Top Items:
Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
National Prayer Breakfast Draws Controversy — For more than 50 years, the National Prayer Breakfast has served as a prime networking event in Washington, bringing together the president, members of Congress, foreign diplomats and thousands of religious, business and military leaders for scrambled eggs and supplication.
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Ben Frumin / TPM LiveWire:
Obama Makes Birther Joke At Prayer Breakfast (VIDEO) — At this morning's national prayer breakfast in Washington D.C., President Obama made a birther joke. — Calling once again for a return to civility in politics, the president declared that civility is “not a sign of weakness” …
The Huffington Post:
Obama's Engagement On Health Care Has ‘Dried Up’: Dem Senator — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Despite urging Democratic senators on Wednesday to forge ahead on health care reform, President Obama and his aides have been largely hands-off in guiding the legislative process, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.
Discussion:
Commentary, The Politico, Washington Monthly, RedState, The Plum Line and Crooks and Liars
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Tough talk comes after Obama exits
Tough talk comes after Obama exits
Discussion:
Mother Jones, New York Times, Another Black Conservative, New York Times, Wake up America, Stop The ACLU, The Swamp, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Post, Booman Tribune, TalkLeft, Commentary, Ruby Slippers, Baltimore Sun, Hullabaloo, Wonk Room, Wall Street Journal, Pundit & Pundette, The Plum Line and Ezra Klein
Chicago Sun Times:
Details surface of Scott Lee Cohen's 2005 domestric violence arrest — Scott Lee Cohen — a pawnbroker who shocked state Democratic leaders Tuesday night by winning the party's nomination for lieutenant governor — was arrested about four-and-a-half years ago and accused of holding a knife …
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Jim Treacher / The DC Trawler:
Last night I got hit by a car and broke my knee — Sometime between 7 and 7:30, not long after I got home from work, I walked to the CVS on 22nd and M to get some bread, milk, and a SmartTrip card. I was right across the street from the CVS, and I waited for the crosswalk light to tell me to go before I crossed.
Discussion:
Jules Crittenden, Wonkette, The Lonely Conservative, Moe Lane, Media Blog on National … and Confederate Yankee
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Prayers for Jim Treacher; Update: State Dept, not Secret Service — Jim's a great friend to Hot Air and conservatives everywhere, and in his new gig at the Daily Caller, has a good stage for his biting humor and political insight. We may have to wait a while for Jim to regale us …
Kristi Keck / CNN:
Fractures emerge as Tea Party convenes — (CNN) — As the Tea Party's first national convention gets under way, members are united in their anger but divided over the future of the movement. — The convention is marketed as an opportunity to bring Tea Party leaders from across …
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool, ABCNEWS, Nashville Scene, American Power, Needlenose and PERRspectives
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Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
Chris Wallace on whether Palin will sit on his lap during …
Chris Wallace on whether Palin will sit on his lap during …
Discussion:
Michael Calderone's Blog
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
She's baaack! Sarah Palin launches her next political journey …
She's baaack! Sarah Palin launches her next political journey …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Politico, The Swamp, THE WEEK News & Opinion and The Note
Philip Terzian / Weekly Standard:
Clarence Thomas on Why He Skips the State of the Union — I don't go because it has become so partisan. — One final contribution to the post-mortem on the State of the Union address. — In a question-and-answer session at Stetson University College of Law in Florida this week …
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Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Justice Defends Ruling on Finance — WASHINGTON — In expansive remarks at a law school in Florida, Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday vigorously defended the Supreme Court's recent campaign finance decision. — And Justice Thomas explained that he did not attend State of the Union addresses …
Discussion:
Don Surber, Commentary, The BLT, Law Blog, Wizbang, Conventional Folly, The Lonely Conservative and Gateway Pundit
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Charlie Baker: Scott Brown, part deux? — Sen. Scott Brown's (R) special election victory last month in Massachusetts was cast by many political operatives — of both parties — as a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, the result of the confluence of factors that would be almost impossible to replicate in a future contest.
