memeorandum: New Chairman of the National Council of Intelligence: It's a fellow named Chas. (David Bernstein/The Volokh Conspiracy)

4:00 AM ET, March 2, 2009

Top Items:

CPAC: White kids on dope — Ah, to be an anthropologist at CPAC, where the kids was smokin' th' political crack. From the WaPo: … Verily, that's the way to bring the party back: blame the media. I talked to a conservative the other day who assured me that Obama's success is entirely …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Liberal Values, Clips & Comment, The New Republic and The Moderate Voice

Andrew Breitbart / Washington Times:

Rush to judgment: A media hopelessly divided — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — The mood at the Omni Shoreham Hotel late Saturday afternoon was off the electrical meter when Rush Limbaugh took center stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). — Hundreds of revelers packed …

Discussion: Hot Air and Balloon Juice

Mike Allen / The Politico:
Emanuel: Rush is the GOP's brain

Discussion: George's Bottom Line, Salon, TIME.com, TaylorMarsh.com, The Huffington Post, Sound Politics, Hot Air and AMERICAblog News

Joel Achenbach / Washington Post:
The Conservatives' ‘Cleansing’ Moment

Discussion: MSNBC, The Caucus, The Note, abu muqawama, Newshoggers.com and The Moderate Voice

New York Times:

U.S. Is Said to Offer $30 Billion More to Help A.I.G. — The federal government agreed Sunday night to provide an additional $30 billion in taxpayer money to the American International Group and loosen the terms of its huge loan to the insurer, which is preparing to report a $62 billion loss on Monday …

Discussion: ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Corrente and Truthdig

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Revamps Bailout of AIG — Taxpayers Exposed to Greater Risk in New Plan; $30 Billion More From TARP Funds — The federal government is overhauling its $150 billion bailout of American International Group Inc. in a bid to bolster the battered insurer, but its plan will expose U.S. taxpayers to more financial risk.

Discussion: Cafe Talk Aggregator and The Baseline Scenario

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Culture of conspiracy: The Birthers — Bill Clinton had the Vince Foster “murder.” George W. Bush had 9/11 Truth. And the new administration has brought with it a new culture of conspiracy: The Birthers. — Out of the gaze of the mainstream and even the conservative media …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The RBC, Ben Smith's Blogs, 24Ahead and Little Green Footballs

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Brownback backs Sebelius — A setback to the attempt to rally conservative Catholics against Kathleen Sebelius at HHS: Conservative Catholic Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas voices his support, in a joint statement with fellow Kansas Republican Pat Roberts:

Discussion: The Treatment and MyDD

Kevin Sack / New York Times:
For Obama Pick, 2nd Chance for Progress on Health

Discussion: Corrente

John / Power Line:

VOTERS SKEPTICAL OF DEMS' LEFTWARD LURCH — Inside the Beltway and the media bubble, Barack Obama is still the man of the hour. On CNN, his speeches are even compared to sex. (Someone needs to have a talk with that commentator. I don't think he's doing it right.)

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

Gordon Brown / Times of London:

The special relationship is going global — Historians will look back and say this was no ordinary time but a defining moment: an unprecedented period of global change, and a time when one chapter ended and another began. — The scale and the speed of the global banking crisis has at times …

Discussion: TIME.com and Don Surber

Jonathan Oliver / Times of London:
Brown woos Obama on global deal

Discussion: Fox News and Gateway Pundit

Tapscott's Copy Desk:

Limbaugh, Tea Party Protests show Obama's Star Trek shield has big cracks — Two extraordinarily important political developments took place this week right under the noses of the Obama-worshippers in the Mainstream Media and, as so often happens with the real news, most of them barely knew about it, if at all.

Discussion: Instapundit, Riehl World View, Scott's Slant on Politics, BitsBlog, Moe Lane and Right Wing News

Jim Snyder / The Hill:

Obama may use 50-vote tactic on energy, healthcare — President Obama's budget director said the White House would consider using a Senate procedural tactic so that only 50 votes would be rquired to pass major healthcare and energy reforms. — Peter Orszag, the director of the Office …

Discussion: About.com US Politics, New York Times, Betsy's Page, Liberty Street, American Power, DownWithTyranny! and Booman Tribune

Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:

In Obama, Labor Finds the Support It Expected — John J. Sweeney, the nation's top union official, often complains that he was invited just once to the White House during George W. Bush's eight years in office — and even that was at the Vatican's behest during a visit by Pope Benedict.

Discussion: MyDD

NY Daily News:

Buildings sprang up as donations rained down on Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion — The man who is President Obama's newly minted urban czar pocketed thousands of dollars in campaign cash from city developers whose projects he approved or funded with taxpayers' money, a Daily News probe found.

Discussion: THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, JammieWearingFool, Don Surber, Spin Cycle, The Repurblican and Weekly Standard

Marc Fisher / Washington Post:

Bloggers Can't Fill the Gap Left by Shrinking Press Corps — Packs of lobbyists fill two rooms outside the House and Senate chambers in Richmond every afternoon, watching the proceedings on big video screens, zapping legislators with e-mails the instant the lobbyists sense that one of their bills might be in trouble.

Discussion: BuzzMachine

CBS News:

Bobby Jindal: The GOP's Rising Star? — Morley Safer Profiles Louisiana's Gov., Who Some Think May Run For The White House One Day — Page 1 of 4 — (CBS) If you watched the Republican response to President Obama's address to Congress last Tuesday, you saw a rather awkward young man taking …

Discussion: Clips & Comment

David Bernstein / The Volokh Conspiracy:

New Chairman of the National Council of Intelligence: It's a fellow named Chas. Freeman who, among other things, is the former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and the president of a Saudi government-funded “public relations” organization, the Middle East Policy Council.

Discussion: Stephen M. Walt and Weekly Standard

The Huffington Post:

Exclusive: Dean Talks About Not Getting HHS And Post-DNC Plans — Having been bypassed for a cabinet post after leaving the DNC, former Gov. Howard Dean has chosen to pursue a multi-faceted career in health care advocacy, progressive political strategy, speeches, education and energy, and even election monitoring.

Discussion: The Politico

Jen DiMascio / The Politico:

Gates and Mullen disagree on Iran — Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff aren't on the same page regarding Iran's nuclear capabilities. — Iran may have enough nuclear material to make a bomb, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told CNN's State of the Union Sunday morning.

Discussion: TaylorMarsh.com and The Swamp