memeorandum: Indiana Senate race gets more competitive (CNN)

3:50 AM ET, February 5, 2010

Top Items:

Franken lays into Ax over health bill — Sen. Al Franken ripped into White House senior adviser David Axelrod this week during a tense, closed-door session with Senate Democrats. — Five sources who were in the room tell POLITICO that Franken criticized Axelrod for the administration's failure …

Discussion: Another Black Conservative, The Daily Caller and The Lonely Conservative

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: Hot Air, Political Punch, The New Republic, The Moderate Voice, Commentary, Dennis the Peasant, The Plum Line, The Politico and Washington Monthly

The Huffington Post: Axelrod Pressed By Franken, Sanders On White House's Lack …

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
A slowdown on health care

Discussion: CNN

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

Andrew Sullivan's Heroic Self-Appraisal — Is there some world championship for self-deceit and puffery of which I am unaware? Andrew Sullivan seems to have penned a winning entry. His theme, roughly - How I Was So Right About Sarah Palin Yet So Wrong About John Edwards. … Any day now!

John Cook / Gawker:

There's No Good Reason the National Enquirer Shouldn't Win a Pulitzer Prize — The National Enquirer has thrown its hat in the ring for a 2010 Pulitzer Prize, seeking official recognition from the media Brahmins for its ownership of the John Edwards sex scandal. Said Brahmins are harrumphing, and here's why they're wrong.

Discussion: Majikthise, Mediaite and Romenesko

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

My John Edwards Failure — I've been thinking about what seems to me a double standard in my treatment of vice-presidential frauds, with respect to Sarah Palin and John Edwards, and trying to figure out where I went wrong. No, I'm not backtracking on Palin: all I regret is not being able to expose her for real yet.

Discussion: Mediaite

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Palin Camp Rips Limbaugh, Hits His “Retard” Comment As “Crude And Demeaning” — Sarah Palin versus Rush Limbaugh! — Palin believes Limbaugh's repeated use of the word “retard” yesterday was “crude and demeaning,” her spokesperson emails. — In the wake of Palin's demand that Rahm Emanuel …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, RushLimbaugh.com, US News, Liberal Values, Althouse, The Moderate Voice, Think Progress, Mediaite, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Post, Hot Air, CNN, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Ben Smith's Blog

Jake Gibson / Fox News:

Palin Camp Fires Back at Washington Post — Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, Republican mega-star and Fox News contributor, was quick to fire back at Washington Post blog, The Plum Line, for a report that Palin is at war with conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Note, The Daily Dish and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Megan Mulligan / The Daily Caller:

Struck Down: Feds Refuse to Explain How Agent Injured Daily Caller Writer — The State Department has refused to answer basic questions about an accident that took place in Washington on Wednesday night, in which a U.S. Diplomatic Security Service vehicle struck Daily Caller employee Sean Medlock as he was crossing the street.

Discussion: Hit & Run, TBogg, POWIP, The Awl and The DC Trawler

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:

Report: Shelby Blocks All Obama Nominations In The Senate Over AL Earmarks — Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary “blanket hold” on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports this evening. The hold means no nominations …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, National Journal Online, The Reality-Based Community and Jesus' General

William Matthews / FederalTimes.com:
Ala. senator blocks nominees over Air Force tanker contract

Discussion: MyDD

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:

Our Strange Constitution — I'm not even slightly surprised to find out that the Obama administration has some kind of process in place to assassinate American citizens who it's decided are in cahoots with terrorists. I was always raised to appreciate the “out of control spies” …

Discussion: Dennis the Peasant, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Ezra Klein

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
On the claimed “war exception” to the Constitution

Discussion: The Poor Man Institute, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Raw Story and Emptywheel

TPMDC:

Boehner Distances Republicans From Ryan Budget...But He Can't Name A Single Objection — House Republicans are at pains to point out that a far-reaching budget roadmap unveiled by their top budget guy, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), isn't their budget, but when asked today at a press conference …

Discussion: Daily Kos, PERRspectives, AMERICAblog News and Talking Points Memo

Wall Street Journal:
GOP Chases Wall Street Donors

Discussion: Firedoglake, Democracy in America, Washington Wire, The Hill, Matthew Yglesias, The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, The Political Carnival, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, New York Times, Ben Smith's Blog and Washington Post

Patrick Yoest / Wall Street Journal:
Two Senators Seek Bonus Tax at Bailed-Out Firms

Discussion: Politics Daily

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

New Hampshire independents abandoning Obama in droves: Poll — The crucial independent voters of notoriously independent New Hampshire, the ones who were so vital to Barack Obama's 2008 victory there and nationally, are fast falling out of love with the Democrat.

Steve Krakauer / Mediaite:

NBC Cafeteria Celebrates Black History Month With Fried Chicken Special (Update) — So who at NBC thought it would be a good idea for the special today to be, among other things, fried chicken, “in honor of Black History Month”? — Because, spoiler alert - it wasn't a good idea at all.

