Top Items:
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.
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Sam Gill / The Politico:
How Obama can make up for his gaffe — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — My older brother has Down syndrome, which hinders his ability to learn. Despite his disability, he graduated from high school and lived independently with a job for several years until …
David Zurawik / Z on TV:
Nielsen: Obama visit a big boost for Leno ratings
Nielsen: Obama visit a big boost for Leno ratings
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket
New York Times:
Toxic Asset Plan Foresees Big Subsidies for Investors — WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department is expected to unveil early next week its long-delayed plan to buy as much as $1 trillion in troubled mortgages and related assets from financial institutions, according to people close to the talks.
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Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press:
Sources say toxic asset plan near completion — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner could announce as soon as Monday his much-anticipated plan to get toxic assets off the books of the country's struggling banks, administration and industry officials said.
Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:
Obama budget could bring $9.3 trillion in 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.
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Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
How I botched the bonus story — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — The Washington ritual of the boiling scandal, with howls of outrage and frantic demands for a high-ranking scalp, is now in full swing over $165 million in bonuses for employees at failed insurance giant AIG.
Discussion:
The Politico
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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 …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Gawker, Outside The Beltway, D-Day, Taylor Marsh and Jack & Jill Politics
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Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Fox News's Brit Hume Warns That Because Of Blogs, Future News Will Be ‘More Partisan’ — Fox News's Brit Hume Warns That Because Of Blogs, Future News Will Be ‘More Partisan’ — Last night, the conservative Media Research Center, which houses the ever on point NewsBusters blog …
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John / Power Line:
ARE WE A BANANA REPUBLIC? — I'm stupefied to find that some people are defending the constitutionality of Nancy Pelosi's discriminatory, confiscatory and retroactive tax on people who receive bonus income from companies that got TARP money. I would have considered it a bright line rule …
Amos Harel / Haaretz:
‘Shooting and crying’ — Less than a month after the end of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, dozens of graduates of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory program convened at Oranim Academic College in Kiryat Tivon. Since 1998 the program has prepared participants for what is considered meaningful military service.
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Uri Blau / Haaretz:
Dead Palestinian babies and bombed mosques - IDF fashion 2009 — The office at the Adiv fabric-printing shop in south Tel Aviv handles a constant stream of customers, many of them soldiers in uniform, who come to order custom clothing featuring their unit's insignia, usually accompanied by a slogan and drawing of their choosing.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish
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.
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Obama Uneasy About Tax on Bonuses — WASHINGTON — The White House stopped short on Friday of endorsing legislation to severely tax bonuses paid to executives of companies that accepted taxpayer bailout funds. — Administration officials said instead that President Obama would assess …
Discussion:
DISSENTING JUSTICE
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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 …
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
WITCH HUNTERY! — A great exchange on CNBC between the anchor and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), one of the few elected voices of reason during the financial crisis:
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
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
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Michael Lewis / Bloomberg:
Mass Hysteria Over AIG Obscures Simple Truths: Michael Lewis
Mass Hysteria Over AIG Obscures Simple Truths: Michael Lewis
Discussion:
New Yorker, The Opinionator, The Atlantic Politics Channel, The American Conservative and Dealbreaker
Think Progress:
Inhofe: The ‘Middle Eastern mentality’ is ‘worse’ than Nazism. — Since President Obama took office, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has emerged as one of the leading congressional voices opposing the closure of Guantanamo Bay. Yesterday, Inhofe discussed the issue on the G. Gordon Liddy Show, saying the U.S. needs to “keep the Gitmo open.”
Discussion:
Comments from Left Field
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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 …
Washington Times:
Conyers suggests probe of ACORN — Calls fraud charges ‘serious’ — In an startling partisan shift, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. on Thursday proposed holding hearings on claims the liberal activist group ACORN engaged in a pattern of crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style “protection” racket.