Top Items:
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Ross Douthat's New Perch — It's one step back for the Atlantic, but an order of magnitude forward for the country: my colleagues and I learned today that senior editor Ross Douthat will, in short order, become an opinion columnist for the New York Times. — Ross is late-twenties-year-old …
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Ross Douthat:
The Times and Me — As Marc is reporting (amid many undeserved compliments), I'll be leaving the Atlantic to join the New York Times next month. I'll have more to say on this front soon, but for now the only thing to say is thanks - to the Atlantic, for everything and then some …
Democracy Corps:
Rush Limbaugh Weighs Down Heavily on Republicans — Read the full memo: — Overview — With a national debate raging over the place of radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh in the Republican Party, a new national survey from Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner finds that Limbaugh weighs …
Discussion:
Washington, The Fix, Washington Whispers, The Plum Line, Ben Smith's Blog, Swampland, TPMDC, Hotline On Call and Think Progress
Bill Sammon / Fox News:
Flashback: Carville Wanted Bush to Fail — The press never reported that Democratic strategist James Carville said he wanted President Bush to fail before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But a feeding frenzy ensued when radio host Rush Limbaugh recently said he wanted President Obama to fail.
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Roll Call:
Heard on the Hill: Vitter Goes From Hookergate to Gate-Crashing — Among Members of Congress, there's a long-standing, proud tradition of the Airport Freakout. Add to the list of those who've indulged in meltdowns and temper tantrums while traveling one Sen. David Vitter …
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blog, The Swamp, Political Machine, Majikthise, TPMDC and MoJo Blog Posts
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Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Dems put heat on Vitter for reported airport blow up
Dems put heat on Vitter for reported airport blow up
Discussion:
PoliticalBase.com Blog
The Times-Picayune / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Sen. David Vitter says airport gate incident overstated
Sen. David Vitter says airport gate incident overstated
Stephen Labaton / New York Times:
Some Banks, Feeling Chained, Want to Return Bailout Money — WASHINGTON — The list of demands keeps getting longer. — Financial institutions that are getting government bailout funds have been told to put off evictions and modify mortgages for distressed homeowners.
Discussion:
The New Republic, MoJo Blog Posts, Reason, ProPublica, Dealbreaker, Daily Kos, Portfolio, The Liberty Papers, CBS News, Connecting.the.Dots, Balloon Juice and TalkLeft
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Wall Street Journal:
Buffett's Unmentionable Bank Solution — Last week's post mortem on the Fannie and Freddie takeover was received better than we might have expected. A few readers assumed Eddie Lampert and Bill Miller, fund managers who lost money when Fan and Fred were seized, and whose letters …
RADAR:
BRISTOL PALIN & LEVI JOHNSTON BREAK OFF ENGAGEMENT — Sarah Palin's 18-year-old daughter Bristol has reportedly broken off her engagement with Levi Johnston, the father of her 2-month-old son Tripp. It's surprising because in an interview just last month with FOX's Gretta Van Susteren …
Discussion:
Anchorage Daily News, Pam's House Blend, DownWithTyranny!, The Impolitic and The Daily Dish
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
NYT's Baquet defends handling of Freeman — For nearly three weeks, the nomination of Chas Freeman as chairman of the National Intelligence Council has been a hot-button issue among bloggers. — That's included those holding strong foreign policy positions—especially relating to Israel and China …
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Daily Dish, Weekly Standard, Pajamas Media, Commentary, Stephen M. Walt, Soccer Dad, Eunomia and Capital J | JTA
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Alan Greenspan / Wall Street Journal:
The Fed Didn't Cause the Housing Bubble — Any new regulations should help direct savings toward productive investments. — We are in the midst of a global crisis that will unquestionably rank as the most virulent since the 1930s. It will eventually subside and pass into history.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, QandO, The Big Picture, At-Largely, The Swamp, Economist's View, Michael Barone, Think Progress and Balloon Juice
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Obama inks Council on Women & amp; Girls — President Barack Obama invoked the travails of women in his family as he signed an executive order on Wednesday establishing a new interagency panel devoted to the concerns of women and girls. — “I sign this order not just as a president …
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Barbara Barrett / Raleigh News & Observer:
Edwards talks about poverty, stays silent on paternity — PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards took another tentative step into the public spotlight tonight, speaking at Brown University about extreme poverty around the world and urging Americans to get involved in what he called a “fundamental moral issue.”
