Top Items:
ABCNEWS:
Obama Calls Cambridge Cop, Still Sees ‘Overreaction’ in Gates' Arrest — President Explains His Remarks About Henry Louis Gates Arrest In Surprise Appearance — President Obama called the Cambridge police officer who arrested his friend, prominent Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. …
Discussion:
The Swamp, JONATHAN TURLEY, Boston Weather …, CNN, New York Post, Political Punch, Gothamist, The Huffington Post, Washington Wire, Don Surber, Law Blog, New York Magazine, On Deadline, American Power, TalkLeft, NewsBusters.org, Fox News, The Note, American Thinker, PrairiePundit and Gateway Pundit
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The Politico:
Obama walks back police criticism — President Obama made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room Friday in an attempt to tamp down the escalating controversy over his comments on the Monday arrest of Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates by the Cambridge, Mass., Police Department.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, The Swamp, Taylor Marsh, Political Byline, Blue Crab Boulevard, Fox News, Political Punch and Flopping Aces
a Phantom Negro / Salon:
Skip Gates, please sit down — You are suffering from what I call the “Ivy League Effect” … Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home in Cambridge, Mass., in 2008. — The Ivy League is not real life. College in general is not real life, and the Ivy League is a more fantastic version of college.
Boston Herald:
911, police tapes key in Gates case — Officials mull release of recorded evidence — Mounting pressure to get to the bottom of the controversial arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. is centering on recorded police tapes that may offer a dose of reality amid all the media and political noise.
Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Obama regrets ‘distraction’ of comment ‘obsession’ — President Obama regrets the distraction that his comments about a police incident in Cambridge, Mass., caused, according to a White House spokesman. — White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday that if the president knew …
Fox News:
Obama Seeks to Clarify ‘Stupidly’ Comment, Praises White Policeman
Obama Seeks to Clarify ‘Stupidly’ Comment, Praises White Policeman
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Abby Goodnough / New York Times:
Sergeant Who Arrested Professor Defends Actions
Sergeant Who Arrested Professor Defends Actions
Discussion:
Clive Crook
The Hill:
House healthcare talks break down in anger — House healthcare negotiations dissolved in acrimony on Friday, with Blue Dog Democrats saying they were “lied” to by their Democratic leaders. — The seven Blue Dogs on the Energy and Commerce Committee stormed out of a Friday meeting …
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The Hill:
Waxman may let health bill skip committee — Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) says there is “no alternative” but to have healthcare legislation bypass his Energy and Commerce Committee if Blue Dog Democrats don't accept a deal worked out Friday. — Waxman is hoping the inclusion of a study …
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
McCain Campaign Investigated, Dismissed Obama Citizenship Rumors — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) during his presidential campaign (WDCpix) — In the final months of the 2008 presidential race, Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) campaign learned of a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania that asked the state …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Taegan Goddard's …, Latest Open Salon Blog, PoliBlog, The New Republic and Indecision Forever
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Chris / TVNewser:
Jon Klein on Birthers: “It Seems This Story is Dead” — TVNewser has learned CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein sent an email to a handful of “Lou Dobbs Tonight” staffers last night regarding the coverage of the so-called birthers and the validity of Pres. Obama's birth in the U.S.
Jonathan Klein / SPLCenter.org:
SPLC President Calls on CNN to Remove Lou Dobbs from Air, Cites Newsman's Support for Extremist-Inspired ‘Birther’ Claims — CNN/U.S. — 1 Time Warner Center — New York, N.Y. 10019-6038 — Dear Mr. Klein, — As an important and respected news organization, CNN has a special responsibility …
Washington Post:
Palin's Favorability Rating Drops as She Prepares to Leave Office, Poll Finds — As Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin prepares for the next stage of her political career, a majority of Americans hold an unfavorable view of her, and there is broad public doubt about her leadership skills and understanding …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Anchorage Daily News, The Fix, The New Republic, Washington Times, Top of the Ticket, Salon, ABCNEWS, skippy the bush kangaroo, Brendan Nyhan, PoliBlog, Conservatives4Palin.com, Right Pundits, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, Indecision Forever, The Swamp, Wonkette, Ta-Nehisi Coates, GOP 12, Taylor Marsh, Liberal Values, Firedoglake and Below The Beltway
Connie Hair / Human Events:
GOP Not Allowed to Say ‘Government-Run Healthcare’ — Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), the secretary of the House Republican Conference and a former District Court Judge, is having his messages to constituents censored by Democrats on the Franking Commission. Republicans are no longer allowed …
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Dave Montgomery / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Perry raises possibility of states' rights showdown with White House over healthcare — AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry, raising the specter of a showdown with the Obama administration, suggested Thursday that he would consider invoking states' rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist …
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Secessionist Governor Rick Perry Considering Nullifcation of Health Care Reform
Secessionist Governor Rick Perry Considering Nullifcation of Health Care Reform
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Graham takes on conservatives — When Sen. Lindsey Graham announced his support for Sonia Sotomayor this week, right-wing radio talk show host Mark Levin said it was a sign that Graham is “unreliable ... as a thinker and a leader.” — Wendy Long, counsel for the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Costs and Compassion — The talking heads on cable TV panned President Obama's Wednesday press conference. You see, he didn't offer a lot of folksy anecdotes. — Shame on them. The health care system is in crisis. The fate of America's middle class hangs in the balance.
Discussion:
D-Day, DailyHowler.com, Shakesville, The Moderate Voice, TalkLeft, AMERICAblog News, The Treatment, Washington Monthly and Cafe Hayek
Wall Street Journal:
Common Sense May Sink ObamaCare — It turns out the president misjudged the nation's mood. — Printer — Friendly — This is big, what's happening. President Obama appears to have misstepped on a major initiative and defining issue. He has misjudged the nation's mood …
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Why Obamacare Is Sinking — What happened to Obamacare? Rhetoric met reality. As both candidate and president, the master rhetorician could conjure a world in which he bestows upon you health-care nirvana: more coverage, less cost. — But you can't fake it in legislation.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, The Note, The New Republic, Commentary, Time, Wake up America, McClatchy Washington Bureau and Betsy's Page
Dana Goldstein / American Prospect:
ARNE DUNCAN AND THE UNIONS. — The complicated dance between Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the national teachers' unions continued today. On a conference call to officially roll-out the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” education reform competition, Duncan said states are “ineligible” …
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Bluegal / Crooks and Liars:
Elizabeth Edwards Shows How to Tell a Liar on Healthcare — In an interview with Rachel Maddow, Elizabeth Edwards dropped this enormously helpful key on when to tell if an opponent to healthcare reform is lying: … Our friends at Sadly, No! take a look at the actual outcomes between the US and Canada.
Discussion:
Sadly, No!