Top Items:
New York Times:
Obama Aides Aim to Simplify and Scale Back Health Bills — WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to address a joint session of Congress next week in an effort to rally support for health care legislation as White House officials look for ways to simplify and scale back the major Democratic bills …
RELATED:
Matthew Mosk / Washington Times:
WH withdraws call for students to ‘help’ Obama — The Obama administration late Wednesday withdrew a recommendation that school children who watch a video featuring President Obama next week write about how they might “help the president” as part of a classroom assignment.
Discussion:
Fox News, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Maggie's Farm, Reason, Betsy's Page, Pajamas Media, Commentary, Don Surber and Sweetness & Light
Ezra Klein:
The Divisions in the White House Over Health-Care Reform — This is health-care reform's endgame, or close to it. Next Wednesday, Barack Obama will give a prime-time address before both houses of Congress. But that's not all he's giving Congress. The administration is going to put a plan down on paper.
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
PULLING THE ‘TRIGGER’?.... Several months ago, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), arguably the most important lawmaker in the known universe right now, recommended the idea of a “trigger” in health care reform. As she saw it, Congress could create a public option, but it wouldn't be implemented …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Snowe's ‘trigger’ on public option may be key to endgame
Snowe's ‘trigger’ on public option may be key to endgame
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
WH deletes line about schoolkids helping Obama from speech prep materials
WH deletes line about schoolkids helping Obama from speech prep materials
Discussion:
Cato @ Liberty
Jim Geraghty / National Review Online:
Department of Education Deletes Line About How Schoolkids …
Department of Education Deletes Line About How Schoolkids …
Discussion:
RedState, PoliGazette, Atlas Shrugs, Cato @ Liberty, Pajamas Media and Patterico's Pontifications
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
White House Floating “Snowe” Trigger
White House Floating “Snowe” Trigger
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, The Confluence, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, The New Republic, MyDD and MoJo Blog Posts
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Vodkapundit: Keep your kid home from school for Obama's speech
Vodkapundit: Keep your kid home from school for Obama's speech
Discussion:
KSL-TV, Little Green Footballs, The Other McCain, RedState, Pajamas Media and Joanne Jacobs
KTLA:
Man's Finger Bitten Off in Scuffle at Health Care Rally — THOUSAND OAKS — A 65-year-old man had his finger bitten off Wednesday evening at a health care rally in Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. — Sheriff's investigators were called to Hillcrest and Lynn Road at 7:26 p.m.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Top of the Ticket, The Swamp, Gateway Pundit, Freedom's Lighthouse, Don Surber and Confederate Yankee
Kate Devlin / Telegraph:
Sentenced to death on the NHS — Patients with terminal illnesses are being made to die prematurely under an NHS scheme to help end their lives, leading doctors warn today. — In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, a group of experts who care for the terminally ill claim that some patients are being wrongly judged as close to death.
New York Times:
Kennedy Memoir Doesn't Ignore Lows — In a memoir being published this month, Senator Edward M. Kennedy called his behavior after the 1969 car accident that killed Mary Jo Kopechne “inexcusable” and said the events might have shortened the life of his ailing father, Joseph P. Kennedy.
RELATED:
Carl Hulse / The Caucus:
Kennedy Memoir Talks of Chappaquiddick, J.F.K. and Other Presidents — In a memoir being published posthumously, Senator Edward M. Kennedy talks remorsefully about the car accident that claimed the life of Mary Jo Kopechne - a turn of events many consider a chief reason that he was never able …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Front Row Washington, coverawards.com, Taegan Goddard's … and Politics Daily
Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
Schilling ineligible to run as Republican — Former Red Sox pitching ace Curt Schilling may be making noises about running for the Senate to succeed the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) but, according to Massachusetts election law, he's ineligible to run as a Republican.
