government's use of security contractors …
Amir Taheri / Times of London:
No way forward while the Hamas hydra lives — For Islamists in Gaza, Palestine is part of a global religious struggle not a battle to create an independent state — The conflict in Gaza has been triggered by Israel's belief that the status quo has become intolerable and should be overturned.
Wall Street Journal:
Exxon CEO Backs Emissions Tax — The chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp. for the first time called on Congress to enact a tax on greenhouse-gas emissions in order to fight global warming. — In a speech in Washington, Rex Tillerson said that a tax was a “more direct …
Discussion:
The Corner
Chicago Breaking News:
House committee recommends impeachment — SPRINGFIELD — A state legislative committee unanimously voted today to recommend the Illinois House impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich based on allegations that he abused his powers and sold his office to enrich himself.
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