Top Items:
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Chris Dodd to step aside — Embattled Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) has scheduled a press conference at his home in Connecticut Wednesday at which he is expected to announce he will not seek re-election, according to sources familiar with his plans. — Dodd's retirement comes after months …
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Justin Kitsch / Byron L. Dorgan:
STATEMENT BY U.S. SENATOR BYRON DORGAN — “Representing North Dakota in the U.S. Congress for nearly 30 years has been one of the great privileges of my life. — “The work I have been able to do to expand our economy, create new opportunities in energy and water development …
Discussion:
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Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Harold Ford Jr. Weighs a Challenge to Gillibrand — Encouraged by a group of influential New York Democrats, Harold Ford Jr., the former congressman from Tennessee, is weighing a bid to unseat Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand in this fall's Democratic primary, according to three people who have spoken with him.
Discussion:
Clusterstock, The Page, Taylor Marsh, MyDD, Swing State Project, TBogg, Hullabaloo, The Lonely Conservative and The Corner on National …
The Note:
Democrats are Dropping Like Flies — ABC News' David Chalian Reports: Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado, who was in for a tough reelection fight this year, canceled a scheduled fundraiser this evening and has decided not to seek reelection, according to Democratic sources familiar with the governor's plans.
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Senator Dodd Will Not Seek Re-election, Democrats Say — WASHINGTON — Senator Christopher J. Dodd, the embattled Connecticut Democrat who was facing an increasingly tough bid for a sixth term in the Senate, has decided to step aside and not seek re-election, Democrats familiar with his plans said Wednesday.
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd won't seek reelection, will retire at end of term — Embattled Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday at which he is expected to announce he will not seek reelection, sources familiar with his plans said Tuesday night.
Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
In shocker, Dorgan announces retirement — Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced this evening that he's retiring at the end of his term, a shocking development that threatens Democratic control of his Senate seat next year. — Dorgan was up for re-election in 2010, but the third-term senator …
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Dorgan to retire — North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan will not run for re-election later this year, creating a major pickup opportunity for Republicans. — “After a lot of thought I have made the very difficult decision that I will not be seeking reelection in 2010, ” …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Scorecard's Blog, JustOneMinute, FiveThirtyEight, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos and Pajamas Media
Daniela Altimari / Hartford Courant:
Sen. Christopher Dodd Will Not Seek Reelection — Connecticut Senator Dodd Bows Out Of Race — Democratic U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, a 30-year incumbent who has been struggling in public opinion polls for more than a year, plans to announce today he will not seek reelection.
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Ritter Dropping Out in Colorado — A source tells Political Wire that Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) is ending his re-election campaign. A fundraiser scheduled for tonight was canceled and all campaign staff was sent home in the middle of the day. — The decision does not appear …
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Colorado Governor Ritter to retire — Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) will not seek a second term this fall, according to Democratic sources briefed on his decision. — Ritter, elected in a landslide in 2006, had seen his political fate dip considerably in the intervening years …
Telegraph:
Pressure on Barack Obama to reveal what Britain said about Detroit bomber — Barack Obama is under pressure to disclose what information MI5 passed to the American authorities about the Detroit bomber after Downing Street disclosed that a file had been “shared” with the CIA in 2008.
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Sam Youngman / The Hill:
The FBI got ‘usable, actionable’ intel from terrorism suspect
The FBI got ‘usable, actionable’ intel from terrorism suspect
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
OH SNAP! Pelosi On Obama: ‘There Were A Number Of Things He Was For On The Campaign Trail’ — Speaker Nancy Pelosi had little to say this afternoon at a press conference following a meeting between House leaders and health care principals. She and other members acknowledged that a number …
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The Politico:
Pelosi swipes at Obama's promises — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, piqued with White House pressure to accept the Senate health reform bill, threw a rare rhetorical elbow at President Barack Obama Tuesday, questioning his commitment to his 2008 campaign promises. — A leadership aide said it was no accident.
Publius / Big Government:
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Military Blogger Michael Yon Detained, Handcuffed by TSA in Seattle Airport — Award winning war correspondent Michael Yon was detained and handcuffed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Yesterday by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel.