RELATED:
Curt Schilling / 38 Pitches:
Potential Senate candidacy
Potential Senate candidacy
Discussion:
Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe, MyDD, Scared Monkeys, Truthdig, Senate Guru, The Page, The Hill and Weasel Zippers
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Obama and the Perfect Political Storm — It's hard to sell change voters don't think they need. — Printer — Friendly — August was the worst month of Barack Obama's presidency. And he seems to know it—he is now planning to deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress 232 days …
RELATED:
The Politico:
Obama's speech: High risk, high reward
Obama's speech: High risk, high reward
Discussion:
Kausfiles, Verum Serum, Crooks and Liars, The Page, The Confluence, Open Left, Pat Dollard, Commentary, The Opinionator and TPMDC
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
G.O.P. Support May Be Vital to Obama on Afghan War — WASHINGTON — As President Obama prepares to decide whether to send additional troops to Afghanistan, the political climate appears increasingly challenging for him, leaving him in the awkward position of relying on the Republican Party, and not his own, for support.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, Politics Daily, The AfPak Channel, Commentary, Cato @ Liberty, Vox Popoli, The Page, GOP.com, OxBlog and The Moderate Voice
RELATED:
Michelle Malkin:
“I pledge to be of service to Barack Obama” — As if I needed any more evidence to bolster today's column about the Obama junior lobbyist campaign in America's schools, here's another item fresh from the headlines in Utah:
Discussion:
Pundit & Pundette, Bookworm Room, American Power, Rosita the Prole, Freedom's Lighthouse and Flopping Aces
RELATED:
Peter Popham / The Independent:
I have been abducted by aliens, says Japan's first lady — Move over Michelle, watch your backs, Carla and Sarah. There's a new kid on the first lady block, and she looks like upstaging the lot of you. — Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of Japan's Prime Minister-elect, Yukio Hatoyama …
Laurel Wentz / AdAge:
9/11 Ad for WWF Causes Tsunami of a Crisis for DDB Brasil — Apology Doesn't Stave Off Global Compensation; Video Version Surfaces — An obscure ad that ran once in a small Sao Paulo newspaper months ago has come back to haunt DDB Brasil and its conservation client, the WWF in Brazil …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Watts Up With That?, Hot Air, Mediaite, Green Sheet, American Power, Pajamas Media, Adrants and Gawker
New York Post:
SPITZER'S BABE SLAPS THE SNOBS — TELLS WOMEN: YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN ME! — The high-paid escort who notoriously romped with disgraced ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer has a message to New York ladies: You're no better than me! — “Get real and get over yourself,” Ashley Dupre bluntly tells all the women out there who “just love to judge.”
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Accountability, but at What Cost? — My friend and fellow columnist Eugene Robinson has written a characteristically passionate and well-reasoned piece commending Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to name a special counsel to examine possible law-breaking by interrogators of terrorist subjects during the last administration.
Wall Street Journal:
The Revolt of the Masses — Electorates are casting a global no-confidence vote in their leaderships. — Printer — Friendly — When the political world arrives at the point where even the Japanese rise up to toss a party from office after almost 54 years in power, it's time to see something's happening here, Mr. Jones.
E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Extremism in Media's Glare — Health-care reform is said to be in trouble partly because of those raucous August town-hall meetings in which Democratic members of Congress were besieged by shouters opposed to change. — But what if our media-created impression of the meetings is wrong?
Gail Collins / New York Times:
The Revenge of Levi — For the first time in my life, I feel sympathy for Sarah Palin. — Levi Johnston — you will remember him from his featured role as the father of Bristol's baby at the Republican convention — has written an article for the new issue of Vanity Fair.
Nicholas Graham / The Huffington Post:
Glenn Beck Finds “Communist” Art At NBC Headquarters At Rockefeller Center (VIDEO) — If you thought Glenn Beck's conspiracy theories couldn't get any more bizarre, you obviously don't watch that much Glenn Beck. — This time Beck is taking shots at the titan of American capitalism …
Patrick / Now! Hampshire:
Poll: Guinta Gains on Shea-Porter after ‘Calamitous August’ — Manchester Mayor and Republican congressional candidate Frank Guinta has pulled within the margin of error against embattled incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, a new NowHampshire.com poll shows.
Scott Kraus / Morning Call:
A health care debate without ill will — Hoping to unseat Specter, Toomey and Sestak tackle hot-button issue in Allentown forum. — U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (right) shares a beer with former Congressman Pat Toomey at Allentown Bewworks after their health care forum held at Muhlenburg College on Wednesday.