Discussion: Another Black Conservative, The Confluence, Gates of Vienna, Michelle Malkin, NewsBusters.org, Big Journalism, JammieWearingFool, The Political Carnival, Hot Air and American Power

CNN:

Brown to take Kennedy's office — Sen.-elect Scott Brown will be sworn in Thursday in Washington. — Washington - 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.

Discussion: The Politico and The Hill

CNN:
Brown sworn in as new senator from Massachusetts

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Sister Toldjah, JammieWearingFool, Another Black Conservative, Jules Crittenden, Mudville Gazette, The Page, The Lonely Conservative and Boston Globe

J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill: Sen. Brown sworn in, promises cross-aisle communication

CNN:

Biden ponders filibuster reform — Washington - Moments after swearing in Sen. Scott Brown, R-Massachusetts, whose presence in the Senate means Democrats no longer have their 60-vote filibuster-proof supermajority, Vice President Joe Biden told reporters he thinks filibusters have been abused …

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Off-message, Biden recasts the Obama agenda

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, The TrogloPundit, QandO, democracyarsenal.org, JustOneMinute, Commentary, The Corner on National …, The Glittering Eye and Prairie Weather

Rob Stein / Washington Post:

Pentagon to stock health facilities with morning-after pill — The Department of Defense will begin making the morning-after pill Plan B available at all of its hospitals and health clinics around the world, officials announced Thursday. — The decision came after a recommendation …

Discussion: Swampland and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Retracto / Big Journalism:

Correction Request: Max Blumenthal, Salon.com — In Max Blumenthal's article “James O'Keefe's race problem” for Salon.com of February 3, 2010, Mr. Blumenthal makes a number of unverifiable and provably false claims regarding James O'Keefe's attendance at a 2006 conference called “Race and Conservatism.”

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Pajamas Media, Runnin' Scared and The Greenroom

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:

Lobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans — WASHINGTON — Four months ago, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to private lenders.

Marc Lacey / New York Times:

Haiti Charges Americans With Child Abduction — PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Ten Americans who tried to take 33 Haitian children out of the country last week without the government's consent have been charged with child abduction and criminal conspiracy, as Haitian officials sought to reassert judicial control after the Jan. 12 earthquake.

Discussion: The Lede, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Reuters, Newshoggers.com, Truthdig, Associated Press and Jezebel

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 …

Discussion: Rasmussen Reports, Guardian, Liberal Values, QandO, Taegan Goddard's …, The Daily Dish, Matthew Yglesias and TalkLeft

Tony Romm / The Hill:

Gibbs to Sen. Bond: Apologize to law enforcement, White House for leak claim — Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is calling on Republican Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) to apologize “to the law enforcement community and those that work in this building” for alleging the White House had leaked classified information …

Discussion: The Caucus, Political Punch, Raw Story and Connecting.the.Dots

Wall Street Journal:

T-Mobile USA's Owner Weighs IPO — The owner of T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. wireless provider, is exploring an initial public offering or spinoff of the business, according to people familiar with the matter, as it seeks ways to jump start the carrier and assuage disenchanted shareholders.

Discussion: Engadget and FT Alphaville

Lee Davidson / Deseret News:

Hatch creates uproar on 'don't ask, don't tell' — WASHINGTON — Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, seemed to say on national TV Wednesday that he is open to considering repeal of the ban on gays in the military — creating an uproar on many political and gay-activist Web sites.

Discussion: Box Turtle Bulletin, Advocate, Wonk Room, Think Progress, TPM LiveWire, Firedoglake and The Hill

Christopher Preble / Cato @ Liberty:

Charles Krauthammer, Rocket Scientist — Last evening on FoxNews, host Bret Baier reported that the Iranians had launched a rocket carrying “a mouse, two turtles, and a can of worms” into space. He asked the panelists to speculate on the implications. — Charles Krauthammer inveighed …

Discussion: AmSpecBlog and Eunomia

Bloomberg:

Ken Lewis, Bank of America Sued by Cuomo for Fraud — Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) — Former Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis was sued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for defrauding investors and the government when buying Merrill Lynch & Co. The bank agreed …

Discussion: CNNMoney.com, The Hill and Hullabaloo

The White House:

Remarks by the President at the National Prayer Breakfast — Washington, D.C. — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. Please be seated. — Thank you so much. Heads of state, Cabinet members, my outstanding Vice President, members of Congress, religious leaders …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Shakesville, New Orleans Times-Picayune, White House.gov Blog Feed, New York Times and The Huffington Post

Big Government:

Sen. John Kerry Letter Supporting Code Pink's Hamas-Aid Gaza Freedom March — [Note: This is the latest segment in an ongoing series about Code Pink and its co-founder Jodie Evans. Click here to read earlier articles.] — Massachusetts senior U.S. Senator John Kerry provided a letter …

Discussion: YID With LID and Israel Matzav

Peterhamby / CNN:

Club for Growth targets Gingrich — Newt Gingrich is being attacked by the conservative Club for Growth. — Washington (CNN) - The conservative Club for Growth is hitting back at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for criticizing the small government group during an appearance in Utah for Republican Sen. Bob Bennett.

Discussion: American Power