memeorandum: IS HEALTH CARE A ‘PRIVILEGE’ FOR SOME? (Domenico Montanaro/MSNBC)

5:15 PM ET, March 5, 2009

Top Items:

Reid Wilson / The Hill:

RNC member calls on Steele to quit — Michael Steele should resign as Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman, according to a committee member from North Carolina. — In an e-mail to fellow RNC members obtained by The Hill, Dr. Ada Fisher, North Carolina's national committeewoman …

Discussion: Baltimore Sun, The Huffington Post, TPMDC, Riehl World View and DownWithTyranny!

Cyrus / E-Voter Institute:

RNC-YA — Washington, DC — Two years ago I left a prominent technology company in Silicon Valley to join the Republican National Committee as e-campaign director to elect the next Republican president. We lost, but there was more than a software glitch that contributed to our November 2008 defeat.

Discussion: Washington Post, Ben Smith's Blogs, Tech Daily Dose and Hotline On Call

Michelle Malkin:

New Rush Derangement Syndrome project: A DNC-funded billboard — Just arrived in my emailbox from the DNC: Solicitations for a new anti-Rush Limbaugh billboard the Democrat Party plans to put up in Palm Beach, Florida. Do Democrat donors really think this is the best use of their money?

Discussion: Capitol Briefing, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, MSNBC, GayPatriot, Ben Smith's Blogs, Right Wing News, The Radio Patriot, Redistributing Knowledge and PoliBlog

Timothy Egan:
Fears of a Clown — Once upon a time, you could drive …

Discussion: Left in the West, The Campaign Spot, Firedoglake and NewsBusters.org

THE WEEK News & Opinion:
The Limbaugh schism — For conservatives, the news of the week …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo: BMW/STEELE HARMONIC CONVERGENCE!

The Corner:
The Audacity of Hype

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Jim Cramer / Mainstreet.com:

My Response To The White House — When I come to work each day, whether as a commentator for TheStreet.com or a host of Mad Money With Jim Cramer, I have only one thought in mind: helping people with their money. — I fight to help viewers and readers make and preserve capital.

Discussion: Say Anything, Wizbang, PoliGazette, Clusterstock, YID With LID, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Capital Commerce

John Boehner / Washington Post:
Democrats' Diversionary Tactics

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Russell Gold / Environmental Capital:
Hope on Ice: The White House Gets Real on Climate Change

Discussion: Planet Gore, AmSpecBlog and OpenMarket.org

Tahman Bradley / Political Punch:
Obama Hosts Bipartisan ‘Timeout’ Dinner at White House

Discussion: White House Watch

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:

THE BANALITY OF PROGRESS. — The speech ended. “Let's get to work,” the President said. The attendees — a mixture of congressmen, advocates, stakeholders, and analysts — filed down the long hall to their breakout sessions. Another reporter turned to me. “What did you think of the speech?”

Discussion: Firedoglake and The Impolitic

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

IS HEALTH CARE A ‘PRIVILEGE’ FOR SOME? — From NBC's Domenico Montanaro — The president may be holding a health-care summit today at the White House, in an effort to cull ideas for health-care reform, but some Republicans are making it clear they aren't going to stand for it.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, pandagon.net and PoliticalBase.com Blog

CNN:
Poll: Do Americans want government health care reform?

Discussion: The Politico and Washington Monthly

Robert Pear / New York Times:
Obama Vows to End Stalemate on Health Care Policy

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Connecting.the.Dots

Michael Gove / Times of London:

First Lady Michelle Obama shows even she has a gift for the gaffe — It was all going so well. The dresses, the brains, the Vogue cover shoot - everything so far about Michelle Obama has left us wide-mouthed in admiration. It seemed there was no end to her fabulousness. Then Mr and Mrs Brown came to stay.

Discussion: Political Machine, Stop The ACLU, The Daily Dish, Wake up America and Don Surber

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama the Cheapskate: 25 DVDs for Gordon Brown?

Discussion: Say Anything, The Real Revo, RedState, AmSpecBlog and TigerHawk

James Delingpole / James Delingpole's blog listings:
Was ‘Lady Macbeth’ behind Barack Obama's snub of Gordon Brown?

