Top Items:
Washington Post:
In Obama's Inner Circle, Debate Over Memos' Release Was Intense — Some Feared That a Partisan Outcry Could Obstruct Larger Agenda — As President Obama met with top advisers on the evening of April 15, he faced one of the sharpest policy divides of his young administration.
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Huma Khan / Political Punch:
Actor Forest Whitaker Comes to White House to Talk Malaria — No, that wasn't Idi Amin you saw entering the White House grounds Friday. It was noted actor Forest Whitaker, who won a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Amin in the 2006 film “The Last King of Scotland.”
Washington Post:
Obama Rejects Truth Panel — Commission Would Have Investigated Abuses in Terrorism Fight — President Obama rebuffed calls for a commission to investigate alleged abuses under the Bush administration in fighting terrorism, telling congressional leaders at a White House meeting yesterday …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Christy Hardin Smith, TPMMuckraker, Right Pundits and Hullabaloo
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2010: Pennsylvania Republican Senate Primary — Pennsylvania Senate Primary: Toomey 51% Specter 30% — Incumbent Senator Arlen Specter trails former Congressman Pat Toomey by 21 points in an early look at Pennsylvania's 2010 Republican Primary. Fifty-one percent (51%) …
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Rasmussen Reports:
58% Say Release of CIA Memos Endangers National Security — Fifty-eight percent (58%) believe the Obama administration's recent release of CIA memos about the harsh interrogation methods used on terrorism suspects endangers the national security of the United States.
Discussion:
Whiskey Fire, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!, Hot Air and PrairiePundit
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Key Dem Senator Likely To Vote Against Top Obama Legal Nominee — Uh oh. This could signal real trouble for a key Obama nominee under assault by the right: Office of Legal Counsel chief Dawn Johnsen, a fierce Bush critic who would be at the center of the war over whether Obama …
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Ben Smith's Blog, The Anonymous Liberal and DownWithTyranny!
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Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
White House Worried About Johnsen Nomination — Dawn Johnsen's nomination to head of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel is in trouble, White House officials said today. Vote counters believe that she is several votes shy of the 60 needed to avert a filibuster.
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Obtained: Cheney's Request Form Detailing The Two CIA Torture Docs He Wants — I've just obtained from the National Archives the actual request form that Dick Cheney submitted for CIA documents he claims will prove that torture worked. — Cheney requested all of two CIA documents, a total of 21 pages.
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Josh Gerstein / Josh Gerstein's Blog:
Hot doc: Cheney's request to declassify intel from ‘torture’
Hot doc: Cheney's request to declassify intel from ‘torture’
Discussion:
The Page
Robert Mackey / The Lede:
Taliban Spokesman Blames American Women — Update | 1:25 p.m. Britain's Channel 4 News aired a video report on Thursday night showing Taliban forces on the streets of the strategically important Pakistani town of Buner, just 70 miles from the country's capital, Islamabad.
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USA Today:
Poll: Public thinks highly of Obama — WASHINGTON — President Obama's opening months in the Oval Office have fortified his standing with the American public, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, giving him political capital for battles ahead. — As his 100th day as president approaches next Wednesday …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Politico, QandO, The Page, The Note, Real Clear Politics, Democracy in America and Public Policy Polling
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Bob Von Sternberg / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Minnesotans won't know second Senator until at least June — The state Supreme Court set the schedule today for the legal showdown between Democrat Al Franken and Republican Norm Coleman over the Senate seat that has been vacant since January. — Minnesotans won't know who will be their second U.S. Senator until at least June.
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Reclaiming America's Soul — “Nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past.” So declared President Obama, after his commendable decision to release the legal memos that his predecessor used to justify torture. Some people in the political and media establishments have echoed his position.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Top of the Ticket, Guardian, Economist's View, normblog, LewRockwell.com Blog, neo-neocon and Corrente
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Video: Frank in 2005 — Bubble? What bubble? — Barney Frank argued this week that he had always warned about the excesses of pushing home ownership and had advocated for rentals instead. Our friends at Verum Serum couldn't believe their ears, because Frank has long been one of the loudest …
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
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Morgen / Verum Serum:
Exclusive Video: Barney Frank Impales Self Using Own Words
Exclusive Video: Barney Frank Impales Self Using Own Words
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
John Cook / Gawker:
Ambushing Bill O'Reilly's Ambusher — Gawker has some questions for Jesse B. Watters, the Fox News producer that Bill O'Reilly likes to send out to ambush his enemies. So we're outside his building in Long Island. Right now. (Hi, Jesse!) — This apartment building is the last known address …
Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Gingrich vs. Gore in global warming showdown — It's Gingrich vs. Gore at Friday's global warming hearing. — The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee has added former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) to the roster of witnesses for its hearing on a climate bill Friday.
WORLDMag.com:
On the road again — Giving speeches, taping television shows, and making music with his friends: a day in the life of Mike Huckabee, once and (maybe) future presidential candidate | Marvin Olasky — NEW YORK—"Is accompanying Willie a little scary?" I was kidding Mike Huckabee …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Palin, Fundraising Firm Part Ways — Campaign Solutions, a Republican consulting firm advising Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's political action committee, has parted ways with the former Republican vice presidential nominee. — The group had been working with the Palin operation to raise money …
Discussion:
The Swamp, The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog, Political Machine and Conservatives4Palin.com
www.washingtonexaminer.com:
Chris Matthews changes book title Jon Stewart mocked — Could the interview Chris Matthews called “the worst he's ever had” have something to do with his decision to change the title of his most recent book before its paperback edition is released? — In 2007, the “Hardball” host went on …
Discussion:
Warner_Todd_Huston's blog
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
BANANA REPUBLICS.... To paraphrase Inigo Montoya, Republicans keep using this phrase, but I don't think it means what they think it means. — On Tuesday, Karl Rove argued on Fox News that accountability for Bush administration officials who broke the law would make United States …
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Note To McCain And Fox News: Bush's DHS Also Objected To Terms Like ‘Islamic Extremists’ — Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) went on Fox News to add to the right-wing backlash against Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. When Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade asked McCain …
John Leo / Wall Street Journal:
A Limited Love of Liberty — A former ACLU board member says that the organization has lost its way. — When the American Civil Liberties Union comes under attack, the salvos are often launched from the right. The ACLU, after all, is as enthusiastic about protecting the interests of feminists …