Top Items:
Abby Goodnough / New York Times:
Democrats Anxious Over a Once-Safe Seat — BOSTON — Martha M. Coakley, the Democrat running for Senator Edward M. Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts, had seemed so certain of winning the special election on Jan. 19 that she barely campaigned last month. — But the dynamic has changed in recent days.
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Sarah Palin and the first 2012 Republican proving ground — 1. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin's decision to attend — and speak at — the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans in April transforms that event into the first legitimate cattle-call of the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes.
Discussion:
Commentary, Mediaite, Another Black Conservative, The Washington Independent, DaTechguy's Blog and Boston Globe
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Two swipes at CPAC — Two stories today on Palin's decision to skip CPAC, the grassroots event at which she'd likely be embraced, and two explanations: — Palin is declining an invitation to address the Conservative Political Action Conference next month because, a source said …
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
Andy Barr / The Politico:Palin rebuffs CPAC, Keene
Discussion:
The Caucus, Progressive Alaska, Right Wing Nut House, Wake up America, Outside The Beltway, Coop's Corner, GOP 12, Taylor Marsh, Conservatives4Palin.com, CNN, The Lonely Conservative, Hotline On Call, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Riehl World View, FiveThirtyEight, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Hot Air, Ben Smith's Blog, The Page and Gateway Pundit
George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:
Rudy Giuliani Wrong in Saying ‘No Domestic Attacks Under Bush’ — President Obama yesterday took personal responsibility for failures in the Christmas day terror plot, but Rudy Giuliani still isn't convinced. — I spoke to the former mayor of New York City this morning on GMA …
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Rachel Slajda / TPM LiveWire:
Mr. 9/11 Gets Amnesia: 'We Had No Domestic Attacks Under Bush; We've Had One Under Obama' (VIDEO) — Rudy Giuliani, the man who was mayor of New York City during the 9/11 attacks, appeared on Good Morning America today to say President Obama should take lessons from former President George W. Bush on how to prevent a terrorist attack.
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:Giuliani says Obama ‘turned the corner’ on terror
Discussion:
The Politico
Christina Romer / White House.gov Blog Feed:
On the December Jobs Numbers — Today's employment report, though a setback from November, is consistent with the gradual labor market stabilization we have been seeing over the last several months. — Payroll employment declined 85,000 in December. To put this number in perspective …
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New York Times:
U.S. Job Losses in December Dim Hopes for Quick Upswing — The United States economy lost more jobs than expected in December, tempering hopes for a swift and sustained recovery from the Great Recession. — The Labor Department said on Friday that the economy shed another 85,000 jobs last month …
Neil Irwin / Washington Post:
Economy loses 85K jobs in Dec., unemployment rate stays put at 10% — The nation shed 85,000 jobs in December, worse than expected, according to a government report released Friday that suggests the economic recovery still is too weak to lead employers to add to their payrolls.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Gruber responds: ‘Completely consistent’ — One of the key voices for Congressional health care legislation, MIT economist Jon Gruber, is taking fire from the precincts of the left that oppose the Senate plan over the fact that he is on contract with Department of Health and Human Services.
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Megan McArdle:
Prominent Voice in Health Care Debate Took Money from the Administration — MIT economist Jonathan Gruber has become the go-to economist for fans of the health care reform wending its way through congress. He regularly produces analyses showing how great reform is going to be for people buying insurance …
Discussion:
Emptywheel
Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Steele comments have GOP aides pleading, ‘Get him to stop’ — Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele, under fire this week for a string of controversial statements he has made while promoting his new book, has so angered the party's congressional leaders that their aides …
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket, Washington Times, The Caucus, Politics Daily, Raw Story, Yahoo! News, Hotline On Call, AMERICAblog News and Weasel Zippers
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Matt Corley / Think Progress:After Declaring ‘I Want The Gig,’ Steele Claims He Didn't ‘Seek’ RNC Chairmanship
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, AmSpecBlog, The Page, msnbc.com, The Washington Independent, Riehl World View and Crooks and Liars
D.B. Grady / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Why Heads Should Roll — How courageous is Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, the father of terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab? If, as it is argued, the Islamic world sees the War on Terror as a War on Islam, it must have been quite intimidating to walk into the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish
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Roger Lowenstein / New York Times:
Walk Away From Your Mortgage! — John Courson, president and C.E.O. of the Mortgage Bankers Association, recently told The Wall Street Journal that homeowners who default on their mortgages should think about the “message” they will send to “their family and their kids and their friends.”