Discussion: Toby Harnden's blog listings, The Corner and Redhot

Carol E. Lee / The Politico:

Obama's safety net: the TelePrompter — President Barack Obama doesn't go anywhere without his TelePrompter. — The textbook-sized panes of glass holding the president's prepared remarks follow him wherever he speaks. — Resting on top of a tall, narrow pole, they flank his podium during speeches …

Discussion: Flopping Aces, JustOneMinute, Townhall.com, Say Anything, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and RedState

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Sticks to the Script

Discussion: Snapped Shot and Wonkette

Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:

Obama Preferred Over Reagan — In Fox News Poll — Are we still a center-right nation, as many Republicans continue to insist? And can the GOP revive itself through a return to the spirit of Ronald Reagan, as Rush Limbaugh has said? — Check out this question from the new Fox News poll …

Discussion: TalkLeft and The Plum Line

Wall Street Journal:
Has Obama Buried Reagan?

Discussion: Think Progress and Weekly Standard

Tom Jacobs / Miller-McCune:

Sex Appeal May Have Hurt Sarah Palin — In a Sept. 4, 2008 column, just after Sarah Palin accepted the Republican nomination for vice-president, Will Wilkinson wrote admiringly of her “sexual power,” adding: “I think she is a tremendously sexy woman. How this will affect the race, I have no idea, but it's just got to.”

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Outside The Beltway, Balloon Juice and Political Machine

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Did Palin's looks hurt?

Discussion: PoliticalBase.com Blog and Gateway Pundit

Reid Wilson / The Hill:

Daley leaning toward Illinois Senate bid — Former Commerce Secretary William Daley is leaning toward running for the Senate seat President Obama once held, sources close to Daley tell The Hill. They characterize the decision as all but finalized. — Daley would likely be an instant front-runner …

Discussion: The Plank, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and TPMDC

Newsdesk / Clout St:
Democrats vote down special election for Roland Burris Senate seat

Discussion: Scorecard's Blogs

J.W. Elphinstone / Associated Press:

12 pct. are behind on mortgage or in foreclosure — NEW YORK - A stunning 48 percent of the nation's homeowners who have a subprime, adjustable-rate mortgage are behind on their payments or in foreclosure, and the rate for homeowners with all mortgage types hit a new record, new data Thursday showed.

Discussion: Wonk Room and Wake up America

Yves Smith / naked capitalism:
The Treasury Mortgage Mod Program: Should We Hope It Doesn't Work?

Discussion: New York Times, Clusterstock and Marginal Revolution

New York Times:
Matters of Principal — TO stanch the hemorrhage of foreclosures …

Discussion: Clusterstock and The Atlantic Business Channel

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Schumer Privately Tells White House He's Concerned About Freeman On Israel — Senator Charles Schumer has privately expressed concerns directly to White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel about Chas Freeman, the Obama administration's pick to head the group that prepares some of the intel community's …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Matthew Yglesias, Power Line, Weekly Standard, Ben Smith's Blogs, Washington Times, ATTACKERMAN, Commentary, Hot Air and Capital J | JTA

Ben Smith / The Politico:

For GOP: all pain, no gain — Four months after John McCain's sweeping defeat, senior Republicans are coming to grips with the fact that the party is still - in stock market terms - looking for the bottom. — Republicans this week are processing two sobering new polls that found …

Discussion: Washington Post, Ben Smith's Blogs, Political Machine, Booman Tribune and Capital Journal

Mike Madden / Salon:
Why is John McCain being such a jerk?

Discussion: MSNBC and Comment Central

Think Progress:

Bachmann: GOP Must ‘Do Everything We Can To Thwart’ Obama From Securing ‘A Power Base...For All Time’ — Conservative talker Bill Bennett interviewed Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) on his radio show this morning. During the interview, Bennett asked, “Why [is Obama siding] …

Discussion: TPMDC

Megan McArdle:

GM is toast — After today's annual report, I don't think there's any question of GM's staying out of bankruptcy. The company's revenue fell from $180 billion in 2007 to $149 billion in 2008, with the worst crash in the fourth quarter. Car sales have continued to plunge into the new year.

Discussion: Marginal Revolution and Jay Currie

Bill Sammon / Fox News:

EXCLUSIVE: Rove Warns of ‘Show Trial,’ Says Dems ‘Would Love to Have Me Barbecued’ — Karl Rove tells FOX News he is looking forward to telling the House Judiciary Committee about his alleged role in the firing of federal prosecutors and the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CBS News, Glenn Thrush's Blogs, TIME.com, TPMMuckraker, Associated Press and Salon

Tim Graham / NewsBusters.org:

D.L. Hughley Gets Ugly on Nazi GOP: CNN Boss Jon Klein Told Him ‘Anything Goes....Run Amok!’ — As Limbaugh-bashing networks like CNN and MSNBC continue to play up a Rush vs. Michael Steele feud, the diversionary tactic isn't just keeping people away from focusing on Barack Obama.

Discussion: TVNewser, Pajamas Media and Sister Toldjah