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Breaking: Michael Yon arrested at Seattle airport — Thank goodness our Homeland Security people are on the job after the EunuchBomber botched attack on Christmas Day. We certainly don't want to have independent war correspondents passing through our airports without revealing their annual income:
Michelle Malkin:
Airline security idiocy of the day: Milblogger Michael Yon …
Airline security idiocy of the day: Milblogger Michael Yon …
Discussion:
Think Progress, Bookworm Room, Ruby Slippers, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction, Liberal Values, The Jawa Report, QandO, Newshoggers.com, Gothamist, NY Daily News, The Lonely Conservative, MyFox New York, Outside The Beltway, Pajamas Media, Mudville Gazette, Moonbattery, Gateway Pundit and JammieWearingFool
Igor / Wonk Room:
The Case Against Allowing C-SPAN Cameras Into Health Reform Negotiations — C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb is challenging Democrats to keep their campaign promise and “open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media.”
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Tom Bevan / Real Clear Politics:
Obama's C-Span Problem
Obama's C-Span Problem
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Pundit & Pundette, The Politico, The Confluence, Commentary, TRAIL BLAZERS, Power Line and Weekly Standard
Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:
Palin: It's War, not a Crime Spree — A strong statement from the People's Governor:
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Why Didn't He Just Blow Himself Up In The Toilet? — A reader asks a very interesting question about the undie-bomber - why did he get back into his seat to detonate a bomb that had a ramshackle detonator and where he could be overcome by fellow travelers? Read the whole email:
Discussion:
Liberal Values, Winds of Change.NET, Jay Bookman, PrairiePundit, Riehl World View and marbury
William J. Broad / New York Times:
Iran Shielding Its Nuclear Efforts in Maze of Tunnels — Last September, when Iran's uranium enrichment plant buried inside a mountain near the holy city of Qum was revealed, the episode cast light on a wider pattern: Over the past decade, Iran has quietly hidden an increasingly large part …
Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
U.S. Saw a Path to Qaeda Chiefs Before Bombing — WASHINGTON — Before detonating a suicide bomb in Afghanistan last week, a Jordanian militant was considered by American spy agencies to be the most promising informant in years about the whereabouts of Al Qaeda's top leaders …
Michael Kinsley / The Atlantic Online:
Cut This Story! — ONE REASON SEEKERS of news are abandoning print newspapers for the Internet has nothing directly to do with technology. It's that newspaper articles are too long. On the Internet, news articles get to the point. Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions …
Discussion:
ATTACKERMAN, Guardian, Felix Salmon, Riehl World View, Outside The Beltway, Hullabaloo and Ezra Klein
Abby Goodnough / New York Times:
For Cape Cod Wind Farm, New Hurdle Is Spiritual — BOSTON — In a new setback for a controversial wind farm proposed off Cape Cod, the National Park Service announced Monday that Nantucket Sound was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, guaranteeing further delays for the project.
Peter Allen / Daily Mail:
France to introduce new law banning ‘psychological violence’ in marriages — France will become the first country in the world to ban ‘psychological violence’ within marriage later this year. — The new law, which would also apply to co-habiting couples, would see people getting criminal records …
UnionLeader.com:
Granite Status: Newt set for NH return; Kuster raises big bucks — GINGRICH IN NH. With his profile and penchant for controversy as high as ever, Newt Gingrich will return to New Hampshire for the first time in nearly three years at the end of the month. — The Granite Status has learned …
Clusterstock:
CHART OF THE DAY: How The Government Payroll Replaced Goods-Producing Jobs — In the just-so story of the evolution of our economy, our old manufacturing based economy has been replaced by an innovative knowledge economy. That's not quite true. — In fact, the decline of the jobs …
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Paul takes aim at Cheney — (CNN) - Dick Cheney is taking criticism from at least one member of his own party over the former vice president's recent and persistent criticisms of the Obama administration's handling of national security issues. — Ron Paul, the Texas congressman …
Discussion:
LewRockwell.com Blog