Top Items:
Susan Page / USA Today:
National security adviser: Airline bomber report to ‘shock’ — WASHINGTON — White House national security adviser James Jones says Americans will feel “a certain shock” when they read an account being released Thursday of the missed clues that could have prevented the alleged Christmas Day bomber from ever boarding the plane.
Discussion:
Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Strata-Sphere, The Lonely Conservative, Commentary, NPR Blogs, Scared Monkeys, Guardian, The Washington Independent, Cafe Hayek, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, GINA COBB, Top of the Ticket, Mudville Gazette, Taylor Marsh, Breitbart.tv, Raw Story, The Hill, Riehl World View, Weasel Zippers, TPM LiveWire and Political Punch
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James Gordon Meek / NY Daily News:
NCTC director Michael Leiter remained on ski slopes after Christmas Day airline bombing attempt — WASHINGTON - The top official in charge of analyzing terror threats did not cut short his ski vacation after the underwear bomber nearly blew up an airliner on Christmas Day, the Daily News has learned.
Sebastian Rotella / Los Angeles Times:
U.S. learned intelligence on airline attack suspect while he was en route — U.S. border enforcement officials discovered alleged extremist links in a database while the suspect was headed to Detroit on Christmas Day, new disclosures show. — Reporting from Washington …
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
The Leiter They Are, The Quicker They Fall?
The Leiter They Are, The Quicker They Fall?
Discussion:
FrumForum
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Conservatives Finish 2009 as No. 1 Ideological Group — Uptick owing largely to more independents calling themselves conservative — PRINCETON, NJ — The increased conservatism that Gallup first identified among Americans last June persisted throughout the year, so that the final year-end …
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The Note:
Steele Lashes Out: Critics Should ‘Get a Life,’ ‘Shut Up,’ ‘Fire Me ... or Get out of the Way’ — ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Rick Klein report: RNC Chairman Michael Steele is lashing out his critics, with a series of blunt messages for prominent Republicans who have blasted him over his leadership for the Republican Party.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Taegan Goddard's …, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, The Page, TPM LiveWire and Wonkette
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Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
Steele's side pursuits drive away big donors — Book tour, speeches seen as distractions — Some wealthy contributors are shunning the Republican National Committee and donating instead to the other GOP campaign committees or directly to candidates - in many cases because of discontent …
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2010: Colorado Governor — With Ritter Stepping Down, Democratic Prospects Improve in Colorado — Now that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has said he will step down rather than run for reelection, Democrats may be more competitive in this year's gubernatorial race.
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Hugh Son / Bloomberg:
Geithner's New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure — Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, then led by Timothy Geithner, told American International Group Inc. to withhold details from the public about the bailed-out insurer's payments to banks during the depths …
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David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Carlson Launches Right's Answer to HuffPost — The offices of The Daily Caller evoke a long-ago era of journalism, circa 2005 or 2006, before the Los Angeles Times closed its big-city bureaus, The Washington Times fired 60 percent of its staff, and magazines from Gourmet to Portfolio shuttered for lack of revenue.
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Paul: Tea parties won't rebuild GOP — Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said Wednesday night that despite the groundswell of grassroots conservative energy, the tea party movement is not likely to revive the Republican Party. — “I don't think you can talk about the tea party as a party,” …
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David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Is Palin Getting $100,000 to Speak at the Tea Party National Convention?
Is Palin Getting $100,000 to Speak at the Tea Party National Convention?
Gregg Levine / Firedoglake:
Cadillac Flip Flop: Obama Was Against Health Plan Tax Before He Was For It — In a video that rings so true it hurts, Lee Stranahan-a former Obama supporter-gives us the aspiring president's own speech. Only a month before the 2008 election, Obama makes it plain just how bad an idea the …
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Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Hayworth Gearing Up For Senate Race — Ex-Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) is seriously exploring a bid against Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), according to sources with knowledge of his plans. — Hayworth has been in touch with consultants to gauge their interest in working for his potential candidacy …
Michelle Malkin:
The anti-Prop. 8 mob strikes again — Judicial activism + far Left radical activism = Courtroom intimidation. — Yesterday, liberal California Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued an unprecedented ruling that will put the trial involving a challenge to the Prop. 8 same-sex marriage ban on YouTube.
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Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle:
Prop. 8 trial will be shown on YouTube
Prop. 8 trial will be shown on YouTube
Discussion:
Bench Memos …
Daniel Trotta / Reuters:
Goodbye kiss provoked Newark airport scare: report — NEW YORK (Reuters) - The security scare that shut Newark airport for hours and delayed thousands of passengers was caused by a man who slipped into a secure area to give a woman one last goodbye kiss, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
Discussion:
Althouse
Jodi Kantor / New York Times:
Abortion Foe Defies Party on Health Care Bill — MENOMINEE, Mich. — Representative Bart Stupak often endures things others find unbearable. He crisscrosses a Congressional district so vast that some constituents live eight hours apart and so cold that the beer at his beloved football games sometimes freezes.
Stephen Adams / Telegraph:
Snow covers Britain from head to toe — As if dusted with icing sugar, this satellite image of Britain shows the full extent of the snow coverage affecting the country. — From head to toe there is barely a patch of land not blanketed by the heaviest snowfall in 50 years.
Charles Lane / PostPartisan:
Dick Morris sees two parties. I see four. — I can't remember a more breathtaking 48 hours in politics since Barack Obama's election in November 2008. Byron Dorgan is out; Chris Dodd is out; Bill Ritter is out. Who would have thought that just one year into Obama's promising presidency …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, AmSpecBlog, Swampland, The Moderate Voice, Commentary and Liberal Values
SEIU:
An Open Letter to President Barack Obama and Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in Support of Strong Affordability and Coverage Provisions in Final Health Reform Legislation — Dear President Obama and Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives:
Bob Barr / The Barr Code:
Critics of Obama way off base on this one — Yes — the not-so-bright, would-be terrorist from Nigeria got though international and domestic security mechanisms supposed to have stopped him long before the jerk lit his underwear afire before landing in Detroit.
Discussion:
msnbc.com
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Ellen Malcolm Flees Emily's List — For a lot of reasons, I believe that electoral support with no lobbying arm is a flawed advocacy model. But there's no denying that Ellen Malcolm was a superb fundraiser who built Emily's List into a powerful support network for pro-choice female candidates.
Gail Collins / New York Times:
Oh, Byron, We Hardly Knew Ye — Senator Byron Dorgan is retiring! I know this comes as a shock to you, people. Also Senator Chris Dodd! We are only one week into the new year, and the political world is in turmoil. It's a wonder we can continue on with our regular duties.
The Huffington Post:
Todd Harris, GOP Strategist, DECIMATED By Chris Matthews (VIDEO) — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — What have the Republicans done for America lately? Or in the past couple decades? — That's what Chris Matthews pressed Republican strategist Todd Harris about during Hardball on Wednesday.