Top Items:
Abby Goodnough / New York Times:
In Massachusetts, Anxiety for Favored Democrats — 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, The Washington Independent, Another Black Conservative, DaTechguy's Blog and Boston Globe
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Palin rebuffs CPAC, Keene — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Pain is turning down an invitation to speak at one high-profile conservative gathering while accepting another. — Palin is declining an invitation to address the Conservative Political Action Conference next month because, a source said …
Discussion:
The Caucus, Progressive Alaska, Wake up America, Right Wing Nut House, Outside The Beltway, Coop's Corner, GOP 12, Taylor Marsh, Conservatives4Palin.com, The Lonely Conservative, CNN, Riehl World View, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Hotline On Call, FiveThirtyEight, Ben Smith's Blog, New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Page, Hot Air and Gateway Pundit
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Two swipes at CPAC — Two stories today on Palin's decision …
Two swipes at CPAC — Two stories today on Palin's decision …
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog
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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Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Giuliani says Obama ‘turned the corner’ on terror — Rudy Giuliani had some rare words of praise for President Obama today, saying the commander in chief had “turned the corner” in efforts to fight terrorism,. — In an appearance on Good Morning America, Giuliani praised Obama for stating …
Discussion:
The Politico
David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Failed Christmas bomb plot will likely alter Obama's agenda
Failed Christmas bomb plot will likely alter Obama's agenda
Discussion:
The Politico, The Note, Commentary, The League of Ordinary … and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!
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 …
Discussion:
Power Line, Washington Monthly, Associated Press, Financial Times, Matthew Yglesias, Wake up America, Economix, The Page and Scared Monkeys
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.
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:
The Caucus, Washington Times, Raw Story, Yahoo! News, Crooks and Liars, AMERICAblog News, Weasel Zippers, Hotline On Call and The Note
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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.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, AmSpecBlog, Emptywheel, The Huffington Post and Capital Gains and Games blogs
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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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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, The Business Insider, Grasping Reality …, Financial Times, Calculated Risk and The Awl
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.
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.
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:
Newshoggers.com, New York Times, Washington Times, Mudville Gazette, Washington Post and Jules Crittenden
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
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 …
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
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
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 …
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
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.
Big Journalism:
As Climategate Becomes Pressgate, Questions for the Media — Trillions of dollars are at stake in the man-made global warming debate. The Climategate scandal - where leaked emails and computer programs involve dozens of prominent scientists worldwide - has almost everything …
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Club for Growth will oppose Sen. Bennett's reelection in 2010 — In an unusual move, the Club for Growth announced Friday that it will oppose Sen. Bob Bennett's (R-Utah) reelection, without specifying a candidate it might support. — A series of candidates are looking to upend Bennett …
Discussion:
The Washington Independent