Top Items:
New York Times:
Chicago Loses Bid for 2016 Olympic Games — COPENHAGEN — The International Olympic Committee delivered a stunning blow to Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics, knocking it out of the voting in the first round Friday, leaving Rio de Janeiro and Madrid waiting for the announcement which city will host the Games.
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Sam Lyon / BBC:
Live - 2016 Olympics decision day — (Not all contributions can be used; UK mobiles only; network rates apply) — 1635: We have a winner, people. No need for IOC president Jacque Rogge to use his vote and that means everyone - well, everyone except the Madrid and Rio delegates of course - can relax.
Michelle Malkin:
The noble “sacrifice” of Michelle Obama; Update: Chicago & Tokyo eliminated; Games over, prepare for recriminations — Scroll for updates... My column commemorates the noble Olympic “sacrifice” of the First Lady in Denmark. — Mrs. O's emotional pitch was supposed to bring tears to the eyes …
NBCSports.com:
Chicago shocked early, then Rio wins '16 Games — Lobbying by Obamas goes for naught as Windy City is first city eliminated — Oct. 2: Chicago is eliminated by the International Olympic Committee in early voting to host the 2016 games. NBC News reports. — COPENHAGEN - Finally, South America gets an Olympics.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
A defeat in Denmark — There's a reason the president is rarely dispatched to a summit whose outcome is uncertain. — And Chicago's elimination in the first round of voting has to raise questions about whether the White House was getting accurate information about how competitive this was from Chicago's Olympics organizers.
Discussion:
Townhall.com
CNN:
Rio de Janeiro to host 2016 Olympics — COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CNN) — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee announced Friday. — It is the first time South America will host an Olympics event.
Discussion:
Pam's House Blend
CNN:
Chicago-Rio Olympic battle ‘close as hell’ — COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CNN) — As First Lady Michelle Obama and talk show host Oprah Winfrey wrapped up a day of furious behind-the-scenes lobbying of International Olympic Committee members here, two sources close to the process tell CNN …
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Wizard of Beck — Let us take a trip back into history. Not ancient history. Recent history. It is the winter of 2007. The presidential primaries are approaching. The talk jocks like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and the rest are over the moon about Fred Thompson.
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The Huffington Post:
McCain Campaign Manager: Palin In 2012 Would Be Catastrophe for GOP — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — If Sarah Palin is her party's nominee for president in 2012 it will be a “catastrophic election” for the GOP, Sen. John McCain's 2008 campaign manager predicted on Friday.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Swamp, PERRspectives, Ben Smith's Blog, Don Surber, The Plum Line, George's Bottom Line, Wonkette and GOP 12
Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
McCain's mission: A GOP makeover — Fresh from a humbling loss in last year's presidential election, Sen. John McCain is working behind-the-scenes to reshape the Republican Party in his own center-right image. — McCain is recruiting candidates, raising money for them and hitting the campaign trail on their behalf.
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Steve Schmidt: Palin Would Be “Catastrophic” For GOPers in 2012 — Steve Schmidt, John McCain's former chief campaign strategist, said today that if former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin were to be the Republican nominee, it would be “catastrophic” for the Republican Party.
Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Former McCain Campaign Manager: Nominating Palin In 2012 Would Be ‘Catastrophic’
Former McCain Campaign Manager: Nominating Palin In 2012 Would Be ‘Catastrophic’
NY Daily News:
David Letterman reveals $2M extortion plot; CBS News producer busted in scheme to reveal sex secrets — A top CBS News producer was busted Thursday for trying to shake down David Letterman - threatening to expose the late-night funnyman's affairs with several female staffers in a movie and book.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Runnin' Scared, TMZ.com, TVNewser, Deadline.com, Gawker, Raw Story, TV Barn, Newsweek Blogs and The Other McCain
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Lynn Elber / Associated Press:
Letterman creates brilliant hour of TV from woes
Letterman creates brilliant hour of TV from woes
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, Sister Toldjah, ABCNEWS, American Power, Media Decoder, ArtsBeat, Gothamist and Neptunus Lex
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Mission Not Accomplished — Stocks are up. Ben Bernanke says that the recession is over. And I sense a growing willingness among movers and shakers to declare “Mission Accomplished” when it comes to fighting the slump. It's time, I keep hearing, to shift our focus from economic stimulus to the budget deficit.
Discussion:
EconLog, The Foundry, The Huffington Post, D-Day, Taylor Marsh, The Money Game and Economist's View
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Jack Healy / New York Times:
Jobless Report Is Worse Than Expected; Rate Rises to 9.8% — The American economy lost 263,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, the government reported on Friday, dimming the prospect of any meaningful job growth by the end of the year.
Conn Carroll / The Foundry:
The Vapor Bill - Congress' Secret Plan to Pass Obamacare - Update — President Barack Obama's push for a sweeping health care overhaul edged closer to a major victory in the Senate Finance Committee. Early next week, the Senate Finance Committee will vote on final passage on the “Vapor Bill” being debated and marked up in Committee.
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Steven F. Hayward / Washington Post:
Is Conservatism Brain-Dead? — Over his decades as a columnist, lecturer, TV host and debater, William F. Buckley Jr. lost his cool in public only once — when he threatened to sock Gore Vidal “in your goddamn face” on the third night of their joint appearances on ABC during the ill-fated 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Washington Sketch — Helen Thomas is 89 years old and requires some assistance to get to and from the daily White House briefing. Yet her backbone has proved stronger than that of the president she covers. — On Thursday afternoon, Thomas gave a clinic in fortitude to President Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, during the briefing.
Washington Post:
White House Considers Narrower War Effort in Afghanistan — Top Officials Challenge General's Assessment — Senior White House officials have begun to make the case for a policy shift in Afghanistan that would send few, if any, new combat troops to the country and instead focus …