memeorandum: GOP demands White House post health care proposal online … (Chris Bowers/Open Left)

7:00 PM ET, February 15, 2010

Top Items:

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Evan Bayh won't seek re-election, Senate majority in play? — Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek re-election this year, he announce Monday, a decision that hands Republicans a prime pickup opportunity in the middle of the country. — “After all these years, my passion for service …

Rich V. / The Vail Spot:

Senator Mikulski of Maryland to Retire — I've just heard from an impeccable source that Barbara Mikulski, the Democratic Senator who is up for reelection this November, will choose to retire. Mrs. Mikulski is expected to make her formal announcement in the next few days.

Discussion: National Review Online, DownWithTyranny!, Open Left, Power Line, Don Surber and The Lonely Conservative

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

WHAT BAYH IS THINKING.... Sen. Evan Bayh's (D-Ind.) retirement is a shocker, leading many to wonder what on earth a popular incumbent with plenty of money and a big lead in the polls is thinking. Bayh alluded to his frustrations on the Hill as part of his rationale.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, The Impolitic, Democratic Strategist and The Washington Independent

Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:

Bayh to retire in huge blow to Dems — Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) will announce this afternoon that he will not seek re-election in 2010. — The news is a big loss for Democrats, opening up a very competitive seat in what's shaping up to be a tough cycle for Democrats.

Discussion: CBS News, CNN, Ben Smith's Blog, The Moderate Voice, National Review Online, Blue Indiana, PostPartisan, The Swamp, Gawker, Moonbattery and NPR Blogs

Hotline On Call:

Explaining The IN Filing Process — Sen. Evan Bayh's (D-IN) decision to retire has sent Dems scrambling to figure out who will carry the party's standard — and how to go about getting that person on the ballot in the first place. — Candidates running for statewide office …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Plum Line, Commentary, Daily Kos, Wizbang and Riehl World View

ABCNEWS:

Evan Bayh Disses Washington on Way Out — Two-term Senator from Indiana Says He Will Not Seek Re-election, Pans Partisanship in U.S. Congress — Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh announced today that will not seek a third term — a huge blow to Democrats and an opportunity for Republicans to pick up another Senate seat in 2010.

Discussion: The Politico, CNN, Mediaite, The Note, Truthdig and Wonkette

Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:
Bayh To Retire In Face Of Challenge

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, The Politico, The Huffington Post, Michelle Malkin, Firedoglake, Swing State Project, The Political Carnival and The Daily Caller

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Challenger adds to post-Bayh chaos

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CNN, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air and The Washington Independent

Charles Lane / PostPartisan:
Bayh to Obama: take this job and shove it

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Blue Crab Boulevard, Althouse, Eunomia, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Ruby Slippers

Ed Hornick / CNN:
Too tough to be a centrist?

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Holy Crap — Evan Bayh will announce today he's retiring from Congress.

Discussion: USA Today and MyDD

ABCNEWS:
Bye Bayh: Sen. Evan Bayh to Retire, Deal Blow to the Dems

Discussion: The Washington Independent, TPMDC, The Page, Wonkette, neo-neocon and Ben Smith's Blog

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Evan Bayh — Obviously, Evan Bayh's never been my favorite Senator.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Peter Wehner / Commentary:
Barack Millstone Obama

Discussion: The New Republic

Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Another Dem Already In Race For Bayh's Seat …

Discussion: The Politico, Swing State Project, RedState and Talking Points Memo

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Is Bayh Running for President

Discussion: Lean Left

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Bayh, Relative to His State, Was Valuable to Democrats

Discussion: The Daily Dish

The Caucus:
Bayh Decides Against Re-election Bid

Discussion: Think Progress, Balkinization, The Reality-Based Community, Newsweek Blogs, CANNONFIRE, Prairie Weather and The Political Carnival

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Senate Candidate Tamyra D'Ippolito: “Politics in Indiana is the Old Boy's School.”

Discussion: RedState, Open Left and The Washington Independent

The Cook Political Report:
2010 SENATE RACE RATINGS

Discussion: RedState

Christina Bellantoni / TPMDC:
Surprise! Bayh's Choice Leaves State Party Officials Choosing …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Guardian, msnbc.com and Open Left

David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
How Can Democrats Replace Bayh?

Discussion: Ezra Klein, Angry Bear and The Moderate Voice

Ezra Klein:

Democrats released a compromise health-care reform proposal — On Friday, I posted about the guest list for the White House's health-care summit, but I missed the big news in the accompanying invitation (mostly because I didn't notice that there was an accompanying invitation). Here's the money bit:

Discussion: The New Republic, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Hit & Run, TalkLeft, Democratic Strategist, SpeakEasy, Grasping Reality …, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, The Reality-Based Community and Ben Smith's Blog

Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:

White House revamps communications strategy — White House officials are retooling the administration's communications strategy to produce faster responses to political adversaries, a more disciplined focus on President Obama's call for “change” in Washington and an increasingly selective use of the president's time.

Discussion: New York Times, The Corner on National …, The Plum Line, GayPatriot, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, The Caucus, Dennis the Peasant, The Hill, protein wisdom and NewsReal Blog

Chris Bowers / Open Left:

GOP demands White House post health care proposal online, then attacks WH for doing exactly that — Here is one from the “negotiating in good faith” files. — On February 8th, Republican House leader John Beohner sent a letter to the White House, demanding that the White House post online …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TPMDC, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, thedanashow.wordpress.com and Daily Kos

Josh Gerstein / The Politico: W.H. considers indefinite detention

Boston Herald:

‘Oddball’ protrait emerges — Suspect's family, pals offer clues — As authorities searched for clues into what could have sent a University of Alabama neurobiology professor on an alleged killing spree, friends and family yesterday described Braintree native Amy Bishop as an awkward introvert …

Discussion: New York Times, theblogprof, Michelle Malkin, PoliBlog, Jules Crittenden, Don Surber, No More Mister Nice Blog, POWIP and Moonbattery

Carol E. Lee / The Politico:

Senator: VP comments ‘insulting’ — Joe Biden shakes hands with Scott Brown. AP — Sen. Scott Brown thinks Vice President Joe Biden was “off base” when he suggested Sunday that the Massachusetts Republican get his facts straight on the legal procedures for military tribunals.

Discussion: Josh Gerstein's Blog, The Jawa Report, Sister Toldjah and Moe Lane

Andrea Adelson / Sun-Sentinel:

Sarah Palin Mania takes over Daytona — DAYTONA BEACH - Palin-mania easily surpassed Danica-mania at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. — While Patrick got all the headlines for the better part of two weeks, she had no stake in the Daytona 500. Palin did, and as a VIP guest for the race, she ate up all the attention.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and Conservatives4Palin.com

Washington Post:

Series of missteps by climate scientists threatens climate-change agenda — With its 2007 report declaring that the “warming of the climate system is unequivocal,” the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won a Nobel Prize — and a new degree of public trust in the controversial science of global warming.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Times of London, The Strata-Sphere, JustOneMinute, FP Passport, dallasmorningviewsblog …, Walter Russell Mead's Blog, NewsBusters.org, Fausta's Blog and Michelle Malkin

New York Times:

Corrections — EDITORS' NOTE — In a number of business articles in The Times over the past year, and in posts on the DealBook blog on NYTimes.com, a Times reporter appears to have improperly appropriated wording and passages published by other news organizations.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Don Surber, Gawker, Silicon Alley Insider and TPM LiveWire

Rasmussen Reports:

Election 2010: Washington Senate — Washington Senate: Murray Leads All Republican Challengers But Rossi — Democratic Senator Patty Murray holds double-digit leads on three of the top Republicans who hope to unseat her in this year's Senate race in Washington State.

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Ken Starr to head Baylor University — Ken Starr, the constitutional lawyer who conducted the independent counsel investigation that lead to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, is expected to be named this week as president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, according to a source with knowledge of the decision.

Discussion: Above the Law, Mediaite and Outside The Beltway