Top Items:
Paul Kane / Capitol Briefing:
Senate Democrats Deny Specter Committee Seniority — The Senate dealt a blow tonight to Sen. Arlen Specter's hold on seniority in several key committees, a week after the Pennsylvanian's party switch placed Democrats on the precipice of a 60-seat majority. — In a unanimous voice vote …
Discussion:
Buck Naked Politics, PoliGazette, pourmecoffee's posterous, The Sundries Shack and AMERICAblog News
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Bart Jansen / CQ Politics:
Specter Says He 'Misspoke" on Minnesota Senate Race — The political whirlwind that surrounded Sen. Arlen Specter 's switch from the Republican to Democratic party had him forgetting which team he is rooting for in 2010. — But after voicing support for Republican Norm Coleman …
Deborah Solomon / New York Times:
Specter Backs Coleman for Senate — I hear you're giving me 10 minutes for this interview, which is some kind of record for shortness. Was that your decision? — No, but it sounds all right to me. — In that case, I must ask that you keep your answers short and try not to filibuster.
Randyj / The Page:
Specter: I Want a Coleman Win — ATTENTION, LIBERAL BLOGGERS (AND AL FRANKEN)!!! — The new Democrat says the Minnesota Republican should return to the Senate. — “There's still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner.”
John Stanton / Roll Call:
Specter Will Be Junior Democrat on Committees — Despite promises from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) would retain his seniority after switching parties, Specter will be put at the end of the seniority line on all his committees but one under a resolution approved on the floor late Tuesday.
Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Specter Wants Coleman To Win In Minnesota
Specter Wants Coleman To Win In Minnesota
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Buck Naked Politics, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, Wonkette, Raw Story and Whiskey Fire
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
WHY DID ARLEN SPECTER BECOME A DEMOCRAT?
WHY DID ARLEN SPECTER BECOME A DEMOCRAT?
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Party Switch Costs Specter His Seniority on Senate Committees
Party Switch Costs Specter His Seniority on Senate Committees
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
New York Times:
Torture Memos: Inquiry Suggests No Prosecutions — WASHINGTON — An internal Justice Department inquiry has concluded that Bush administration lawyers committed serious lapses of judgment in writing secret memorandums authorizing brutal interrogations but that they should not be prosecuted …
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Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
Former Bush Officials Work to Soften Ethics Report on Interrogations — Former Bush administration officials are launching a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to urge Justice Department leaders to soften an ethics report criticizing lawyers who blessed harsh detainee interrogation tactics …
John Carney / Clusterstock:
New Allegations Of White House Threats Over Chrysler — Creditors to Chrysler describe negotiations with the company and the Obama administration as “a farce,” saying the administration was bent on forcing their hands using hardball tactics and threats. — Conversations with administration …
Discussion:
Forbes, protein wisdom, Politics Daily, NewsBusters.org, Doug Ross, Gateway Pundit, Wizbang, Israel Matzav, JustOneMinute, Pundit & Pundette and QandO
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WorldNetDaily:
Banned by U.K., Savage hits back — Radio talk star blocked from visits, along with terrorists, neo-Nazis — Talk radio host Michael Savage is considering legal action against Britain's top homeland security official after she released today a list grouping him with terrorists …
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Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
John Edwards's Wife Speaks About His Affair — In often blunt terms, Elizabeth Edwards is going public with her account of how her husband's affair rocked their marriage and left his political career in tatters. — In an interview with Oprah Winfrey and in excerpts from a new book …
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William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
MSNBC Hides Obama's Dijon Mustard (aka Dijongate) — MSNBC, Obama's favorite network, reported on Obama's trip with Joe Biden to get a burger. Just two wild and crazy guys out for some red meat. Andrea Mitchell (does she have nothing else to do?) reported that Obama ordered a burger and mustard.
Amity Shlaes / Bloomberg:
Obama Democrats Accent Bullying Over Governing: Amity Shlaes — So Michele Bachmann's version of history is “from another planet.” Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, is “chronically stupid.” And Eric Cantor of Virginia, the second-ranking Republican in the House, is “busy lying constantly.”
