Top Items:
Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
Steele: GOP needs ‘hip-hop’ makeover — NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: — Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Matthew Yglesias, Washington Monthly, TBogg, Ben Smith's Blogs, Ross Douthat, The New Republic, Riehl World View, Eunomia, Pam's House Blend, No More Mister Nice Blog, Salon, TIME.com, Wonkette, Gawker, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Hullabaloo, The Caucus, Sadly, No!, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Hotline On Call and Oliver Willis
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Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
I'M ONLY BEING REAL WHEN I SAY, NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR THEIR GRANDFATHER RAP. — Via Steve Benen, Michael Steele, the Republican Party's new black friend, continues the new black friendness in earnest: … Yesterday Gwen Ifill said that the Republican Party wasn't “so caught up with the idea …
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Rove testimony hangs in balance — A federal appeals court has agreed to give President Barack Obama a little more time—but only a little— to decide whether to support... one of President Bush's most controversial uses of executive privilege. — The new administration had asked …
CNN:
Spokesman for embattled Sen. Burris resigns — (CNN) — A spokesman for Illinois Sen. Roland Burris resigned Thursday in the wake of new disclosures about requests that Burris raise money for disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich while seeking a U.S. Senate appointment.
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Budget to kick off health care rewrite — At the end of the day last Wednesday, Obama aides and a handful of Senators hashed out the details of a $787 billion spending package in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office. — Larry Summers, the architect of the plan, was no longer in the room …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Weekly Standard, American Prospect, Washington Post, Donklephant, Wonk Room, TIME.com, Wonkette and The Plum Line
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY SUMMIT.... Whenever President Obama or anyone associated with his administration utters the phrase “entitlement reform,” it generates an audible gasp. The fear, of course, is that the White House might buy into conservative rhetoric about weakening Social Security.
Byron York / www.dcexaminer.com:
The RAT hiding deep inside the stimulus bill — The far-reaching — and potentially dangerous — provision that no one knows about. — You've heard a lot about the astonishing spending in the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, signed into law this week by President Barack Obama.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, RBO, Riehl World View, Hot Air, Wizbang, Cold Fury, Macsmind, protein wisdom and Sister Toldjah
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Greed is Not a Defense — I found Ezra Klein's defense of Politico to be pretty weak stuff. — Ezra's main point is that coverage that's utterly trivial and that poisons public understanding of crucial issues that effect the lives of billions of people is rewarded by the market …
Discussion:
Eschaton
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Radley Balko / Reason:
Manufacturing Guilt? — Editor's Note: The following article contains graphic and disturbing photographs and video excerpts of an examination conducted on the body of a 23-month-old girl. The images are the basis of claims that forensic experts fabricated evidence in a case that put a man on death row …
Associated Press:
SC gov says he'll take money despite misgivings — WASHINGTON (AP) - South Carolina's Republican governor says his state will accept money from President Barack Obama's stimulus plan even though he is ideologically opposed to it. — Gov. Mark Sanford says being against the plan “doesn't preclude taking the money.”
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Joe Stephens / Washington Post:
Valenti's Sexuality Was Topic For FBI — Under Pressure, LBJ Let Hoover's Agents Investigate Top Aide — When Beltway insider Jack Valenti died two years ago at age 85, he was playing the role of intermediary between Washington and Hollywood as the theatrical, snowy-haired president of the Motion Picture Association of America.
Discussion:
Commentary, The Daily Dish, protein wisdom, On Deadline, Connecting.the.Dots, Hot Air, AMERICAblog News, Weekly Standard and Gawker
Michael Wolff / Off the Grid:
Chimp Cartoon Makes Murdoch a Chump — Well, yes, it would require quite a contortion to find that Rupert Murdoch's New York Post had not compared the first black president to a monkey in an editorial cartoon. — Now, it is true that the Post has a certain vernacular involving public figures …
CQ Politics:
Firm with Murtha Ties Got Earmarks From Nearly One-Fourth of House — More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm — The PMA Group — known for its close ties to John P. Murtha , the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations.
