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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Specter To Switch Parties — Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning. — Specter's decision would give Democrats …
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PoliticsPA:
Statement by Senator Arlen Specter — I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am.
CNN:
Sen. Arlen Specter to become Democrat — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Veteran Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter told colleagues Tuesday that he switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party, Sen. Harry Reid says. — The Specter party switch would give Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Specter switching parties — A source involved in the talks confirms that Senator Arlen Specter will switch to the Democratic Party, a dramatic move putting the Democrats within reach of two votes in the Senate. — The move stands to put the White House's agenda on a fast-track …
Carl Hulse / The Caucus:
Specter To Switch Parties — Senator Arlen Specter was surrounded by reporters on Tuesday after it was announced that he will switch parties. — Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said on Tuesday he would switch to the Democratic party, presenting Democrats with a possible 60th vote …
MSNBC:
Veteran GOP Sen. Specter switches parties — ‘Political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans,’ he says — WASHINGTON - Veteran Republican Sen. Arlen Specter announced Tuesday that he is switching parties, a move would give Democrats a filibuster-proof 60 seats if Al Franken is seated in the Minnesota race.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:What a Specter Shift Means—and Doesn't Mean
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Washington Monthly
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:Specter courts conservatives in Pa. rematch
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Talking Points Memo
Donald G. McNeil Jr / New York Times:
With Swine Flu Cases Rising, Borders Are Tightened — Countries around the world began tightening their border and immigration controls Tuesday as the number of confirmed cases of swine flu continued to rise. — The number of deaths believed attributable to swine flu climbed to as many as 152 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Lede, Think Progress, Guardian, The Caucus, H5N1, Wake up America and Washington Times
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John D. Sutter / CNN:
Swine flu creates controversy on Twitter — (CNN) — The swine flu outbreak is spawning debate about how people get information during health emergencies — especially at a time when news sources are becoming less centralized. — Some observers say Twitter — a micro-blogging site …
Discussion:
ONTD: Politics, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Guardian, Telegraph and Los Angeles Times
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Cheney for President — Watching Dick Cheney defend the Bush administration's interrogation policies, it's been hard to escape the impression that both the Republican Party and the country would be better off today if Cheney, rather than John McCain, had been a candidate for president in 2008.
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Iain Martin / Telegraph:
Britain is going to need far more people like Sir Michael Caine — The son of a charlady from Rotherhithe is an example of social mobility at its best - but try telling that to Labour, says Iain Martin. — His name, as they say, is Michael Caine. And he's not a happy bunny.
Wall Street Journal:
Fed Pushes Citi, BofA to Increase Capital — Regulators have told Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. that the banks may need to raise more capital based on early results of the government's so-called stress tests of lenders, according to people familiar with the situation.
James Kirchick / Los Angeles Times:
Squanderer in chief — At a stop on his grand global apology tour this spring, President Obama was asked by a reporter in France if he believed in “American exceptionalism.” This is the notion that our history as the world's oldest democracy, our immigrant founding and our devotion …
Joseph Abrams / Fox News:
Despite Reports, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Not Waterboarded 183 Times — The number of times Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded was the focus of major media attention — and highly misleading. — FOXNews.com — The New York Times reported last week that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah
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Wall Street Journal:
The Politics of Liberal Amnesia — Nancy Pelosi is “pushing back” against charges that she was aware of — and acquiesced in — the CIA's harsh interrogations of terrorist detainees nearly from the moment the practice began, reports the Politico Web site. Maybe she's suffering from amnesia.
Media Matters:
Kilmeade opines that McCain “should not be allowed to talk on torture” because “he was tortured” — From the April 28 edition of Fox News Radio's Brian & The Judge:
Guardian:
Pianist stops show with anti-US rant — • ‘Get your hands off my country’ audience told — • Polish player protests over missile defence shield — Krystian Zimerman, the great Polish concert pianist, is usually a man of few words. He doesn't, as a rule, talk to the audience during performances.
Associated Press:
Chrysler latest: Union eyes majority ownership — STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — The United Auto Workers union will own 55% of a restructured Chrysler LLC and its retiree health care trust will get a seat on the board if union members vote to approve contract concessions this week.
Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
Court partly upholds “dirty words” ban — Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court upheld the government's power under existing law to ban the use on radio and TV of even a single four-letter word that is considered indecent — but left open the question of whether the ban might violate the First Amendment, at least in some situations.
Discussion:
Salon
Jeffrey Goldberg:
Libyans Sure Do Know How to Dress to Impress — Libyan national security advisor Mutassim Qadhafi, who visited Secretary of State Clinton last week:
Discussion:
Democracy in America
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Liberals push Bybee impeachment — Liberal activists are pressing for the impeachment of federal Judge Jay Bybee over the Bush administration's “torture memos” in part because there is virtually nothing that President Barack Obama, congressional Republicans or conservative Senate Democrats …
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