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Yossi Verter / Haaretz:
Haaretz Poll: Most Israelis see Obama as fair and friendly — U.S. President Barack Obama's popularity may be declining in American public opinion, but a sweeping majority of Israelis think his treatment of this country is friendly and fair, according to a Haaretz-Dialog poll conducted this week.
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Is Obama “fair and friendly”? — I must say I was surprised to see the headline, but less so after reading the small letters more carefully. As I'm sure this new Haaretz poll is going to make headlines - it will be highlighted by all those wanting President Obama to pressure Israelis even more …
Laura Rozen / Laura Rozen's Blog:
Clinton: Escalation “paying off”
Clinton: Escalation “paying off”
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
Jay Fitzgerald / Boston Herald:
Stephen Lynch strong ‘no’ on health bill despite talk with President Obama — Not even President Barack Obama could sway U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch from voting against a health-care reform package now headed for a dramatic weekend showdown. — After emerging from a 40-minute Oval Office meeting …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, TPMDC, Salon, TPM LiveWire, FiveThirtyEight, Guardian and Talking Points Memo
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New Health Care Whip Count: 193 Yes, 208 No (with Leaners: 203-211); Update: 194 Yes — Update: John Boccieri has just confirmed that he will vote for this bill-that brings the Yes column to 194. — Here's the last one. We're going to start to see this firm up, and we can focus attention on the last holdouts.
Tory Newmyer / Roll Call:
Setbacks Zero Out Gains in Whip Count
Setbacks Zero Out Gains in Whip Count
Discussion:
New York Times, The Politico, Townhall.com, USA Today, Bloomberg, Washington Post and msnbc.com
Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Are Anti-Abortion Democrats Open to a Deal on Health Care?
Are Anti-Abortion Democrats Open to a Deal on Health Care?
Discussion:
TRAIL BLAZERS, Taegan Goddard's …, Associated Press, Mediaite, New Deal 2.0, Prescriptions and Real Clear Politics
Bruce Bartlett / Forbes:
The Misinformed Tea Party Movement — For an antitax group, they don't know much about taxes. — On March 16 the Tea Party crowd showed up for yet another demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington. Curious about the factual knowledge these people have regarding the issues they are protesting …
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
CONFUSION-BASED RAGE, CONT'D.... Former Bush speechwriter David Frum enlisted some interns this week to survey Tea Party activists protesting in D.C. earlier this week. The goal was to get a sense of the activists' understanding of taxes — ostensibly, the “movement's” raison d'etre — and factual knowledge.
Jon Ralston / Las Vegas Sun:
Ensign's refusal to resign harms many in his circle — It's no longer a question of “if” but of “when” between now and January 2013 that John Ensign's short, previously happy, suddenly unhappy life as a senator will end. — One week after I told you about Ensign's breathtakingly obtuse statement through …
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Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Boccieri decision at 10:40 — Freshman Rep. John Boccieri (D-Ohio) will announce his health care vote at a press conference at 10:40 a.m. at the Capitol. — The fact that he's holding a press conference suggests it's a win for the Democratic leadership. It seems unlikely he'd make a big show …
Discussion:
The Page
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Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Boccieri is a ‘yes’ — An almost somber Rep. John Boccieri (D-Ohio) said Friday that he will switch his vote to ‘yes’ on the health care bill. — Boccieri is in the swing district of swing districts in the swing state of swing states. His vote was a big get for the Democratic leadership …
Jeffrey H. Anderson / Weekly Standard:
CBO: Obamacare Would Cost Over $2 Trillion — The CBO's most recent analysis is out, and it's not likely to convince wavering House Democrats to jump to the Obamacare side of the fence. Even the Democrats are granting that the latest version of their proposed health care overhaul would cost $69 billion more than the previous version.
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Now for the Slaughter — On the road to Demon Pass, our leader encounters a Baier. — Excuse me, but it is embarrassing—really, embarrassing to our country—that the president of the United States has again put off a state visit to Australia and Indonesia because he's having trouble passing …
New York Times:
After a Bitter Campaign, Forging an Alliance — WASHINGTON — On a snowy Thursday shortly before her weekly meeting with President Obama last month, Hillary Rodham Clinton got a distressing phone call: her husband, Bill Clinton, was in a hospital with chest pains and needed an urgent heart procedure.
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Deal Near on Gitmo, Detainee Trials — The White House is nearing a deal with a bipartisan group of senators to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and pave the way for more detainees to be tried before military commissions, a move that would reverse a signature Obama administration security policy.
