Top Items:
Washington Post:
Senate Lacks Votes to Pass Stimulus — Democrats Trying to Trim $900 Billion Plan to Gain GOP Support — Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, Megan McArdle, Marginal Revolution, The Plum Line, Associated Press, Free exchange, Reason, The Hill, The Washington Independent, The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo, Gawker, The Caucus, Wall Street Journal, The Corner, The Plank, Wonk Room, Outside The Beltway, Wizbang, Shopfloor, AMERICAblog News, George's Bottom Line and Capital Commerce
RELATED:
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Time to Steer ‘Forceful Course’ for Stimulus — The most serious charge against the stimulus package is that it does not pack enough punch. Two different camps have been making this argument over the last few weeks. Publicly, the Obama administration hasn't really answered either one.
The Politico:
Cheney warns of new attacks — Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration's policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.
RELATED:
Spencer Ackerman / ATTACKERMAN:
Someone Is Lying — Barely two weeks out of office and Dick Cheney is already mongering fear. Unsurprisingly, it's about Guantanamo Bay, where he says that generic Democrats — he's intimating that he means President Obama, but he's too much of a coward to say the man's name — are …
Discussion:
Dependable Renegade
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Well, That Certainly Didn't Take Long — On 9/11, President Bush learned of disaster while reading “The Pet Goat” to grade-school kids. On Tuesday, President Obama escaped from disaster by reading “The Moon Over Star” to grade-school kids. — “We were just tired of being in the White House …
RELATED:
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
The wondrous ways Obama's Washington works—and doesn't get it — The night in 1865 that John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln in downtown Washington not far off the recent inaugural parade route for the man who used the same red Bible for his 2009 presidential oath …
Discussion:
Soccer Dad
New York Times:
U.S. Plans $500,000 Cap on Executive Pay in Bailouts — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is expected to impose a cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive large amounts of bailout money, according to people familiar with the plan. — Executives would also be prohibited …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal, Political Punch, Matthew Yglesias, The Atlantic Business Channel, Spin Cycle, Obsidian Wings, Daily Kos, Free exchange, Maggie's Farm, JammieWearingFool, D-Day, The Note, The Caucus, Washington Post, New York Times, Marginal Revolution, BloggingStocks, naked capitalism, DownWithTyranny!, Newshoggers.com, About.com US Politics, Shakesville, Vox Popoli, AMERICAblog News, The Impolitic, Associated Press, Michelle Malkin, The Field on the Narcosphere, JustOneMinute and Buck Naked Politics
RELATED:
Victor Davis Hanson / The Corner:
The Impending Obama Meltdown — Some of us have been warning that it was not healthy for the U.S. media to have deified rather than questioned Obama, especially given that they tore apart Bush, ridiculed Palin, and caricatured Hillary. And now we can see the results of their two years of advocacy rather than scrutiny.
RELATED:
Keith Ervin / Seattle Times:
Ron Sims leaves legacy of change as he heads for HUD — When Ron Sims goes to Washington, D.C., he will leave King County a legacy of denser suburbs, more open space, a larger trail network and a technologically advanced sewer system designed to handle continued growth.
RELATED:
Barbara Slavin / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Obama backs out on Iraq appointment — The Obama administration asked retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni to be U.S. ambassador to Iraq but abruptly withdrew the appointment without explanation, Gen. Zinni said Tuesday. — Gen. Zinni, a former commander of Central Command …
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
WHAT CHANGE LOOKS LIKE. — My reporting has been similar to that of Jon Cohn. Everyone I've spoken to in the administration has expressed total shock over Daschle's withdrawal. As recently as last night, they were counting votes and felt certain the nomination was on track for a bumpy but comfortable confirmation.
William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Kristol: New Poll Shows Stimulus Support Sags — THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that later this morning Rasmussen Reports will release new survey data showing that a plurality of Americans now oppose the stimulus package (37-43%); two weeks ago, support for the legislation stood at 45-34%.
Jim Tankersley / Los Angeles Times:
California farms, vineyards in peril from warming, U.S. energy secretary warns — 'We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California,' Steven Chu says. He sees education as a means to combat threat. — Reporting from Washington — California's farms and vineyards …
New York Times:
In Attack on Kennedy, Echo of a Spitzer Tactic — ALBANY — An administration leaks damaging information about a political figure. The leak is denounced by the governor, who says that he had nothing to do with it. — This is what happened during the tenure of Gov. Eliot Spitzer …
Rod Blagojevich / Wall Street Journal:
Afghanistan May See Surge in Troops — By CHIP CUMMINS in Dubai, ROSHANAK TAGHAVI in Tehran and JAY SOLOMON in Washington — WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. commanders are finalizing plans to send tens of thousands of reinforcements to Afghanistan's main opium-producing region and its porous border …
RELATED:
Owen Thomas / Gawker:
Rahm Emanuel's Illegal D.C. Basement Rental — He's the cheapskate of staff. Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's right-hand man, lives in a basement apartment on Capitol Hill rented to him by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. Just one problem: He's not allowed to live there.
Financial Times:
India warns Obama over Kashmir — India has warned US President Barack Obama that he risks “barking up the wrong tree” if he seeks to broker a settlement between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory of Kashmir. — MK Narayanan, India's national security advisor …
Steven Leser / OpEdNews.Com Progressive, Tough Liberal:
Mark Halperin, Chris Matthews and Anderson Cooper Skew Obama Ratings … It all started with Mark Halperin's brief note in Time Magazine, http://thepage.time.com/2009/02/03/ poll-obama-approval-rating-drops/ , which stated “Poll: Obama Approval Rating Drops”.
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Republicans staking early claim in 2010 Senate cycle — Following two cycles in which the party found itself perpetually on defense, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is giving early indications it intends to lambaste Democrats in a much more aggressive fashion in the 2010 cycle.
Discussion:
Senate Guru
Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Vatican: Holocaust denier must recant — VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Wednesday demanded that a prelate who denied the Holocaust recant his positions before being fully admitted as a bishop into the Roman Catholic Church. — It also said Pope Benedict XVI had not known …
Stephanie Simon / Wall Street Journal:
Border-Fence Project Hits a Snag — Opposition From Environmentalists, Property Owners Slows Construction of Final Leg — Construction of the final stretch of a 670-mile security fence along the southern U.S. border has hit a series of legal, political and engineering obstacles that are slowing completion of the yearlong project.
National Review:
Daschle Goes, Geithner Stays? — For Democrats, the taxman giveth and the taxman taketh away. — High-profile tax-scofflaw Tom Daschle has been shamed out of an appointment as secretary of health and human services. And he's not alone: President Obama will have to hunt down another candidate …