Top Items:
New York Times:
The Travails of Tom Daschle — When President Obama nominated former Senator Tom Daschle to be his secretary of health and human services, it seemed to be a good choice. Mr. Daschle, as the co-author of a book on health care reform, knew a lot about one of the president's signature issues.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, The Swamp, JustOneMinute, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, City of Brass, Commentary, USA Today, On Deadline, Michelle Malkin, Taegan Goddard's …, Washington Post, The Washington Independent, BuzzFlash.org, WSJ.com, Liberal Values, Brilliant at Breakfast, RedState, Shakesville and The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Obama performance chief Killefer out, citing taxes — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - Nancy Killefer withdrew her candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government on Tuesday, saying she didn't want her bungling …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Michelle Malkin, Townhall.com, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber, Reuters, Breitbart.tv and Outside The Beltway
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
ANOTHER TAX PROBLEM FOR OBAMA? — From NBC's Lisa Myers, Chuck Todd, Savannah Guthrie, and Ken Strickland — NBC News has learned that the president's choice for “chief performance officer” — technically a deputy OMB director post — could end up having to withdraw over a number of issues, including tax problems.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Riehl World View, Think Progress, PoliBlog, Political Machine, Emptywheel and Say Anything
MSNBC:
Daschle withdraws Obama nomination — He follows withdrawal earlier Tuesday of chief performance nominee — Former Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services. — Killefer withdraws — Feb. 3: Nancy Killefer withdrew …
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama's Pledge to Reform Ethics Faces an Early Test — WASHINGTON — During almost two years on the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to slay the demons of Washington, bar lobbyists from his administration and usher in what he would later call in his Inaugural Address a “new era of responsibility.”
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, TalkLeft, White House Watch, Associated Press, MSNBC, Time, Washington Post, USA Today, Betsy's Page, TIME.com, The Plum Line and JammieWearingFool
Washington Post:
Obama's Choice for Chief Performance Officer Withdraws Name — Nancy Killefer, the management consultant and former Treasury official who had been picked by President Obama to serve as the country's chief performance officer, has withdrawn from consideration for the post, White House officials confirmed this morning.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
How Killefer Hurts Daschle — President Obama's choice for government performance officer Nancy Killefer withdrew her name from consideration, possibly causing problems for HHS nominee Tom Daschle. (Linda Davidson / staff/ The Washington Post) — UPDATE 12:48 p.m.: Tom Daschle has withdrawn …
George Packer In / New Yorker:
OBAMA CAN'T AFFORD HYPOCRISY — It's more than a little disappointing that, just two weeks into President Obama's “new era of responsibility,” a second major cabinet appointee turns out to have underpaid his taxes by tens of thousands of dollars. Maybe a better word for it is “cheated.”
Discussion:
marbury
Fox News:
Daschle Withdraws Nomination for Health and Human Services Secretary — Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination for health and human services secretary, and President Obama has accepted. — FOXNews.com — Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination for health and human services secretary …
Emily Yoffe / Washington Post:
Taxes? Too Busy, Busy, Busy! — Like many Americans whose steady …
Taxes? Too Busy, Busy, Busy! — Like many Americans whose steady …
Discussion:
The Hill
Jonathan Allen / CQ Politics:
Gregg Voted to Kill Commerce Before He Agreed to Lead It — President Obama's new candidate to run the Commerce Department voted in favor of abolishing the agency as a member of the Budget Committee and on the Senate floor in 1995. — Sen. Judd Gregg , R-N.H., whose nomination was expected …
RELATED:
David S. Cloud / The Politico:
Secret report urges new Afghan plan — The Pentagon's top military officers are recommending to President Barack Obama that he shift U.S. strategy in Afghanistan — to focus on ensuring regional stability and eliminating Taliban and Al Qaida safe havens in Pakistan, rather …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Daniel Pearl and the Normalization of Evil — When will our luminaries stop making excuses for terror? — This week marks the seventh anniversary of the murder of our son, former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. My wife Ruth and I wonder: Would Danny have believed that today's world emerged after his tragedy?
Discussion:
Power Line, Sister Toldjah, Preemptive Karma, protein wisdom, Israel Matzav and American Power
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
US Mideast envoy wants regional office — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - The special U.S. envoy for Middle East peace, George Mitchell, has asked to open his own office in the region to deal with day-to-day developments between Israel …
RELATED:
Richard Lloyd Parry / Times of London:
North Korea ‘prepares to test long range missile’
North Korea ‘prepares to test long range missile’
Discussion:
The Atlanticist
Tony Halpin / Times of London:
Passengers stop flight after ‘drunk’ pilot sparks panic — It is normally a moment of cheery reassurance when an airline pilot greets passengers during preparations for take-off. But Alexander Cheplevsky sparked panic on flight Aeroflot 315 when he began to speak.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
JOE THE REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST.... Once in a while, I get the sense Republicans on Capitol Hill want to be made fun of. … This is what it's come to for Republican staffers in Congress. In the midst of an economic crisis, and after balking at a stimulus package, the GOP is turning …
Discussion:
The Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, On Deadline, Whiskey Fire, Liberal Values and Shakesville
RELATED:
John Distaso / UnionLeader.com:
In 2010, Rep. Hodes will run for U.S. Senate — CONCORD - Democratic U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes will announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate “within the week,” a source close to Hodes told UnionLeader.com this morning shortly before Judd Gregg's nomination as commerce secretary became official.
Jared Allen / The Hill:
Dems warn leaders to resume regular order — A group of more than 50 House Democrats has penned a letter to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) imploring him to “restore this institution” and see that the House returns to a “regular order” process of legislating.
David Brooks / New York Times:
Ward Three Morality — I've become increasingly concerned about the rising number of rich people who are being caught unawares by shifts in the sumptuary code. First, there were those auto executives who didn't realize that it is no longer socially acceptable to use private jets for lobbying trips to Washington.
Frank Newport / Gallup:
Americans Support Stimulus, but Many Want Major Changes — Most say plan will not have major impact this year — USA - Business and Economy - Congress - Credit Crisis - Personal Finances - Taxes - Americas - Northern America — PRINCETON, NJ — A strong majority of Americans (75%) …