Top Items:
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Obama's Question Time: An Amazing Moment — The moment President Obama began his address to Republicans in Baltimore today, I began to receive e-mails from Democrats: Here's an except from one of them: “I don't know whether to laugh or cry that it took a f$$@&$* year for Obama to step …
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The Politico:
Obama rumbles with House GOP — BALTIMORE — President Barack Obama on Friday accused Republicans of portraying health care reform as a “Bolshevik plot” and telling their constituents that he's “doing all kinds of crazy stuff that's going to destroy America.”
Washington Post:
In Obama's Words — Now, I understand some of you had some philosophical differences, perhaps, on just the concept of government spending, but as I recall, opposition was declared before we had a chance to actually meet and exchange ideas. And I saw that as a missed opportunity.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Business Channel, Ezra Klein, Democratic Strategist and ProfessorBainbridge.com
Washington Post:
Pence questions Obama at House GOP conference — After addressing the GOP House Issues Conference in Baltimore on Friday, President Obama took a series questions from the lawmakers. Here is a transcript of one of the questions posed to the president: — REP. MIKE PENCE (R-Ind.) …
Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Republicans dismayed by Obama's strong performance, say it was a ‘mistake’ to let cameras roll. — House Republicans were fired up and ready to go for their conversation with President Obama at their annual retreat today. According to the New York Times, members of the conservative Republican …
The Huffington Post:
Cameras Roll As Obama Schools GOP — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — President Obama traveled to a House Republican retreat in Baltimore on Friday and delivered a performance that was at once defiant, substantive and engaging. For roughly an hour and a half, Obama lectured GOP leaders and …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Think Progress, Ta-Nehisi Coates, RedState, Right Pundits and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Obama Does Question Time With The House GOP (VIDEO) — President Obama spoke this afternoon to the House Republican retreat in Baltimore, turning the occasion into a lively debate, on national television, between a sitting president and the entire House caucus of the opposition party.
c-spanarchives.org:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS AT HOUSE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE — President Obama spoke to House Republicans at their retreat in Baltimore. In his remarks he said he welcomed disagreement and debate, but called for genuine bipartisanship and asked for constructive ideas in confronting the nation's problems.
James O'Keefe / Big Government:
Statement from James O'Keefe — The government has now confirmed what has always been clear: No one tried to wiretap or bug Senator Landrieu's office. Nor did we try to cut or shut down her phone lines. Reports to this effect over the past 48 hours are inaccurate and false.
Discussion:
Coop's Corner, Big Journalism, Hot Air, New York Times, The Washington Independent, Left Coast Rebel, The Atlantic Politics Channel, At-Largely, DownWithTyranny!, Michael Calderone's Blog, Emptywheel, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Moonbattery, USA Today, Wonkette, Mediaite, 24Ahead, JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller, The Daily Dish, Instapundit, Another Black Conservative, TPMMuckraker, The Hill, GayPatriot, The Jawa Report, The Lonely Conservative, Swampland, NewsBusters.org and TPM LiveWire
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Ezra Klein:
Rahm Emanuel makes me very pessimistic about health-care reform — According to the New York Times, the “White House on Thursday signaled the outlines of its strategy for breaking the partisan logjam holding up President Obama's agenda.” And that outline is the most depressing thing I've read on the chances for health-care reform.
Discussion:
Maggie's Farm, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Prescriptions, Daily Kos, The Daily Dish and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!
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Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
If Health Care Dies, Who Will The Murderer Be? — Is health care reform dead? Megan McArdle says so, offering two arguments — one persuasive, the other not. Her unpersuasive argument is that Democrats are going to walk away from health care reform because it's unpopular:
Wall Street Journal:
Obama v. the Supremes — Alito wins the oral, and factual, argument. — In the case of Barack Obama v. Supreme Court of the United States, that was some oral argument on Wednesday night. With the Justices arrayed a few feet in front of him in the House chamber, President Obama blistered …
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Randy E. Barnett / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Owes the High Court an Apology
Obama Owes the High Court an Apology
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times, The Moderate Voice, SCOTUSblog, Hit & Run, Political Punch, Opinion L.A., The Hill and News Desk
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Challenge to Obama - Request Special Counsel As To Foreign Contributions
Challenge to Obama - Request Special Counsel As To Foreign Contributions
Megan McArdle:
Dude, Where's My Job? — The initial estimate is that fourth quarter GDP grew at a blistering 5.7% annual pace. With the usual caveats—third quarter GDP estimates started high and then were revised down to a much more modest level—that's great news. — But man cannot live by GDP alone.
