Top Items:
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
After Tax Errors Raised, GOP Leaders Defend Treasury Nominee — But Some Call Geithner's Actions Serious Missteps — Was he cheating on his taxes or just sloppy with his finances? Lawmakers vetting the nomination of Timothy F. Geithner to serve as Treasury secretary say they may never be sure.
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Roger Simon / The Politico:What if I didn't pay taxes? — Would it be OK if I stopped paying …
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RedState
New York Times:More Questions for Mr. Geithner
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Washington Post, Spin Cycle, TalkLeft, National Review, NewsBusters.org, Michelle Malkin and Wall Street Journal
Hugh Hewitt / Townhall.com:Confirm Geithner; Approve The TARP Funds, and Get The Stimulus Right
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
Associated Press:
Israel Shells UN Headquarters In Gaza — GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel shelled the United Nations headquarters in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, engulfing the compound and the main warehouse in fire and destroying thousands of pounds of food and humanitarian supplies intended for Palestinian refugees.
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New York Times:
Israel Strikes U.N. Complex in Gaza Strip — GAZA — Amid reports that a United Nations building had been hit, Israeli forces shelled areas deep inside Gaza City and edged forward toward the city center Thursday, sending thousands of panicked residents fleeing from their homes, witnesses said.
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Obama Charms Even a Night's Grand Ol' Party — At one point during the party, CNBC's Larry Kudlow asked Barack Obama why he had hired several of the liberal guests who appeared on his program but left him Robert Reich. — “So someone will stick up for me on your show,” the president-elect replied.
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Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Playing to the Pundits — If you think the chattering classes were chattering about the Osama tape or the fate of the second $350 billion in bailout money yesterday, let me enlighten you. — It was all about the dinner party. — To wit, which members of the conservative commentariat were invited to dine with Obama?
Andrew Roberts / Telegraph:
History will show that George W Bush was right — The American lady who called to see if I would appear on her radio programme was specific. “We're setting up a debate,” she said sweetly, “and we want to know from your perspective as a historian whether George W Bush was the worst president …
Discussion:
theheretik.us, Sister Toldjah, No More Mister Nice Blog, Samizdata.net, normblog, Gateway Pundit, Power Line, Macsmind and protein wisdom
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Robert Creamer / The Huffington Post:The One Big Thing George W. Bush Did Right
Discussion:
The Progressive Revolution
Simon Romero / International Herald Tribune:
Chávez reopens oil bids to West as prices plunge — CARACAS: President Hugo Chávez, buffeted by falling oil prices that threaten to damage his efforts to establish a Socialist-inspired state, is quietly courting Western oil companies once again.
Discussion:
Daniel W. Drezner
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Clifford Krauss / New York Times:Where Is Oil Going Next? — HOUSTON — From the Indian Ocean …
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Don Surber
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Intelligence Court Rules Wiretapping Power Legal — WASHINGTON — A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, is expected to issue a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a court order …
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Biden Outlines Plans to Do More With Less Power — WASHINGTON — He was in the Senate for 36 years and visited the White House under seven presidents. But Joseph R. Biden Jr. has never seen the inside of the vice president's office in the West Wing. “I never thought a lot about the vice presidency …
Discussion:
The Caucus, Think Progress, TIME.com, The Note, Lost in Transition, Taegan Goddard's … and Prairie Weather
Wall Street Journal:
Bush and the Libby Pardon — As the curtain closes on the presidency of George W. Bush, the one loose end dangling is the pardon of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. In 2007 Mr. Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was convicted for perjury and obstruction of justice.
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Bob Woodward / Washington Post:
10 Take Aways From the Bush Years — There's actually a lot that President-elect Barack Obama can learn from the troubled presidency of George W. Bush. Over the past eight years, I have interviewed President Bush for nearly 11 hours, spent hundreds of hours with his administration's key players …
Wall Street Journal:
Even Businessmen Deserve a Lawyer — How Eric Holder enabled federal prosecutors to bully defendants. — The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Eric Holder's nomination for attorney general has failed to focus on the threat to constitutional rights posed by what is known as the “Holder Memorandum.”
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:Parties Brace for a Fight on Justice Dept. Choice
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Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, MoJoBlog, Spin Cycle, MSNBC, The Caucus, New York Times, Time, Democracy in America and TIME.com
Eli Lake / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Panetta faces rendition queries — Panel eyes CIA pick's role in shaping policy during the Clinton era — President-elect Barack Obama's choice for CIA director, Leon Panetta, served as White House chief of staff during the time the Clinton administration accelerated a practice …
Discussion:
Jeffrey Goldberg, AmSpecBlog, ATTACKERMAN, The Washington Independent and The Campaign Spot
Isabel Kershner / New York Times:
War on Hamas Saps Palestinian Leaders — JERUSALEM — Israel hoped that the war in Gaza would not only cripple Hamas, but eventually strengthen its secular rival, the Palestinian Authority, and even allow it to claw its way back into Gaza. — But with each day, the authority, its leader …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, rubber hose, Yourish.com, Jeffrey Goldberg, Newshoggers.com, Jules Crittenden, Commentary and Firedoglake
Richard L. Connor / CQ Politics:
History May See Lincoln-Like Greatness in George W. Bush — It's easy to make comparisons between President-elect Barack Obama and former President Abraham Lincoln. We have the Illinois connections and then the hovering, dark clouds of war, a nation divided and in crisis, and other similarities that provide a historic link.
Brad Stone / New York Times:
Apple's Chief Takes a Medical Leave — Casting a pall over one of the world's most closely watched companies, Steven P. Jobs, chief executive of Apple, said on Wednesday that he was taking a leave of absence because of health concerns. — Mr. Jobs wrote in a letter to Apple employees …
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Democrats Finishing Up Stimulus Proposal — President-Elect Is Expected to Tout Plan Tomorrow — Congressional Democrats are putting the final touches on an economic stimulus package worth almost $850 billion, hoping to have the details ready in time for President-elect Barack Obama …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Politico, LiberalOasis, MSNBC, USA Today, Marginal Revolution, AMERICAblog News, Wonk Room and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Hutchison pressured to stay in Senate — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) is reconsidering a plan to resign from the Senate this year, a huge relief to Republicans who fear that a special election — even in deeply red Texas — could give Democrats a 60-seat, filibuster-resistant majority in the Senate.
Michael Stokes Paulsen / Wall Street Journal:
The Minnesota Recount Was Unconstitutional — There's still plenty of time for the state to get it right. — You would think people would learn. The recount in the contest between Norm Coleman and Al Franken for a seat in the U.S. Senate isn't just embarrassing. It is unconstitutional.
Del Quentin Wilber / Washington Post:
Citing Weak Evidence, Judge Orders Guantanamo Detainee Freed — A federal judge ordered the release yesterday of a detainee at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ruling that the government's evidence is too weak to justify the man's continued confinement.
Discussion:
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