Top Items:
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Time for the U.S. to Get Out of Afghanistan — “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.” Then “another Marine with a bullet wound to the head was brought in.
Discussion:
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
W.H. fears liberal war pressure — White House officials are increasingly worried liberal, anti-war Democrats will demand a premature end to the Afghanistan war before President Barack Obama can show signs of progress in the eight-year conflict, according to senior administration sources.
William Kristol / PostPartisan:
No Will, No Way — George Will is dismayed by American casualties in Afghanistan, unhappy about the length of our effort there, dismissive of the contributions of our NATO allies, contemptuous of the Afghan central government, and struck by the country's backwardness. — I share many of these sentiments.
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 …
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Beltway culture, checks on journalists and secrecy obligations — I'm ambivalent about whether even to acknowledge this obviously disturbed, Cheneyite rant from Joe Klein. On the one hand, I don't want to be dragged down into what is, for him, quite clearly a deeply emotional and personal matter …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Please, Not In Front Of The Kids (Or The Sockpuppets... Or The Editors) — Joe Klein wastes his pixels and our time lighting into Glenn Greenwald. Whatev - Klein will never be able to move far enough left to placate his audience, as much as he tries - the Atrios/Greenwald screamers …
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Obama Slide — Two tides swept over American politics last winter. The first was the Obama tide. Barack Obama came into office with an impressive 70 percent approval rating. The second was the independent tide. Over the first months of this year, the number of people …
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Maggie Haberman / New York Post:
YOU CAN'T KEEP A BAD MAN DOWN — SPITZER IS EYEING A COMEBACK — Disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been privately talking with friends about a possible comeback, and is considering a run for statewide office next year, several sources told The Post.
Washington Post:
Thesis Thrusts Va. Gubernatorial Candidate's Past Views Into Spotlight — The Virginia governor's race ignited Monday over Republican Robert F. McDonnell's 20-year-old graduate thesis: Democrats assailed him in e-mail blasts and interviews for what he wrote about working women, homosexuals and …
Discussion:
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Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
Torture's Ugly Dialogue — Call him Ishmael. — Call him a terrorist or a suicide bomber or anything else you want, but understand that he is willing — no, anxious — to give his life for his cause. Call him also a captive, and know that he works with others as part of a team …
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Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Justice Dept. to Recharge Enforcement of Civil Rights — WASHINGTON — Seven months after taking office, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is reshaping the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division by pushing it back into some of the most important areas of American political life …
Discussion:
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Norman J. Ornstein / Washington Post:
Obama Takes Realistic Approach on Health Care — His Flexible Tactics Match Reform to Political Reality — The conventional wisdom is that President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders are on the run, that we seem to be heading for a replay of 1994, when the Clinton health-care plan went down in flames.
Discussion:
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CBS News:
Most Americans Confused by Health Reform — CBS News Poll Finds Two Thirds of Population Scratching Heads Over Proposed Changes to Health Insurance System — (CBS) Most Americans find the health care reforms being discussed in Congress confusing and say President Obama has not clearly explained …
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP readies wave of objections to stall healthcare bill in Senate — Sen. Judd Gregg has hundreds of procedural objections ready for a healthcare plan Democrats want to speed through the Senate. — Gregg (N.H.), the senior Republican on the Budget Committee, told the Hill in a recent interview …
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Ernest Luning / Colorado Independent:
Bachmann: ‘Slit our wrists, be blood brothers’ to beat health care reform — U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican, chats with a supporter at an Independence Institute fundraiser in Denver on Aug. 31. (Photo/Ernest Luning) — DENVER — In a fiery speech …
Discussion:
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Michelle Malkin:
The Beslan attack: 5 years later — Have you forgotten? — Five years ago today, Chechen jihadists attacked a school and took more than 1,100 hostages. 334 adults and 186 young students died in the siege. — Jim Hoft remembers. — BBC has video of interviews with surviving children of Beslan.
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KC Johnson / Durham-in-Wonderland:
Simply Extraordinary — Three Duke University students were the victims of the highest-profile fraudulent rape claim in modern American history. That fact alone should make the University particularly sensitive to the dangers of false rape allegations, and the need for a firm commitment …
Gateway Pundit:
CAUGHT ON TAPE: Obama HCAN Organizer Instructs Supporters How to Shout Down Opponents & Take Over Meetings — More Hope and Change— A Health Care for America Now (HCAN) organizer is caught on tape outside the meeting instructing supporters on how to shout down opponents who get up to ask …
Glen Johnson / Associated Press:
Mass. AG apparently first to seek Kennedy's seat — BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley appears to be the first candidate in a special election for the Senate seat left open by the death of Edward Kennedy. — A woman who said she was representing Coakley picked …
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.”
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.
Daniel Libit / The Politico:
Despite setbacks, Frum beats on — Even if the former governor of Alaska fades away before the 2012 presidential election, David Frum thinks “the Palin problem is still with us.” — And as long as that's the case, Frum — the conservative pundit and former George W. Bush speechwriter — will be here, too.
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blog
Barbarossa / The Jawa Report:
BREAKING: FL Rifqa investigators were led around by CAIR's Islamist Homeland Security mole **Bumped** — Two weeks ago Florida Judge Daniel Lawson directed the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement to investigate the Columbus, Ohio Islamic community to provide him sufficient information …