Top Items:
New York Times:
Dear A.I.G., I Quit! — The following is a letter sent on Tuesday by Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group's financial products unit, to Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of A.I.G. — DEAR Mr. Liddy, — It is with deep regret that I submit …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Swampland, The Moderate Voice, Spin Cycle, The Sundries Shack, Clusterstock, Hullabaloo, MarketBeat, The Anonymous Liberal, Gawker, Megan McArdle, Salon, The Swamp, The New Republic, Political Machine, Commentary, Right Pundits, Obsidian Wings, Michelle Malkin, The Daily Dish, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Don Surber and Taylor Marsh
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Geithner ‘open’ to China proposal — Geithner, at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the U.S. is “open” to a headline-grabbing proposal by the governor of the China's central bank, which was widely reported as being a call for a new global currency to replace the dollar …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Weekly Standard, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Hot Air
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Right-Wing Echo Chamber Fomenting Panic About Fake Sino-Russian Global Currency Plan — Zhou Xiaochuan, head of China's central bank, suggested earlier this week that we might need to transition away from exclusive reliance on the US dollar as a global reserve currency through the creation of a “super-sovereign reserve currency.”
Ali Frick / Think Progress:
The Right-Wing Echo Chamber In Action: How A Conspiracy Travels …
The Right-Wing Echo Chamber In Action: How A Conspiracy Travels …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Quinnipiac University:
Little-Known GOP Challenger Tops Specter In Primary, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Support For Obama Plan Helps Among Democrats — Apparently paying a political price for his support of President Barack Obama's Stimulus Plan, longtime Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter …
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Mark Murray / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: THE OBAMA OCEAN-LINER — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — *** The Obama ocean-liner: More than anything else, Obama's news conference last night resembled a campaign TV ad — one in which the serious candidate talks directly to the camera …
Washington Post:
House Democrats Slash More Than $100B From Obama's Plan — Budget Leaders Refuse to Include More Funding for Financial Sector Bailout — House budget leaders today unveiled a $3.45 trillion budget blueprint for fiscal 2010 that slices more than $100 billion from the spending plan President Obama proposed last month.
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New York Times:
E.U. President Calls U.S. Stimulus the ‘Way to Hell’ — BRUSSELS — Transatlantic tension over the handling of the global economic crisis intensified on Wednesday when the prime minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the European Union presidency, described the U. S. stimulus measures as the “way to hell.”
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Todd Gitlin / TPMCafe:
“Enervating” — The president was “not...fiery and inspirational …
“Enervating” — The president was “not...fiery and inspirational …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Blue Texan / Firedoglake:
Michelle Bachmann, Vigilant Guardian of the Constitution — Watch Timothy Geithner's face as he's grilled here by Bachmann. Priceless. … Funny how all these Bush/Cheney Republicans have suddenly discovered there's this thing called “the Constitution,” isn't it?
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Robert Mackey / The Lede:
Former CNN Anchor Moves to The Onion — In yet another sign that the line between real news and fake news is getting thinner, one of CNN's main anchors during the 1980s and 1990s, Bobbie Battista, has taken a step through the looking glass and can now be seen anchoring reports online for ONN, The Onion News Network.
Discussion:
Oliver Willis
Mark Preston / CNN:
Jindal defends those who want Obama to fail — WASHINGTON (CNN) — It's OK for Republicans to want President Obama to fail if they think he's jeopardizing the country, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal told members of his political party Tuesday night. — Jindal described the premise of the question …
Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
GOP's rising star runs into a rough patch — A rising star in the Republican Party has dimmed over the past week. — House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), a politically shrewd up-and-comer in the GOP, has broken with his party on two high-profile issues.
Discussion:
Glenn Thrush's Blog
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Limbaugh An Issue in New York Special — Democrats are seeking to use conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh to rally their base in advance of next week's special election in New York's 20th district. — A new direct mail piece from businessman Scott Murphy's campaign features …
Discussion:
Townhall.com
John Authers / Financial Times:
Is it back to the Fifties? — “My mother is 75,” said Jon Stewart, the US late-night comedian, at the end of his already famous interview with Jim Cramer, the television stock market pundit. “And she bought into the idea that long-term investing is the way to go. And guess what?”