Discussion:
NPR, The Swamp, Right Wing Nut House, The Washington Independent, Liberty Street, Betsy's Page, Outside The Beltway, Hot Air, Politicker NY and Wizbang
Sacramento Bee:
Budget plan goes to Schwarzenegger after Legislature's OK — The deal is done. — The California Legislature voted early today to approve a massive budget package of tax increases, spending cuts and borrowing to close a $40 billion deficit after granting major concessions to one holdout Republican senator.
Jim Treacher / Mother, May I Sleep with Treacher?:
TOP 10 REASONS PRESIDENT BARACK H. OBAMA IS NOTHING LIKE TRAVIS THE CHIMP — 10. Travis understood TurboTax — 9. Obama somewhat less likely to attack Biden — 8. Travis never lied — 7. Obama's smile not quite as genuine — 6. Travis could get through entire day without teleprompter
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
A Fix Note: Of Baby Fix and the Future — No, this isn't the post where we announce the arrival of Baby Fix — although we expect his/her (we really don't know!) first day on earth sometime in the very near future. — With the arrival imminent, however, we are going to be changing the format …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel
Ben Evans / Associated Press:
Democrats strike different tone on Katrina — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - The economic stimulus signed by President Barack Obama will spread billions of dollars across the country to spruce up aging roads and bridges.
Jeremy Page / Times of London:
Google Earth reveals secret history of US base in Pakistan — The US was secretly flying unmanned drones from the Shamsi airbase in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan as early as 2006, according to an image of the base from Google Earth. — The image — that is no longer …
Michelle Malkin:
Gimme, gimme, gimme: More scenes from the anti-Obama entitlement backlash — So, a CNBC host is calling for a new “tea party” to protest Barack Obama's out-of-control spendulus/entitlement culture? We've been doing it all week. Seattle, Denver, Mesa. Kansas this weekend. And more outbreaks to come.
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
How Low Will Newspapers' Ad Revenues Go? — When Arthur Sulzberger Jr. refused to talk to his own reporter about the financial condition of the New York Times Co., it was the latest sign of an industry in deep trouble. — After all, the Times is not only the nation's top-selling metropolitan daily …
Discussion:
The Other McCain
Erik Wemple / Washington City Paper:
WaPo Working with Roger Black — The Washington Post is undergoing a remarkable shrinking act, with some sections folding and others taking on more complicated identities. Making it all happen will require some tweaks to the paper's design. The paper's Web site, washingtonpost.com …
Natasha Korecki / Chicago Sun Times:
Patti targeted by feds' subpoena — Federal authorities have hit former first lady Patti Blagojevich with a federal subpoena dealing with recent charges lodged against her husband, raising new questions over whether she will become part of a grand jury indictment expected by early April.
Discussion:
The Capitol Fax Blog
Tony Messenger / Political Fix:
Sarah Steelman still on fence on running for U.S. Senate — JEFFERSON CITY — Former state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Sarah Steelman is still deciding whether to run for Senate and face U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt in what would surely be a divisive Republican primary.
The Moderate Voice:
Kill “Qwerty”! (Guest Voice) — FOR GOD'S SAKE, THIS IT THE 21ST CENTURY - LET'S GET RID OF “QWERTY”!! — by Marc Pascal — Why do computers still have keyboards? They represent a quaint vestige of their predecessor typewriters that were invented 130 years ago.
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Betting on Bipartisanship — As far as most of Washington is concerned, Barack Obama's big talk about bipartisanship is kaput. One month into his presidency, many pundits and political analysts have told him to drop it. Get real, they say. It bought you next to nothing on the stimulus bill.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, TalkLeft, Washington Monthly, Brian Beutler, The Opinionator and Fairness & Accuracy …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Beast With Red Cheeks … So does Ross: … But what if, in fact, there is no actual “choice” to destigmatize? What if the cruelty of some social norms - such as the way in which illegitimate children were once treated - leads to a gradual and irreversible social change?