Top Items:
Michael James / Political Punch:
President Obama Jokes About Being a Bad Bowler: 'It's Like the Special Olympics' — The first appearance by a sitting president on “The Tonight Show” may well end up being the last. — President Obama, in his taping with Jay Leno Thursday afternoon, attempted to yuk it up with the funnyman, and ended up insulting the disabled.
Discussion:
The Note, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, Stop The ACLU, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications, TBogg, Perfunction, NO QUARTER, Don Surber, The Strata-Sphere, Wizbang, Conservatives4Palin.com, NewsBusters.org, The Sundries Shack, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Yourish.com, NY Daily News, No More Mister Nice Blog, Riehl World View, protein wisdom, JammieWearingFool, Taylor Marsh and The New Editor
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Michelle Malkin:
Obama's “Special Olympics” joke: The teleprompter made him do it! — Jake Tapper reports that Barack Obama pulled a Joe Biden (or a Barack Obama, for that matter) and ended up mocking the Special Olympics in a lame attempt to make fun of his weak bowling skills.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Associated Press, Riehl World View, Liberal Values, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Althouse
John / Power Line:
THEY COULDN'T BE THAT DUMB. COULD THEY? — This is absolutely unbelievable. You recall the embarrassment over the Obama administration's incompetent treatment of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his state visit to the U.S. The last link in that chain of ineptitude …
New York Times:
President Barack Obama on ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno’ — The following is a transcript of President Obama's interview on NBC's “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” as provided by the White House. — JAY LENO The 44th President of the United States, please welcome President Barack Obama.
Tim Walker / Telegraph:
Gordon Brown is frustrated by ‘Psycho’ in No 10 — While not exactly a film buff, Gordon Brown was touched when Barack Obama gave him a set of 25 classic American movies - including Psycho, starring Anthony Perkins on his recent visit to Washington. — Alas, when the PM settled …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Outside The Beltway, But As For Me, Stop The ACLU, Engadget, On Deadline, Fausta's Blog and Newsweek Blogs
The Politico:
Obama struggles as communicator — Of all the pitfalls Barack Obama might face in the presidency, here is one not many people predicted: He is struggling as a public communicator. — The sluggish and unsteady response to the uproar over AIG bonuses highlights a larger problem of his White House …
The Politico:
VIDEO: Obama defends Geithner — President Obama offered an ardent defense of his embattled Treasury Secretary Thursday in a “Tonight Show” appearance that concluded his economy-focused two-day swing through California. — With Timothy Geithner facing fire over bailed …
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama insults Special Olympics? Update: Obama thinks Special Olympics are “wonderful” — You know how you can tell when a President has a bad day? When his comparison of an American corporation to terrorists is the second-stupidest thing he said: … Maybe he should have brought his Teleprompter with him.
Helene Cooper / New York Times:For Obama, Talk About Economy Goes Into Late Night
Discussion:
Clusterstock
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 …
Discussion:
But As For Me
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Marian Burros / New York Times:
Obamas to Plant White House Vegetable Garden — WASHINGTON — On Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn't like them) but arugula will make the cut.
Discussion:
D-Day, Get Energy Smart!, The Swamp, Gawker, Jack & Jill Politics, Corrente, Hullabaloo and MyDD
Jane Black / Washington Post:Vegetable Garden Will Be Installed on White House Grounds
Discussion:
TIME.com
CNN:
Geithner: Treasury pushed for bonus loophole — (CNN) — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told CNN Thursday his department asked Sen. Chris Dodd to include a loophole in the stimulus bill that allowed bailed-out insurance giant American International Group to keep its bonuses.
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Alaska_Politics / Anchorage Daily News:
Palin rejecting federal stimulus money — From Sean Cockerham in Juneau - — Gov. Sarah Palin just told reporters that she's accepting only 55 percent of the federal economic stimulus money being offered to Alaska. The governor said that she will accept only about $514 million of the $930 million headed to the state.
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Laura Rozen / The Cable:
In New Year's message, Obama reaches out to Iran — As American audiences tuned into his appearance on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” President Obama tonight issued a notable video message aimed at the Iranian people and their leaders on the occasion of Nowruz, the traditional …
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
A message to Iran — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — Here's some unusual direct diplomacy: A video message to the people of Iran on the Iranian new year. — “I would like to speak directly to the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Obama says, before addressing the government.
Lynnley Browning / New York Times:
A.I.G. Sues U.S. for Return of $306 Million in Tax Payments — While the American International Group comes under fire from Congress over executive bonuses, it is quietly fighting the federal government for the return of $306 million in tax payments, some related to deals that were conducted through offshore tax havens.
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New York Times:
Scorn Trails A.I.G. Executives, Even in Their Driveways — The A.I.G. executive who was nicknamed “Jackpot Jimmy” by a New York tabloid walked up the driveway toward his bay-windowed house in Fairfield, Conn., on Thursday afternoon. “How do I feel?” said the executive, James Haas, repeating the question he had just been asked.
Jean H. Lee / Associated Press:
NKorea reportedly detains 2 US journalists — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Two American journalists were missing Friday after they reportedly were detained by North Korea for ignoring warnings to stop shooting footage of the reclusive country. — Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee …
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New York Times:
Off With the Bankers — A.I.G. can hardly claim that its generous bonuses attract the best and the brightest. So instead, it defends the payments by arguing they're needed to retain employees who are crucial for winding down transactions that are “difficult to understand and manage.”
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Carol Baum: Welfare CEOs are Just Like John Galt — Bloomberg columnist Carol Baum puts together a baffling analogy: … Atlas Shrugged is a stupid book, Ayn Rand is a stupid woman, and John Galt's ideas are stupid. That said, none of them are nearly this stupid.
Dina Cappiello / Associated Press:
Report: Energy contributing to birds' decline — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - Energy production of all types — wind, ethanol and mountaintop coal mining — is contributing to steep drops in bird populations, a new government report says.
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