Discussion:
Carol's Closet, Felix Salmon, Grasping Reality …, The Business Insider, Financial Times, Calculated Risk and The Awl
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Palin aide warned of ‘epic debacle’ — Sarah Palin's charming opening debate line for now-Vice President Joe Biden — “Hey, can I call you Joe?” — was scripted after she repeatedly referred to him as “O'Biden” in preparation sessions, former McCain campaign senior adviser Steve Schmidt told “60 Minutes.”
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Chris Irvine / Telegraph:
British woman ‘arrested in Dubai after being raped’ — A 23-year-old British woman on holiday in Dubai told police she had been raped, only to be arrested herself for having illegal sexual intercourse. — The woman, a Muslim of Pakistani descent, was celebrating her engagement …
Discussion:
The Jawa Report
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Messiah Complex — Every age produces its own sort of fables, and our age seems to have produced The White Messiah fable. — This is the oft-repeated story about a manly young adventurer who goes into the wilderness in search of thrills and profit. But, once there …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute
Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:
Shock: Obama Forced to ‘Order’ Follow-Ups of Terrorist Tips — President Pledges ‘Accountability’ But No One Fired for Systemic Intel Failures — In a revealing admission, President Barack Obama said today he was directing U.S. intelligence agencies to begin to do something many had assumed …
Discussion:
New York Times, Newshoggers.com, Washington Times, The Caucus, Washington Post, Jules Crittenden, Mudville Gazette and Betsy's Page
Brad Watson / WFAA-TV:
Craig James eyeing politics, not ruling out U.S. Senate run — DALLAS Former SMU football star and ESPN Analyst Craig James has made news recently regarding his role with his son and former Texas Tech Football Coach Mike Leach. But James could be making news this year in politics, too.
Wall Street Journal:
The Risk of Catastrophic Victory — Obama is in the midst of one. Can the GOP avert one of their own? — Printer — Friendly — Passage of the health-care bill will be, for the administration, a catastrophic victory. If it is voted through in time for the State of the Union Address …
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
It's On - Push Polling “Hate Group” Support for Brown — I received this e-mail from a Massachusetts resident and businesswoman (and I verified her identity through publicly available sources), regarding a phone call she received last night: … In a follow up, the e-mailer went into more detail about the call.
Megan McArdle:
Commercial Real Estate Collapses Suggests CW about Residential Bubble May Be Wrong — My latest column for the Atlantic looks at the commercial real estate crash and comes to the conclusion that it effectively undermines the major narratives that many people have adopted to explain the residential bubble.
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
CBO estimates $390 billion budget deficit for first quarter of FY 2010 — The Congressional Budget Office late Thursday released a report estimating that the federal budget deficit was $390 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010. — During the same quarter in 2009 …
Discussion:
The Page
Katherine Mangan / Chronicle of Higher Education:
Law Schools Get Advice on Helping Students Cope With Tight Job Market — Law schools have a responsibility to teach students how to be emotionally resilient and fiscally sensible at a time when high-paying jobs are hard to come by and student-loan debts are mounting, several speakers asserted …
Discussion:
New York Times
Leah Farrall / All Things Counter Terrorism:
Can we stop the hysteria about AQAP please? — Greetings everyone. Allthingsct is officially back on deck for 2010. — Tonight's cynical Friday task is some myth busting in relation to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, especially since the Xmas Day plots have spawned a good deal …
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