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Salah Nasrawi / Associated Press:
Bin Laden blasts US for climate change — CAIRO — Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has called for the world to boycott American goods and the U.S. dollar, blaming the United States and other industrialized countries for global warming, according to a new audiotape released Friday.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Aljazeera, Hot Air, Big Government, Scared Monkeys, The TrogloPundit, Guardian, Politics Daily, Pajamas Media, Stop The ACLU, LewRockwell.com Blog, Mother Jones, Indecision Forever, JammieWearingFool, AmSpecBlog, Majikthise, Swampland, The Washington Independent and Tim Blair
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Facebook:
Letting You Know About Some “Better Solutions” — On Wednesday night, the president asked us to “let him know” if we had any better ideas, and today John Boehner handed him a compilation of the policy alternatives that have been advanced over the past year.
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Palin lends boost to House GOP's ‘solutions’ site
Palin lends boost to House GOP's ‘solutions’ site
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog
Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Palin On Whether She Will Still Speak At ‘Scammy’ Tea Party Convention: ‘You Betcha!’ — Tea Party activists and loyalists have recently criticized the National Tea Party Convention set to take place in Nashville, TN next month, balking at the expensive ticket prices and the fact that the “scammy” event is for-profit.
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Robin Abcarian / Los Angeles Times:
Scott Roeder convicted of murdering abortion doctor George Tiller — A jury in Wichita deliberates for just over a half-hour before finding Roeder guilty. He had admitted that he shot Tiller, who performed late-term abortions, at a church in May. — Reporting from Wichita, Kan. …
Discussion:
New York Times, INSTAPUTZ, Hit & Run, Indecision Forever, culturekitchen, News Hounds, Politics Daily and Crooks and Liars
Matt Canham / Salt Lake Tribune:
Hatch warns of possible partisan ‘war’ over health reform — Politics » Utah Republican senator says Democrats are all bluster on potential compromise. — Washington » Sen. Orrin Hatch threatened an all-out political “war” and promised a new high in partisan tensions …
Discussion:
Firedoglake
Daniel Foster / The Corner on National Review Online:
Fact-Checking the President in Baltimore — By: Daniel Foster — In this video, a bemused President Obama responds to a claim by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas) that monthly deficits under the Democrat-controlled Congress exceed the annual deficits accrued by Republican Congresses from 1996 to 2007:
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Chris Frates / The Politico:
Snowe talking to Dems — Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said Friday that she has been in conversation with Democrats and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus about a way forward on health care reform. — “I have talked with several of my Democratic colleagues, including the chairman …
Discussion:
Open Congress
Bruce Bartlett / Forbes:
More Goo-Goo Than Gipper — A number of pollsters have noted that Barack Obama's approval rating is about the same as Ronald Reagan's at a similar stage of his presidency. Yet it feels that Obama is in far worse shape politically. I think a key reason for the difference is that Reagan …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Megan McArdle, The Atlantic Business Channel, The Foundry, Matthew Yglesias and Cato @ Liberty
The White House:
Remarks by the President on a Jobs Tax Credit in Baltimore, Maryland Chesapeake Machine Company, Baltimore, Maryland — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. I've got a couple of introductions that I want to make very quickly. — First, I want to thank Terry and his family for greeting me here today.
Weekly Standard:
Senators on Abdulmutallab — The results of a week-long TWS survey of U.S. senators and their views on the Christmas Bomber. — During the past week, THE WEEKLY STANDARD surveyed United States Senators on the U.S. government's handling of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas Day bomber.
WISH-TV:
Congressman Buyer won't seek reelection — 24-Hour News 8 has learned Indiana Congressman Steve Buyer (R-4th District) will announce he will not seek reelection during a news conference Friday. — Buyer is perhaps best known for his 1998 role as a prosecutor in President Clinton's impeachment hearings.