Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer — Pessimism Rises on Economy and War; Bad Reviews for Both Democrats and GOP — Americans are growing more pessimistic about the economy and the war in Afghanistan, and are losing faith that Democrats have better solutions than Republicans, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Dem group launches ‘F*ck Tea’ campaign — Last summer, Democrats argued that the Tea Party movement was the astroturf creation of corporate groups. Now that the grassroots conservative resurgence has emerged as a clear force on the right, the left is making a different case: That tea parties are simply the enemy.
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, The Mahablog, Gawker, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and JammieWearingFool
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Public favors Tea Party over top Dems — The American public has a more positive view of the Tea Party movement than both leaders of the majority party in Congress, according to a poll released Wednesday. — An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 30 percent view the grassroots conservative groups …
Discussion:
The Politico, NRSC, Weasel Zippers and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Douglas E. Schoen / The Politico:
The stakes in the health care war
The stakes in the health care war
Discussion:
NRSC and Townhall.com
Stan Collender / NiemanWatchdog.org:
Six essential questions about the deficit, Wall Street and Washington — Fiscal expert Stan Collender points out that the bond market is not demanding deficit reduction — in fact, quite the opposite. So where is the Washington establishment's obsession with the deficit coming from?
Discussion:
Ezra Klein and Hullabaloo
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Washington Post:
Stocks plunge as U.S. trade deficit is wider than expected
Stocks plunge as U.S. trade deficit is wider than expected
Discussion:
New York Times, The Page and The Other McCain
Sewell Chan / New York Times:
For Fed, the Choices Get Harder
For Fed, the Choices Get Harder
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias and Beat the Press
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Appears to Shift at Accelerated Pace — In April, 2009, when we last took a survey of gay marriage polls, we found that support for it had converged somewhere into the area of 41 or 42 percent of the country. Now, it appears to have risen by several points …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Hot Air and CNN
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CNN:
Decision on stay expected in California same-sex marriages case
Decision on stay expected in California same-sex marriages case
Discussion:
Firedoglake and The Page
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
CNN Poll is First To Show Majority Support for Gay Marriage
CNN Poll is First To Show Majority Support for Gay Marriage
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, Raw Story and Wonk Room
ABCNEWS:
Civil Unrest: The Death of Decorum in Washington? — Has Civility Reached an Historic Low in Congress? — There was an extraordinary moment during the final senate debate on Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation. While Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delivered remarks, Senator Al Franken …
Discussion:
Stop The ACLU
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Timothy Egan / Opinionator:
The Mirthless Senate — Senator Al Franken at the hearing …
The Mirthless Senate — Senator Al Franken at the hearing …
Discussion:
Althouse
Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Congressman Rangel's Party a Display of Defiance — It was a dramatic but fitting start to an evening that brimmed with political defiance. About 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, as guests began strolling into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate Representative Charles B. Rangel's 80th birthday …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, WNYC News, The Politico, New York Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Gothamist, City Room, Weasel Zippers, Gawker, The Page and FrumForum
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Raelyn Johnson / CNN:
Despite scandal, Rangel rings in 80th birthday with lavish gala
Despite scandal, Rangel rings in 80th birthday with lavish gala
Discussion:
Townhall.com
Walter Shapiro / Politics Daily:
Charlie Rangel's Birthday Bash: A Night for Ethics Amnesia
The Huffington Post:
Huckabee Opposes Changing 14th Amendment, Setting Himself Apart From GOP Again — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Distinguishing himself once more from his GOP rivals when it comes to immigration policy, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said on Wednesday that he didn't back efforts to rethink …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, TPMDC and FrumForum
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David Streitfeld / New York Times:
Borrowers Refuse to Pay Billions in Home Equity Loans — PHOENIX — During the great housing boom, homeowners nationwide borrowed a trillion dollars from banks, using the soaring value of their houses as security. Now the money has been spent and struggling borrowers are unable or unwilling to pay it back.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Felix Salmon, Clusterstock and naked capitalism
Peter Baker / New York Times:
The First Wave of Weary Aides Heads for the Exits — WASHINGTON — Linda Douglass slept nearly 12 hours the day after she left her job as a communications aide at the White House. And the day after that and the day after that. It took two weeks until she finally felt rested.
