Top Items:
Boston Globe:
Senate poll: Coakley up 15 points — AG viewed as stronger on most issues, Globe survey finds, but Brown has gained traction, too — Democrat Martha Coakley, buoyed by her durable statewide popularity, enjoys a solid, 15-percentage-point lead over Republican rival Scott Brown as the race …
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Toss up in Massachusetts — The Massachusetts Senate race is now a toss up. — Buoyed by a huge advantage with independents and relative disinterest from Democratic voters in the state, Republican Scott Brown leads Martha Coakley 48-47. — Here are the major factors leading to this surprising state of affairs:
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, Boston Globe, Clusterstock, Scared Monkeys, Red Mass Group, Campaign Diaries, AMERICAblog News, TPMDC, TD Blog, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, Outside The Beltway, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Taegan Goddard's …, Jumping in Pools, Swing State Project, Real Clear Politics, The Huffington Post, Swampland, Wake up America, Pollster.com All Content, The Strata-Sphere, Open Left, Gateway Pundit, Ruby Slippers, The Next Right, Ben Smith's Blog, RedState, The Moderate Voice, AmSpecBlog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Washington Post
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
All About the Screen — Special elections are notoriously hard to poll because it's hard to figure out just who is going to show up to vote. (That's the reference to the ‘screen’ — how the pollster figures out who is a likely voter.) But this is a helluva a spread.
JammieWearingFool:
Mass Confusion: Brown Up a Point in One Poll, Coakley Up 15 in Another — I was a bit skeptical over the buzz surrounding the PPP poll last night that has Scott Brown up a point over Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts special election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat. — For good reason.
Jessica Taylor / Scorecard's Blog:
Poll: Scott Brown ahead of Martha Coakley by one point
Poll: Scott Brown ahead of Martha Coakley by one point
Discussion:
Wake up America
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Steele: Reid should step down from leadership role for ‘Negro’ remark — The chairman of the Republican National Committee called Sunday for Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to step down as Majority Leader in the wake of revelations that he used the term “Negro” when discussing President Barack Obama's 2008 candidacy.
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John Bresnahan / The Politico:
GOP claims Lott-Reid double standard — Top Republicans called for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to step aside Sunday — and accused the Democrats and the media of holding the GOP to a double standard on matters of race. — In an interview with POLITICO, National Republican Senatorial …
Janet Hook / Los Angeles Times:
Some Democrats want to rein in the filibuster — With Republicans using endless speeches to block all manner of legislation, and the prospect of fewer Democrats after midterm elections, some say it's time for a change so the majority can govern. — Reporting from Washington …
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Majority Leader Reid apologizes to Obama for 2008 remarks
Majority Leader Reid apologizes to Obama for 2008 remarks
Discussion:
PostPartisan, The Other McCain, The Plum Line, Verum Serum, Washington Monthly, New York Times and Ben Smith's Blog
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Sharpton backs Reid
Sharpton backs Reid
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Bloomberg, Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Political Byline and Jules Crittenden
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Captain Obvious Learns the Limits of Cool — Our president came down from the mountaintop. — He had applied the freshness of his independent thought to the critical matters at hand. He had convened his seminar, reviewed the reviews, analyzed the intelligence every which way …
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill: Feinstein: Halt Gitmo prisoner transfers to countries with al-Qaeda presence
Frank Rich / New York Times:
The Other Plot to Wreck America — THERE may not be a person in America without a strong opinion about what coulda, shoulda been done to prevent the underwear bomber from boarding that Christmas flight to Detroit. In the years since 9/11, we've all become counterterrorists.
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New York Times:
Banks Prepare for Big Bonuses, and Public Wrath — Everyone on Wall Street is fixated on The Number. — The bank bonus season, that annual rite of big money and bigger egos, begins in earnest this week, and it looks as if it will be one of the largest and most controversial blowouts the industry has ever seen.
Isabel Vincent / New York Post:
‘Jihad’ jitters at Met — Mohammed art gone — Is the Met afraid of Mohammed? — The Metropolitan Museum of Art quietly pulled images of the Prophet Mohammed from its Islamic collection and may not include them in a renovated exhibition area slated to open in 2011, The Post has learned.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Teddy's anger — One of the enduring mysteries of the 2008 campaign was what got Ted Kennedy so mad at Bill Clinton. The former president's entreaties, at some point, backfired, and the explanation has never quite emerged. — I've finally gotten my hands on a copy of Game Change, in which John Heliemann and Mark Halperin report:
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Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Game Change: Even More Juicy Stuff
Game Change: Even More Juicy Stuff
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Liberal Values, Mediaite, The Politico, New York Post and Don Surber
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Liz Cheney Airs Hypocritical Attack Ad On Obama For Waiting ‘100 Hours’ To Respond To Terror Plot — In their eagerness to place blame on President Obama for the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack, Republicans have argued that the president waited too long to talk publicly about the matter.
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Adviser: Obama subdued, disappointed by latest jobs report — After celebrating last month over an uptick in employment, President Barack Obama received the December jobs report, which showed a loss of 85,000 jobs, with subdued disappointment. — Christina Romer, chairman of the White House Council …
Eileen Ng / Associated Press:
4 more churches attacked in Malaysia in Allah feud — Buzz up! — KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Firebombs were thrown at three more churches in Malaysia on Sunday and another was splashed with black paint, the latest in a series of assaults on Christian houses of worship following …
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