Top Items:
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
FIRST THOUGHTS: LOSING THE MESSAGE WAR? — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg — *** Losing the message war? Perhaps the biggest thing that stood out to us at President Obama's AARP town hall yesterday was that the White House appears to be losing the message war on health care.
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Washington Post:
Bipartisan Senate Panel Nearing Agreement on Health-Care Bill — Panel May Vote On Bipartisan Bill Before Recess — An emerging consensus among a bipartisan group of senators is poised to shift the dynamic in the congressional debate over health-care reform and could lead to a final product …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Todd unloads — NBC's Chuck Todd goes off on Glenn Beck on First Read today, but his real targets are Ailes and Huffington: “Former political consultants-turned-TV execs or former radio DJs, or former California socialites, the folks helping to accelerate the public's perception of the media off a cliff …
The Hill:
Dem healthcare infighting intensifies
Dem healthcare infighting intensifies
Discussion:
The Note, ABCNEWS, CNN, The Swamp, The Moderate Voice, PoliGazette, The Politico and Taylor Marsh
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Baucus to Unveil Magical Health Care Bill?
Baucus to Unveil Magical Health Care Bill?
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Ezra Klein Plays His Part in the “Co-Op Squeeze Play”
Ezra Klein Plays His Part in the “Co-Op Squeeze Play”
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Ezra Klein, The Huffington Post, Hullabaloo, D-Day, Corrente and Blogometer
Jeffrey Young / The Hill:
Baucus: Health bill covers 95%, reduces deficit
Baucus: Health bill covers 95%, reduces deficit
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel
Wall Street Journal:
Liberals Fear Losing Public-Plan Option
Liberals Fear Losing Public-Plan Option
Discussion:
Salon, KGO-TV, Daily Kos, Think Progress, Washington Post, Firedoglake and The Treatment
Jared Allen / The Hill:
Blue Dogs strike deal: No health vote before recess — Blue Dogs and House leaders have struck a deal to guarantee that the House will not vote on a healthcare bill before August, a leading Blue Dog said on Wednesday. — In exchange for putting off a floor vote until after Labor Day …
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The Hill:
Waters warns Blue Dogs to beware 2010 — Liberal frustration started to boil over in the House on Tuesday as negotiations over healthcare reform with centrist Blue Dog Democrats dragged into a second week. — The delay prompted Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) to lash out at the Blue Dogs …
Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
Breakthrough on House health bill — Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has cut a deal to reconvene his committee and vote on the Democrats' sweeping health care bill, with a goal of completing work by the time lawmakers leave town for the summer on Friday.
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Exclusive: Michael Steele Blasts Birtherism As “Unnecessary Distraction,” Says Obama Is “U.S. Citizen” — For the first time, RNC chair Michael Steele is sharply criticizing the birthers, condemning the movement as an “unnecessary distraction,” reaffirming that the president is a “U.S. citizen …
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Politico, AMERICAblog News, Salon, TPMDC, Ben Smith's Blog and Brendan Nyhan
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Nicholas Graham / The Huffington Post:
Lou Dobbs Slams “Tea-Bagging Queen Rachel Maddow,” Refuses To Back Off Obama Birth Certificate Controversy (AUDIO) — CNN's Lou Dobbs has come under fire for recent comments he made suggesting President Obama might be undocumented, and that, as a result, Obama's presidency and his actions as president could be deemed “illegal.”
NPR Blogs:
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison Clarifies Resignation Talk, Kinda Sorta — Here are two things we have long assumed about Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. — One, she will challenge Gov. Rick Perry in next year's Texas gubernatorial primary. Yes, I know, it should be more than just “assumed,” …
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Rick Hadley / WBAP News/Talk 820:
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Explains Plan for Gubernatorial Bid — ARLINGTON (WBAP) - U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) on Wednesday told WBAP's Mark Davis she plans to officially launch her bid for Texas governor in August. She added that she will step down from the U.S. Senate sometime …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Scorecard's Blog, Senate Guru, Swing State Project, Hotline On Call and TPMDC
Harvey A. Silverglate / Forbes:
Prof. Gates' Unconstitutional Arrest — There's a First Amendment right to be rude to a cop. — The now-infamous Gates story has gone through the familiar media spin-cycle: incident, reaction, response, so on and so forth. Drowned out of this echo chamber has been an all-too-important …
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
On The Birthers — So many readers are furious that I have dared to ask the president to show the original copy of his birth certificate. The reason for demanding it is the same reason for demanding basic medical records proving Sarah Palin is the biological mother of Trig.
The Hill:
50 Most Beautiful 2009 - Top 40 (HTML) — Arjun Jaikumar … Arjun Jaikumar has been on Capitol Hill for less than two months and the shaggy-haired blogger and new-media guru for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is already getting noticed.
The Huffington Post:
Obama's Doctor: President's Vision For Health Care Bound To Fail — The man Barack Obama consulted on medical matters for over two decades said on Tuesday that the president's vision for health care reform is bound for failure. — Dr. David Scheiner, a 70-year Chicago-based physician …
Rebecca Sinderbrand / CNN:
Vitter defends Southern influence in GOP, slams Voinovich — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana slammed fellow Republican George Voinovich Wednesday for saying the GOP's problems stem from the fact that it is “being taken over by Southerners,” calling the Ohio senator “a moderate, really wishy-washy.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Back To Square One — The whole birth certificate issue gets weirder still: — “I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born …
NPR:
NPR Poll Finds Tough Sledding For Obama … text sizeAAA — President Obama has hit a rough patch this summer, squeezed between a lingering recession and rising questions about the health care overhaul he has made the centerpiece of his first-year agenda.
Discussion:
Gallup, Below The Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside The Beltway, AmSpecBlog, QandO, NewsBusters.org, Moe Lane, AMERICAblog News and Scared Monkeys
Christopher Neefus / CNSNews:
White House Science Adviser Advocated ‘De-Development’ of the United States — (CNSNews.com) - President Obama's top science adviser, John P. Holdren, advocated the “de-development” of the United States in books he published in the 1970s. — “A massive campaign must be launched to restore …
Gregory Levey / Newsweek:
Stand In — Why Obama should make George W. Bush his Mideast envoy. — Gerald Herbert / AP — Peace Partners: Bush and Obama could play good-cop, bad-cop with Israel — On Sunday, George Mitchell, President Obama's Middle East envoy, arrived in Israel to confer with its leaders.
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Sarah Grabs the Grievance Grab Bag From Hillary — The woman who was prematurely counted in is out. And the woman who was prematurely counted out is in. — Goodbye, Sarah. Hello, Hillary. — In their vivid twin performances Sunday — Hillary on “Meet the Press” …
Gateway Pundit:
Dorothy D. Hoft... August 1925 - July 2009 — Dorothy Hoft loved God and her nine children. She loved the magnolia tree in the backyard. — My dear friend and mother passed away this evening at 10:16 PM. — She suffered a devastating heart attack 17 days ago. We put her on hospice late last week.