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 …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, Washington Examiner, The Huffington Post, DaTechguy's Blog, FP Passport, The Moderate Voice, The Washington Independent, Congress Matters, The Note, No More Mister Nice Blog, theblogprof, FiveThirtyEight, Outside The Beltway, Scared Monkeys, QandO, Another Black Conservative, Sister Toldjah, OpenSecrets.org, Wake up America, Gateway Pundit, Ruby Slippers, Online NewsHour, Des Moines Register, The Reaction, Open Congress and NO QUARTER
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
‘DROPPING LIKE FLIES’?.... Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is retiring. So is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). And before anyone could catch their breath, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) announced he's not seeking re-election, either. — It led ABC News to report that “Democrats are dropping like flies.”
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:
msnbc.com, Firedoglake, Washington Wire, Michael Calderone's Blog, Capital Gains and Games blogs, The Plum Line, Daily Kos, Top of the Ticket, Clusterstock, NPR Blogs, No More Mister Nice Blog, City Room, Hotline On Call, The Hill, Wonkette, MyDD, The Page, Swing State Project, The Reaction and Real Clear Politics
The Politico:
Top Democrats head for the exits — The grim outlook for Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections just got a little worse. — Four top Democrats—including veteran Sens. Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan—all prepared to pull the plug on their campaigns in a 24-hour period that began Tuesday …
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.
Breitbart.tv:
The C-SPAN Lie? See Eight Clips of Obama Promising Televised Healthcare Negotiations — “One of my jobs as President will be to guide this process...”
RELATED:
Jared Allen / The Hill:
Dems agree that House will take up, tweak Senate healthcare bill — House and Senate leaders have formally agreed to bypass a bicameral conference committee to merge two healthcare bills, and have opted to instead “ping-pong” the Senate bill over to the House and back again, according to House leadership aides.
Chris Frates / The Politico:
‘Forceful’ POTUS message: He wants a final bill that includes …
‘Forceful’ POTUS message: He wants a final bill that includes …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Arkansas News, Wonk Room and The Page
Ron Christie / Pundits Blog:
Amateur hour is over — Enough is enough. There was a time when the amateur hour that has characterized the behavior of the staff in the Obama White Hour over the past year could be chalked up to innocent inexperience. Now that behavior is nothing short of dangerous and President Barack Obama …
RELATED:
Natasha Mozgovaya / Haaretz:
Emanuel: U.S. fed up with Israel, Palestinians — White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently told the Israeli consul in Los Angeles that the Obama administration is fed up with both Israel and the Palestinians, Army Radio reported on Wednesday. — Emanuel met with Jacob Dayan …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE.... Rep. Pete King (R) of New York …
STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE.... Rep. Pete King (R) of New York …
Discussion:
Think Progress
Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blog:
Hoeven planning to run for the Senate — Republicans look like they've landed their top recruit in the North Dakota Senate race: Popular Gov. John Hoeven is letting his political allies know that he's preparing to run for the seat of retiring Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.)
RELATED:
Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:
Without a movement, progressives can't aid Obama's agenda — Every Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — has raised the hope that he would bring with him a new era of progressive reform. The legislative torrents of the New Deal and the Great Society …
Discussion:
The Corner on National …, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, The Mahablog and Prairie Weather
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Worst RNC cash flow in a decade — A 2009 spending spree has left the Republican National Committee (RNC) with its worst election-year cash flow this decade. — A 2009 spending spree has left the Republican National Committee (RNC) with its worst election-year cash flow this decade.
The Note:
DCCC Chief: ‘Couple More’ Retirements Possible — But No More Party Switchers — ABC News' Rick Klein reports: Despite a recent spike in retirements, top House Democrats say they're still confident that they'll avoid a “wave” of departures that would jeopardize their hold on Congress.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
RELATED:
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Boy, now he's in real trouble; Obama administration revokes U.S. visa of accused Nigerian bomber — Under the category of looks-like-about-12-days-too- late, the State Department has announced it is revoking the U.S. visa for suspected Nigerian underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
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.
CNN:
14 terror suspects mistakenly kill themselves — Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — Fourteen suspected terrorists died Tuesday night when the bus they rigged with explosives blew up prematurely, police said. — The explosion occurred as the suspects were riding the bus in the province of Kunduz, said police chief Abdul Raziq Yaqobi.
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 …
Jeff Richardson / Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
‘Frozen Gore’ sculpture returns in Fairbanks to fuel climate change debate — FAIRBANKS - In what might become an annual tradition, an ice sculpture of former Vice President Al Gore has taken its place in front of Thrifty Liquor along Airport Way. — The two-ton “Frozen Gore” sculpture isn't exactly a tribute.
ArkansasBusiness.com:
Blanche Lincoln Rips Nebraska Health Care Deal — LITTLE ROCK - U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln on Tuesday said a political deal that benefits Nebraska and may have clinched a lawmaker's support for health care legislation should be removed from the bill. — The Democratic senator from Arkansas …
Mark Leibovich / New York Times:
The First Senator From the Tea Party? — Charlie Crist's perma-tanned face bears none of the strain you would expect from the archetype of the embattled Republican. Politicians are supposed to keep up appearances, but Crist is especially convincing, one of the more earnest politicians you will see, whether or not he means it.
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blog
Jules Crittenden:
It's Pretty Bad ... When the local lefty broadsheet goes on jihad against the Liberal Lion's annointed successor, Martha Coakley, in the midst of said Lion's legacy health-care fight, the day after a leading pollster shows her opposition to be within pistol-shot in the race.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Boston Globe, Investors.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, DaTechguy's Blog and Confederate Yankee
David Ariosto / CNN:
Obama-Cuba honeymoon may be over — Havana, Cuba (CNN) — The cake has been cut. The guests have all gone home. And now, even the honeymoon may be over. — What began as a hopeful “new beginning” for U.S.-Cuba relations, as President Obama once put it, may be settling …
Discussion:
Riehl World View