Top Items:
The Politico:
Why President Obama loses by winning — The imminent passage of financial reform, just a couple months after the passage of comprehensive health care, should decisively end the narrative that President Obama represents a Jimmy Carter-style case of naïve hope crushed by the inability to master Washington.
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Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Politico's theory: Liberal bloggers don't care if Dems sustain large losses this fall — I'm probably a sucker for biting on this attack on the liberal blogosphere from Poiltico top-dog editors John Harris and Jim VandeHei, but this is so divorced from reality that it really shouldn't go unanswered:
Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:
Companies pile up cash but remain hesitant to add jobs — Corporate America is hoarding a massive pile of cash. It just doesn't want to spend it hiring anyone. — Nonfinancial companies are sitting on $1.8 trillion in cash, roughly one-quarter more than at the beginning of the recession.
Wall Street Journal:
Three Million Imaginary Jobs — The White House says the stimulus worked beyond even its hopes. Seriously. — It may be that the last people in America who believe that the $862 billion economic stimulus of February 2009 created millions of net new jobs are Vice President Joe Biden and the staff economists in the White House.
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
House Democrats hit boiling point over perceived lack of White House support — House Democrats are lashing out at the White House, venting long-suppressed anger over what they see as President Obama's lukewarm efforts to help them win reelection — and accusing administration officials …
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Financial Overhaul Clears a Final Senate Hurdle — WASHINGTON — A broad overhaul of the nation's financial regulatory system, intended to address the causes of the 2008 economic crisis and rewrite the rules for a more complex — and mistrustful — era on Wall Street, cleared one last procedural hurdle …
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
THAT WAS QUICK.... A couple of hours ago, the Senate was able to put together 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster on Wall Street reform. This afternoon, the legislation, at long last, will get an up-or-down vote and then head to the White House for President Obama's signature.
Discussion:
TPMDC
Sen. Ted Kaufman / The Huffington Post:
The Wall Street Reform Bill: How Much Did We Lose Getting to 60?
The Wall Street Reform Bill: How Much Did We Lose Getting to 60?
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Conservative Generation / Left Coast Rebel:
(Bumped) Think Progress proves the Tea Party is not racist by posting video of racists not in the Tea Party — The claims of racism in the Tea Party movement are so overblown and unsubstantiated that the best Think Progress could do to prove racism was post a video of four supposed racist Tea Partiers.
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Andy Barr / The Politico:
NAACP: We didn't call tea party ‘racist’
NAACP: We didn't call tea party ‘racist’
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber, The Note, Left Coast Rebel, Weasel Zippers and The Hill
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Pretty Bad 2012 numbers for Obama — With his approval numbers hitting new lows it's no surprise that Barack Obama's numbers in our monthly look ahead to the 2012 Presidential race are their worst ever this month. He trails Mitt Romney 46-43, Mike Huckabee 47-45, Newt Gingrich 46-45, and is even tied with Sarah Palin at 46.
Discussion:
Hot Air, National Review, Weekly Standard, Taegan Goddard's …, The New Republic, FrumForum and GayPatriot
David W. Dunlap / City Room:
18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site — In the middle of tomorrow, a great ribbed ghost has emerged from a distant yesterday. — On Tuesday morning, workers excavating the site of the underground vehicle security center for the future World Trade Center hit a row of sturdy …
John R. Emshwiller / Wall Street Journal:
Senate VIP Loans Mount — Countrywide Dealt With More Lawmakers and Staffers Than Previously Known — Angelo Mozilo, former Countrywide Financial chairman — U.S. senators or Senate employees received 30 loans—far more than had previously been known—under a controversial lending program …
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New York Times:
Fund-Raising Before House Vote Draws Scrutiny — WASHINGTON — Lawmakers take contributions every day from corporate executives and lobbyists hoping for their votes. The question of whether that represents business as usual in Washington or an ethics breach is at the heart …
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Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
My Biggest Mistake in the White House — Failing to refute charges that Bush lied us into war has hurt our country. — Seven years ago today, in a speech on the Iraq war, Sen. Ted Kennedy fired the first shot in an all-out assault on President George W. Bush's integrity.
Alexei Barrionuevo / New York Times:
Argentina Approves Gay Marriage — BUENOS AIRES — Argentina's Senate narrowly approved a measure early on Thursday authorizing same-sex marriages, making Argentina the first country in Latin America to allow gay couples to wed. — After 15 hours of debate, the Senate voted 33 to 27 …
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Annie Lowrey / The Washington Independent:
In Dodging a Budget Vote, Dems Take Reconciliation Off the Table — Decision Could Preclude a Jobs Bill Next Year … On Tuesday, the Treasury Department announced that the country's deficit had hit the $1 trillion mark just nine months into the fiscal year.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Washington Monthly, The Corner on National …, Alas, a blog, The Politico and The New Republic
The Daily Caller:
The Daily Caller acquires KeithOlbermann.com — The Daily Caller, one of the fastest-growing online media properties, announced today its acquisition of KeithOlbermann.com, expanding the company's global reach into a new segment of the online political market.
