Top Items:
Think Progress:
John Bolton jokes about nuking Chicago, entire CPAC audience erupts in laughter. — This morning, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton spoke to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He tried to up the fear quotient in the room by raising the prospect of an Iranian-sent nuclear attack on an American city.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, At-Largely, No More Mister Nice Blog, 1115.org, Wonk Room and TigerHawk
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CNN:
Steele to CPAC: The Republican party is just fine — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Capping off a day of conservative soul-searching, strategizing and navel-gazing at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele announced Thursday …
Jonathan Stein / MoJo Blog Posts:
John Bolton at CPAC: The Benefits of Nuking Chicago — Former UN Ambassador John Bolton believes the security of the United States is at dire risk under the Obama administration. And before a gathering of conservatives in Washington on Thursday morning, he suggested, as something of a joke …
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Pelosi butts heads with Obama — Nancy Pelosi repeatedly stood to applaud Barack Obama when he addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. But in the days since, the speaker of the House has been standing up for herself —distancing herself from the president on Iraq …
Discussion:
Stop The ACLU, The Strata-Sphere, Washington Post, The Plum Line, TIME.com, The Note, RedState, Snowflakes in Hell and Salon
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David Leonhardt / New York Times:
A Bold Plan Sweeps Away Reagan Ideas — The budget that President Obama proposed on Thursday is nothing less than an attempt to end a three-decade era of economic policy dominated by the ideas of Ronald Reagan and his supporters. — The Obama budget — a bold, even radical departure from recent history …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Climate of Change — Elections have consequences. President Obama's new budget represents a huge break, not just with the policies of the past eight years, but with policy trends over the past 30 years. If he can get anything like the plan he announced on Thursday through Congress, he will set America on a fundamentally new course.
Stephen Bernard / Associated Press:
Government could own up to 36 pct. of Citigroup — NEW YORK - The U.S. government will exchange up to $25 billion in emergency bailout money it provided Citigroup Inc. for as much as a 36 percent equity stake in the struggling bank. — The deal announced Friday — the third attempt …
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Eric Dash / New York Times:
U.S. Agrees to Raise Its Stake in Citigroup — In its most daring bid yet to stabilize Citigroup, one of the nation's largest and most troubled financial institutions, the Treasury Department announced on Friday that it would vastly increase its ownership of the struggling company.
Discussion:
Below The Beltway
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Iraq Withdrawal Plan Gains G.O.P. Support — WASHINGTON — President Obama won crucial backing on Thursday for his Iraq military withdrawal plan from leading Congressional Republicans, including Senator John McCain, the party's presidential nominee, who spent much of last year debating the war with Mr. Obama.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Note, American Power, USA Today, Associated Press, Below The Beltway, TIME.com and Capitol Briefing
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Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Plans to End Combat Mission in Iraq by August 2010 — WASHINGTON — President Obama heads to one of the nation's most storied military bases Friday morning to unveil plans to pull most troops out of Iraq by August 2010 and he has support from an unlikely quarter — Senator John McCain …
WCBS-TV:
Jewish Leaders Blast Clinton Over Israel Criticism — Zuckerman, Lawmakers, Local Jews Say Secretary Of State Not The Hillary Clinton They Used To Know — Hillary Pressuring Israel To Speed Up Aid To Gaza — NEW YORK (CBS) ― In a swift about face from her views as New York's senator …
Discussion:
Israel Matzav, CBS News, YID With LID, Don Surber, Jeffrey Goldberg, The Strata-Sphere and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
Rasmussen Reports:
59% Still Believe Government Is the Problem — In early October, as the meltdown of the financial industry gained momentum following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 59% of U.S. voters agreed with Ronald Reagan that …
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Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
More entertaining Sen. Burris news, this time on son Burris II — Not an all-around awful day for Democratic Sen. Roland Burris of Illinois. — Just terrible this time. — As you may have heard, the legally-embattled junior Illinois senator replacement for Barack Obama …
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Newsdesk / Clout St:
Quinn: let's have special election if Burris won't resign within two weeks
Quinn: let's have special election if Burris won't resign within two weeks
Discussion:
The Politico
Zombie / zomblog:
San Francisco welcomes William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn — Former Weather Underground leaders William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn made an appearance at San Francisco's Modern Times Bookstore on February 21 to promote their new book Race Course Against White Supremacy.
Discussion:
American Power
CNBC:
Steep GDP Revision Puts Economic Loss at 6.2% — The U.S. economy contracted more sharply than initially estimated in the fourth quarter, government data showed on Friday, as exports plunged and consumers cut spending by the most in over 28 years amid a severe recession.
Financial Times:
Insight: Time to expose those CDOs — Just how much should a debt vehicle backed by subprime mortgage bonds be worth these days? Two years ago, most banks and insurance companies assumed the answer was close to 100 per cent of face value - or more. — Since then, however, that “price” …
Leslie Wayne / New York Times:
$25 Billion to Promote Electric Cars Is Untouched — WASHINGTON — The future of the American auto industry is getting off to a slow start. — The Energy Department has $25 billion to make loans to hasten the arrival of the next generation of automotive technology — electric-powered cars.
Discussion:
Green Sheet
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Conservatives Confident Their Day Is Coming — Tucker Carlson closed out the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference to a chorus of boos. His crime: informing a crowd of youngish, frustrated conservatives that if they wanted to succeed, they had to copy The New York Times.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin
Attaturk / Firedoglake:
Credit Crisis for the intellectually bankrupt — digg it — Some doomsday cults go out in style — sweatsuits and pudding. — But without a comet to “ride”, the conservative movement just flounders like Rush with a Dominican. — Young conservatives bemoan they cannot get a government job (oh, how conservative of them):
New York Times:
U.S. Will Give Qaeda Suspect a Civilian Trial — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department, in an abrupt change in policy from the Bush administration, is preparing to bring terrorism-related charges against a man identified as an operative of Al Qaeda who has been held in a military brig …
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