Top Items:
Washington Post:
Republicans See Long-Term Victory in Defeat on Stimulus Plan — Three months after their Election Day drubbing, Republican leaders see glimmers of rebirth in the party's liberation from an unpopular president, its selection of its first African American chairman and, most of all …
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Frank Newport / Gallup:
Obama Has Upper Hand in Stimulus Fight — Obama's 67% approval rating on the stimulus is more than twice that of Republicans — USA - Congress - Democrats - Government and Politics - Leadership - Republicans - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America
Discussion:
The Fix, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Wire, Eunomia, Real Time Economics, Hot Air, MSNBC, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Washington Post, Swampland, The Swamp, The Plum Line, Spin Cycle, Boston Globe, Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blogs, Salon, Kevin Drum, Taegan Goddard's …, Cafe Talk Aggregator, Daily Kos, TPMDC and Hullabaloo
CNN:
Obama's approval is high — but the stimulus isn't as popular — WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll suggests that three out of four Americans approve of the job Barack Obama's doing as President — but the economic stimulus package he's trying to push through Congress is not nearly as popular.
Byron York / www.dcexaminer.com:
The Happy Party — (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) They took a beating in November, but now, in the stimulus fight, Republicans are smiling again. — You see it all over Capitol Hill, in the hallways, the hearing rooms, the gathering spots. Republicans, coming off a devastating, across-the-board electoral defeat, are ... happy.
Joe Sudbay / AMERICAblog News:
On handling the stimulus: 67% approval vs. 31% approval
On handling the stimulus: 67% approval vs. 31% approval
Discussion:
Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!
Ross Douthat:
The Trouble With Centrism — The liberals are angry, and not without reason. You can imagine a world in which “centrist” Senators used their awesome deal-making powers to forge compromises that incorporate ideas from the left and right alike. A world in which moderate “gangs,” …
Discussion:
Megan McArdle, The New Republic, TalkLeft, Hot Air, Newshoggers.com, Democratic Strategist and Brian Beutler
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Arlen Specter / Washington Post:
Why I Support the Stimulus — I am supporting the economic stimulus package for one simple reason: The country cannot afford not to take action. — The unemployment figures announced Friday, the latest earnings reports and the continuing crisis in banking make it clear that failure to act …
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Destructive Center — What do you call someone who eliminates hundreds of thousands of American jobs, deprives millions of adequate health care and nutrition, undermines schools, but offers a $15,000 bonus to affluent people who flip their houses? — A proud centrist.
Ali Frick / Think Progress:
Obama's Unscreened Town Hall Audience Is Clean Break From Bush's Supporters-Only Public Events — Today, President Obama hosted a town hall meeting in Elkhart, IN — which faces the nation's fastest-rising unemployment rate — to promote his recovery and reinvestment plan.
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Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Already Back on the Trail, Now to Sell a Stimulus Plan
Already Back on the Trail, Now to Sell a Stimulus Plan
Discussion:
MSNBC, MyDD, Wall Street Journal, The Note, Indianapolis Star, Time, Cafe Talk Aggregator, Washington Post and TIME.com
Bloomberg:
U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailouts as Senate Votes — Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — The stimulus package the U.S. Congress is completing would raise the government's commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation's home mortgages.
Wall Street Journal:
Amazon Raises an E-Book Specter — Amazon.com Inc. is announcing a new version of its Kindle e-book reader on Monday. And, in a sign that the electronic book is gaining clout in the publishing world, Amazon is also expected to say it has acquired a new work by best-selling novelist Stephen King …
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Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
Newsweek Plans Makeover to Fit a Smaller Audience — When US Airways Flight 1549 glided safely onto the Hudson River last month, Newsweek did what news organizations have done for more than a century — it sent reporters and photographers to the scene. Considerable effort yielded …
Daily Mail:
High-ranking Foreign Office diplomat arrested over anti-Semitic gym tirade … A high-ranking diplomat at the Foreign Office has been arrested after allegations that he launched a foul-mouthed anti-Semitic tirade. — Middle East expert Rowan Laxton, 47, was watching TV reports of the Israeli attack …
Joseph Curl / Washington Times:
‘Doom’ talk scored as ‘not presidential’ — Poses risk for ‘Yes, we can’ candidate — From crisis to catastrophe. Off a cliff. Dark, darker, darkest. Mortal danger of absolute collapse. Armageddon. — President Obama and top Democrats on Capitol Hill are deploying …
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New York Post:
IT'S A RECESSION NOT A ‘CATASTROPHE’ — PRESIDENT Obama, writing in The Washington Post, said, “By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression.” But how would we know if and when this crisis is really more “deep and dire” than others?
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John Feehery / The Politico:
A letter to Rush Limbaugh — Congratulations! You have been selected by the Obama administration, the mainstream media and 20 million of your most passionate followers to be the new head of the Republican Party. — As such, you are given all the rights and responsibilities that come with being a true political leader.
John B. Taylor / Wall Street Journal:
How Government Created the Financial Crisis — Research shows the failure to rescue Lehman did not trigger the fall panic. — Many are calling for a 9/11-type commission to investigate the financial crisis. Any such investigation should not rule out government itself as a major culprit.
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
“When the novelty of the first African American president wears off, the sight of Obama talking on television might have less impact..." — “For now, though, the White House is cranking up the volume, staging Obama's first presidential news conference [Monday night] — in prime time.”
Discussion:
Right Wing News
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Henri E. Cauvin / Washington Post:
Steele Defends Payment to Sister — RNC Chairman Says Campaign Costs Were Legitimate and Documented — Michael S. Steele, the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, said yesterday that there was nothing improper in a payment of more than $37,000 to his sister's company for work …
Discussion:
MSNBC
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
People Hate Republicans — It seems that conservative legislators are really excited about their efforts to block efforts at an economic recovery package: … The public is less entranced by this behavior: — I'm not surprised to see most Republican legislators acting this way.
Max Blumenthal / Blogs and Stories:
Porn Star for Senate — An Interview with the Porn Star Running Against Sen. David Vitter by Max Blumenthal — Blogs and Stories — Sen. David Vitter's phone number was found in the records of the notorious D.C. madam. Now he faces re-election (and massive karmic payback) against a sultry adult entertainer named Stormy.
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:
Activists Left Hoping for Change at Obama's Stimulus Parties — When Obama supporters gathered this weekend to build support for the first major legislation of the new president's tenure, those who had campaigned for change found themselves talking about something unexpected— politics as usual.
Discussion:
Mercury News
Shane Goldmacher / Sacramento Bee:
Whitman boots up campaign for governor — Former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman officially submitted her bid to explore a run for governor on Monday. — The move by the billionaire businesswoman sets up what's expected to be an expensive, 17-month auction between herself …