memeorandum: POLL: Coleman should concede (Becky Nahm/KSTP-TV)

1:35 PM ET, January 9, 2009

Top Items:

Newsdesk / Clout St:

House votes to impeach Blagojevich — Posted by Ray Long and Rick Pearson a 10:25 a.m.; last updated at 10:40 a.m.; (for the live blog, scroll down) — SPRINGFIELD—In a historic vote, the Illinois House has impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, directing the Senate to put the state's 40th chief executive …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Democracy in America, KFVS-TV, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, Chicago Breaking News, BuzzFlash.org, Pam's House Blend, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, Real Clear Politics, TIME.com, A Blog For All and RedState

Chicago Sun Times:

Change in Burris' story? — SPRINGFIELD — A potentially troublesome new detail emerged about Roland Burris' controversial U.S. Senate appointment Thursday after a state House panel voted unanimously to recommend Gov. Blagojevich be impeached. — For the first time, Burris indicated …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Chicago Tribune, Hot Air and FiveThirtyEight.com

Chicago Breaking News:

House impeaches Blagojevich — SPRINGFIELD—In a historic vote, the Illinois House has impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, directing the Senate to put the state's 40th chief executive on trial with the goal of removing him from office. — The vote by the House was 114-1 and marks …

Joe Carroll / Bloomberg:
Blagojevich Impeached by Illinois House, Faces Trial

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Brian Montopoli / CBS News: Rod Blagojevich Impeached

The Huffington Post:
Burris Admits He Reached Out To Blago Confidant Named In Criminal Complaint

Discussion: TalkLeft and D-Day

Christopher Wills / Associated Press:
Illinois House impeaches Gov. Rod Blagojevich

Discussion: Outside The Beltway

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 …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Matthew Yglesias, Think Progress, Washington Post, NewsBusters.org, Associated Press, LewRockwell.com Blog, Vox Popoli and Buck Naked Politics

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.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly and Political Machine

Marc Ambinder:

It's Time To Play Oddsmaker — CHANCES Sen. Barack Obama's stimulus package is sent to the Whte House by February 16, the day Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set as a goal for Congressional passage. 60% All the posturing headlines today notwithstanding, momentum, the politics, the urgency and public opinion are on Obama's side.

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: Townhall.com, Capital Commerce, Commentary, BrianFaughnan's blog, Wake up America and The Impolitic

New York Times:
Senate Allies Fault Obama on Stimulus

Louis Uchitelle / New York Times:

Unemployment Hits 7.2%, 16-Year High — 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. December's job losses brought the total …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Associated Press, Firedoglake, The Washington Independent, Runnin' Scared, American Street, Buck Naked Politics, Spin Cycle, Gothamist, The Caucus, Daily Kos and D-Day

Rex Nutting / MarketWatch:
Carnage continues: 524,000 jobs lost in December

Discussion: MoJoBlog

John B. Judis / The New Republic:

Not Doing Enough — Why I worry that Obama doesn't realize just how bad things are. — Does Barack Obama understand the seriousness of the economic crisis? Yesterday, he laid out his economic agenda, and it was filled with all sorts of important exhortations and proscriptions.

Discussion: Kevin Drum, Sadly, No!, Obsidian Wings, Talking Points Memo, The Washington Independent and AMERICAblog News

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The High-Speed Rail Stimulus?

Discussion: The New Republic

Becky Nahm / KSTP-TV:

POLL: Coleman should concede — An exclusive Survey USA poll shows nearly half of Minnesotans surveyed say its time for Republican Norm Coleman to concede the U.S. Senate race to Democrat Al Franken. — But the survey does not hold good news for Franken either.

Discussion: Scorecard's Blogs, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Weekly Standard, The Washington Independent and TPM Election Central

Michelle Malkin:

Who's afraid of Joe the Journalist? — My syndicated column today looks at the MSM sneering over Joe Wurzelbacher's trip to Israel sponsored by PJTV, recounts how The Fraternal Order of the Professional Journalist has squandered its own credibility, and exposes how liberal media elites …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Hoystory:
Cover-up continues — Pro-Israel and conservative blogs …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

Endgame in Gaza — Israel's leaders have purposely obscured their war aims in Gaza. But there are only two possible endgames: (A) a Lebanon-like cessation of hostilities to be supervised by international observers, or (B) the disintegration of Hamas rule in Gaza.

Discussion: War in Context, Commentary and Betsy's Page

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.

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: The Debatable Land

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 …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Commentary, The Reaction and marbury

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.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Political Machine and The Note

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 …

Discussion: The New Republic, Weekly Standard, New York Times, Townhall.com, The Corner, The Long War Journal and The Atlanticist

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:

Mitch McConnell Lost His Testicles and Now Infects the Senate GOP With a Cancer — Allow me to be blunt: — There are some of you who have fallen under McConnell's spell in the same way the lefties have fallen under Obama's spell. McConnell can do no wrong.