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Andy McCarthy / The Corner on National Review Online:
The Sell-Out on Gitmo Is Nigh — By: Andy McCarthy
The Sell-Out on Gitmo Is Nigh — By: Andy McCarthy
Discussion:
Hot Air
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
In Health Vote, Democrats Weigh Success vs. Survival — WASHINGTON — In the homestretch of the health care debate, one obvious question being asked across the capital is whether Speaker Nancy Pelosi will find 216 votes to pass the bill. For a group of particularly jittery Democrats …
Discussion:
The Note, Boston Globe, Washington Monthly, The Politico, Firedoglake, The Corner on National …, Newsweek Blogs, Hot Air, Marbury and The Huffington Post
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads tight Republican race — Our first national look at who Republicans would prefer as their 2012 Presidential nominee confirms the wide open nature of the field. The leading candidates are all within the margin of error of each other, with Mitt Romney leading at 28% followed by Mike Huckabee at 24% and Sarah Palin at 23%.
US Department of State:
Joint Statement by the Quartet — Washington, DC — The Quartet - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell, and High Representative for Foreign Affairs …
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Max Boot / Commentary:
A Lie: David Petraeus, Anti-Israel
A Lie: David Petraeus, Anti-Israel
Discussion:
Media Matters Action Network, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Israel Matzav, Swampland and Laura Rozen's Blog
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Discrediting the legislative process itself — So far in the health-care debate, Republicans have attacked the legitimacy of private negotiations, parochial dealmaking, the budget reconciliation process, self-executing rules, the Congressional Budget Office's analyses, and even the constitutionality of the legislation.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
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State of the health care debate: Talk radio attacks an 11-year old — WASHINGTON — Conservative talk show hosts and columnists have ridiculed an 11-year-old Washington state boy's account of his mother's death as a “sob story” exploited by the White House and congressional Democrats like a …
Charles Mahtesian / The Politico:
The Undecideds — Political circumstances have changed for many members since the November health care vote, but especially for those who have announced their retirements in the ensuing months. — Without ballot box pressures, it will be extremely difficult for these members to turn …
New York Post:
Computer glitch blamed for years of police raids on elderly Brooklyn couple's home — A computer database glitch has sent police to the home of an elderly Brooklyn couple more than 50 times since 2002, sheepish cops admitted today. — Walter and Rose Martin endured the most recent raid on Tuesday …
Ed O'Keefe / Federal Eye:
Ex-general links gay troops to Bosnian genocide — A retired Marine general told senators on Thursday that the Dutch Army failed to protect the city of Srebrenica during the Bosnian war partly because of the presence of gay soldiers in its armed forces. — John J. Sheehan …
Discussion:
Think Progress, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Hullabaloo and ATTACKERMAN
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Blair's fight to keep his oil cash secret: Former PM's deals are revealed as his earnings since 2007 reach £20million — Tony Blair waged an extraordinary two-year battle to keep secret a lucrative deal with a multinational oil giant which has extensive interests in Iraq.
Ed Whelan / The Corner on National Review Online:
It's Now or Never — By: Ed Whelan — If you want to make your voice heard on the health-care bill before the House votes on Sunday, you'd better do so quickly. To make things easier for you, here, organized in alphabetical order by state, are the 40 key Democratic members …
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Op-Ed Columnist: Closing Arguments on Health Care — One way or another, the fate of health care reform is going to be decided in the next few days. If House Democratic leaders find 216 votes, reform will almost immediately become the law of the land. If they don't, reform may well be put off …
Rob Smith / The Huffington Post:
Did Dan Choi Jump the Shark, or Has The Gay Community Forgotten What Real Activism Is? — When I first heard about Dan Choi being arrested for handcuffing himself to the gates of the White House, my initial reaction was the usual pointless snark that is generally reserved for us writers and bloggers.
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Michele Bachmann Means No Disrespect When She Accuses Media Of “Treason” — BACHMANN (On Bill Bennett's radio show 3/18/10): Well, I'm amazed that they actually were willing to be shocked. Because for most of the time they have been, and you know, I don't mean any disrespect, but they've been treason media.
Discussion:
Think Progress
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
FIRST THOUGHTS: DEMS AND BIG MO — After a couple of months of catching very few breaks, Dems have the momentum on health care... But that doesn't mean everything will be smooth sailing between now and Sunday... First Read names names on Dems that still need convincing …
World Tribune.com:
Obama blocks delivery of bunker-busters to Israel — WASHINGTON — The United States has diverted a shipment of bunker-busters designated for Israel. — Officials said the U.S. military was ordered to divert a shipment of smart bunker-buster bombs from Israel to a military base in Diego Garcia.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Instapundit, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Atlas Shrugs, RedState, Newshoggers.com, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, The Jawa Report and Israel Matzav