Top Items:
Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
Boehner to GOP: Vote against stimulus — President Barack Obama is coming to the Capitol later today in a bid to curry favor with congressional Republicans. But it appears GOP leaders have already made up their minds to oppose his $825 billion stimulus plan.
Discussion:
CNN, Think Progress, Fox News, McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Huffington Post, The Washington Independent, Reuters, TPMDC, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, The Bilerico Project, FiveThirtyEight.com, Open Left, OpenMarket.org, Gateway Pundit, The Foundry, Salon, PoliticalBase.com Blog, PERRspectives Blog, Congress Matters, Sister Toldjah and Hot Air
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Is Rush Limbaugh the New Face of the GOP? — Conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh. AP Photo/Ron Edmonds — It's one week into President Obama's term and his arch nemesis isn't Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, MyDD, The Democratic Daily, American Power, Taylor Marsh and Hullabaloo
The Politico:
Obama won't compromise on tax cuts — President Barack Obama rolled into the Capitol with a clear message for Republicans Tuesday afternoon: He's happy to talk, but he's not compromising on his tax rebates for lower income households. — Obama was ready for the House Republicans to pounce …
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
House GOP member to Rush: Back off — Rush Limbaugh may command a large following, but his caustic comments Monday about the GOP's congressional leadership have at least one Republican House member defending his colleagues and offering an unusually candid critique of the talk radio powerhouse and his fellow commentators.
David Lightman / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Congressional Budget Office compares downturn to Great Depression — The nation's current recession is likely to be the longest since World War II, and by some measures could be the worst since the Great Depression, a new Congressional Budget Office forecast said Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Matthew Yglesias, Media Matters for America, D-Day and Washington Monthly
The Politico:
Republicans find their voice — Congressional Republicans, who only weeks ago were sheepish about their own electoral failures and cowed by Obama's polish and popularity, are suddenly punching back — hard — on both sides of the Capitol. — The Senate GOP surprised the administration Monday evening …
Howard Fineman / MSNBC:
Fineman: Honeymoon that ended before it began — For Obama, an early start, and promises things will get worse — WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is launching his first diplomatic mission. — It's not overseas; it's local, 1.6 miles east of the White House.
Peter Roff / Fox News:
Republicans Object to Stimulus Dollars for ACORN — Republicans say voter registration and community groups like ACORN could be eligible for funding under the Democrats' economic stimulus bill. — FOXNews.com — Republican lawmakers are raising concerns that ACORN …
New York Post:
PALIN'S GOT PAC AND VIP STATUS — ASK not what Sarah Palin can do for your country, ask only what you can do for Sarah Palin. And the answer is, pay attention. Trust me, Alaska's governor is moving faster than those glaciers. — Traveling with one of her ladies-in-waiting and invited by a rich GOPnik …
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Kate Klonick / CJR:
Q & A: Former McCain Blogger Michael Goldfarb — “I was a cudgel. I pissed off the media.” … Kate Klonick: You spent the last six months as the official campaign blogger for the McCain campaign, taking leave from your position as Web editor at The Weekly Standard. What were you expecting when you made the switch?
Sonny Bunch / Washington Times:
‘Che’ spurs debate, Del Toro walkout — UPDATED: — A controversial new biopic about Cuban revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is awakening old passions and provoking vigorous defenses and denunciations of the iconic revolutionary and - in the case of an interview with The Washington Times - a dramatic walkout.
Aziz Poonawalla / City of Brass:
conservatism v2.0: replacing Kristol at the New York Times — Bill Kristol's year-long stint as columnist at the New York Times has ended. His last column, entitled “Will Obama Save Liberalism?”, begins with the line: … In so doing, Kristol ties himself to conservatism's swan song …
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The Huffington Post:
Bailout Recipients Hosted Call To Defeat Key Labor Bill — Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community's top legislative priority.
