Top Items:
Major Garrett / Row 2, Seat 4:
Obama to introduce health care bill Wednesday, “much smaller” than House version — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday President Obama will soon propose a health care bill that will be “much smaller” than the House bill but “big enough” to put the country on a “path” toward health care reform.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Another Black Conservative, The Corner on National … and Weasel Zippers
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The Politico:
Pelosi's brutal reality check — Asked this weekend to grade her performance as speaker, Nancy Pelosi gave herself an “A for effort.” — But Pelosi knows that the real test is still to come. — Pelosi is inarguably one of the strongest speakers in modern history …
The Note:
Pelosi Catches a Break: House Magic Number Set to Drop to 216 — ABC News' Rick Klein reports: Democrats may or may not be advancing the ball on health care reform. But the goal line is set to move a little closer. — Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., announced today that he plans to resign his seat …
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Pelosi Says She'll Get Votes Needed for Health Bill
Pelosi Says She'll Get Votes Needed for Health Bill
Discussion:
KeithHennessey.com, Bloomberg, Hit & Run, Roll Call, The Hill, Hotline On Call, The Lonely Conservative, The Foundry, Washington Post, Jules Crittenden, QandO, The Fix, JammieWearingFool, Scared Monkeys, MyDD, Betsy's Page, Connecting.the.Dots, Left Coast Rebel, Associated Press and Another Black Conservative
The World Newser:
Sen. Bunning is Angry: ‘This Is a Senators Only Elevator!’ — ABC's Jonathan Karl and Z. Byron Wolf report from Washington: — An angry Senator Jim Bunning refused to answer questions from ABC News about his decision to block a bill extending unemployment benefits.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Taegan Goddard's …, Think Progress, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Washington Post and The Plum Line
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The Huffington Post:
Bunning Objects To Extending Unemployment Insurance AGAIN (VIDEO) — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Sen. Jim Bunning continues to object to extending unemployment benefits. On Monday, the Kentucky Republican once again prevented a vote on a bill that would extend eligibility …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Top Democrats look to shame Bunning on unemployment benefits filibuster
Top Democrats look to shame Bunning on unemployment benefits filibuster
Discussion:
The Politico
Joan Lowy / The Huffington Post:
Jim Bunning Impasse Puts Federal Employees Out Of Work
Jim Bunning Impasse Puts Federal Employees Out Of Work
Discussion:
MiamiHerald.com, The Caucus, U.S. Department …, Think Progress, Washington Monthly and Swampland
Ezra Klein:
A reconciliation primer — It is amazing how few reporters understand what the budget reconciliation process is: Either how it works, or what it's traditionally been used for, or what Democrats are proposing to use it for. That confusion creates comical exchanges like this one …
Discussion:
Open Left, Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Open Congress, Politico Live's Blog, PERRspectives and Washington Post
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Ann Althouse / Althouse:
How many beers a day would Obama need to be drinking before his doctor would recommend “moderation of alcohol intake”? — Drudge picks out this bit from Obama's health report: — The link goes to this report — which stresses the advice to “continue smoking cessation efforts” (which means he's still smoking, apparently) — and ends:
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Ewen MacAskill / Guardian:
Doctors tell Barack Obama to quit smoking — The american president has been trying to kick the habit for sometime, apart from the smoking he is in excellent health — Barack Obama is still struggling to kick smoking, according to his first medical examination since becoming president.
Adam Green / The Huffington Post:
Public Option Garners Avalanche of Support in Senate — In the wake of last week's “bipartisan summit” — which proved that no Republicans in Congress will vote for health care reform — an avalanche of Democratic senators are announcing today that they will vote YES for the public health insurance option …
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Steven R. Hurst / Associated Press:
Analysis: Republicans setting filibuster record
Analysis: Republicans setting filibuster record
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News, Baltimore Sun, Ezra Klein, Daily Kos, PERRspectives, Taegan Goddard's …, Washington Monthly and ACS Blog
New York Times:
Network News at a Crossroads — ABC News is making no secret about what is behind the sweeping staff cuts it now faces: raw survival instinct. — “I just looked out at the next five years and was concerned that we could not sustain doing what we were doing,” said David Westin …
Discussion:
Media Decoder, Outside The Beltway, QandO, Mediaite, NewsBusters.org, Michael Calderone's Blog, New York Magazine, Romenesko and EW.com
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Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Halter declares against Lincoln — Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is moving ahead with a primary challenge to Sen. Blanche Lincoln, he announced Monday. — “Washington is broken,” Halter said in a video on his campaign website. “Bailing out Wall Street with no strings attached …
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Crooks and Liars, FiveThirtyEight, ArkansasTimes, TPMDC, RedState, Hot Air, Politics Daily and Daily Kos
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Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:
The Photo That Could Doom the Democrats — Blogs and Stories — Nancy Pelosi is protecting Rep. Charles Rangel, who failed to pay taxes on his Caribbean villa, among other miscues. But the ethically challenged congressional baron is endangering the Democrats' control of Congress.
Robert Barnes / Washington Post:
Gun case presents quandary for Supreme Court justices — As a member of the Junior ROTC, teenager Antonin Scalia toted his rifle on the subway ride back and forth to Queens. As a hunter, he speaks lyrically of stalking wild turkeys. And as a justice, he may have reached the pinnacle …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Financial Reform Endgame — So here's the situation. We've been through the second-worst financial crisis in the history of the world, and we've barely begun to recover: 29 million Americans either can't find jobs or can't find full-time work. Yet all momentum for serious banking reform has been lost.
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama's Drop — Barack Obama now has a negative approval rating in every state he flipped from the Bush column to his in 2008. In each of those places his level of support is now in the 44-46% range. It's probably a good thing he doesn't have to run for reelection this year.
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh
New York Times:
White House Is Rethinking Nuclear Policy — WASHINGTON — As President Obama begins making final decisions on a broad new nuclear strategy for the United States, senior aides say he will permanently reduce America's arsenal by thousands of weapons. But the administration has rejected proposals …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Neptunus Lex, Wonk Room, The Washington Independent, Townhall.com, The Page and New York Magazine
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Buffett would scrap health bill — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett advised President Barack Obama on Monday to scrap the health care bill and start over. — In an interview with CNBC, Buffett said the current bill does not focus on controlling costs, which he sees as the central problem …
Walter Alarkon / The Hill:
Hoyer: Raising taxes a realistic option for cutting $12 trillion debt — Tax increases may be necessary to rein in $12 trillion in federal debt, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday. — Hoyer emphasized the need to reform Social Security and Medicare …
John Yoo / Philly.com:
Closing Arguments: Finally, an end to Justice Dept. investigation — I've been under investigation for more than five years for legal advice that I gave in the immediate wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. This month, the Justice Department's top career lawyer finally put an end to the farce.
Tom-Jan Meeus / NRC Handelsblad:
Tea Party prominent: Palin not presidential — Former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo was the opening speaker at the recent Tea Party conference with Sarah Palin. In an interview with NRC Handelsblad, he spoke his mind about Palin. “I really don't have this feeling about her as being presidential.”
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, The Hill, The Spot, Raw Story, Ben Smith's Blog, The Corner on National … and The Washington Independent
Pew Internet:
Understanding the Participatory News Consumer — The overwhelming majority of Americans (92%) use multiple platforms to get their daily news, according to a new survey conducted jointly by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Discussion:
Politics Daily
Ezra Klein:
The 1982 election and pundit fallability — Washington is thick with dire predictions for Democrats in the midterm elections and pundits obsessively speculating whether Barack Obama ruined his presidency by trying to solve problems in his first year in office right now …