Top Items:
Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:
Top House Republicans throw cold water on health-care summit — Leading House Republicans raised the prospect Monday night that they might refuse to participate in President Obama's proposed health care summit if the White House chooses not to scrap the existing reform bills and start over.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Politics Channel, Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, Think Progress, Mediaite, Washington Times, The Strata-Sphere, Weekly Standard, The Daily Dish, Doug Ross, Wake up America, Indecision Forever, The Foundry, The Fix, Jules Crittenden, New York Magazine, Wonk Room, The Mahablog, Hot Air, Firedoglake and BuzzFlash.org
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Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Obama Rebukes Boehner In Testy Exchange, Charges GOP Wants To Kill All His Initiatives — Update: White House press sec Robert Gibbs just got in touch to confirm that there was an exchange and to clarify a key point. His comments are below. — At the private White House meeting today between Obama …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Congressional Democrats point finger of blame at Rahm Emanuel on healthcare — Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform. — The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel's lack …
CBS News:
Robert Gibbs Scrawls Notes on Hand, Mocking Sarah Palin (Video) — Posted by Brian Montopoli Following President Obama's surprise appearance at the White House press briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs garnered laughter from the press corps by holding up his hand to reveal that he had written notes on his palm in black marker.
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Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Getting Sarah Palin's Paradigm — “If the primaries were this year, I suspect she'd be nominated,” a senior adviser to one of Sarah Palin's potential rivals confides. It's easy to see why: no one who's thinking of running beats the enthusiasm she generates among Republican activists.
Mary Katharine Ham / Weekly Standard:
Robert Gibbs Goes Dane Cook: Steals Jokes from Sarah Palin to Make Fun of Her — Focused like a laser. — In a White House briefing where the president showed up (because Howard Kurtz wrote a column) to talk about his bipartisan health-care summit and getting beyond politics to solve problems …
John Brennan / USA Today:
Opposing view: ‘We need no lectures’ — Administration disrupts terrorists' plots, takes fight to them abroad. — Politics should never get in the way of national security. But too many in Washington are now misrepresenting the facts to score political points, instead of coming together to keep us safe.
Discussion:
Political Punch, Washington Examiner, Josh Gerstein's Blog, Washington Monthly, National Review, PostPartisan, NewsBusters.org, Hot Air, White House.gov Blog Feed, New York Post, Power Line, The Corner on National …, The Other McCain, Liberal Values, The Foundry, Big Government, The Strata-Sphere, Sister Toldjah, RedState, Taylor Marsh, The Hill, Emptywheel, Washington Post, Indecision Forever, Gateway Pundit, AMERICAblog News, The Washington Independent, Real Clear Politics, Don Surber, Shot in the Dark, Townhall.com, Dennis the Peasant, National Review Online, Brendan Nyhan and TPMMuckraker
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. Bond calls for Brennan's resignation — Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) called on Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan's resignation on Tuesday. — Bond said Brennan, with whom he's tangled publicly over the Obama administration's handling of the attempted bombing of a flight on Christmas, to resign.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, The Corner on National … and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS
Wall Street Journal:
Bush Was Right, Says Obama — 'We're not handling any of these cases any different from the Bush administration.' — This weekend, Americans were treated to something new: Barack Obama defending his war policies by suggesting they merely continue his predecessor's practices.
Discussion:
USA Today, The Corner on National …, The Strata-Sphere, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, This ain't Hell … and Commentary
Leon Wieseltier / The New Republic:
Something Much Darker — Andrew Sullivan has a serious problem. — I. — “Trying to explain the doctrine of the Trinity to readers of The New Republic is not easy.” On June 2, 1944, W.H. Auden penned that sentence in a letter to Ursula Niebuhr. On January 26, 2010 …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Gawker, TPMCafe, The Huffington Post, Riehl World View, Fausta's Blog, New York Magazine, AmSpecBlog, Grasping Reality … and Wonkette
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Latest From Leon — It's been fourteen years since I left TNR and Leon Wieseltier is still obsessed with his long-standing and at this point tedious personal vendetta against me. I will try and defend myself from these dark insinuations of anti-Semitism one by one in due course …
Discussion:
NewsReal Blog
Jon Cohen / Behind the Numbers:
Poll: Bipartisanship popular, compromise tricky — Americans spread the blame when it comes to the lack of cooperation in Washington, and, in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, most want the two sides to keep working to pass comprehensive health-care reform.
