Top Items:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Social Secretary Ran Into Sharp Elbows — WASHINGTON — Long before the State Dinner party crashers and the tension with her White House colleagues and the strain in her relationship with the first lady, Desirée Rogers began to understand she was in trouble when David Axelrod summoned …
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Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
An option still on table? — Senate Republicans caused a major stir Thursday when they told reporters that the parliamentarian had informed them that the Senate bill needed to be signed into law before lawmakers took up a sidecar bill to fix it. — And Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad …
Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Obama delays trip for health push — President Barack Obama is delaying his trip to Indonesia and Australia by three days in hopes of finalizing a health care deal — and will scrap plans to take along first lady Michelle Obama and his two daughters, according to senior administration officials.
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama puts off overseas trip to focus on healthcare reform battle
Sheryl Stolberg / The Caucus:
Timing of Obama Indonesia Trip Questioned
Timing of Obama Indonesia Trip Questioned
Discussion:
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Washington Post:
If Democrats ignore health-care polls, midterms will be costly — In “The March of Folly,” Barbara Tuchman asked, “Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlightened self-interest suggests?” Her assessment of self-deception …
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Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
A Historic Achievement — I don't think the arguments mounted by Pat Caddell and Douglas Schoen that Democrats will face political disaster if they pass health reform hold water. Or, rather, I think they disingenuously fail to consider the alternative. If reform passes …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
POTUS lists charities getting Nobel largesse …
New York Times:
Top Obama Priorities Collide as Student Loan Legislation May Be Attached to Health Care — WASHINGTON — Democratic Congressional leaders struck a tentative agreement on Thursday that breathes new life into President Obama's proposed overhaul of federal student loan programs.
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Robert Pear / New York Times:
Democrats Struggle to Finish Health Bill — WASHINGTON — House and Senate Democratic leaders struggled Thursday to stitch together pieces of a final health care bill as rank-and-file Democrats demanded more information about the contents of the bill and its cost.
Discussion:
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
TYING STUDENT AID TO HEALTH CARE.... It didn't come into play …
TYING STUDENT AID TO HEALTH CARE.... It didn't come into play …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, A plain blog about politics, Facing South, Prescriptions and Firedoglake
David M. Drucker / Roll Call:
Ruling Kills an Option for Moving Health Bill
Ruling Kills an Option for Moving Health Bill
Discussion:
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Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Are Democrats Really Scrapping Abortion Negotiations With Stupak?
Are Democrats Really Scrapping Abortion Negotiations With Stupak?
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Associated Press, Wonk Room and Open Left
Howell Raines / Washington Post:
Why don't honest journalists take on Roger Ailes and Fox News? — One question has tugged at my professional conscience throughout the year-long congressional debate over health-care reform, and it has nothing to do with the public option, portability or medical malpractice.
David Brooks / New York Times:
Op-Ed Columnist: What Obama Stands For — Who is Barack Obama? — If you ask a conservative Republican, you are likely to hear that Obama is a skilled politician who campaigned as a centrist but is governing as a big-government liberal. He plays by ruthless, Chicago politics rules.
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BBC:
Rove ‘proud’ of US waterboarding — A senior advisor to former US President George W Bush has defended tough interrogation techniques, saying their use helped prevent terrorist attacks. — In a BBC interview, Karl Rove, who was known as “Bush's brain”, said he “was proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists”.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Reaction, Jules Crittenden, JONATHAN TURLEY, Newshoggers.com and Emptywheel
New York Times:
Report Details How Lehman Hid Its Woes as It Collapsed — By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN — It is the Wall Street equivalent of a coroner's report — a 2,200-page document that lays out, in new and startling detail, how Lehman Brothers used accounting sleight of hand …
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Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
Senators give Obama a bipartisan plan on immigration — The president is encouraged, but healthcare politics could jeopardize the proposal. — Clarissa Martinez de Castro of the National Council of La Raza speaks to reporters outside the White House after meeting with President Obama to on immigration reform.
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Tea parties stir evangelicals' fears — The rise of a new conservative grass roots fueled by a secular revulsion at government spending is stirring fears among leaders of the old conservative grass roots, the evangelical Christian right. — A reeling economy and the massive bank bailout …
Associated Press:
Reid's Wife and Daughter Injured in Car Accident — WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife and daughter were hospitalized Thursday — the wife with a broken back and neck — after their minivan was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck on an interstate highway in suburban Virginia, authorities said.
Discussion:
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Colorado Senate tied — Our first look at the Colorado Senate race since last summer finds that Jane Norton's entry into the race has not helped Republican chances of defeating Michael Bennet- and may have even hurt their prospects. Bennet and Norton tie at 43% apiece.
Deseret News:
House Majority Leader Kevin Garn admits to incident with girl in past — SALT LAKE CITY — House Majority Leader Kevin Garn admitted as the Legislature adjourned Thursday night to a nude hot tubbing incident with a teenage girl 25 years ago. — In a tearful statement in a packed House chambers …
Hamil R. Harris / Washington Post:
Rev. Jeremiah Wright discusses Obama controversy, history of his church — President Obama's former pastor Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. on Wednesday compared the president to a son who was being treated unfairly and said it had been hard weathering the media storm after Obama became …
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Health Reform Myths — Health reform is back from the dead. Many Democrats have realized that their electoral prospects will be better if they can point to a real accomplishment. Polling on reform — which was never as negative as portrayed — shows signs of improving.