Top Items:
William Kristol / PostPartisan:
Obama Attacks Docs and Cops — President Obama spent most of his press conference tonight denying what President Kennedy famously affirmed — that to govern is to choose. Obama promised us health care this is at once better and cheaper, with both more regulation and more freedom to choose …
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Boston Herald:
Officer in Henry Gates flap tried to save Reggie Lewis — Denies he's a racist, won't apologize — The Cambridge cop prominent Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. claims is a racist gave a dying Reggie Lewis mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in a desperate bid to save the Celtics …
ABCNEWS:
Backlash: Obama's Comments on Gates' Arrest Stirs Reaction — White House Says President Was Not Calling The Police Officer Who Arrested Gates Stupid — The Cambridge, Mass., police officer who arrested Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the officer's union …
Tom Shales / Washington Post:
Obama Goes Off-Topic, Clearly — When a politician says “Let me be clear,” what follows is often anything but. It's a tradition in obfuscation that probably got a big boost from Richard Nixon's “Let me make this perfectly clear,” one of that president's signature phrases.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Moderate Voice, Philly.com, NewsBusters.org, Los Angeles Times, Top of the Ticket, Weekly Standard and FishBowlDC
Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Obama Wades Into a Volatile Racial Issue
Obama Wades Into a Volatile Racial Issue
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, The Caucus, Donklephant, The Moderate Voice, Emptywheel, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, TalkLeft and Firedoglake
Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Pelosi backs off recess healthcare deadline — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that the House can go home for its August recess without passing a massive overhaul. — Pelosi dismissed concerns expressed by many Democrats that a monthlong delay could give opponents more chances to rally opposition to the bill.
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Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Dems punting on August deadline — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today that the Senate would not attempt to pass sweeping health care reform until after returning from the August recess. — “It's better to get a product that's based on quality and thoughtfulness than on trying …
Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
More delays in House on healthcare reform — The House Energy and Commerce Committee canceled its healthcare markup session again Thursday, further dimming hopes that the House can complete its work before the August recess is scheduled to begin. — The committee began its drafting sessions on Friday and Monday.
Discussion:
The Politico, Daily Kos, TPMDC, Bloomberg, Hullabaloo, Salon, Below The Beltway, Political Punch, Open Congress and The Page
Joe Ryan / New Jersey Online:
N.J. officials, N.Y. rabbis caught in federal money laundering, corruption sweep — NEWARK — A New Jersey assemblyman and the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus were among public officials arrested this morning by FBI agents in an international money laundering and corruption probe that includes rabbis …
Discussion:
NBC New York, Law Blog, The Campaign Spot, NewsBusters.org, Associated Press, Redhot and Above the Law
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CNN:
Mayors, rabbis arrested in corruption probe — (CNN) — About 30 people, including some New Jersey mayors and several rabbis, were arrested Thursday in a federal investigation of public corruption, the U.S. attorney's office in Newark, New Jersey, said. — The probe also involves a …
New York Times:
Obama's Fifth News Conference — Following is a transcript of President Obama's fifth news conference, the fourth given in prime-time, as provided by Federal News Service. — PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good evening. Please be seated. — Before I take your questions, I want to talk for a few minutes …
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
At big moment, Obama goes small
At big moment, Obama goes small
Discussion:
Time, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Commentary, The Huffington Post, Althouse, Indecision Forever, ABCNEWS, The Note, The Fix and Michelle Malkin
Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:
Obama's Overreach — Obama Presser: Instant[ reaction] rant:
Obama's Overreach — Obama Presser: Instant[ reaction] rant:
Discussion:
Commentary, Boston Globe, The Strata-Sphere, Bookworm Room, Neptunus Lex, QandO, Wizbang, Betsy's Page and Wake up America
Jonathan Cohn / The Treatment:
Obama Has a Grown-Up Talk With America (Gulp)
Obama Has a Grown-Up Talk With America (Gulp)
Discussion:
Swampland, Washington Monthly, MoJo Blog Posts, Boston Globe, D-Day, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and NOW! Blog
Time:
Inside Bush and Cheney's Final Days — Hours before they were to leave office after eight troubled years, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney had one final and painful piece of business to conclude. For over a month Cheney had been pleading, cajoling, even pestering Bush to pardon …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Buck Naked Politics, At-Largely, PoliGazette, Hot Air, The Swamp and Zandar Versus The Stupid
Zachary Roth / TPMMuckraker:
Conservative Activist Forwards Racist Pic Showing Obama As Witch Doctor — The election of our first black president has brought with it a strange proliferation of online racism among conservatives. — And we've got the latest example. — On Sunday night, Dr. David McKalip forwarded …
Quinnipiac University:
Dodd In Slump In Connecticut Reelection Bid, Quinnipiac University Connecticut Poll Finds; Obama Approval Down 8 Points — Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd trails former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a likely Republican challenger 48 - 39 percent in the 2010 Senate race, but he is inching …
CNN:
North Korea launches attack on Clinton — BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — North Korea launched a scathing personal attack on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday after she likened the leadership in Pyongyang to “small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention.”
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Harold Meyerson / Los Angeles Times:
GOP: Going Over the Precipice — Because of a quirk in California's Constitution, the minority Republicans have managed to push through a budget that makes the state sicker and dumber. Where is the Democrats' white knight? — The most basic principle of any democracy is that of majority rule …
Discussion:
Opinion L.A., MoJo Blog Posts, Reason, Zandar Versus The Stupid and Democratic Strategist
Jackie Kucinich / Roll Call:
Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing — Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority's health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate. — House Republicans are crying foul …
Roll Call:
Democrats Tire of Baucus Talks — Members Feel Out of the Loop — Senate Democrats are increasingly frustrated by the secrecy and duration of Finance Chairman Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) bipartisan talks on health care reform, with some saying it could undermine Democratic support for the bill.
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New York Times:
Experts Dispute Some Points in Health Talk — WASHINGTON — President Obama showed great fluency in the intricate details of health policy at his news conference on Wednesday night, but experts said some of his points were debatable. — Mr. Obama said doctors, nurses, hospitals …