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Jeff Sheng / The Bilerico Project:
Exclusive Pics: Lt. Dan Choi back in service? — This past weekend at the NGLTF Creating Change conference, there was a notable absence that many have already tweeted and remarked about. Lt. Dan Choi was supposed to lead a Knights Out sponsored workshop on Friday morning about ending …
Discussion:
Advocate, Ben Smith's Blog, Pam's House Blend, Gawker, Joe. My. God. and The Washington Independent
L. Douglas Wilder / The Politico:
Wilder: Obama needs to fire DNC Chairman Kaine, W.H. advisers — During the 2008 campaign, I strongly endorsed Barack Obama for president. I did so early, when many Democratic leaders — including many prominent African-American politicians — believed the safe bet was to back then-front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Michael Steele Suggests Criticism Of His Tenure Motivated By Racism — It's been awhile since Michael Steele has landed himself in the news, but this might stir things up again: In a new interview, Steele bluntly suggests criticism of his tenure — and all the media coverage it's garnered — may be motivated by racism.
Discussion:
Media Matters Action Network, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Ben Smith's Blog, theGrio, Daily Kos and TPM LiveWire
Tami Luhby / CNNMoney.com:
Unemployment taxes slam businesses — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Employers are getting hit with a massive tax hike at a time when they can least afford it. — Companies in at least 35 states will have to fork over more in unemployment insurance taxes this year, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Palin Puts Together A ... Campaign? — Sarah Palin is putting together a campaign team, and Washington is taking notice. Mark Leibovich of the New York Times described her bare-bones political operation. Here is what I know: she is not worried about fundraising right now.
St. Petersburg Times:
Secret contract, lavish spending push Republican Party of Florida to crisis — As a volatile election season gets under way, the Republican Party of Florida is facing its biggest crisis of confidence in decades. — Donors and party activists are livid over newly revealed records …
The Smoking Gun:
Felony Snowball Tossing Charges Lodged — Cops: Virginia college students pelted city plow, unmarked police car — Felony snowball throwing charges have been leveled against two Virginia college students for allegedly pelting a city plow and an undercover police car during Saturday's blizzard.
Justin Elliott / TPM LiveWire:
Palin Advocates War With Iran After Apparently Misunderstanding Buchanan Column (VIDEO) — Citing a column by Pat Buchanan that clearly argues against conflict with Iran, Sarah Palin on Sunday suggested that a war with Iran would be good policy and a boon for President Obama's 2012 reelection hopes.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Raw Story, News Desk, The Corner on National … and Patrick J. Buchanan
Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Pamela Geller Destroys Ron Reagan Jr. on Joy Behar Show (Video) — The great Pamela Geller from Atlas Shrugs destroyed Ron Reagan Jr., Joy Behar and her other hateful liberal guest on the Behar Show last night. Geller gave Ron Jr. the spanking he never had, but needed.
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Republicans — Not Obama — More Often on Wrong Side of Public Opinion — One of the more commonplace assertions among pundits on the center-right — made rather carelessly by Victor Davis Hanson and more thoughtfully by Jay Cost, is that agenda put forward by Obama and the Democrats …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Defiant Paterson reports on Times interview: ‘No such questions’ — David Paterson called a press conference (nominal subject: snow) after his interview this afternoon with The New York Times's Albany bureau, effectively to declare an end to the speculation that the Times is about to break …
Veronique de Rugy / The Corner on National …:
‘The Limits of Blaming Bush’ — By: Veronique de Rugy — President Obama never tires of blaming President Bush for the deficit our nation faces. Tobe sure, the Bush-era deficits were bad. I spent a great deal of time in the last eight years protesting our last president's lack of fiscal responsibility (here and here, for instance).
Discussion:
Megan McArdle
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:
Brown opposes Obama in first big vote — Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) cast his first major vote today, helping Republicans maintain a filibuster against President Obama's nominee to the National Labor Relations Board. — Brown opposed ending debate on the nomination of Craig Becker …
Discussion:
The Politico
Michael Peck / Danger Room:
Why the Army Doesn't Train on Xboxes — Right now, every military command post and every training center is packed with PCs. In the future, many of those machines might be replaced with game consoles — if the armed forces can ever work out their disagreements with the console-makers. — Why consoles?