Top Items:
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Obama pleads for $50 billion in state, local aid — President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid “massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters” and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.
Discussion:
Power Line, Washington Monthly, A plain blog about politics, Eschaton, Political Punch, Daily Kos, Newsalert and The Page
RELATED:
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Obama Plans to Force BP's Hand on Oil Spill Fund — WASHINGTON — President Obama for the first time will address the nation about the ongoing oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday night and outline his plans to legally force BP executives to create an escrow account reserving billions …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
EXCLUSIVE: Obama to demand third-party panel for BP payouts — President Barack Obama plans to use a meeting with BP executives this week to demand that they create and fund an escrow account and accept an independent panel to handle damage claims by individuals and businesses hurt by the Gulf disaster …
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Isn't It Ironic? — It's funny how things work out sometimes.
Isn't It Ironic? — It's funny how things work out sometimes.
Discussion:
NewsReal Blog
Erika Lovley / Politico Live's Blog:
Boehner to Hoyer: Stop Blaming Bush — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) expressed frustration on NBC's “Meet the Press” today over partisan fighting as lawmakers try to lift the cap that limits how much oil cleanup BP is responsible for, calling it reminents of the Bush administration's “psychology of neglect.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
RELATED:
Political Punch:
Boehner: Lift Liability Cap for BP — House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, called for completely lifting the liability cap on BP so that the company bears the full cost of the economic damage of the oil spill. — In an EXCLUSIVE “This Week” debate, Boehner and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer …
New York Times:
The President's Moment — If ever there was a test of President Obama's vision of government — one that cannot solve all problems, but does what people cannot do for themselves — it is this nerve-racking early summer of 2010, with oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico and far too many Americans out of work for far too long.
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
This Time Is Different — My friend, Mark Mykleby, who works in the Pentagon, shared with me this personal letter to the editor he got published last week in his hometown paper, The Beaufort Gazette in South Carolina. It is the best reaction I've seen to the BP oil spill …
Discussion:
The Glittering Eye
Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Abbas to Obama: I'm against lifting the Gaza naval blockade — The Palestinian president reportedly told Obama that lifting the naval blockade of Gaza would bolster Hamas, a move that shouldn't be done at this stage. — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is opposed to lifting …
Laura Myers / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Angle to meet with GOP leaders, fundraisers — Sharron Angle will meet with Republican leaders and fundraisers in Washington this week as the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate seeks support for her Tea Party-backed bid to defeat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Bridget Johnson / The Hill:
Alabama governor: Unified command structure is a drag on fast oil cleanup — Alabama Gov. Bob Riley (R) said Sunday that the cacophony of voices with authority in the BP spill cleanup is stymying efforts to get things done quickly. — Riley said that putting a unified command in charge …
Discussion:
CNN
Monica Davey / New York Times:
Kansas Candidate Proposes an Office of the Repealer — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In some corners of the country, people seem to have grown so grumpy about the tangle of government rules and regulations that it may be easier for politicians to promise not what they will do, but what they will undo.
Discussion:
Hit & Run
Michael Barone / Beltway Confidential:
Social Security cash flow suddenly negative — Here's something I didn't know, from financial blogger Bruce Krasting (via John Ellis): Social Security tax receipts for the first half of 2010: $346.9 billion; Social Security benefits payments for the same period: $347.3 billion.