Top Items:
TMZ.com:
Special Olympics Champ to Barack: Bring it On! — A bowling phenom in the Special Olympics has just challenged Prez Barack Obama to a White House roll-off ... and he'll probably kick Barack's butt. — Kolan McConiughey, a Special Olympics competitor who has bowled three perfect 300 games …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Hot Air, GretaWire, The Sleuth, CNN, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Townhall.com, A Blog For All, QandO and Patterico's Pontifications
RELATED:
Michelle Malkin:
Why can't Obama tell a good joke? — Why are the president's “jokes” (scripted or not) so lame? — The answer is a three-letter-word (or is that four letters, Joe?): E-G-O. — Barack Obama is constitutionally incapable of self-deprecation, because self-deprecation requires sincere humility.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Corner, EconLog, Shakesville, American Power, Gothamist, The Swamp, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog! and Wizbang
The Campaign Spot:
Palin Hits Obama on ‘Special Olympics’ Joke — Gov. Sarah Palin responded to remarks made last night by President Obama related to the Special Olympics on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”: … Well, after the way his allies went after her, he really couldn't count on a full-throated defense of a boneheaded comment.
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
THIS FEED IS CLOSED TO THE PRESS. — Huh, I wonder why Jake Tapper, press access warrior, has blocked me from following his Twitter feed. — Time for a blogger ethics panel? — UPDATE: Tapper has also blocked Talking Points Memo. — Bonus Tapper: His exchange with White House Press …
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
TAPPER, TWITTER, AND ONLINE ETIQUETTE.... It was bound to be of interest to the political world anyway, but ABC News' Jake Tapper helped get the ball rolling on the Special Olympics/Obama story last night. He was first out of the gate with a news item and a report on the president's comment on his Twitter feed.
Discussion:
Greg's Opinion
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
NOT A MENTALITY BUT A DISEASE — Everything you need to know about the DC journo establishment, from ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper's Twitter feed: … Late Update: Tapper gets his revenge: He has “blocked” me from following him on Twitter. — Later Update: Seems to be a trend.
Washington Post:
GOP Pressed on Health Care — House Democrats Set September Deadline for Compromise — House Democrats, in consultation with the White House, will give Republican lawmakers until September to reach a compromise on President Obama's signature health-care initiative — otherwise …
Discussion:
Reuters, George's Bottom Line, Wall Street Journal, Wonk Room, The Note, But As For Me, D-Day, Los Angeles Times, Blog entry, Brian Beutler, WSJ.com and AmSpecBlog
RELATED:
Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:
WH: Agenda on track despite worsening deficits — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's budget would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than four times the deficits of Republican George W. Bush's presidency, congressional auditors said Friday.
Douglas Elmendorf / Director's Blog:
Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget
Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget
Discussion:
The New Republic, AmSpecBlog, Ben Smith's Blog, The Washington Independent, The Strata-Sphere and NPR Blogs
Michael Lewis / Bloomberg:
Mass Hysteria Over AIG Obscures Simple Truths: Michael Lewis — Last September the U.S. government began to dole out the first of $173 billion to American International Group. A big chunk of it passed right through to banks that had bought insurance from AIG against mortgage and corporate defaults …
RELATED:
Mother Jones:
Top Geithner Aide Fought CEO Pay Reform — As a Goldman Sachs lobbyist, Mark Patterson once worked against a bill to curb executive compensation. The legislation's sponsor: Barack Obama. — Post Comment — On Wednesday afternoon, as President Barack Obama was leaving the White House …
Mary Ann Akers / The Sleuth:
Joe the Plumber Wants to Make Love to Washington — The Republican's Working Man hero Joe the Plumber could barely contain himself last night before a crowd of adoring, media-bashing conservatives. — “God, all this love and everything in the room - I'm horny,” declared Joe, whose real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher.
RELATED:
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Obama White House bars press from press award ceremony — We are not making this up: — Barack Obama was elected commander in chief promising to run the most transparent presidential administration in American history. — This achievement and the overall promise of his historic administration caused …
Paul Krugman:
AIG — Preliminary thoughts on the tax bill: — 1. It's not the way you should make policy — it's clumsy, and it will punish some innocent parties while letting the most guilty off scot-free — 2. But — there wasn't much alternative at this point. And for that I blame the Obama people.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Daily Dish, Clusterstock, Grasping Reality …, Wonk Room, Brian Beutler and MyDD
Felix Gillette / New York Observer:
MSNBC In Discussions with Ed Schultz — The Observer has learned that MSNBC president Phil Griffin is in discussions with syndicated talk radio host Ed Schultz about possibly joining the network on a full-time basis. It is unclear what exactly the job would entail should Mr. Schultz and MSNBC come to an agreement.
Matt Corley / Think Progress:
After Years Of Lies, WSJ Concedes That Employee Free Choice Act 'Doesn't Remove The Secret-Ballot Option' — In a stunning reversal, the anti-labor Wall Street Journal editorial page admitted today that one of the key messages in Big Business's fight against the Employee Free Choice Act is false.
RELATED:
Portfolio:
CNN's March Ratings So Far: More Lamb than Lion — More evidence that CNN is going to have to find a new strategy fast or risk becoming a cable news also-ran: In the month of March so far, the Time Warner-owned network has come in fourth place in prime time among adults 25 to 54 …
Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:
Palin rejects over 30% of stimulus money — 31 PERCENT: She says state can't commit to continuation. — JUNEAU — Gov. Sarah Palin is refusing to accept over 30 percent of the federal economic stimulus money being offered to Alaska, including dollars for schools, energy assistance and social services.
Telegraph:
Iran responds to Barack Obama's video appeal with nuclear pledge — US President Barack Obama's appeal for a ‘new beginning’ with Iran has been met by a pledge to turn on the country's nuclear power plant this year. — Mr Obama sent Iran an unprecedented videotaped message offering …
Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:
The Big Takeover — The global economic crisis isn't about money - it's about power. How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution — It's over — we're officially, royally f**ked. no empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock …
Dan Gilgoff / US News:
Newt Gingrich Steps Up Efforts to Mobilize Religious Conservatives — The former House speaker has launched a group that aims to unite social and economic conservatives — At a time when many religious conservatives say the Republican Party is ignoring their issues and taking their support for granted …
Associated Press:
Senate Republicans brake rush to tax AIG bonuses — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans are drawing out a flap that has made the Obama administration squirm, applying the brakes to Democratic attempts to quickly tax away most of the bonuses …
Alessandra Stanley / New York Times:
Seeking Everyman, Obama Does Leno — President Obama didn't look burdened by his office on “The Tonight Show” on Thursday; he seemed bemused. — As he described the problems of American International Group and the credit crisis to Jay Leno, Mr. Obama behaved less like a beleaguered president …
Sasha Issenberg / Boston Globe:
Democrat outside looking in — Hailed abroad, Dean not part of Obama's circle — ALEX BRANDON/ASSOCIATED PRESS/file 2008Former DNC chairman Howard Dean praises President Obama not as a transformative figure, but as one who merely fulfilled the transformations already underway around him.
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Support for Nuclear Energy Inches Up to New High — Majority believes nuclear power plants are safe — PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of Americans have been supportive of the use of nuclear energy in the United States in recent years, but this year's Gallup Environment Poll finds new high levels of support …
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
CNN:
Spitzer: I failed in a very important way — In a wide-ranging discussion, Spitzer told CNN's “Fareed Zakaria GPS” that he thinks he still has a duty to speak about issues like million-dollar bonuses to American International Group executives, but that he comments on the issues …
Discussion:
CBS News
CNN:
Dodd says he was misled on bonus legislation — (CNN) — A defensive Sen. Chris Dodd said Friday that he was misled on the issue of bonuses for AIG executives. — He claimed he would not have drafted key legislative changes allowing the bonuses to move forward if he knew the purpose of those changes.