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Moonbattery, Hot Air, Mediaite, New York Magazine and NewsBusters.org, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
The Google Algorithm — Google handles nearly two-thirds of Internet search queries worldwide. Analysts reckon that most Web sites rely on the search engine for half of their traffic. When Google engineers tweak its supersecret algorithm — as they do hundreds of times a year …
Mark Halperin / Time:
Sarah Palin in '12? Why She's for Real — The music swells and then picks up tempo. Sarah Palin is talking about how 2010 will be the year that “commonsense conservative women get things done for our country.” She's worried about “these policies coming out of D.C. right now …
Nicole Triplett / House Judiciary Committee:
Conyers Releases Committee Interview of Torture Memo Author Bybee and Sends to Justice Department Bybee: “CIA did not have an opinion from OLC” when it exceeded limits in interrogation memos — (Washington, D.C.) - House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. D-Mich.) …
Peter Hamby / CNN:
Surprise player in Iowa GOP primary revealed — (CNN) - Beginning in May, a group called Iowans for Responsible Government spent over three quarters of a million dollars on television ads and mailers lumping Republican gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad in with “liberal” …
Brian Mackey / Off the Clock:
Free Blagojevich ringtones are (bleeping) golden — Now you can enjoy the profanity-laced tirades of Illinois' least-favorite son when you're on the go. Beginning today, The State Journal-Register is offering free Blagojevich ringtones for your (bleeping) phone.
Julie Bisbee / Daily Oklahoman:
Oklahoma congressional candidate says he will not accept money from an Islamic group. — Oklahoma congressional candidate Kevin Calvey says he will not accept money from a state Islamic group. Group's director said he made the personal donation in hopes of starting a dialogue with Calvey.
Krissah Thompson / Washington Post:
2008 voter-intimidation case against New Black Panthers a political bombshell — A 2008 voter-intimidation case has become a political controversy for the Obama administration as conservative lawyers, politicians and commentators raise concerns that the Department of Justice has failed to protect the civil rights of white voters.
Ezra Klein:
Do conservatives care about the deficit? Do Democrats? — Matt Yglesias asks the question and assembles some evidence. The two modern conservative presidents, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, “both presided over massive increases in both present and projected deficits.”
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, AmSpecBlog, American Prospect, RedState, Guardian and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
Dean Baker / TPMCafe:
Erskine Bowles and the Price of Ignorance: $335,000 a Year — Erskine Bowles is one of the co-chairman of President Obama's deficit commission. He gained notoriety recently by revealing the fact that he had no clue as to the size of the country's deficit problem even after engaging …
Discussion:
American Power
Wall Street Journal:
Senate Passes Sweeping Finance Overhaul — WASHINGTON—Sweeping financial-overhaul legislation passed the Senate 60-39 Thursday, giving President Barack Obama a major domestic-policy victory. — The measure will touch all areas of the financial markets, affecting how consumers obtain credit cards …
CNBC:
Economic Recovery Showing New Signs of Losing Steam — Investors got a strong dose of sobering economic news Thursday as several key manufacturing indexes show that the recovery is losing steam. — The few bright spots: New claims for jobless benefits fell to their lowest level in nearly two years …
First Read / msnbc.com:
First thoughts: Super freak (out) — When the going gets tough, Democrats, well, freak out... But is the freak-out over Gibbs' comment over?... Why the expectations game may be out of control for Republicans... Obama to deliver speech on the economy/stimulus in Michigan at 1:30 pm ET …
Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:
MSNBC Host Calls Reid ‘Ball-less’ — ANOTHER MELTDOWN — Libtalker: ‘Shove Those (GOP) Bastards Into The Dirthole’ — All week, the big question has been whether Democrats are truly imploding, or simply projecting that image to reduce electoral expectations and create complacent Republicans.
Discussion:
No Sheeples Here, Weasel Zippers, Left Coast Rebel, NewsBusters.org, Gateway Pundit and Moonbattery
Chris Geidner / Poliglot:
DC Court of Appeals Upholds Decision Denying Marriage Initiative — The D.C. Court of Appeals issued its awaited decision in Bishop Harry Jackson's appeal of the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics's decision that his proposed marriage initiative was an improper subject of an initiative.
New York Times:
Economics Behaving Badly — IT seems that every week a new book or major newspaper article appears showing that irrational decision-making helped cause the housing bubble or the rise in health care costs. — Such insights draw on behavioral economics, an increasingly popular field …