Haaretz:
Netanyahu, Lieberman ‘struck secret deal for West Bank construction’ — Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has struck a secret deal with Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman for highly contentious construction on West Bank land known as E1, Army Radio reported Wednesday.
Pete Donohue / NY Daily News:
‘Doomsday’ has arrived: MTA board approves subway fare hikes — Next stop: the $2.50 ride - and that's if your bus or subway is still running. — After a fiery hearing Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted 12 to 1 to approve subway, bus and commuter train fare hikes …
Discussion:
Clusterstock
RELATED:
BBC:
The man who survived both atomic bombings — Japan has certified a man aged 93 as the only known survivor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both hit by atomic bombs towards the end of World War II. — Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on 6 August 1945 when a US plane dropped the first atomic bomb.
Jennifer Reese / Slate:
Of all the reasons to plant a garden, free food may be the worst. — The much-discussed Obama kitchen garden seems very noble and well-intentioned (despite Michelle Obama's controversial outfit), and as an avid gardener, I was loving the whole project until I came across the following quote from an ecstatic Alice Waters:
Discussion:
OpenMarket.org
Daniel Hannan / Daniel Hannan's blog listings:
My speech to Gordon Brown goes viral — The internet has changed politics - changed it utterly and forever. Twenty-four hours ago, I made a three-minute speech in the European Parliament, aimed at Gordon Brown. I tipped off the BBC and some of the newspaper correspondents but, unsurprisingly …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, Riehl World View, Pajamas Media, Gates of Vienna and PoliGazette
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Howard Dean To Announce Major New Campaign On Health Care Reform — Looks like Howard Dean is well on his way to finding a post-DNC niche, and he won't be needing the Obama administration to find it for him. — On a conference call with supporters later today, Dean will make a surprise announcement …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
James Fallows / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Obama and the Teleprompter — Following this and this. — Obama's opening statement at this evening's press conference, delivered no doubt with the help of a teleprompter, sounded smoother and more polished than his real-time answers through the rest of the event.
Jamison Foser / Media Matters for America:
Andrew Malcolm is bored, too — Los Angeles Times blogger/former Laura Bush press secretary wasn't impressed by President Obama last night. Surprise, surprise. … Now, I don't want Andrew Malcolm to be bored. That's a less-than-ideal way to go through your workday. — So here's a suggestion, Mr. Malcolm: Quit.
Tom Shales / Washington Post:
The Very Face of Victory — Most of the facets of President Obama's personality that have made him intensely popular were on display last night during his second prime-time news conference, and so he emerged from it still every inch “President Wonderful,” as it were, untouched and intact.
Washington Times:
ROMNEY: Cautionary tale of card check — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — In 2006, my last year as governor of Massachusetts, I vetoed a card-check bill that allowed public workers to organize if a majority signed union authorization cards as opposed to casting a traditional secret ballot.
Washington Post:
‘Global War On Terror’ Is Given New Name — The Obama administration appears to be backing away from the phrase “global war on terror,” a signature rhetorical legacy of its predecessor. — In a memo e-mailed this week to Pentagon staff members, the Defense Department's office of security review noted that …
Daniel Libit / The Politico:
NYT on snub: 'We'll get our turn' — The New York Times' Washington bureau chief says he's not offended that President Barack Obama skipped over reporters from the Times and other traditional major daily newspapers during Tuesday night's primetime press conference.
Nouriel Roubini's Global EconoMonitor:
New York Times Deal Book: Dr. Doom Finds Promise in Obama's Toxic-Asset Plan — From the New York Times Deal Book: … So to clarify my viewpoint: I see the Geithner plan as being relevant only to banks that are solvent. For those that are found - after stress tests …
BBC:
Obama testing pundits' patience — Barack Obama's second televised presidential news conference saw him in combative mood, pundits and bloggers judged after his prime-time White House performance. — Online reaction was dominated by the president's minor spat with a TV reporter …
Martina Stewart / CNN:
Thompson: I don't want Obama's policies to succeed — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Count former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson among the growing chorus of prominent Republicans who want President Obama's policies to fail. — Tuesday evening Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called pressure …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly