Top Items:
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.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Gawker, Think Progress, Washington Post, Hot Air, CNN, Wonkette, PERRspectives, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!, The Reaction and American Prospect
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Giuliani says Obama ‘turned the corner’ on terror
Giuliani says Obama ‘turned the corner’ on terror
Discussion:
The Politico
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
What we're seeing in Massachusetts — Because of the heavy interest we'll try to get our Massachusetts numbers out over the weekend. But because we've already conducted most of the interviews for it here are some of the major storylines we're seeing: —At this point a plurality …
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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.
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.
Discussion:
Riehl World View
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 …
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Matt Corley / Think Progress:
After Declaring ‘I Want The Gig,’ Steele Claims He Didn't ‘Seek’ RNC Chairmanship
After Declaring ‘I Want The Gig,’ Steele Claims He Didn't ‘Seek’ RNC Chairmanship
Discussion:
Political Insider, Ben Smith's Blog, AmSpecBlog, TPMDC, Swampland, GOP 12, The Page, The Plum Line, msnbc.com, The Washington Independent and Riehl World View
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, The Politico, The New Republic, Hit & Run, Swampland, Daily Kos, AmSpecBlog, Gateway Pundit, Emptywheel and Capital Gains and Games blogs
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Megan McArdle:
Prominent Voice in Health Care Debate Took Money from the Administration
Prominent Voice in Health Care Debate Took Money from the Administration
Discussion:
Emptywheel
Emptywheel:
Jonathan Gruber Failed to Disclose His $392,600 Contracts with HHS (Updated)
Jonathan Gruber Failed to Disclose His $392,600 Contracts with HHS (Updated)
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Megan McArdle, Clusterstock, AMERICAblog News, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Christina Wilkie / The Hill:
Carville: Airport scanners can ‘measure my penis’ — The debate over full body security scans just got a lot more graphic, thanks to Democratic political strategist and frequent flyer James Carville. — Speaking on The Tony Kornheiser Show Friday, Carville laid out, or unzipped, his vision for airport security.
Quin Hillyer / AmSpecBlog:
Memo to Palin: Get Over Yourself — Okay, now that I have ensured that I will receive lots of hateful comments.... Sarah Palin's decision not to attend CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference) is ridiculously petty. I will grant that CPAC should not have let the Birchers be minor sponsors.
Discussion:
Riehl World View
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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
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:
The Politico, Wake up America, Commentary, Right Wing Nut House, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh and The Washington Independent
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Hill, The Confluence and Jay Bookman
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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
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 …
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.
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:
Newshoggers.com, Carol's Closet, Felix Salmon, Grasping Reality …, The Business Insider, Financial Times, Calculated Risk and The Awl
Jack Shafer / Slate:
Looking for Corruption in All the Wrong Places — The failings of the New York Times ethics cops. — For the shallowest view of what corrupts journalists, I refer you to New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt's most recent column, in which he explains why the paper has banished three of its freelancers.
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.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Health Care and Wages — Proponents of the health insurance “excise tax” say that if we moved to equalize the tax treatment of compensation received in the form of subsidized health insurance and compensation received in the form of cash money, that people would wind up with less-generous insurance plans and more money.
Charlie Cook / National Journal Online:
Democrats Trapped In A Vicious Circle — FROM RETIREMENTS TO PARTY DEFECTIONS, THE BAD NEWS FOR 2010 KEEPS COMING. — In the world of economics, a virtuous circle is created when a series of positive events triggers a self-perpetuating pattern of other good occurrences — a positive feedback loop, in other words.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Gingrich to save America — Well, at least that's the title of the forthcoming book from the ever-modest former speaker, due out this spring. — Says the publisher, Regnery: — In “To Save America,” Gingrich argues that a decade of dishonesty from our leaders of both parties has created …
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 …
Viola Gienger / Bloomberg:
Republican Lugar Says Cheney's Criticism of Obama Is ‘Unfair’ — Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) — Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, defended President Barack Obama's handling of recent terrorism threats, taking issue with former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism.
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House: Geithner ‘not involved’ in latest AIG flap — The White House claimed Friday that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner did not play a role in alleged improper actions government officials took in the bailout of insurance giant American Insurance Group.