Chris Isidore / CNNMoney.com:
Chrysler won't repay bailout money — An administration official confirms that a $4 billion bridge loan and $3.2 billion in bankruptcy financing won't be paid back by Chrysler following bankruptcy. — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Chrysler LLC will not repay U.S. taxpayers more than $7 billion …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Huntsman Rising, Weaver Advising — Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is looking more and more like a 2012 presidential candidate. Photo by Lucian Perkins of the Washington Post — Less than 24 hours after Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's national profile received a nice — and unexpected …
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Clifford S. Asness / Clusterstock:
Hedge Funds Outraged At Obama Bullying But Also Cowering In Fear — Cliff Asness, managing partner at AQR Capital Management, distributed the following letter after listening to Obama blast the Chrysler hedge-fund holdouts. We picked the letter up at ZeroHedge. — Unafraid In Greenwich Connecticut
Mike Celizic / MSNBC:
Miss California: I'll fight on despite racy photos — Carrie Prejean claims foes of her same-sex marriage views released them — With partially nude photos of her popping up on Web sites questioning her Christian credentials, Miss California USA Carrie Prejean has fired back …
Discussion:
Pop Crunch, Hot Air, Flopping Aces, Liberal Values, Pirate's Cove, The Moderate Voice, PoliGazette, Pam's House Blend and Moe Lane
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Birther civil war — The vast, but rather low-impact, movement of people who believe (without evidence) that Barack Obama was born outside the United States appears — in the way of such movements — to have developed its own internal divisions. — In particular, its East Coast faction …
Discussion:
Salon
Wall Street Journal:
BofA Faces $35 Billion Gap — Government Stress Test Finds Capital Cushion Inadequate; New Pressure on Lewis — Regulators have told Bank of America Corp. that the company needs to take steps to address a roughly $35 billion capital shortfall based on results of the government's stress tests …
Discussion:
New York Times, Reuters, Financial Times, MoJo Blog Posts, naked capitalism and The Page
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Luntz to GOP: Health reform is popular — Dr. Frank Luntz, a top Republican consultant on the language of politics, is warning the GOP that the American people want health-care reform and that lawmakers need to try to avoid directly opposing President Barack Obama.
Discussion:
Liberal Values
Steve Bousquet / The Buzz:
The buzz: Crist may announce next week — The buzz in the Capitol is getting louder that Gov. Charlie Crist will announce his future political plans as early as next week. One source said Monday will be the date, and another said it will be next week, but no specific day.
Discussion:
Swing State Project
Cas / Cassy Fiano:
Texas infanticide bill would decriminalize murdering an infant — Is there a more despicable crime than murdering a baby? I mean, really... think hard. Murder is always apalling and deplorable and sickening. But no matter what, murdering a baby would be, in my book, the most disgusting, horrible thing a person could do.
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
WSB-TV:
College Student Shoots, Kills Home Invader — COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — A group of college students said they are lucky to be alive and they're thanking the quick-thinking of one of their own. Police said a fellow student shot and killed one of two masked me who burst into an apartment.
Eamon Javers / The Politico:
AIG bonuses higher than reported — The 2008 AIG bonus pool just keeps getting larger and larger. — In a response to detailed questions from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the company has offered a third assessment of exactly how much it paid out in bonuses last year.
Jeanne Cummings / The Politico:
Obama bites rich hands that fed him — For a politician who sometimes got accused of playing class warfare, candidate Barack Obama sure made a lot of well-to-do friends during the 2008 campaign. — The big question now is whether President Barack Obama can keep them.
David Barstow / New York Times:
Inspector at Pentagon Says Report Was Flawed — In a highly unusual reversal, the Defense Department's inspector general's office has withdrawn a report it issued in January exonerating a Pentagon public relations program that made extensive use of retired officers who worked as military analysts for television and radio networks.
Jack Kelly / Real Clear Politics:
The CIA's Fight With Obama — Has Barack Obama made an enemy who can sabotage his presidency? — The presidency of George W. Bush began to unravel when some in high positions at the Central Intelligence Agency began waging a covert campaign against him. — It began in the summer of 2003 …
CNN:
Comic Dom DeLuise dies at 75 — LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Dom DeLuise, who spiced up such movies as “Blazing Saddles,” “Silent Movie” and “The Cannonball Run” with his manic delivery and roly-poly persona, has died, his son's publicist said. — Publicist Jay Schwartz did not disclose …