Top Items:
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Lieberman Rules Out Voting for Health Bill — WASHINGTON — In a surprise setback for Democratic leaders, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, said on Sunday that he would vote against the health care legislation in its current form. — The bill's supporters had said earlier …
Discussion:
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Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
W.H. to Reid: Cut deal with Lieberman — The White House is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and eliminate the proposed Medicare expansion in the health reform bill, according to an official close to the negotiations.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Taegan Goddard's …, The Washington Independent, Hullabaloo and AMERICAblog News
The Huffington Post:
81% Of Dems Want Lieberman Punished For Health Care Filibuster — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — More than 80 percent of Democrats say they believe Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) should be stripped of his powerful chairmanship in the Senate if he ends up supporting a Republican filibuster of health care reform, according to a new poll.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Welcome to the Lieberman Administration — Looks like Joe Lieberman decided to try for the old double-cross and say he now opposes the Medicare expansion compromise he'd hinted he would support. Lieberman wants no public option, no trigger that might create a public option …
Ezra Klein:
Joe Lieberman: Let's not make a deal! — The Huffington Post and Roll Call are both reporting that Joe Lieberman notified Harry Reid that he will filibuster health-care reform if the final bill includes an expansion of Medicare. Previously, Lieberman had been cool to the idea …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Dish, The New Republic, PostPartisan, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Huffington Post, Hullabaloo, NewsBusters.org, Michelle Malkin, TPMDC, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars, AmSpecBlog, msnbc.com, pandagon.net, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!, The Plum Line, Taylor Marsh, Gateway Pundit, The Political Carnival, AMERICAblog News, MyDD, The Incidental Economist, Suburban Guerrilla, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Indecision Forever
Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:
Pong, You're Dead: The Dems' Secret Weapon — Sudden Victory: People in the know in Washington appear to have already considered and dismissed the “ping pong” option—the possibility that if the Senate finally passes a compromise health care bill, Pelosi's House might simply vote “yes” …
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Looming Murder/Suicide of the Democratic Majority — Greg Sargent offers us a fascinating polling tidbit “A new national poll finds that fully one third of Democratic voters say that they're ‘less likely’ to vote in 2010 if Congress doesn't pass a public option, underscoring the possibility …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Poll: One Third Of Dems Less Likely To Vote In 2010 If Public Option Dies — This is striking: A new national poll finds that fully one third of Democratic voters say that they're “less likely” to vote in 2010 if Congress doesn't pass a public option, underscoring the possibility that dropping …
Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Joe Lieberman Not The Man He Used To Be On Medicare Buy-In
Joe Lieberman Not The Man He Used To Be On Medicare Buy-In
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Talking Points Memo, The Plum Line and Open Left
Jill Lawrence / Politics Daily:
Podesta: Democrats Will Pass Health Bill With or Without Lieberman
Podesta: Democrats Will Pass Health Bill With or Without Lieberman
Discussion:
Swampland
Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:
Senate disputes threaten 2009 passage of health-care bill
Senate disputes threaten 2009 passage of health-care bill
Discussion:
Reuters, Pundits Blog, CNN, New York Times, USA Today, CBS News and ChattahBox News Blog
David Carr / New York Times:
Under Murdoch, Tilting Rightward at The Journal — Sunday was the second anniversary of the sale of The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. At that time, a chorus of journalism church ladies (I was among them) warned that one of the crown jewels of American journalism …
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Wall Street Journal:
The ‘Cost Control’ Bill of Goods — How Peter Orszag and the White House sold a health-care illusion. — Printer — Friendly — ObamaCare's core promise—better quality care for everyone at lower costs—is being exposed as an illusion as it degenerates into the raw exercise of political power.
Catherine Philp / Times of London:
Secret document exposes Iran's nuclear trigger — Confidential intelligence documents obtained by The Times show that Iran is working on testing a key final component of a nuclear bomb. — The notes, from Iran's most sensitive military nuclear project, describe a four-year plan to test …
Richard Black / BBC:
Climate talks row sees negotiations ‘suspended’ — Negotiations at the UN climate summit have been suspended after developing countries withdrew their co-operation. — Delegations were angry at what they saw as moves by the Danish host government to sideline talks on more emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol.
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Kleinheider / Post Politics:
This Is Huge: Rep. Bart Gordon Will Not Run For Re-Election — Boom goes the press release: … There really isn't anyway to spin as anything but bad for Democrats. Whatever their reasons, the retirement of both John Tanner and Bart Gordon mean that only two years before redistricting …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Disaster and Denial — When I first began writing for The Times, I was naïve about many things. But my biggest misconception was this: I actually believed that influential people could be moved by evidence, that they would change their views if events completely refuted their beliefs.
Ezra Klein:
The 150,000-life health-care plan — By now, you're probably used to hearing about the $900 billion health-care bill. But what about the 150,000-life health-care bill? — Oddly, that label hasn't made its way into the conversation. But it is, if anything, a conservative estimate.
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The Politico:
Banks: We'll ‘step up now’ — Facing White House pressure to increase lending, bank CEOs plan to tell President Barack Obama in a meeting on Monday that they are ready to “step up” and take additional steps to promote economic recovery, industry officials tell POLITICO.
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New York Times:
Citigroup Says It Has Reached a Deal to Repay Bailout Funds
Citigroup Says It Has Reached a Deal to Repay Bailout Funds
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Politics Daily, The New Republic, USA Today, Think Progress, Associated Press, Credit Writedowns, Gothamist and The Page
Elizabeth Williamson / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Slams ‘Fat Cat’ Bankers
Obama Slams ‘Fat Cat’ Bankers
Discussion:
CBS News, ABCNEWS, Washington Post, Political Punch, The Note, Time, naked capitalism and New York Times
David Hinckley / NY Daily News:
President Obama tells Oprah Winfrey: I deserve a B+ for my first 11 months in White House — President Obama told Oprah Winfrey on Sunday night he gives himself a “good, solid B-plus” for his first 11 months in the Oval Office. — On what was billed as Oprah's “White House Christmas Special …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, Political Punch, Corrente, JammieWearingFool, Sister Toldjah and Gateway Pundit
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Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Did AmeriCorps official lie about possible First Lady link to IG firing? — Congressional investigators looking into the abrupt firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin have discovered that the head of AmeriCorps met with a top aide to First Lady Michelle Obama the day before Walpin was removed.
Charles Lane / Washington Post:
Charles Lane on job-killers that should be killed — With unemployment stuck around 10 percent, President Obama has pledged “to take every responsible step to accelerate the pace of job growth.” Here's a thought: Instead of trying to “create” jobs by tweaking this tax break or increasing …