Top Items:
The Rothenberg / The Rothenberg Political Report:
MA Senate moved to Toss-Up — Democratic desperation and other compelling evidence strongly suggest that Democrats may well lose the late Senator Edward Kennedy's Senate seat in Tuesday's special election. Because of this, we are moving our rating of the race from Narrow Advantage for the Incumbent Party to Toss-Up.
RELATED:
Steve Kornacki:
On Massachusetts.... I wrote a column last week in which I dismissed the chances of Republican Scott Brown actually winning next Tuesday's Senate special election in Massachusetts. The race would be close, I figured — 53-47 for Coakley, or something like that — but the state's blue tint would be just enough to save the Democrats.
Discussion:
Hot Air, National Review Online, Ben Smith's Blog, Boston Globe, The Fix and Weasel Zippers
Curt Schilling / 38pitches.weei.com:
Want ANOTHER reason to NOT vote for Martha Coakley??? — Picked this up from here... [1] — If she hasn't done it yet, Martha Coakley may have just killed her campaign. — She's apparently been trying to win the title of Worst Political Campaign Ever, and she might have just clinched …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, The Strata-Sphere, sisu, HillBuzz, Ruby Slippers, Gateway Pundit, Power Line, TD Blog, race42008.com, Scorecard's Blog, RedState and Erick's blog
Sabutai / Blue Mass. Group:
Yes it sucks. Yes you have to vote Coakley. — Let's get this out of the way. You might not want to vote for Martha Coakley. You might think she deserves what's she's getting after an absentee, self-satisfied campaign (why should I bail her out?). You likely want to send a message …
Discussion:
Don Surber, DaTechguy's Blog, The Other McCain, Weasel Zippers, Gateway Pundit and Red Mass Group
David / Blue Mass. Group:
Exclusive BMG/Research 2000 poll: Coakley leads 49-41 — The results are in from BMG's exclusive statewide poll in next week's special Senate election. Research 2000 interviewed 500 likely voters on Tuesday and Wednesday (and we do mean “interviewed” — Research 2000 does live interviews, unlike robo-pollsters Rasmussen and PPP).
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Jury Box, Swing State Project, Washington Wire, Open Left, Real Clear Politics, MyDD, The Strata-Sphere, Daily Kos, The Hill and Scorecard's Blog
Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:
Ad Wars: Obama Cuts Spot for Coakley, Can Barely Contain Himself — Passion. — On the ol' Inspiro-meter, I'd say the president has hit that rarely reached sweet spot right between Droopy the Dog and Eyeore. Note, in particular, the deadness in his eyes as he closes out his appeal:
Discussion:
Power Line
Gary Hewson / Big Journalism:
Martha's Greatest Hits: The Things the Democrats Would Like You to Forget About Candidate Coakley — In researching the ever-intensifying Massachusetts Senate race between Democrat Martha Coakley and her Republican challenger Scott Brown, it only takes a few keystrokes to unearth her ongoing history …
Discussion:
Power Line, Pajamas Media, Red Mass Group, RedState, Boston Globe, The Lonely Conservative, The Anchoress and Weasel Zippers
CNN:
Democrats, labor unions reach tentative deal on ‘Cadillac’ plans — Washington (CNN) - Congressional Democratic health care negotiators, working with the White House, have reached a tentative deal with labor unions on restructuring a tax on high-end insurance plans, a key proposal to pay …
Discussion:
The Politico, Daily Kos, Ben Smith's Blog, Taylor Marsh, Open Left, The Note, The Page and TPMDC
RELATED:
Walter Alarkon / The Hill:
Obama tells Dems that economy, healthcare will help in midterms
Obama tells Dems that economy, healthcare will help in midterms
Discussion:
The Politico
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
What's the Journal doing on this list? — The Tea Party Convention put out a press release today announcing that they were packed and had space for just five news outlets: — Everyone from a small town newspaper in Iowa to Fox News has asked for press credentials.
RELATED:
Michael Calderone / Michael Calderone's Blog:
Will Fox, WSJ accept tea party press selection? — Originally, it didn't look as though Tea Party Nation would allow media access to next month's convention in Nashville, a gathering of activists that will feature big-name speakers such as Sarah Palin. — But today, the organization announced …
Discussion:
The Caucus
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Morning Joe crew rips Limbaugh: ‘Deplorable,’ ‘insensitive,’ ‘mean-spirited.’ — Yesterday, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh attempted to attack President Obama for responding to the devastation in Haiti. “This will play right into Obama's hands — humanitarian, compassionate,” Limbaugh argued.
RELATED:
Nicholas Graham First / The Huffington Post:
Limbaugh: 'We've Already Donated To Haiti, It's Called US Income Tax' (VIDEO)
Limbaugh: 'We've Already Donated To Haiti, It's Called US Income Tax' (VIDEO)
Andrew Scott / Pocono Record:
Sex sting in Poconos nets former chief U.N. weapons inspector … A former chief United Nations weapons inspector is accused of contacting what he thought was a 15-year-old girl in an Internet chat room, engaging in a sexual conversation and showing himself masturbating on a Web camera.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Gateway Pundit, Little Green Footballs, The Corner on National … and Sweetness & Light
Microsoft:
Microsoft Security Advisory (979352) — Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution — Version: 1.0 — General Information — Executive Summary — Microsoft is investigating a report of a publicly exploited vulnerability in Internet Explorer.
Amie Parnes / The Politico:
EX-ADVISER: ‘WE WERE NEVER READY’ — Nicolle Wallace, former senior adviser to the McCain presidential campaign, did little to defend Sarah Palin at a panel discussion for Washington Post reporter Anne Kornblut's new book “Notes from the Cracked Ceiling” on Tuesday night.
Discussion:
Mediaite
The Huffington Post:
As Wallets Open For Haiti, Credit Card Companies Take A Big Cut — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — As a massive human tragedy unfolds in Haiti, relief organizations are soliciting credit-card donations through their hotlines and websites. About 97 percent of these donations will actually …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Quinnipiac University:
U.S. Voters Say Sacrifice Modesty, Rights For Security, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For Health Reform At 34 Percent — American voters say 63 - 25 percent that the government's anti-terror policies lean too far toward protecting civil rights rather than national security and by 84 …
CBN.com:
Statement Regarding Pat Robertson's Comments on Haiti — On today's The 700 Club, during a segment about the devastation, suffering and humanitarian effort that is needed in Haiti, Dr. Robertson also spoke about Haiti's history. His comments were based on the widely-discussed 1791 slave rebellion led …
Discussion:
The Swamp, ABCNEWS, The Atlantic Politics Channel, TPM LiveWire, MLive.com, The Politico and Truthdig
RELATED:
Danny Shea First / The Huffington Post:
Pat Robertson: Haiti ‘Cursed’ By ‘Pact To The Devil’ (VIDEO)
Pat Robertson: Haiti ‘Cursed’ By ‘Pact To The Devil’ (VIDEO)
PR Newswire:
‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves One Minute Away From Midnight — Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Adjusts Clock From 5 to 6 Minutes Before Midnight; Encouraging Progress Seen Around Globe in Both Key Threat Areas: Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change. — Citing a more “hopeful state of world affairs” …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Think Progress, Wonk Room, Left Coast Rebel, Sweetness & Light, Cosmic Variance and Hit & Run
Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
Liberal Groups Gunning for Ford — Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. has yet to make official a primary bid against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in New York. But by raising his hand and expressing interest, he has unleashed a torrent of opposition among liberal Democrats, bloggers and activists who are mining his every quote.
Joseph Loconte / AMERICAN.COM:
Obama Contra Niebuhr — Supporters of President Obama's ‘moral realism’ are unaware of many elements of Reinhold Niebuhr's political theology. — Barack Obama's Nobel Prize speech inspired a canticle of praise for the president's moral and intellectual capacities.
Discussion:
TPMCafe
Russell Adams / Washington Wire:
Obama to Pen Cover Story on Haiti and the Earthquake for Newsweek — Like at a lot of publications, Newsweek was forced to start its week over when the earthquake hit Haiti. — Give the magazine credit for an artful recovery. The Washington Post Co.-owned publication has tapped President Barack Obama …
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Union Deal on Excise Tax - Higher Thresholds, Transition Period, Open Exchanges — In a conference call, leaders of America's top unions announced their deal on the excise tax, one of the biggest flashpoints in the negotiations over a final health care bill.
Discussion:
TalkLeft
George F. Will / Washington Post:
That rock in the health-care road? It's called the Constitution. — Although Democrats think their health-care legislation faces smooth sailing to implementation, there is a rock dead ahead — a constitutional challenge to the legislation's core. Democrats who assume it is constitutional …
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Watching Beck And Palin: “God Played An Essential Role In The Founding Of This Nation” — Just listen to the beginning of their restaurant chat, appropriating both the WTC site and the Statue of Liberty. More to the point, listen to the framework of their discussion. The core concept is a “re-founding” of America.
Erick Erickson / RedState:
What Do Sarah Palin and Jesus Christ Have In Common? — Having survived the day and in a relatively good mood, with a devil may care attitude, comments are now allowed. — I don't know what it is about Sarah Palin that sets people off, but there is very little in between.
Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Majority Would Vote Against Obama — A year into his tenure, a majority of Americans would already vote against Pres. Obama if the '12 elections were held today, according to a new survey. — The Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll shows 50% say they would probably or definitely vote for someone else.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Hot Air, Ruby Slippers, MyDD and RedState
Christopher Hayes / The Nation:
System Failure — There is a widespread consensus that the decade we've just brought to a close was singularly disastrous for the country: the list of scandals, crises and crimes is so long that events that in another context would stand out as genuine lowlights—Enron and Arthur Andersen's collapse …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Rep. Shadegg to retire — Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), who briefly announced his retirement last cycle but then opted to seek another term, will not run for reelection in 2010, a GOP source confirms. — Shadegg becomes the third Republican to announce his retirement in recent weeks.