Top Items:
Capitol Confidential / Big Government:
EXCLUSIVE: Transvestites, Mao And Obama Ornaments Decorate White House Christmas Tree — Why let a holiday season come between the White House and making some political statements? The White House pegged controversial designer Simon Doonan to oversee the Christmas decorations for the White House.
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Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Change... Obama Now More Loathed Than Bush at End of His Second Term — A Good Solid B+ — Barack Obama's approval index number dropped to a new low today. — Rasmussen reported: … At the end of his second term President George W. Bush had a 43% disapproval rating.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway, Scared Monkeys, Power Line, WILLisms.com, The Lonely Conservative, Commentary, YID With LID and Hot Air
The Politico:
Obama plans for health care delay, new jobs bill — The White House privately anticipates health care talks to slip into February — past President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address — and then plans to make a “very hard pivot” to a new jobs bill, according to senior administration officials.
Discussion:
Hot Air
Mike Allen / The Politico:
SIREN: White House plans ‘very hard pivot to jobs’ next month — will be ‘prescriptive’ — Health reform NOT expected to pass before SOTU, but opponents concede it's ‘when’ not ‘if’ — BREAKING — AP's Glen Johnson, in Boston: “Teresa Heinz says she is being treated for breast cancer discovered …
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Plan to Move Guantánamo Detainees Faces a New Delay — WASHINGTON — Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantánamo Bay prison.
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The Note:
Lyndon Baines Reid: A Moment of Triumph, but How Long Will It Last? — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — Say what you want about the health care bill, but Harry Reid is about to complete a task of LBJ proportions. And Lyndon Johnson never had to corral 60 Senators for one vote during a blizzard.
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THE PUBLIC OPTION'S HISTORY, REVISITED.... President Obama sat down with the Washington Post's Scott Wilson on Tuesday, and reflected on the successes of 2009. The president pointed to accomplishments that “in a normal legislative year would be considered really big achievements” …
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Scott Wilson / Washington Post:Obama lists financial rescue as ‘most important thing’ of his first year
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Political Punch, Taylor Marsh, Wake up America, Politics Daily, Jules Crittenden, The Caucus, AMERICAblog News, QandO, NO QUARTER, The Politico, The Radio Equalizer, The Moderate Voice, The Political Carnival, Video Cafe's feed, The Agonist, IntoxiNation, Federal Eye, DownWithTyranny!, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Truthdig, The Washington Independent and Hit & Run
Ezra Klein:
In praise of the Nelson deal — Ben Nelson is getting a lot of blowback for the deal he struck exempting Nebraska from paying for its Medicaid expansion. But though it was his deal, it wasn't his preference. It was Harry Reid's. And Reid made the right decision.
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Michael Gerson / Washington Post:For Sale: One senator (D-Neb.) No principles, low price.
Discussion:
James Fallows
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
After quiet first months, Franken's sharp tongue emerges in Senate — Al Franken, the Democrat from Minnesota who won election to the Senate after a successful career as a comic and author, has begun to show the sharp-tongued side of his personality by ripping into GOP staffers behind the scenes.
Los Angeles Times:
Schwarzenegger to seek federal help for California budget — Facing another huge deficit, the governor wants $8 billion or threatens massive cuts in social services. He also plans to renew push for offshore oil drilling. — Reporting from Sacramento - Facing a budget deficit of more than $20 billion …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Cornyn: Conservatives ‘have to yield’ to reality in Senate races — Conservative primary voters “have to yield” to reality, Senate Republicans' campaign chairman said Wednesday. — Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) …
Matt Jaffe / ABCNEWS:
Geithner: Health Care Bill Good for the Long Haul — Treasury Chief Says Pork Deals in Bill Are Small Price to Pay — Americans should not lose sight of the benefits of the pending health care reform bill by focusing on the back room deals made by lawmakers to vote in favor of the bill …
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Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
When legerdemain is used to pass an unpopular bill — Senior Political Analyst — It's time to blow the whistle on two erroneous statements that opponents and proponents of the health care legislation being jammed through Congress have been making. Republicans have been saying that never …
Gryphen / The Immoral Minority:
BANNED!! Making it on Sarah Palin's enemies list. Update! — Today was the last day of Sarah Palin's book tour. — And it was to be held in the “picturesque” town of Wasilla, at the Curtis C. Menard Memorial Sports Center. — How could I miss it? — So Dennis Zaki and I loaded …
Discussion:
Anchorage Daily News, Gawker, The Huffington Post, Mediaite, Politicususa.com, The Political Carnival and Riehl World View
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Robert Byrd back in form for Senate health-care vote — Since Robert C. Byrd arrived in the Senate in 1959, the senior senator from West Virginia has cast more than 18,500 votes. — Byrd has orchestrated and witnessed maneuvering. He has presided over the shortest session in Senate history …
Joel Kotkin / Newgeography.com:
The Green Movement's People Problem — The once unstoppable green machine lost its mojo at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. After all its laboring and cajoling, the movement at the end resembled not a powerful juggernaut but a forlorn lover wondering why his date never showed up.
Discussion:
RedState
Mark Lynas / Guardian:
How do I know China wrecked the climate deal? I was in the room — As recriminations fly post-Copenhagen, one writer offers a fly-on-the-wall account of how talks failed — • Ed Miliband: China tried to hijack climate deal — • The key players and how they rated — Copenhagen was a disaster.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Atlas Shrugs, James Fallows, AMERICAblog News, Pajamas Media and marbury
Richard A. Epstein / Wall Street Journal:
Harry Reid Turns Insurance Into a Public Utility — The health bill creates a massive cash crunch and then bankruptcies for many insurers. — Printer — Friendly — As Harry Reid's 2,000 page health-care bill is being rammed through the Senate, most of the public debate has been focused …
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Republicans favored in Kentucky — Barack Obama's approval rating in Kentucky is only 35%. Support for his health care plan is just 28%. 56% of voters in the state think that Congressional Democrats are too liberal and only 26% have a favorable opinion of them.
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Why I Went on Fox and Friends — I notice there is a diary up on Daily Kos attacking me for going on Fox & Friends. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't say what I actually said: — In 2000, the Republicans passed Medicare Part D, and it had no negotiation for prescription drug prices.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice, Coop's Corner, Political Byline, Daily Kos and American Power
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William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:Biggest Defection of The Day (That You Never Heard About)
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