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E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Off-message, Biden recasts the Obama agenda — Vice President Biden is tired of seeing the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan demeaned, derided and dismissed, and he wanted to talk about it. — But a funny thing happened in the course of an interview at Biden's White House office on Tuesday afternoon.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Commentary, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Corner on National …, QandO and The Glittering Eye
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
AMERICAN GREATNESS LIBERALISM.... One of the more robust applause lines …
AMERICAN GREATNESS LIBERALISM.... One of the more robust applause lines …
Discussion:
democracyarsenal.org
Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Poll: Republicans Prefer Having A Deficit With Tax Cuts, Over A Balanced Budget And Higher Taxes — A new Rasmussen poll supplies a very interesting data point in the ongoing debate about the budget deficit: As it turns out, Republican voters would prefer having a deficit if it meant …
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Dana Bash / CNN:
Brown to get Kennedy's office space — Washington (CNN) — After Scott Brown gets sworn in Thursday afternoon, he won't just be taking Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, he will also be taking over his plush office space in the Senate Russell building. — Several Senate sources tell CNN …
The Note:
Landrieu says Republicans should ‘shut their mouth’ — ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports: Don't mess with Mary Landrieu. — The Democratic Senator from Louisiana has had about enough of people criticizing the clause she helped put into the Senate version of health care reform and she took …
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
On the claimed “war exception” to the Constitution — Last week, I wrote about a revelation buried in a Washington Post article by Dana Priest which described how the Obama administration has adopted the Bush policy of targeting selected American citizens for assassination if they are deemed (by the Executive Branch) to be Terrorists.
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Matea Gold / Los Angeles Times:
Comedian Jon Stewart takes the hot seat with Bill O'Reilly — In a vigorous, policy-laden debate, ‘The Daily Show’ host blasts Fox's ‘panic attack’ coverage of Obama and the economy. O'Reilly says ‘the narrative of a couple of guys’ doesn't represent the whole network.
Discussion:
Don Surber, Macleans.ca, Another Black Conservative, The Fix, American Power, TVNewser, Taylor Marsh, Left Coast Rebel, The Swamp, Mediaite and The Wire
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Asian-Americans Lean Left Politically — Asian-Americans more liberal than other racial/ethnic groups — PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Daily tracking data reveal that Asian-Americans tend to be more Democratic and much less conservative than the general population in their political views.
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Ariane De Vogue / ABCNEWS:
White House Prepares for Possibility of 2 Supreme Court Vacancies — SCOTUS Watchers Believe Justices Stevens and Ginsburg Could Decide to Step Aside — Lawyers for President Obama have been working behind the scenes to prepare for the possibility of one, and maybe two Supreme Court vacancies this spring.
Joan E. Darrah / CNN:
My secret life under 'don't ask, don't tell' — Editor's note: Retired Navy Capt. Joan E. Darrah served 29½ years as a naval intelligence officer and was chief of staff and deputy commander at the Office of Naval Intelligence. She has received several awards: three Legion of Merits …
Megan McArdle:
How Unions Work — In a valiant attempt to defuse the ideological conflicts between the reformist and traditionalist wings of the liberal education wonketariat, Matthew Yglesias argues that this disagreement is not not ideological at all. Rather, it is an artifact of past decisions about educational structure:
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
The U.S. Department of Labor:
Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis — EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION — Program Contact: — TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL — (202) 693-4676 — UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT — SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
Dick Brass / New York Times:
Microsoft's Creative Destruction — AS they marvel at Apple's new iPad tablet computer, the technorati seem to be focusing on where this leaves Amazon's popular e-book business. But the much more important question is why Microsoft, America's most famous and prosperous technology company …
Kbh / KeithHennessey.com:
Ten years ago? Seriously? — On Monday when releasing his budget the President said: … This is a common refrain from the President and his team. — Argument: The previous administration and previous Congresses created an expensive new drug program ... without paying for any of it.
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
Thom Shanker / New York Times:
U.S. General Offers Upbeat Views on Afghan War — ISTANBUL — The senior commander of American and allied forces in Afghanistan offered a guarded but unexpectedly upbeat assessment of the war effort on Thursday, saying that while the situation remained dangerous it was no longer deteriorating …
Discussion:
democracyarsenal.org, ATTACKERMAN, Newshoggers.com, The Majlis and The Washington Independent