Top Items:
Susan Page / USA Today:
Opinions turn favorable on health care plan — WASHINGTON — Americans by 9 percentage points have a favorable view of the health care overhaul that President Obama signed into law Tuesday, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, a notable turnaround from surveys before the vote that showed a plurality against it.
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Lydia Saad / Gallup:
By Slim Margin, Americans Support Healthcare Bill's Passage — Independents evenly split in their basic reactions, but more are “angry” than “enthusiastic” — PRINCETON, NJ — Nearly half of Americans give a thumbs-up to Congress' passage of a healthcare reform bill last weekend, with 49% calling it “a good thing.”
Discussion:
Politics Daily, The Plum Line, Eunomia, Hot Air, New York on the Potomac and The New Republic
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Poll: Low Favorability Ratings For Pelosi, Reid
Poll: Low Favorability Ratings For Pelosi, Reid
Discussion:
NY Daily News, JammieWearingFool, Nice Deb, The Politico, Mediaite, Scared Monkeys, Left Coast Rebel, Townhall.com, The Eye, NewsReal Blog, Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and Hot Air
Washington Post:
Patrick Kennedy leaves note for Ted on gravesite: “Dad, the unfinished business is done.” — The political odyssey of health care reform in many ways is the story of Ted Kennedy, and as President Obama signed the historic bill into law Tuesday, Kennedy's gravesite was a place of quiet celebration and poignant reflection.
Discussion:
The Impolitic
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Obama Signs Health Care Overhaul Bill, With a Flourish — WASHINGTON —With the strokes of 20 pens, President Obama signed his health care overhaul — the most sweeping social legislation enacted in decades — into law on Tuesday during a festive, at times raucous, White House ceremony.
Ceci Connolly / Washington Post:
How Obama revived his health-care bill — It was the Barack Obama the American public rarely sees — irritated and wondering if he had arrived at the moment of defeat. — Shortly after 6 p.m. on Jan. 19, with a political crisis about to explode, the president summoned the two top Democrats …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Matthew Yglesias, The Politico, The Hill, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Top of the Ticket, TPMCafe and ABCNEWS
Think Progress:
Fox News Makes A ‘Big F—ing Deal’ Out Of Biden's Private Remark At Bill Signing Ceremony — Expressing his great enthusiasm for what he called “a historic day,” Vice President Biden turned to President Obama at this morning's health care bill signing ceremony and whispered, “This is a big f—ing deal!”
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
The mother of all Biden moments — Biden appears, in this video, to have called the health care bill a “big f***ing deal” as he turned the podium over to President Obama. — As usual with his endless string of gaffes, if that is what he said, he's not wrong.
Bob Herbert / New York Times:
An Absence of Class — Some of the images from the run-up to Sunday's landmark health care vote in the House of Representatives should be seared into the nation's consciousness. We are so far, in so many ways, from being a class act. — A group of lowlifes at a Tea Party rally in Columbus …
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Ben Dimiero / Media Matters for America:
Beck criticizes civil rights activist John Lewis for “comparing” himself to a ... civil rights activist — Purporting to show how passage of the health care bill pales in comparison to other major events from our nation's history, Beck showed how his foaming-at-the-mouth hatred of all things …
Ezra Klein:
Is there a legal case against the health-care bill? — With the votes counted and the legislative battle finishing, conservatives are turning to a different branch of government to fight health-care reform: the courts. Their most promising tactic was to argue that “deem and pass” …
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David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
Anti-Health Care Reform Suits Face Steep Hurdles
Anti-Health Care Reform Suits Face Steep Hurdles
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Gawker, Guardian, TPMDC and The Washington Independent
Zachary Roth / TPMMuckraker:
Could SCOTUS Be The Death Panel For Health-Care Reform? — Now that President Obama has signed health-care reform into law, opponents of the bill are pinning their hopes of stopping it on a last-ditch legal strategy. A group of 13 state attorneys general has filed suit (pdf), arguing that the law is unconstitutional.
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Pete Williams / msnbc.com:
State attorneys general sue over health bill
State attorneys general sue over health bill
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, culturekitchen, Taylor Marsh, Lance Mannion, Raw Story, Wake up America and The Washington Independent
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Coburn sees difficulty forcing changes to reconciliation bill — Republicans are unlikely to force major changes to the measure making final tweaks to healthcare legislation, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said Monday night. — Inhofe said the GOP would have a difficult time forcing changes …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Ezra Klein, Roll Call, The Politico, Firedoglake, Matthew Yglesias, The New Republic, The Hill and Daily Kos
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Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Parliamentarian rules against first GOP objection to ‘fixes’ bill
Parliamentarian rules against first GOP objection to ‘fixes’ bill
Discussion:
JOSHUAPUNDIT
Manu Raju / The Politico:
Senate Dems brace for ‘poison pills’
Senate Dems brace for ‘poison pills’
Discussion:
Open Left, Wake up America, Daily Kos, CNN, The Hill, Plain Dealer, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Firedoglake
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Democrats Rejoice — Parties come to embody causes. For the past 90 years or so, the Republican Party has, at its best, come to embody the cause of personal freedom and economic dynamism. For a similar period, the Democratic Party has, at its best, come to embody the cause of fairness and family security.
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Michael Schneider / Cynthia Littleton On The Air:
Discovery expected to land “Sarah Palin's Alaska” — Sarah Palin to Discovery? You betcha. — Discovery Communications is expected to announce that it has won the Sarah Palin tourney. The cabler had been a front-runner to land the untitled Alaska-themed series, to be produced by Mark Burnett Prods., along with A&E.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Washington Wire, Wonkette, Ben Smith's Blog, Taegan Goddard's …, The Page, The Wire, The Awl and Perez Hilton
Ben Domenech / The New Ledger:
Exempted From Obamacare: Senior Staff Who Wrote the Bill — For as long as the political fight took over the past year, the abbreviated review process on the health care legislation currently pending on President Obama's desk is unquestionably going to result in some surprises …
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Tom Shales / Washington Post:
ABC's choice of Amanpour for ‘This Week’ has critics inside the network and beyond — If being the moderator of “This Week,” ABC's Sunday morning news-talk show, required Senate approval, then journalist Christiane Amanpour — recently named by ABC News President David Westin to take over the job — would already be in big trouble.
Nicholas Ballasy / CNSNews:
House Judiciary Chairman Says Constitution's Non-Existent ‘Good and Welfare Clause’ Authorizes Congress to Force Americans to Buy Health Insurance — (CNSNews.com) — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said the “good and welfare clause” gives Congress the authority …
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Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Obama to Sign Health Care Bill Today As GOP Challenges Constitutionality
Obama to Sign Health Care Bill Today As GOP Challenges Constitutionality
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, DailyFinance, Wonk Room, Michelle Malkin, American Power and Political Punch
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Republicans Face Drawbacks of United Stand on Health Bill — WASHINGTON — Passage of the health care legislation challenges the heart of the Republicans' strategy this year: To present a unified opposition to big Democratic ideas, in this case expressed in a stream of bristling anger …
The Huffington Post:
NRSC's Cornyn: We Won't Call For Repealing All Of Health Care — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — In the wake of the passage of health care reform, nearly the entire slate of Republican senatorial candidates seems ready to run on a repeal of the bill. But now, the lawmaker overseeing their election strategy is softening the message.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Hotline On Call, The Corner on National …, Vox Popoli, Ross Douthat and The Huffington Post
Russell King / tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com:
An open letter to conservatives — The years have not been kind to you. I grew up in a profoundly Republican home, so I can remember when you wore a very different face than the one we see now. You've lost me and you've lost most of America. Because I believe having responsible choices …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars