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Today's Qs for O's WH - 10/20/2009 — From this morning's gaggle in White House press secretary Robert Gibbs' office: — Can you explain why it's appropriate for the White House to decide that a news organization is not one - — Gibbs: Jake, we render, we render an opinion based …
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE NON-EXISTENT LINE BETWEEN DAYTIME AND PRIMETIME.... For various media figures derisive of the White House's criticism of Fox News, there seems to be some confusion over the nature of the problem. — For much of the media establishment, Fox News and MSNBC are somehow bookends, one on the right; one on the left.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Gibbs's opinion — Tapper and Gibbs spar on the subject of Fox:
Gibbs's opinion — Tapper and Gibbs spar on the subject of Fox:
Discussion:
Commentary
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Morning Fix: A premature celebration for the GOP — Republicans in Washington can barely contain their glee at the turn of President Obama's political fortunes in the first nine months of the year but a new Washington Post/ABC News poll suggests the GOP still faces serious perception problems in the eyes of the American public.
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
WaPo/ABC poll uses skewed sample to show public-option support — My first clue that the new WaPo/ABC poll had big problems in its sampling came from question 38 of the raw data released by ABC last night, the generic Congressional ballot. Most polls have that within the margin of error; both Rasmussen and Pew have it at a dead heat.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake, The Plum Line, The Atlantic Politics Channel and Pundit & Pundette
Washington Post:
Most support public option for health insurance, poll finds
Most support public option for health insurance, poll finds
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, Firedoglake, Jules Crittenden, msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, The Plum Line, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, ABCNEWS, FiveThirtyEight, National Review, Matthew Yglesias, The Foundry, Behind the Numbers, AmSpecBlog, NOW! Blog, DailyFinance, Shakesville, QandO, Washington Monthly, Villainous Company, Daily Kos, Indecision Forever, Donklephant, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Think Progress, Obsidian Wings, TPMDC, The Daily Dish, The Confluence, George's Bottom Line, Blog entry, the albany project, Open Left, The ChamberPost and AMERICAblog News
John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Scozzafava Calls the Cops — Lowville, N.Y. — Tonight, Dede Scozzafava, the Republican candidate for the November 3 special election in the 23rd congressional district, spoke to about 100 Republicans at the Lewis County GOP dinner at the Elks Lodge 1605.
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William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
A Reporter Does His Job — My colleague John McCormack called me last night, as I was watching the Phillies-Dodgers game, from his car in a parking lot in Lowville, N.Y. He had attended a Scozzafava campaign event, tried to ask the candidate a few questions — and the Scozzafava campaign had called the police.
Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
Scozzafava's response to the Weekly Standard — Here's the Scozzafava campaign's response as to why they called the cops on a Weekly Standard reporter last night: — “Agree or not with Dede Scozzafava's positions, she should still be afforded a basic level of respect.
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Reid offers doctors a deal — The White House and Democratic leaders are offering doctors a deal: They'll freeze cuts in Medicare payments to doctors in exchange for doctors' support of healthcare reform. — At a meeting on Capitol Hill last week with nearly a dozen doctors groups …
Discussion:
The Politico, National Review, Ben Smith's Blog, Erick's blog, QandO, The Foundry, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Roll Call, Club for Growth, The Note and Hot Air
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Robert Bernstein / New York Times:
Rights Watchdog, Lost in the Mideast — AS the founder of Human Rights Watch, its active chairman for 20 years and now founding chairman emeritus, I must do something that I never anticipated: I must publicly join the group's critics. Human Rights Watch had as its original mission …
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Lenny Ben-David / Pajamas Media:
Showdown on J Street — Pointed questions for director Jeremy Ben-Ami before the new “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby's first big conference. — J Street's director, Jeremy Ben-Ami, published an open letter to Israel's Ambassador Michael Oren in the Jerusalem Post this week insisting …
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David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Financial Giants Donating Little to Obama Party — WASHINGTON — The Wall Street giants that received a financial lifeline from Washington may have no compunction about paying big bonuses to their dealmakers and traders. But their willingness to deliver “thank you” gifts to President Obama …
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David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:
Christie May Have Gotten Improper Aid — When news broke in August that the former United States attorney, Christopher J. Christie, had lent $46,000 to a top aide in the federal prosecutor's office, he said he was merely helping a friend in need. He also said the aide, Michele Brown …
Ben Conery / Washington Times:
Justice concludes black voters need Democratic Party — U.S. blocks N.C. city's nonpartisan vote — Voters in this small city decided overwhelmingly last year to do away with the party affiliation of candidates in local elections, but the Obama administration recently overruled the electorate …
Peter Hamby / CNN:
DeMint denounces op-ed with Jewish stereotype — WASHINGTON (CNN) - South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint is denouncing remarks by two Republican officials in his state that were published in a controversial weekend op-ed which included a Jewish stereotype. — The piece, written …
Discussion:
The State, Think Progress, Salon, Ben Smith's Blog, Talking Points Memo, Indecision Forever and Daily Kos
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CNN:
Karzai accepts Afghanistan election runoff — KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — Afghanistan is to hold a run off presidential election on November 7, it was announced Tuesday, as incumbent Hamid Karzai bowed to international pressure over claims of widespread vote fraud.
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Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Obama applauds Karzai's decision to participate in runoff
Obama applauds Karzai's decision to participate in runoff
Discussion:
The Nation
WorldNetDaily:
Traditional Americans are losing their nation — In the brief age of Obama, we have had “truthers,” “birthers,” tea party activists and town-hall dissenters. — Comes now, the “Oath Keepers.” And who might they be? — Writes Alan Maimon in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Oath Keepers …
David Rohde / New York Times:
‘You Have Atomic Bombs, but We Have Suicide Bombers.’ — A NERVOUS-LOOKING Pakistani soldier pointed a rocket-propelled grenade at our pickup truck in late January. The Taliban guard beside me loaded his rifle and ordered me to put a scarf over — my face.
CNN:
CNN Poll: Half the country disagrees with Obama on issues — WASHINGTON (CNN) - For the first time since he took over in the White House, Americans don't see eye to eye with President Barack on the important issues, according to a new national poll. But the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation …
Robert Travis Scott / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Vitter leads Melancon in latest poll on Senate race — A statewide opinion poll released today shows Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. David Vitter holds a double-digit lead in his 2010 re-election bid over Democratic challenger Rep. Charlie Melancon although he is short of a majority.
Nancy Dillon / NY Daily News:
Ex-Miss Cali owes us boob job payback: lawsuit — LOS ANGELES - Deposed beauty queen Carrie Prejean still owes $5,200 for breast implants floated by pageant organizers in January, a new lawsuit claims. — Ex-Miss California Carrie Prejean stiffed pageant organizer K2 Productions even though …