Top Items:
Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Conservatives gear up for high court fight — Phone lines around Washington began burning this morning as conservative organizations kicked off preparations for the fight over President Obama's eventual Supreme Court nominee. — Associate Justice David Souter's decision to step down at the end …
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Nell Scovell / Vanity Fair:
Let's Make Clarence Thomas's Worst Nightmare Come True — Minutes after NPR reported that Justice David Souter plans to step down from the Supreme Court, New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof updated his Facebook status to ponder a replacement: “I think Obama just might appoint Elena Kagan …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, culturekitchen, The Daily Dish, The New Ledger, Macleans.ca and Democratic Strategist
Scott Horton / Harper's:
Condi's Really Bad Day — For eight years, Condoleezza Rice dealt with the Beltway punditry and the access-craving White House press corps. The reception she got, with a handful of exceptions, was fawning. Which leaves her totally unprepared for a return to an academy populated …
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Red State's Erik Erickson writes that Judge Souter is a “goat f*&king child molester” — The conservative movement is in shambles and this doozy comes from online conservative blogger Erik Erickson of Red State. Do we need any more proof that they are all certifiable? What's up with conservatives and their tweets?
Media Matters:
FLASHBACK ... Kristol called for 2006 and 2008 to be “a referendum” on makeup on Supreme Court — From the January 29, 2006, broadcast of Fox News Sunday:
CNN:
Conservatives prepare for Supreme battle — WASHINGTON (CNN) — There are few issues that rally conservatives as much as a Supreme Court nomination — and activists are wasting no time gearing up for a battle. — Conservative groups worked into the night Thursday after news broke …
Dana Goldstein / American Prospect:
MARK HALPERIN: OH NOES, A WOMAN MIGHT GET THE JOB!
MARK HALPERIN: OH NOES, A WOMAN MIGHT GET THE JOB!
Discussion:
The Page, Washington Monthly, Shakesville, Law Blog, MSNBC, D-Day, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Comments from Left Field
Michelle Malkin:
Obama's choices: Gird your loins
Obama's choices: Gird your loins
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Caucus, The Sundries Shack, Top of the Ticket, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, AmSpecBlog and Jules Crittenden
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Flashback: Specter Opposed Confirmation Of Potential Obama Supreme Court Nominee
Flashback: Specter Opposed Confirmation Of Potential Obama Supreme Court Nominee
Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Saying No to Justice — I did something today that I've never done before. The Department of Justice, which I proudly served for a quarter century as an assistant U.S. attorney and a deputy U.S. marshal, asked me for help, and I declined. Actually, what I declined to do was attend a meeting.
Discussion:
Fausta's Blog
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Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
The Use of Torture and What Nancy Pelosi Knew — Torture is an impermissible evil. Except under two circumstances. The first is the ticking time bomb. An innocent's life is at stake. The bad guy you have captured possesses information that could save this life. He refuses to divulge.
Discussion:
MoJo Blog Posts, The Daily Dish, Liberty Street, Commentary, Washington Monthly, The Plank and The New Ledger
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Charles Karel Bouley / The Huffington Post:
The Majority of Muslims Who Attend Mosque Weekly Feel Torturing For Their Cause Is Just** — **It's Not True — The headline “Majority Of Muslims That Attend Mosque Weekly Feel Torturing For Their Cause Is Just” got your attention, didn't it? It's not true, I made it up, but the thought of it probably already angered some.
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Amy Diluna / NY Daily News:
First Lady Michelle Obama steps out in Lanvin sneakers and they're only $540! — Michelle Obama has taken casual to a haute new level. — While volunteering Wednesday at a D.C. food bank, the First Lady sported her usual J.Crew cardigan, a pair of utilitarian capri pants and, on her feet, a sneaky splurge: trainers that go for $540.
Jimmy Orr / Christian Science Monitor:
Biden kicked out of country after flu remarks? — Things have gotten so bad for the vice president following his disastrous Today Show appearance that he's been exiled? — No. It's just coincidental that the day after he strayed way off message on how to deal with the flu virus …
Bloomberg:
Chrysler Lenders Tried Obama's Patience, Lost Game of Chicken — President Barack Obama thanked everyone from unions to executives for working to keep Chrysler LLC alive while blaming “a small group of speculators” for forcing the automaker into bankruptcy.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wonk Room, Commentary, QandO, Firedoglake, Wall Street Journal, The Virginian and Felix Salmon
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Zachery Kouwe / New York Times:
The Lenders Obama Decided to Blame
The Lenders Obama Decided to Blame
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Deal Journal, DealBook, TPMCafe, The New Ledger, Salon, NewsBusters.org, BizzyBlog, Power Line and Pirate's Cove
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Jon Stewart: Hey, sorry for calling Harry Truman a war criminal — A follow-up to Wednesday night's Kinsleyan gaffe: He's sorry, he's just not sure why he's sorry. The closest we get to an explanation is that the decision to drop the bomb was “complicated,” but of course that's why Cliff …
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org
Wall Street Journal:
Citi Said to Need Up to $10 Billion — Bank Disputes ‘Stress Test’ Result; U.S. to Let Lenders Convert Loans to Common Stock — WASHINGTON — Citigroup Inc. may need to raise as much as $10 billion in new capital, according to people familiar with the matter, as the government continues negotiations …
Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
Kasich running for Ohio governorship — Former Ohio GOP congressman and O'Reilly Factor guest host John Kasich will be running against Gov. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio), per the Columbus Dispatch: — Republican John Kasich is expected to file papers today so that he can begin raising money for the 2010 race for governor.
Discussion:
Fox News
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Fredric U. Dicker / New York Post:
PATERSON BURNED BY A RACIAL ‘FIRE’ — 300G SETTLES SUIT BY WHITE FOTOG — ALBANY — Gov. Paterson, who raised state taxes by $8 billion last month, just cost state taxpayers $300,000 more. — The state has secretly settled an embarrassing federal racial-discrimination lawsuit, The Post has learned.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
‘Secret’ CIA document on White House Flickr feed — A photograph posted by the White House to the photo sharing website Flickr includes an image of a document with the letters CIA printed beneath what appears to be the word “secret.” — The photograph by White House photographer Pete Souza …
Jay Nordlinger / The Corner:
Knowing a Good Man When You See One — The Dalai Lama has been visiting the Boston area, and I'd like to mention a few reports. First, a note from an NRO reader: Hi, Jay, I had the great opportunity to see the Dalai Lama speak at MIT this afternoon. When he opened the forum to audience Q&A …
Lindsey Ellerson / The Note:
Mark Penn: No Edwards Could Have Meant ‘Different Outcome’ — ABC News' Kate Snow and Rick Klein report: What if John Edwards hadn't run for president in 2008? — What if he had followed the hindsight-is-20-20 advice being offered now by his wife and chief strategist …
Jay Newton-Small / Swampland:
Why Lindsey Graham is the Guy Obama Needs to Please in Replacing Souter — Both sides of the aisle spent all week lamenting/celebrating Arlen Specter's party switch and the potential for a 60 vote Democratic majority in the Senate. But Specter's swap leaves the Senate Judiciary Committee without its most prominent GOP moderate.
The White House:
WhiteHouse 2.0 — In the President's last Weekly Address, he called on government to “recognize that we cannot meet the challenges of today with old habits and stale thinking.” He added that “we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative …
Discussion:
Washington Post