Top Items:
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
Obama calls on HuffPost for Iran question UPDATE — In what appeared to be a coordinated exchange, President Obama called on the Huffington Post's Nico Pitney near the start of his press conference and requested a question directly about Iran. — “Nico, I know you and all across the Internet …
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Matthew Cooper / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Obama's Weird “AA” Crack — It tells you something that neither Afghanistan nor Iraq came up at the president's press conference. The United States is simultaneously prosecuting two wars in the Muslim world and neither merited a question of the president.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Walter Shapiro / Politics Daily:
Pushing the President's Buttons — Barack Obama, as everyone knows, is one of the most disciplined, controlled and unflappable political leaders in modern times. Except when he grows testy. And during Tuesday afternoon's press conference, the president's inability to mask mild annoyance was on full display.
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Obama questions legitimacy of Iranian elections, says it is 'up …
Obama questions legitimacy of Iranian elections, says it is 'up …
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blog, The Huffington Post, #gay, Washington Monthly, Raw Story and ATTACKERMAN
WYFF-TV:
Sources Question Governor's Story — Gov. Mark Sanford Says He Disappeared To Go Hiking — GREENVILLE, S.C. — WYFF News 4 has received exclusive information from sources who say they have information about Gov. Mark Sanford's whereabouts during a mysterious absence over the past several days.
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Sanford Returns! — Gov. Mark Sanford is set to return to South Carolina tomorrow. AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will return to the state tomorrow after spending the last five days hiking the Appalachian Trail, according to a statement released by his office this morning.
Zachary Roth / TPMMuckraker:
Report: Sanford Seen In Atlanta Airport — That Appalachian Trail story is looking shakier and shakier. — Local news channel WYFF4 reports: … It had previously been reported that the governor's cell phone had been tracked to the Atlanta area. — Sanford's staff put out the word late …
Jimmy Orr / Christian Science Monitor:
Sanford disappears to hike Appalachian Trail (on Naked Hiking Day)
Sanford disappears to hike Appalachian Trail (on Naked Hiking Day)
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Tapes Reveal Nixon's View of Abortion — WASHINGTON — On Jan. 23, 1973, when the Supreme Court struck down state criminal abortion laws in Roe v. Wade, President Richard M. Nixon made no public statement. But privately, newly released tapes reveal, he expressed ambivalence.
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CNN:
Nixon to Bush 41: Find ‘attractive’ women — WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Richard Nixon believed one way to shore up the GOP in 1973 was by recruiting “attractive” women, but not because he was “for women,” according to audio tapes released Tuesday. — In February of 1973 …
Joe Klein / Swampland:
About Last Night — I've been receiving a steady stream of favorable emails from Iranian-Americans regarding my appearance on Larry King last night. They're delighted that I made it clear that Iran is different from the other countries in the region—better educated, more sophisticated …
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, American Footprints, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and Obsidian Wings
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
KLEIN 1, MCCAIN 0.... John McCain has spent an enormous amount of time lately criticizing President Obama's approach to developments in Iran. On CNN last night, Larry King mentioned to Time's Joe Klein that McCain would be on the program tonight, and asked what Klein would tell the Arizona Republican.
Washington Post:
President Obama Holds Press Conference — Opens with Discussion on Health-Care, Iranian Elections and Energy Policy — [*] OBAMA: Hello, everybody. Good afternoon, everybody. — Today, I want to start by addressing three issues, and then I'll take your questions.
Discussion:
White House Watch, Emptywheel, Reason, The Fix, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Top of the Ticket, Flopping Aces and PostPartisan
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Kathryn Cheng / ABC News' Press Room:
David Westin Responds to Members of the Congressional Media Fairness Caucus — Dear Congressman Smith: — Thank you for your letter of today's date concerning our planned coverage tomorrow of health care reform in America. I am pleased that you agree that the subject deserves extensive and careful coverage.
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Christopher Badeaux / The New Ledger:
Through the Looking Glass With Andrew Sullivan — Perhaps the single, common life goal of every intellectual, pseudo-intellectual, and intellectual aspirant, is to be a true Renaissance man — a genius whose force of will and flexible, dominating intellect allows him to master or nearly master …
Laura Rozen / The Cable:
Longtime Clinton confidant Blumenthal to become Clinton advisor — Longtime journalist and former Clinton White House advisor Sidney Blumenthal will become a special advisor without portfolio to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, The Cable has learned. Blumenthal refused to comment.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
What Obama didn't mention — A couple of surprising words were missing from President Barack Obama's 55-minute news conference on Wednesday: “Iraq” — and “Afghanistan.” — Also MIA: “Korea,” “Pakistan,” “soldiers,” “surge” and “war” — as well as the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
The Corner:
Eliminating Prison Rape — It has been far too long in coming but, yesterday, the Federal Prison Rape Elimination commission released its report on elimination and prevention efforts regarding the biggest social problem nobody wants to talk about: prison rape.
Farnaz Fassihi / Wall Street Journal:
Son's Death Has Iranian Family Asking Why — TEHRAN—The family, clad in black, stood at the curb of the road sobbing. A middle-aged mother slapped her cheeks, letting out piercing wails. The father, a frail man who worked as a doorman at a clinic in central Tehran, wept quietly with his head bowed.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Haley Huddles with Top GOP Strategists — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis — Gov. Haley Barbour dined with a handful of senior Republican strategists Monday night in Washington, a gathering certain to further stoke talk of the Mississippi Republican's interest in a 2012 race.
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Cornyn: I'll Support Norm Coleman if He Appeals to the Supreme Court — At a luncheon at the National Republican Senatorial Committee's headquarters near Capitol Hill (organized by the Heritage Foundation), I asked Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) if there was a Republican game plan ready …
Matthew Cooper / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Why Are Obama's Polls Slipping? — Today's presidential press conference was supposed to be held in the Rose Garden, but it got canceled because of the heat. I suspect this was less a tender concern about the press corps, which would have to be seated long in advance of the president …
Jeff Stein / SpyTalk:
Mousavi, Celebrated in Iranian Protests, Was the Butcher of Beirut — He may yet turn out to be the avatar of Iranian democracy, but three decades ago Mir-Hossein Mousavi was waging a terrorist war on the United States that included bloody attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.
Roger Cohen / New York Times:
The End of the Beginning — TEHRAN — Iran's 1979 revolution took a full year to gestate. The uprising of 2009 has now ended its first phase. But the volatility ushered in by the June 12 ballot-box putsch of Iran's New Right is certain to endure over the coming year. The Islamic Republic has been weakened.
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Bolton Slams Obama For Being ‘Timid’ On Iran, Then Admits U.S. Options Limited Because Of Bush's Failures — Yesterday on Fox News, Sean Hannity and former U.N. ambassador John Bolton joined the right-wing chorus hitting President Obama's response to the Iranian election crisis.
Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
Israeli Radio Show Captivates Iranians — JERUSALEM—In his Friday sermon, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reserved special wrath for “Zionist radio” that he said tried to drive a wedge between the Iranian people and the Islamic Republic. Such attention from Iran's supreme leader was music to the ears …