Top Items:
Washington Post:
Obama's Afghan policy speech at West Point — Following is the transcript of President Obama's speech Tuesday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. (The Post's report on the president's address is here.) — Thank you. Please be seated. — Good evening.
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Live-Blogging West Point — 8.35 pm. “Not the deepest of fears but the highest of hopes.” — I confess I do not feel those highest hopes. I do not share his confidence in American military and civilian power to turn the roiling region of Afghanistan and Pakistan into something less threatening.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, The Politico, Politics Daily, CNN, Opinionator, AMERICAblog News and The Reaction
Paul / Power Line:
What I heard tonight — Earlier today I wondered whether President Obama's speech about Afghanistan would sound more like a description of a war plan or a structured settlement of a legal dispute. What I heard tonight tilted decidedly in the latter direction.
Spencer Ackerman / The Washington Independent:
McChrystal Praises Obama, Strategy Review — So much for the “dithering” critique. Here is a statement just released by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, expressing full support and confidence in President Obama and the weeks-long strategy review.
CNN:
Just In: Key Obama speech excerpts released — (CNN) - The White House just released excerpts of President Obama's prime-time televised speech where he will outline his strategy on Afghanistan.
William Kristol / PostPartisan:
A war president — In his Monday open letter/cri de coeur to the man he supported for president, Michael Moore asked Barack Obama: … Well, it is so. President Obama went to West Point, said it was an honor to be with young soldiers who embody what's finest about our country …
Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:
A Disappointing Speech in Support of the Right Policy
A Disappointing Speech in Support of the Right Policy
Discussion:
Commentary
Laura Rozen / Laura Rozen's Blog:
Obama at West Point: I do not make this decision lightly
Obama at West Point: I do not make this decision lightly
Discussion:
The Note
Associated Press:
UK climate scientist to temporarily step down — LONDON — Britain's University of East Anglia says the director of its prestigious Climatic Research Unit is stepping down pending an investigation into allegations that he overstated the case for man-made climate change.
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, The Paper Trail, EU Referendum, Commentary, Climate Progress, NewsBusters.org, The Jawa Report, Doug Ross and JammieWearingFool
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Douglas J. Keenan / Pajamas Media:
The Fraud Is Everywhere: SUNY Albany and Queens University Belfast …
The Fraud Is Everywhere: SUNY Albany and Queens University Belfast …
James Fallows:
In praise of George W. Bush — Since the results of the 2008 election became clear, the 43rd President of the United States has behaved in a way that brings honor to him, his family, his office, and his country. By all reports he did what he could to smooth the transition to his successor …
Discussion:
The Politico, pandagon.net, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Daniel W. Drezner, Daily Kos, Shakesville and TPMDC
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The Politico:
Cheney slams Obama for projecting ‘weakness’
Cheney slams Obama for projecting ‘weakness’
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, TPMDC, James Fallows, Associated Press, Laura Rozen's Blog, The Moderate Voice, The Swamp, Bloomberg, The Washington Independent, Daily Kos, Hot Air, The Awl, Another Black Conservative, Coop's Corner, Think Progress, The Hill, The Caucus, CNN, Washington Monthly, Washington Wire, Salon, The Greenroom, Washington Post, The New Republic, Weekly Standard, The Lonely Conservative, Megan McArdle, msnbc.com, Politics Daily, At-Largely, Wonkette, The Political Carnival, Michelle Malkin, democracyarsenal.org, Jack & Jill Politics, Boston Globe, The Plum Line, GOP 12, Wake up America, The Faster Times, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Taylor Marsh, The Note, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, ABCNEWS, Commentary, No More Mister Nice Blog and Hotline On Call
Hotline On Call:
Tanner To Retire — Rep. John Tanner (D-TN), a leading Blue Dog Dem, will retire at the end of his current term, Dem sources tell Hotline OnCall. — [UPDATE: Tanner released a statement late tonight confirming the news. “Betty Ann and I had considered retiring in 2007 at the end of the 110th Congress …
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
Obama lunches with top political writers — On the day of his major Afghanistan speech, President Obama had lunch with a group of top political writers at the White House, according to a source familiar with the lunch. — There were some attendees today who write extensively on foreign policy …
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative
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The Hill:
New public option plan — A new measure on the public option will be unveiled next week, which Senate Democratic leaders hope will break the logjam on healthcare reform. — Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who has been tapped by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to come up with a Plan B approach …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
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Christopher Soghoian / slight paranoia:
8 Million Reasons for Real Surveillance Oversight — Disclaimer: The information presented here has been gathered and analyzed in my capacity as a graduate student at Indiana University. This data was gathered and analyzed on my own time, without using federal government resources.
John Cook / Gawker:
A Bravo Contract Delivered White House Gatecrashers to the Today Show — NBC News didn't pay the Salahis for their exclusive Today appearance this morning. They didn't have to: According to rival bookers trying to land the Salahis, they already have a contract with Bravo preventing them from talking to anyone else.
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Megan McArdle:
ClimateGate III: The Mystery of the Missing Data — Over the weekend, I came in for some probably deserved criticism from Clive Crook over my initial, somewhat airy, reaction to ClimateGate. In my defense, he quotes my first post on the topic, not the follow up.
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Leaving the Right — It's an odd formulation in some ways as “the right” is not really a single entity. But in so far as it means the dominant mode of discourse among the institutions and blogs and magazines and newspapers and journals that support the GOP, Charles Johnson is absolutely right …
Max Blumenthal / Mondoweiss:
Gutsy progressive congressman Alan Grayson leads a double life — Since defeating an incumbent in Florida's Republican-heavy 8th congressional district last year, Rep. Alan Grayson has emerged as one of the progressive movement's most vocal champions. His attacks on Republican obstruction …
CODEPINK:
November 30, 2009 — There are news reports that on Decembers 1st, Obama will be at West Point to announce that he is sending tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan, this despite our rallies, vigils, petitions, phone calls and e-mails saying NO to MORE WAR.
Discussion:
Conventional Folly
Wall Street Journal:
FTC to Examine Possible Support of News Organizations — WASHINGTON -The head of the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday the agency will study whether government should aid struggling news organizations, which are suffering from a collapse in advertising revenues as the internet upends their centuries-old business model.
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Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
Journalism 2009: Desperate Metaphors, Desperate Revenue Models …
Journalism 2009: Desperate Metaphors, Desperate Revenue Models …
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Palin blasts media for bus tour stories — Sarah Palin fired back at the media today for a series of stories on her travel arrangements. — Over the last few days, several outlets have picked up on the story that Palin actually flew to some of the stops on her “bus tour.” (Here, here, and here, for example.)