Discussion:
The Plum Line, culturekitchen, Hullabaloo, Brave New Films blog, TPMDC and Seeing the Forest
Rod Blagojevich / The Huffington Post:
OBAMA AL-ARABIYA INTERVIEW: FULL TEXT — Here is the full text of President Obama's interview with Al-Arabiya Arab TV Network: — INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT BY HISHAM MELHEM, AL ARABIYA — Map Room — Q Mr. President, thank you for this opportunity, we really appreciate it.
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Jonathan Stray:
Social Network of US Counterinsurgency Policy Authors — Who is writing the major policies of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and what is the Obama administration likely to do? There have been many analyses and news reports of individual policies and events, but it's hard to wade …
Mohamed Ahmed / Reuters:
Somali insurgents take Baidoa after Ethiopians leave — BAIDOA (Reuters) - Hardline Islamist insurgents captured the central town of Baidoa on Monday, an important stronghold of Somalia's fragile government and seat of the national parliament, witnesses said.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
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Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
High-Flying Citigroup Grounds Plans for $50M Jet — Obama Aide Called Citigroup to Complain About Jet — The high-flying execs at Citigroup caved under pressure from President Obama and decided today to abandon plans for a luxurious new $50 million corporate jet from France.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Spot-On, The Moderate Voice, The Politico, Political Punch and Think Progress
Sue Pleming / Reuters:
Clinton says world “exhaling” with Obama at top — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested on Tuesday the world was breathing a sigh of relief that President Barack Obama had replaced George W. Bush and was working to fix the damage he had caused.
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Pamela Hess / Associated Press:
US official: Intelligence director resigns — WASHINGTON (AP) — National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell resigned his post effective Tuesday. — Spokesman Ross Feinstein said Lt. Gen. Ronald L. Burgess, Jr. is temporarily serving as acting national intelligence director.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
STATING THE OBVIOUS — I hear a lot of talk about whether Obama's governing approach can be ‘bipartisan’ if a good number of Republicans don't vote for his Stimulus Bill. But that dubious point seems to be obscuring a more obvious and telling reality: the Republican leadership in both houses …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Associated Press:
Swedish city cancels Holocaust event — A northern Swedish city has decided to cancel a planned Holocaust Memorial Day torchlight procession due to the recent IDF offensive in Gaza, it was reported Tuesday. — The official reason given for the decision, made by the municipal board …
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
INSIDE OBAMA'S MEETING WITH HOUSE GOP — From NBC's Mike Viqueira — This is a sort of a live blog from a member and aide inside the room with President Obama, via e-mail: — Obama speaking now.... Talking about how bad the economy is and that it is deteriorating rapidly
Discussion:
USA Today
Jessica Holzer / Wall Street Journal:
House Panel Approves Mortgage Measure — WASHINGTON — A measure to allow judges to reduce the principal amounts of mortgages for troubled borrowers in bankruptcy cleared a key hurdle Tuesday when it was approved by a U.S. House panel. — The legislation, which is progressing quickly in Congress …
Washington Whispers:
Tales From The Inside: What Obama Told Republicans — President Barack Obama went to Capitol Hill today to push Republicans to back his $825 billion stimulus plan. While they probably won't, he won points for reaching out to the minority, making good on campaign promises.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
GOP-ers Swoon Over Obama Despite Differences — President Obama won praise from some of the House's most conservative lawmakers as “engaging” and “respectful” during his meeting with congressional Republicans Tuesday. — Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) said that Obama was sincere and “impressive” …
Capital Commerce:
10 Reasons to Whack Obama's Stimulus Plan — Some people are going to oppose President Obama's ginormous stimulus package just because they're on a different political team. But when you look at the economic evidence, it sure seems like an economic recovery package that's heavy …
Halimah Abdullah / Bluegrass Politics:
Bunning takes aim at McConnell — U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., lashed out at the Bluegrass State's senior senator, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, in a teleconference with reporters Tuesday morning. — Bunning expressed frustration that McConnell hasn't publicly backed …