Top Items:
Washington Post:
Poll finds most Americans are unhappy with government — Two-thirds of Americans are “dissatisfied” or downright “angry” about the way the federal government is working, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. On average, the public estimates that 53 cents of every tax dollar they send to Washington is “wasted.”
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David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Sarah Palin displays her pitch-perfect populism — The snows that obliterated Washington in the past week interfered with many scheduled meetings, but they did not prevent the delivery of one important political message: Take Sarah Palin seriously. — Her lengthy Saturday night keynote address …
Discussion:
The Fix, Matthew Yglesias, Think Progress, Hullabaloo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Salon, RedState, The Note, Taylor Marsh, Washington Monthly, No Sheeples Here, The Washington Independent, Commentary, Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, Left in the West, thephoenix.com, MyDD and TBogg
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Voters Divided Over Obama vs. Republican Candidate in 2012 — Republicans most often mention Romney, Palin as preferred candidate — PRINCETON, NJ — Registered voters are about equally divided as to whether they would more likely vote to re-elect Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, or vote for the Republican candidate.
E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
What fuels the grass-roots rage — So what exactly is the Tea Party movement and why has it risen up? — The ferocity of its opposition to President Obama is mystifying to political progressives. Most of the left simply doesn't see him as especially liberal, let alone “socialist.”
Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Will Tea Parties End Up Hurting Sarah Palin? — 35 Percent of Americans Express a Favorable Opinion of the Tea Party Movement — The Tea Party movement has the potential for significant political clout, but with challenges: high negatives, a fuzzy image and broader-than-ever skepticism …
Rich Miller / Bloomberg:
Obama ‘Agnostic’ on Deficit Cuts, Won't Prejudge Tax Increases — Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said he is “agnostic” about raising taxes on households making less than $250,000 as part of a broad effort to rein in the budget deficit. — Obama, in a Feb. 9 Oval Office interview …
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Roland S. Martin / CNN:
Time for Obama to go ‘gangsta’ on GOP — Editor's note: Roland S. Martin, a CNN political analyst, is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of “Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith,” and the forthcoming book, “The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House.”
Discussion:
POWIP, Dennis the Peasant, No Sheeples Here, Erick's blog, Pajamas Media, Media Blog on National …, Weasel Zippers and NewsReal Blog
Matthew Weaver / News: News blog:
Iran protests: live blog — Protesters clashed with the security forces and a number of opposition figures were rough-up, as the regime stamped its authority on the 31st anniversary of the revolution. Read how the day unfolded — 8.00am: — The Iranian opposition has been gearing …
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MiamiHerald.com:
Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart won't seek reelection — U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a passionate defender and architect of legislation to strengthen the U.S. embargo against Cuba, announced Thursday he won't seek reelection to Congress. — The Miami Republican made the announcement …
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Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Lincoln Diaz-Balart to retire — Florida Republican Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart will call it quits today, retiring after nine terms representing a heavily Cuban-American district in the Miami area, according to a source briefed on the decision. — Diaz-Balart, whose younger brother, Mario …
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Joe Biden update: Iraq one of Obama's ‘great achievements’ — Who knew? — Thank goodness, Vice President Joe Biden went on CNN to chat with Larry King Wednesday night. So many think things are not going so well for the Democrat administration, as The Ticket chronicled here.
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ABCNEWS:
Elizabeth Edwards Threatens Husband's Ex-Aide With Lawsuit — Andrew Young May Be Sued for Allegedly Contributing to Failure of Edwards' Marriage — Elizabeth Edwards may be preparing to sue her husband's longtime aide for allegedly contributing to the demise of her marriage.
Discussion:
Gawker
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Wendy Button / The Huffington Post:
My Story of John Edwards's Mess
My Story of John Edwards's Mess
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
The Politico:
Left frets over fate of 'don't ask' — Congressional liberals were heartened when Barack Obama pledged to repeal “don't ask, don't tell,” but their initial elation has given way to concerns the repeal will stall in the penalty box of presidential promises: the U.S. Senate.
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David Rogers / The Politico:
Can Gregg help W.H. save health bill? — Is Judd Gregg a tease or a real potential partner for President Barack Obama in trying to salvage some health care reform in this Congress? — That's one question the White House has to answer for itself before the much-ballyhooed televised sit …
Steven T. Dennis / Roll Call:
Pelosi Makes Her Case: A Majority Is 51 Votes — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is pinning the blame on Republicans for a lack of bipartisanship in Congress and plans to bypass them if they continue to oppose efforts to enact near-universal health care.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Hill, StarkReports.com, msnbc.com, The Politico and Real Clear Politics
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Declan McCullagh / CNET News:
Feds push for tracking cell phones — Two years ago, when the FBI was stymied by a band of armed robbers known as the “Scarecrow Bandits” that had robbed more than 20 Texas banks, it came up with a novel method of locating the thieves. — FBI agents obtained logs from mobile phone companies corresponding …
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Freedom's Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose — I don't know that I'd make too much of this, but tracking the Congressional Democrats' approval ratings in Quinnipiac polling over the past six months — they're now down to just 28 percent overall, including 19 percent (!) among independents — is interesting in this respect.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein
Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:
2 ex-employees say Blackwater billed government for prostitute — Two former employees of Blackwater Worldwide have accused the private security contractor of defrauding the government for years with phony billing, including charging for a prostitute, alcohol and spa trips.
Discussion:
New York Times, Politics Daily, Firedoglake, Gawker, ATTACKERMAN, Raw Story, The Washington Independent and Swampland
Ezra Klein:
Food stamps — I can't get over the fact that one in eight Americans are on food stamps. — Graph credit: The New York Times.
John M. Broder / New York Times:
Climate-Change Debate Is Heating Up in Deep Freeze — WASHINGTON — As millions of people along the East Coast hole up in their snowbound homes, the two sides in the climate-change debate are seizing on the mounting drifts to bolster their arguments. — Skeptics of global warming are using …