Top Items:
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
The GOP Is Winning the Health-Care Debate — Gallup says independents now favor Republicans by nine points. — Printer — Friendly — Passing health-care reform could be harmful to the health of congressional Democrats. — Just look at how President Barack Obama's standing has fallen as he has pushed for reform.
Discussion:
National Review, The Mahablog, The Strata-Sphere, Commentary, George's Bottom Line, Jezebel, Gateway Pundit and The Note
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Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Left claims 218 in sight — Liberal told House Democrats that they have nearly enough votes to pass their preferred version of health insurance reform. — Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told a closed-door caucus meeting that the group's …
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
THERE IS NO BAUCUS BILL — The internet is alive with the sound …
THERE IS NO BAUCUS BILL — The internet is alive with the sound …
Douglas Elmendorf / Director's Blog:
Preliminary Analysis of the Senate Finance Committee Chairman's Mark As Amended
Preliminary Analysis of the Senate Finance Committee Chairman's Mark As Amended
Discussion:
WhiteHouse.gov Blog, Wonk Room, The Confluence, The Politico, Another Black Conservative, The Atlantic Business Channel, Sister Toldjah, The New Republic, The Greenroom, Townhall.com, Ruby Slippers, Ezra Klein, On Deadline, Capitol Briefing, Hit & Run, Weekly Standard, Open Congress, QandO, Washington Monthly, The Foundry, Left in the West, Politics Daily, TPMDC and The American Scene
Ezra Klein:
Meet the New Health-Care System, Not That Different From the Old Health-Care System
Meet the New Health-Care System, Not That Different From the Old Health-Care System
Discussion:
National Review, THE WEEK News & Opinion, Greg's Opinion, Liberal Values, Time and Democratic Strategist
Rajiv Chandrasekaran / Washington Post:
Civilian, Military Officials at Odds Over Resources Needed for Afghan Counterinsurgency — In early March, after weeks of debate across a conference table in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the participants in President Obama's strategic review of the war in Afghanistan figured …
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New York Times:
Afghan War Debate Now Leans to Focus on Al Qaeda — WASHINGTON — President Obama's national security team is moving to reframe its war strategy by emphasizing the campaign against Al Qaeda in Pakistan while arguing that the Taliban in Afghanistan do not pose a direct threat to the United States, officials said Wednesday.
Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:
Army Officers Criticize Rebuke of Gen. McChrystal
Army Officers Criticize Rebuke of Gen. McChrystal
Discussion:
Commentary
David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:
Corzine Points a Spotlight at His Rival's Waistline — It is about as subtle as a playground taunt: a television ad for Gov. Jon S. Corzine shows his challenger, Christopher J. Christie, stepping out of an S.U.V. in extreme slow motion, his extra girth moving, just as slowly, in several different directions at once.
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The Huffington Post:
Dems Discussing Public Option With Opt-Out Clause: The Silver Bullet? — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Senate Democrats have begun discussions on a compromise approach to health care reform that would establish a robust, national public option for insurance coverage but give individual states the right to opt out of the program.
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE UNAMBIGUOUS MEANING OF A CROSS.... Thee U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in a case called Buono v. Salazar, the year's big church-state case. The controversy surrounds a large white, wooden cross, built to honor the war dead of World War I, given special congressional status on federal land.
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Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Washington Sketch: A Cross in the Desert
Washington Sketch: A Cross in the Desert
Discussion:
New York Times, Flopping Aces, SCOTUSblog, Los Angeles Times, Prairie Weather and Associated Press
Quinnipiac University:
American Voters Oppose Obama Health Care Plan, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; GOP Gets Lowest Grades Since Obama Elected — American voters oppose 47 - 40 percent President Barack Obama's health care reform plan, and don't want an overhaul that only gets Democratic votes …
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Steve Farley / PennLive.com:
Gun-toting soccer mom is shot dead … Meleanie Hain, the pistol-carrying Lebanon mom who received national attention for taking a loaded gun to her daughter's soccer game, was shot to death Wednesday night with her husband in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.
Discussion:
Whiskey Fire
Barb Shelly / Midwest Voices:
Bob Dole outs naysayer Mitch McConnell — Bob Dole supports health care reform. — “This is one of the most important measures members of Congress will vote on in their lifetimes,” the former Republican Senate majority leader and presidential candidate told an audience in Kansas City today.
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Tony Romm / The Hill:
Boehner, Bunning: Post bills, committee work online
Boehner, Bunning: Post bills, committee work online
Discussion:
Sunlight Foundation
David Aaronovitch / Times of London:
American troops in Afghanistan losing heart, say army chaplains — Martin Fletcher at Forward Operating Base in Wardak province, Afghanistan — American soldiers serving in Afghanistan are depressed and deeply disillusioned, according to the chaplains of two US battalions that have spent nine months …
New York Times:
In First Lady's Roots, a Complex Path From Slavery — WASHINGTON — In 1850, the elderly master of a South Carolina estate took pen in hand and painstakingly divided up his possessions. Among the spinning wheels, scythes, tablecloths and cattle that he bequeathed to his far-flung heirs …
Rachel D'Oro / Associated Press:
Father of Palin's grandson to pose for Playgirl — ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Levi Johnston is going for the ultimate exposure—his bare body. — Posing nude for Playgirl is next for the 19-year-old father of Sarah Palin's grandchild. Johnston's attorney, Rex Butler …
Discussion:
PoliBlog, Another Black Conservative, Taegan Goddard's …, Gateway Pundit, Liberal Values, Weasel Zippers and Daily Pundit
Wall Street Journal:
Intelligence Fiasco Footnote — The authors of the 2007 Iran NIE have some explaining to do. — Printer — Friendly — When it comes to politicized intelligence in the Bush years, the critics may finally have a point. Perhaps the work of America's intelligence agencies was manipulated …
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Burr looking better — There is probably no politician in the country whose fate better exemplifies the shift in the national political climate over the last four months than Richard Burr. — His approval this month comes in at a very mediocre 36% with an almost equal 35% disapproving of his work in the Senate.
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
ROMAN POLANSKI BACKERS GAVE $34K TO BARACK OBAMA, DNC — Movie industry types calling for the release of director Roman Polanski last year gave $34,000 to Obama's presidential campaign and the Democratic Party, FEC records show. — Polanski's arrest late last month by Swiss authorities …
Discussion:
BuzzFlash.org
Daily Mail:
Thugs attack two transvestites... who turn out to be cage fighters wearing fancy dress — Two thugs who attacked what they thought were a pair of transvestites picked on the wrong men - when their intended victims turned out to be cage fighters on a night out in fancy dress.
Discussion:
The Corner on National …, Gateway Pundit, Pundit & Pundette, Moe Lane, #gay and JammieWearingFool