Discussion:
Washington Post, National Review, Daniel W. Drezner, Federal Eye and New York Times
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Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Lindsey Graham quietly files Gitmo habeas bill
Lindsey Graham quietly files Gitmo habeas bill
Discussion:
Emptywheel and FrumForum
Michelle Malkin:
The vulgarity of liberal female “comedians” — Left-wing female comedians are proving that they can be as crude and stupid as their male counterparts. Who knew that striving for gender equality meant pursuing the dream that one day, someday, liberal women would be able to mock …
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Nile Gardiner / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:
The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown — The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House.
Discussion:
Liberty Pundits Blog, Wizbang, NY Daily News, Scared Monkeys and Conservatives4Palin.com
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
George W. Bush makes surprise visit to U.S. troops — Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, made a surprise visit to U.S. troops this afternoon. — They showed up at the USO in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. There they mingled with the returning soldiers, thanked them …
Discussion:
The Swamp, Michelle Malkin, AMERICAN DIGEST, Power Line and Wizbang
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
GOP plan to extend tax cuts for rich adds $36 billion to deficit, panel finds — A Republican plan to extend tax cuts for the rich would add more than $36 billion to the federal deficit next year — and transfer the bulk of that cash into the pockets of the nation's millionaires …
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, Washington Monthly, TalkLeft, Guardian, AMERICAblog News and Beat the Press
Christopher S. Rugaber / Associated Press:
New claims for unemployment aid reach 484K — New applications for jobless benefits rise to highest since February as layoffs continue — Companies: — Related Quotes — SymbolPriceChange — CFN — 22.70 — WASHINGTON (AP) — The employment picture is looking bleaker …
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Hit & Run, Another Black Conservative, Weasel Zippers and Scared Monkeys
Megan Carpentier / TPMMuckraker:
‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Imam Was A Bush-Era Partner For Mideast Peace — Tuesday, Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) called Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf — best known for his work with multicultural Cordoba Initiative to build a mosque and community center in Lower Manhattan …
RELATED:
Clifford D. May / National Review:
The Taboo of the Intellectuals
The Taboo of the Intellectuals
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, Power Line and Commentary
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Senate approves $600M border security bill — The Senate passed a $600 million border security bill during a rare recess session Thursday, sending it to President Obama for his signature. — Because Republicans and Democrats agreed to pass the legislation by unanimous consent …
Discussion:
The Politico, The Note, The Swamp and Facing South
Paul Krugman:
In The Matter Of Robert L. Gibbs — There he goes again. What gets me is how unprofessional the whole thing is. — Look, if you're a public figure of any kind, you're going to face a lot of criticism. Much of it will seem unfair to you; some of the unfair criticism will come from people …
George F. Will / Washington Post:
Netanyahu, the anti-Obama — Two photographs adorn the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Together they illuminate a portentous fact: No two leaders of democracies are less alike — in life experiences, temperaments and political philosophies — than Netanyahu …
Discussion:
Commentary, Israel Matzav and Soccer Dad
Brady Dennis / Washington Post:
U.S. bailouts benefited foreign firms, report says — The federal government's effort to stabilize the financial system in 2008 by flooding money into as many banks as possible resulted in a boon to many foreign firms and left the United States shouldering far more risk than governments …
Discussion:
New Deal 2.0, Hot Air and Prairie Weather
R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Cohee at OneUnited, bank in Maxine Waters case, has checkered record — As chairman and chief executive of OneUnited Bank, Kevin L. Cohee has sought to build a company that is about more than just money. He promoted the bank, now at the center of a House ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters …
Discussion:
TPMMuckraker, The BLT and The Page
City Room:
Paterson Aide Charged With Assault — David W. Johnson, one of Gov. David A. Paterson's closest aides, surrendered to Bronx prosecutors Thursday morning to face misdemeanor assault charges, a person briefed on the matter said. — Mr. Johnson arrived at the office of the Bronx district attorney shortly …
Discussion:
The Daily Politics, Gothamist and TPMMuckraker