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Dan Collins / protein wisdom:
I Did Not Make This Up … I think I'm on record as having …
I Did Not Make This Up … I think I'm on record as having …
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden
Neil Cavuto / Fox News:
Rep. Ron Paul Defends His Earmarks in Spending Bill — This is a rush transcript from “Your World With Neil Cavuto,” March 10, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. — NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Speaking of a lot of money, the battle about the money they're spending …
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Approval of Congress Hits Four-Year High, Fueled by Dems — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' job approval rating of Congress is up an additional 8 points this month, after a 12-point increase last month, and now stands at 39% — the most positive assessment of Congress since February 2005.
John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
GOP chair Steele appears to disparage Republicans on Hill as “scurrying mice” — The Republican civil war continues. — Very weird quote from chairman of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele. … Sounds like stage two of a two-stage process to get himself fired.
Discussion:
Washington Times, The Politico, Salon, PoliticalBase.com Blog, DownWithTyranny! and Think Progress
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Michael Kranish / Boston Globe:
Now-needy FDIC collected little in premiums — With fund going strong, banks didn't pay for decade — WASHINGTON - The federal agency that insures bank deposits, which is asking for emergency powers to borrow up to $500 billion to take over failed banks, is facing a potential major shortfall …
Andrew S. Grove / Washington Post:
Mr. President, Time to Rein In The Chaos — There is nothing more difficult . . . than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. — Machiavelli's 500-year-old warning notwithstanding, we elected a president who is committed to “change.”
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
This Is Not a Test. This Is Not a Test. — It's always great to see the stock market come back from the dead. But I am deeply worried that our political system doesn't grasp how much our financial crisis can still undermine everything we want to be as a country. Friends, this is not a test.
Discussion:
Think Progress, Democracy in America, The Independent, NewsBusters.org, Brilliant at Breakfast, Corrente and The Mahablog
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Coleman supporters' private info likely breached — Norm Coleman's Senate campaign said Wednesday that the private information of its supporters has probably been breached and is encouraging them to cancel their credit cards. — Coleman backers began receiving e-mails Tuesday night …
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
China's Way Forward — OUR APARTMENT IN Beijing overlooks one of the city's long-distance bus terminals, where people arrive from the countryside to find work or sell wares, and depart for visits or permanent returns to their home villages. Early last summer, the terminal was jammed, and most of the passengers were leaving town.
Discussion:
The Peking Duck
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Dem closing in key N.Y. House race — Democrat Scott Murphy has slashed into the huge lead once held by Republican Jim Tedisco in the New York special House election scheduled for March 31, according to a new Democratic-sponsored poll. — Tedisco, the state Assembly minority leader …
Gardiner Harris / New York Times:
Ex-New York Health Commissioner Is F.D.A. Pick — WASHINGTON — President Obama intends to nominate Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, a former New York City health commissioner, to lead the Food and Drug Administration, sidestepping a battle between drug safety advocates and the drug industry, according to people briefed on the decision.
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
Julie Satow / The Huffington Post:
Jim Cramer Shorting Stocks, Manipulating Markets, Saying The SEC Doesn't Understand — In light of the current economic crisis, and with the hullabaloo ignited recently by Jon Stewart over the accuracy of CNBC's reporting, we thought it might be useful to revisit this shocking 2006 interview Jim Cramer gave …
Geoff Earle / New York Post:
REVEALED: PELOSI'S ‘AIR RAGE’ — WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has gone from frequent flier to jet-aircraft connoisseur, with aides berating military officials to get the best planes, e-mails revealed yesterday. — Pelosi, who clashed with the military to get nonstop service …
Upstaged:
Pastor tense: Ted Haggard visits This Beautiful City — Former evangelical superpastor Ted Haggard slipped out of the Vineyard Theatre at 9:15pm tonight, with his wife, Gayle, and two other companions: filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, who directed the 2007 HBO documentary The Trials of Ted Haggard, and her husband, Michael Vos.