Top Items:
Mike Allen / The Politico:
George Will calls for pull-out — George F. Will, the elite conservative commentator, is calling for U.S. ground troops to leave Afghanistan in his latest column. — “[F]orces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore …
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George Will / NorthJersey.com:
Why are we still in Afghanistan? — George Will writes for Washington Post Writers Group. — YESTERDAY," reads the e-mail from Allen, a Marine in Afghanistan, “I gave blood because a Marine, while out on patrol, stepped on a [mine's] pressure plate and lost both legs.
Julian E. Barnes / Los Angeles Times:
Gen. McChrystal calls for overhaul of Afghanistan war strategy
Gen. McChrystal calls for overhaul of Afghanistan war strategy
BBC:
US ‘needs fresh Afghan strategy’
US ‘needs fresh Afghan strategy’
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Atlantic Politics Channel, On Deadline, The Politico, NPR Blogs, Truthdig and The Agonist
William Branigin / Washington Post:
U.S. General Calls for New Strategy Against Taliban
U.S. General Calls for New Strategy Against Taliban
Discussion:
Below The Beltway
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Adios — Looks like the charade of including Chuck Grassley and Mike Enzi in the health care negotiations is over. It is not impossible that other Republicans who are not Senators from Maine can be located to support health care reform. But it's also entirely possible that the Republicans …
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Ezra Klein:
Chuck Grassley Fundraises Against Health-Care Reform — Chuck Grassley is facing a potentially difficult primary challenge in 2010. As such, he's been working hard to cover his right flank. That would all be fine except for one thing: As ranking member of the Finance Committee …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Daily Kos, Politics Nation, Think Progress, Wonkette, RedState, New York Times, Ben Smith's Blog and The Washington Independent
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Gibbs: Enzi's Flipped Over His Cards And Walked Away from the Health Care Table
Gibbs: Enzi's Flipped Over His Cards And Walked Away from the Health Care Table
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Talking Points Memo, Wonkette, The Washington Independent, The Plum Line and Eschaton
Political Punch:
ABC News Exclusive: National Security Adviser Says President Obama Is Having Greater Success Taking Terrorists Out of Commission Than Bush Did — Responding to criticism from former Vice President Cheney that President Obama is making the nation more vulnerable to terrorism …
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Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Gibbs responds: Why is anyone still listening to Dick Cheney? — In an interview with Fox News Sunday yesterday, Vice President Cheney aggressively attacked Attorney General Eric Holder for opening preliminary investigation into CIA interrogation abuses. He called it an “outrageous political act …
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Glenn Greenwald — Twice in the past month, my private communications have been splashed about the internet. That such a thing would happen is unfortunate, and dishonorable, but sadly inevitable, I suppose. I ignored the first case, in which a rather pathetic woman acolyte of Greenwald's published …
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blog, Balloon Juice, First Draft, Unqualified Offerings and pandagon.net
Anita Kumar / Virginia Politics:
Who is Jennifer? Another Case of Inter-Campaign Trickery — Bob McDonnell's campaign received a call this morning from a woman who called herself “Jennifer” and claimed to be a freelance reporter from the Connection newspapers in Northern Virginia. She asked for information about McDonnell's schedule.
Brad Jackson / The New Ledger:
Why Does Nancy Pelosi Have a Problem With Patriotic Music? — If you've ever been stuck on hold with a congressional office in the past, at least you've been able to enjoy some good patriotic music, as opposed to the lilting tones of generic smooth jazz that have been driving elevator users insane for decades.
Discussion:
TBogg
Eric Etheridge / The Opinionator:
There Goes the Meritocracy — What can a young woman's new job tell us about America? A lot, apparently, if the young woman is Jenna Bush Hager, the 27-year-old daughter of the most recent President Bush, and the job is “Today Show” correspondent. — Hager teaches at a charter school in Baltimore.
Discussion:
Power Line, RADAMISTO, Winds of Change.NET, Crooks and Liars, The Reaction and The Swamp
RELATED:
Jim Snyder / The Hill:
Sens. Boxer, Kerry delay climate bill — Sens. Barbara Boxer and John Kerry said Monday the climate bill they are writing would not be finished until later in September. — The bill was expected to be ready when lawmakers returned next week. — “Because of Senator Kennedy's recent passing …
Boston Globe:
Governor sets date for special Senate election, presses for interim appointment — Governor Deval Patrick continued today to press for a change to state law to allow him to appoint an interim replacement for Senator Edward M. Kennedy as he announced that a special election for the seat will be held on Jan. 19.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Why Don't Markets Clear in Urban Storefronts? — Vacant storefront on 1300 block of U Street; good place for a Wendy's? (cc photo by NCinDC) — One of the enduring mysteries of urban life is the prevalence of vacant storefronts. This is understandable in a truly depressed area where the whole local economy has broken down.
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Tory Newmyer / Roll Call:
Burner Helping House Liberals Hold Firm on Public Insurance Option — An organizer for liberal House Democrats says the bloc “isn't bluffing” as it prepares to take a reputation-defining stand to protect a public insurance option in the health care overhaul.
Les Leopold / The Huffington Post:
Obama's Looming Health Care Disaster: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places — “For the first time in American history, he wants to tax your health benefits. Apparently, Senator McCain doesn't think it's enough that your health premiums have doubled. He thinks you should have to pay taxes on them, too.”
Discussion:
Democratic Strategist
Gateway Pundit:
Obama Website: Critics of Obamacare Are Heirs of Bin Laden — More Hope and Change... Founding Bloggers found this at Obama Website— “Critics of Obamacare are Heirs of Bin Laden” — Click on Truncated Image to Enlarge — Via Little Green Links
Jon Henke / The Next Right:
Organizing Against WorldNetDaily — This is just hideously embarrassing for the Right. … In the 1960's, William F. Buckley denounced the John Birch Society leadership for being “so far removed from common sense” and later said “We cannot allow the emblem of irresponsibility to attach to the conservative banner.”
Discussion:
Liberal Values, Media Matters for America, Washington Monthly, Below The Beltway and The Impolitic
Jonathan Allen / Notepad:
Obama Asks Federal Workers to Sacrifice — Citing the current economic recession — and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks eight years ago — President Obama says he will use emergency powers to cut the programmed across-the-board January increase in federal employees' pay from 2.4 percent to 2.0 percent …
Rasmussen Reports:
Climate Change Bill Gets Mixed Reviews — Since the flurry of activity surrounding its passage by the House in late June, little has been heard about the historic climate change bill aimed at curbing global warming. But the Senate will be tackling the controversial measure when it returns to Washington next week.
Discussion:
Poll Tracker
Susie Madrak / Crooks and Liars:
Nick Kristof With The Ugly Truth: Our Health-Care System Destroys Families. — It's not the fact that they're trying to stop health-care reform by any means necessary that gets to me. (After all, we're now a nation of greed and to the corporate victor goes the spoils.)
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Justin Elliott / TPMMuckraker:
Gun-Toter From Obama Event: I, Like My Pastor, Want The President To Die — The violent anti-Obama sentiment coming out of central Arizona managed to get still more toxic over the weekend. — Chris Broughton, the man who brought an AR-15 rifle and a handgun to an Arizona Obama rally earlier this month …