Top Items:
Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
Obama's health reform gamble raises questions of judgment — On health-care reform, the strategy of President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders is psychologically understandable — as well as delusional. — It is easy to imagine the internal dialogue: “Well, they voted for me, overwhelmingly.
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Ben Pershing / Washington Post:
Senate passes $15 billion jobs bill on bipartisan vote — The Senate easily passed a $15 billion jobs bill on Wednesday morning amid hope that the measure could provide a blueprint for other items on President Obama's agenda. — The measure passed 70 to 28, with 13 Republicans joining 57 Democrats in support of the package.
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James Wolcott / Vanity Fair:
The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Salon — Vanity Fair colleague Michael Wolff, though not a licensed clinician or chiropodist, renders what seems to me an inarguable diagnosis of the current conservative condition, i.e., they've gone loco: — Having whipped themselves into dishrag fatigue …
Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Jeb Bush On Sarah Palin: If She Only Had A Brain... (VIDEO) — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has some advice for Sarah Palin: You'd be a great, if you only had a brain. — In a recent interview with Newsmax, Bush was asked whether he thought Palin was a viable candidate for president.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Ben Smith's Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Think Progress, Washington Monthly and Riehl World View
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Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Bush: Crist ‘unforgivable’ on stimulus support
Bush: Crist ‘unforgivable’ on stimulus support
Discussion:
Politics Daily
Buford T Justice / Breitbart.tv:
OBAMA & DEMS IN ‘05: 51 VOTE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION’ IS ‘ARROGANT’ POWER GRAB AGAINST THE FOUNDERS’ INTENT — Biden: “I pray God when the Democrats take back control we don't make the kind of naked power grab you are doing.”
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Andy Barr / The Politico:
Top Palin aide resigns — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's senior adviser and spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton has resigned, POLITICO has learned. — Stapleton has been a Palin confidant since December 2006 and one of the governor's most trusted aides since she was vaulted onto …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Exclusive: W.H. privately plots 2012 campaign run — President Barack Obama's top advisers are quietly laying the groundwork for the 2012 reelection campaign, which is likely to be run out of Chicago and managed by White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina, according to Democrats familiar with the discussions.
Discussion:
New York Times, Bloomberg, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, CentristNet, Swampland, JammieWearingFool, Jules Crittenden, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside The Beltway, The Hill, Politics Daily, The Page, Hotline On Call, PoliBlog, Left Coast Rebel, msnbc.com, Pundit & Pundette, CNN and Confederate Yankee
Zaid Jilani / Think Progress:
Miss Beverly Hills tries to one-up Carrie Prejean, says it's divine law that gays be put to death. — Last year, Miss California Carrie Prejean endeared herself to the right wing when she answered a question about same-sex marriage by saying that she believes marriage “should be between a man and a woman.”
Discussion:
Fox News, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Lean Left, Towleroad News #gay, Feministing and Pam's House Blend
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Arnold: Tea parties will ‘disappear’ — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger believes that the tea party movement is “not going anywhere.” — Schwarzenegger, speaking Tuesday night with Fox News's Greta Van Susteren, said the grass-roots movement is only “an expression of anger and disappointment.”
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Rasmussen Reports:
Congressional Performance — 71% Give Congress Poor Rating — Voter unhappiness with Congress has reached the highest level ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports as 71% now say the legislature is doing a poor job. — That's up ten points from the previous high of 61% reached a month ago.
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Nabors to White House, Liebman moves up — The deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, Rob Nabors, is leaving the agency for a White House post, with a longtime Obama advisor, Jeff Liebman, moving up to take his place in an acting capacity. — Nabors, an administration source said …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein
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Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:
Boehner makes his summit picks, awaiting word whether he can bring a governor
Boehner makes his summit picks, awaiting word whether he can bring a governor
Discussion:
CNN
Catherine Philp / Times of London:
US diplomats add a moat to their expenses at $1bn London embassy — The United States has unveiled plans for its new $1 billion high-security embassy in London — the most expensive it has ever built. — The proposals were met with relief from both the present embassy's Mayfair neighbours …
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
One Of Obama's Great Achievements May Be Unraveling — Was it only two weeks ago that Joe Biden explained that Iraq was on track to become “one of the great achievements” of the Obama Administration? Now Thomas Ricks, author of “Fiasco” and “The Gamble”, warns us of the fragile stability …
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Thomas E. Ricks / New York Times:
Extending Our Stay in Iraq
Extending Our Stay in Iraq
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, RealClearWorld, Mudville Gazette, Progressive Fix, Cato @ Liberty, Foreign Policy and ATTACKERMAN
John Yoo / Wall Street Journal:
My Gift to the Obama Presidency — Though the White House won't want to admit it, Bush lawyers were protecting the executive's power to fight a vigorous war on terror. — Barack Obama may not realize it, but I may have just helped save his presidency. How?
Discussion:
Commentary, Gateway Pundit, BLACKFIVE, PERRspectives, Main Justice, Raw Story and Althouse
CNN:
Contractors outnumber full-time workers at DHS; lawmakers ‘astounded’ — Sens. Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins call the hiring situation at the Department of Homeland Security ‘unacceptable.’. — Washington (CNN) - The Department of Homeland Security has more contractors working …
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James Hider / Times of London:
Son of Hamas founder spied for Israel for more than a decade — The son of one of Hamas's founding members was a spy in the service of Israel for more than a decade, helping prevent dozens of Islamist suicide bombers from finding their targets, it emerged today.
Igor / Think Progress:
REPORT: WellPoint Raising Premium Rates By Double Digits In At Least 11 States — If Democrats move to pass health care reform after tomorrow's summit, their newfound momentum can be at least partly attributed to WellPoint's decision to drastically increase premiums in California's individual health insurance market.
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George Pantos / Orange County Register:
Technology can lower health insurance costs … With his health care overhaul stalled, President Barack Obama has challenged America to come up with alternatives. “You got a better idea? Bring it on,” he recently announced. A televised summit meeting on health care ideas is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25.
Dan Senor / NY Post: Knickerbocker:
Exclusive: Ex-Bush adviser Dan Senor weighing run against Gillibrand as Republican — Dan Senor, the husband of CNN's Campbell Brown and a former Bush administration foreign policy adviser, is eyeing a run as a Republican against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, The Knickerbocker has learned.
Matt Sucherman / The Official Google Blog:
Serious threat to the web in Italy — In late 2006, students at a school in Turin, Italy filmed and then uploaded a video to Google Video that showed them bullying an autistic schoolmate. The video was totally reprehensible and we took it down within hours of being notified by the Italian police.
Discussion:
Guardian, BBC, Cato @ Liberty, BuzzMachine, Silicon Alley Insider, Engadget, ReadWriteWeb, Mashable!, NewTeeVee, TechCrunch, Gawker and Althouse
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
Yelp Hit With Class Action Lawsuit For Running An “Extortion Scheme” — Two law firms, Beck & Lee from Miami and The Weston Firm in San Diego, have filed a class action lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court alleging unfair business practices by local business review and rating website operator Yelp.
Jenna Johnson / Washington Post:
Pledge of Allegiance dispute results in Md. teacher having to apologize — The mother of a 13-year-old Montgomery County middle school student is demanding an apology from a teacher who had school police escort the youngster from a classroom for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance.