Top Items:
The Huffington Post:
Cantor Watched Britney Spears Concert During Obama Presser, Landrieu Denies Rumors — There was more than one whip at last night's Britney Spears concert in Washington DC. — Three GOP aides confirmed to the Huffington Post that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) …
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Jim Newell / Wonkette:
Exclusive: Cantor, ‘Democrats’ Attend Britney Spears Concert During Obama Presser — And you all thought Washington wasn't sexy: the office of ambitious young House Republican Whip Eric Cantor has confirmed to your Wonkette that instead of watching President Obama's boring press conference …
Discussion:
TPMDC
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.
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Cantor skips Obama's press conference to attend a Britney Spears concert. — In recent weeks, congressional Republicans have been critical of President Obama for doing anything that isn't directly focusing on the economic crisis — such as going on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno or filling out his NCAA bracket.
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:
Swampland, The Huffington Post, TalkLeft, The Corner, Daily Kos, Telegraph, Gawker, The Sundries Shack, Political Machine, Spin Cycle, The Moderate Voice, Clusterstock, Hullabaloo, MarketBeat, Right Pundits, Obsidian Wings, The Anonymous Liberal, The Swamp, Blue Crab Boulevard, Megan McArdle, Salon, The New Republic, Commentary, Hot Air and The Daily Dish
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:
The Note, Bloomberg, Pajamas Media, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, Commentary, Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Weekly Standard
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Right-Wing Echo Chamber Fomenting Panic About Fake Sino-Russian Global Currency Plan
Right-Wing Echo Chamber Fomenting Panic About Fake Sino-Russian Global Currency Plan
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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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.
Discussion:
Capitol Briefing, The Politico, USA Today, About.com US Liberal Politics, Power Line, The Treatment, TPMDC, Open Left, Riehl World View and Don Surber
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Mary Beth Sheridan / Washington Post:
Clinton: U.S. Drug Policies Failed, Fueled Mexico's Drug War — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Mexico on Wednesday with a stark mea culpa, saying that decades of U.S. anti-narcotics policies had been a failure and contributed to the explosion of drug violence south of the border.
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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:
Sister Toldjah, Pajamas Media, The Volokh Conspiracy, Riehl World View and Gates of Vienna
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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 …
Ed Henry / CNN:
Ed Henry's take on exchange with Obama — Ed Henry, CNN's senior White House correspondent, got a tough answer from President Obama when he asked Tuesday night why Obama waited days to express outrage on the AIG bonuses. “Because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak,” Obama said.
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
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.
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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?
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.
Discussion:
Liberty Street
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 …
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?”
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.”
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.
Discussion:
New York Times, The League of Ordinary …, Wonk Room, Ben Smith's Blog and Mideast Peace Pulse
WCAX-TV:
Governor Will Veto Gay Marriage Bill — Updated: — Gov. Jim Douglas, R-Vermont, says he will veto the same-sex marriage bill if it passes the Legislature. — The Vt. Senate gave its final stamp of approval Tuesday to a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in Vermont.
Phillip Coorey / Sydney Morning Herald:
New best friends have a great meeting of the minds — BARACK OBAMA delivered Kevin Rudd the ultimate compliment yesterday by citing the Prime Minister while defending his own approach to the global financial crisis. — During a live, nationally televised press conference that had been hyped …
Lane Hudson / Firedoglake:
FEC Turns Blind Eye to Thompson, Sets Awful Precedent — Nearly a year and a half ago, Fred Thompson was called to task on his blatant abuse of the ‘testing the waters’ exemption of campaign finance law. That complaint was a compilation of research and writing by progressive bloggers.
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
Michael Fleming / Variety:
MGM gets its ‘Stooges’ — Penn, Carrey, Del Toro part of studio's plan — MGM and the Farrelly brothers are closing in on their cast for “The Three Stooges.” — Studio has set Sean Penn to play Larry, and negotiations are underway with Jim Carrey to play Curly, with the actor already making plans …
Discussion:
Don Surber
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.
Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
Poll: Clinton has high job approval — CNN Deputy Political Director — (CNN) — As Hillary Clinton flies to Mexico for a high-level summit, a new national poll indicates seven in 10 Americans are happy with the job she's doing as secretary of state. — Seventy-one percent of people questioned …