Top Items:
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.
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Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Conrad: Reform “dead” unless House passes Senate bill first — If congressional Democrats decide to pass fixes to the Senate health care bill through reconciliation, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) is one of the most important people to bring on board with the plan.
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Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Conrad: Health Care ‘Dead’ Unless House Passes Senate Bill First — The Senate Democrats' top budget guy told reporters today that the Senate can't pass a reconciliation package tweaking a comprehensive health care bill unless the House passes the Senate bill first.
Discussion:
The Hill, Firedoglake, Open Congress, Swampland, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, AmSpecBlog, TalkLeft and The Reality-Based Community
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.
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 …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, The Huffington Post, Vanity Fair, The Mudflats, The Daily Dish, Wonkette and Conservatives4Palin.com
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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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Ben Dimiero / Media Matters for America:
“Nuclear Option” stupidity comes full circle — Want to see a neat trick? — As we've documented extensively over the past year, conservatives have waged an ongoing campaign to re-brand the process of reconciliation as the “nuclear option.” Feel free to read any of the hundred or so examples …
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:
Bloomberg, Hot Air, RedState, Outside The Beltway, Swampland, CentristNet, National Review Online, Wall Street Journal, The Note, Jules Crittenden, JammieWearingFool, PoliBlog, The Hill, Taylor Marsh, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Page, New York Times, Politics Daily, Hotline On Call, Left Coast Rebel, msnbc.com and The Lonely Conservative
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Maggie Mertens / Kaiser Health News:
Chart: Comparing Health Reform Bills: Democrats and Republicans 2009 …
Chart: Comparing Health Reform Bills: Democrats and Republicans 2009 …
Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
Democrats, Republicans try to agree on summit seat assignments
Democrats, Republicans try to agree on summit seat assignments
Discussion:
Politics Daily
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:
Lean Left
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Hollie McKay / Fox News:
Miss Beverly Hills Lauren Ashley Opposes Same Sex Marriage
Miss Beverly Hills Lauren Ashley Opposes Same Sex Marriage
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TMZ.com, The Bilerico Project, Towleroad News #gay and Feministing
Erik Wemple / City Desk:
Breaking: Could “The Party” Be Over? — Update 2:28: Newsroom rumors are running fierce right now. But it's tough to nail any sort of confirmation on where the column stands. Will keep pounding. — Update 1:45: Have made several calls to the very top crust of Post newsroom management.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Ezra Klein:
Don't get Rep. Anthony Weiner angry — You wouldn't like him when he's angry. — Watch this through to at least the third minute, by which time a Republican has pulled a parliamentary maneuver to stop Weiner and give him a chance to take back his words, and Weiner substitutes his words for, uh, other words.
Mark Silva / The Swamp:
TEA Party folds when economy revives — The “TEA Party,” that anti-tax, anti big-government movement of people intent on turning out incumbents this year, will “disappear” as the economy improves. — So says Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican governor of California whom some in his own party view as a RINO.
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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.
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 …
Discussion:
Mudville Gazette
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Thomas E. Ricks / New York Times:
Extending Our Stay in Iraq
Extending Our Stay in Iraq
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, The Huffington Post, Mudville Gazette, ATTACKERMAN, RealClearWorld, Progressive Fix and Cato @ Liberty
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 …
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:
The Moderate Voice, PERRspectives, SpeakEasy, Commentary, Gateway Pundit, Main Justice, Raw Story, BLACKFIVE, Truthdig and Boing Boing
Mike Levine / Liveshots:
Ft. Hood Attack Publicly Called “Terrorism” — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has become the first Obama Administration official to publicly describe last year's deadly shootings at Ft. Hood, Tex., as a terrorist act, according to a search of news clips and transcripts.
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Nick Bunkley / New York Times:
G.M. to Close Hummer After Sale Collapses — DETROIT — General Motors said Wednesday that it would shut down Hummer, the brand of big sport-utility vehicles that became synonymous with the term “gas guzzler,” after a deal to sell it to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart.
Jennifer D. Jordan / Associated Press:
Every Central Falls teacher fired, labor outraged … CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — The full force of organized labor showed up in Central Falls Tuesday, with several hundred union members rallying in support of the city's teachers and bringing plenty of harsh words for the education officials …
Rachel Slajda / TPM LiveWire:
Who Switched On The Jobs Bill? — On Monday, the Senate voted for cloture on the Democratic jobs bill, 62-30. Today, they passed the bill itself in a vote of 70-28. — That means eight senators who voted against cloture (or were absent, which in a cloture vote is the same as a no vote) vote for the bill itself.
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The Frisky:
“I'm Live-Tweeting My Abortion” — “I'm doing this to de-mystify abortion,” she says. “I'm doing this so other women know, 'Hey, it's not nearly as terrifying as I had myself worked up thinking it was.' It's just not that bad.” — These are the words of Angie Jackson, a blogger and mother of a 4-year-old son.
Orlando Sentinel:
SeaWorld Orlando trainer killed in whale attack — An experienced female trainer at Sea World Orlando, Dawn Brancheau, was fatally injured by one of the whales. — A SeaWorld employee died this afternoon during an incident at SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium, an Orange County Sheriff's Office official confirmed.
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, BuzzMachine, ReadWriteWeb, NewTeeVee, Silicon Alley Insider, Engadget, Mashable!, Cato @ Liberty, TechCrunch, BBC, Gawker and Althouse
David Harsanyi / Reason:
The Ron Paul Delusion — Why the Texas congressman does not represent the future of conservatism — What are we to make of the Republican Party's future now that libertarian Rep. Ron Paul won the presidential straw poll at the well-attended Conservative Political Action Conference last week?
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
McCain's ‘birther’ attack — priceless, where was this mccain in 2008? — Posted By: priceless, where was this mccain in 2008? America...yet another lie and spin...from a moderate ‘fence sitter’! I do not believe that Bilderberg Bush-0bama is a legal citizen and qualified to be President either and I …
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.
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.
Julie Rovner / NPR:
Health Care No Stranger To Reconciliation Process … text sizeAAA — To reconcile or not to reconcile — when it comes to a health overhaul bill, that seems to be the biggest argument of the moment. — At issue is a process called budget reconciliation.