Top Items:
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Obama to Offer Aid for Families in State of the Union Address — WASHINGTON — President Obama will propose in his State of the Union address a package of modest initiatives intended to help middle-class families, including tax credits for child care, caps on some student loan payments …
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Obama SOTU Plan Includes Non-Refundable Child Tax Credit Expansion
Obama SOTU Plan Includes Non-Refundable Child Tax Credit Expansion
Discussion:
American Prospect
Patterico's Pontifications:
The Recent Evidence of Astroturfing, Summarized — This post summarizes the evidence of Astroturfing by Obama supporters that surfaced over the weekend. — Astroturfing is phony “grassroots” activity. The term refers to opinions that seem to be genuine — but, in reality, are directed by a Central Planner.
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Sabrina Eaton / Plain Dealer:
Ellie Light's letter-writing exploits for Obama now the buzz of the Internet — A well-traveled letter writer who has used dozens of different addresses to publish a pro-Obama letter-to-the-editor in at least 40 newspapers around the country in recent weeks denies allegations that shes secretly …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, JammieWearingFool and Little Miss Attila
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Too Dumb to Thrive — Absolutely amazing poll results from CNN today about the $787 stimulus package: nearly three out of four Americans think the money has been wasted. On second thought, they may be right: it's been wasted on them. Indeed, the largest single item in the package …
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CNN:
Poll: 3 out of 4 say most of stimulus money wasted — Washington (CNN) — Nearly three out of four Americans think that at least half of the money spent in the federal stimulus plan has been wasted, according to a new national poll. — A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday morning …
Chris Good / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Little Faith In The Stimulus Money
Little Faith In The Stimulus Money
Discussion:
Donkeylicious
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Big Babyism — Listen to an enraged Independent: … If this is the basis for revolt, what can one say? — If Obama and Bush had refused to bail out the banks, does this small business owner believe she'd be in business at all? Is she demanding - in a conservative outlet …
Discussion:
Dennis the Peasant
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Michelle Malkin:
Why did Beau Biden really drop out? — Daddy has been grooming Beau Biden for the Senate from time immemorial. — To smooth his son's path, Joe Biden installed his old crony aide, Edward Kaufman, as a placeholder when he gave up his seat to take the vice presidency.
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Washington Post:
In Obama's decision-making, a wide range of influences — During one of his Afghan review meetings last year, President Obama surprised senior advisers by jumping into a discussion between two military officials about a new study of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Jonathan Weisman / Wall Street Journal:
White House Toughens Tone
White House Toughens Tone
Discussion:
USA Today, New York Times, QandO, Scared Monkeys, Political Punch, Don Surber, CNN and The Politico
Gawker:
Sources: John Edwards Has a Sex Tape — Sources have told us that, in the throes of their affair, John Edwards and Rielle Hunter made a sex tape that contains “several sex acts.” And that his aide, Andrew Young found it on an unmarked DVD. — The tape, say both our sources …
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Obama's Approval Most Polarized for First-Year President — Shows much greater party differences than approval for any prior first-year president — PRINCETON, NJ — The 65 percentage-point gap between Democrats' (88%) and Republicans' (23%) average job approval ratings for Barack Obama …
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James Rosen / Fox News:
Obama Administration Steers Lucrative No-Bid Contract for Afghan Work to Dem Donor — The Obama administration this month awarded a $25 million federal contract for work in Afghanistan to a company owned by a prominent Democratic campaign contributor without entertaining competitive bids, Fox News has learned.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, The Corner on National …, NewsBusters.org, Gateway Pundit, America's Right and Wizbang
Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Sad. Obama Brings TelePrompter to Speak to 6th Grade Class — Obama spoke to 6th Graders in Falls Church, Virginia on Tuesday January 19, 2010. — He brought his TelePrompter. — He sure wouldn't want to go off message when speaking to 6th graders. — How sad.
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Harold Ford Jr / New York Times:
Democrats, Get Down to Business — SCOTT BROWN'S victory last week in the Massachusetts Senate race, following the Republican gubernatorial triumphs in New Jersey and Virginia, marked the third time in three months that the Democratic Party has lost the support and trust of independent voters.
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Abdulmutallab interrogated for less than an hour; White House defends handling of terrorist case — The White House is not disputing a report that FBI agents questioned accused Northwest Airlines bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab for just 50 minutes before deciding to grant him the right …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Bernanke Conundrum — A Republican won in Massachusetts — and suddenly it's not clear whether the Senate will confirm Ben Bernanke for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman. That's not as strange as it sounds: Washington has suddenly noticed public rage over economic policies …
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2010: Indiana Senate — Indiana Senate 2010: Pence (R) 47%, Bayh (D) 44% — Indiana Senator Evan Bayh is another Democratic incumbent who could find himself in a tough reelection battle this fall. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds …
The Huffington Post:
Geithner Warns That Markets Could Dive If Bernanke Is Not Reconfirmed (VIDEO) — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, in a recent interview with Mike Allen of Politico warned that the financial markets could react negatively if Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke isn't confirmed for a second term.