Top Items:
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
Bush Campaign Chief and Former RNC Chair Ken Mehlman: I'm Gay — Ken Mehlman, President Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay. — Mehlman arrived at this conclusion about his identity fairly recently, he said in an interview.
Discussion:
Commentary, Advocate, ABCNEWS, Think Progress, The Daily Dish, GayPatriot, The Other McCain, Guardian, Slate, Felix Salmon, Outside the Beltway, Althouse, The Awl, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, TRAIL BLAZERS, Wonkette, The Rachel Maddow Show, The Reaction, AMERICAblog Gay, Don Surber, Shakesville, Sister Toldjah, CNN, Mediaite, Speakeasy, Joe. My. God., Above the Law, iOwnTheWorld.com, Pam's House Blend, Daily Kos, National Review, Jeff Mapes on Politics, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Political Punch, Hot Air, First Draft, Balloon Juice, American Glob, Politics Daily, The Note, Political Byline, Gawker, Roger Ailes and skippy the bush kangaroo
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Michael Luo / New York Times:
Former G.O.P. Leader Says He Is Gay — Ken Mehlman, President George W. Bush's campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has revealed to family and friends over the last few months that he is gay, he said in an interview Wednesday.
Advocate:
Mehlman Draws Fire, Praise
Mehlman Draws Fire, Praise
Discussion:
Guardian, Pam's House Blend, The Hill, AMERICAblog Gay, Mediaite and Joe. My. God.
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman: I'm gay
Former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman: I'm gay
Discussion:
The Gist, The Reaction, Advocate, Ben Smith's Blog and Joe. My. God.
The Politico:
Democrats privately fear House prospects worsening — Top Democrats are growing markedly more pessimistic about holding the House, privately conceding that the summertime economic and political recovery they were banking on will not likely materialize by Election Day.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Washington Monthly, Gateway Pundit, Commentary, Scared Monkeys, Political Punch and Right Wing News
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Hotline On Call:
Why Democrats Will Keep The House — House Republicans are measuring the drapes in preparation for big gains in the lower chamber, convinced that Minority Leader John Boehner is going to become the next Speaker of the House. On a macro level, that wouldn't be a bad guess …
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Taylor Marsh and AmSpecBlog
Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:
Miller's lead slims; Murkowski awaits absentees — Joe Miller's lead over U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski slightly narrowed to 1,668 votes with all the election precincts counted Wednesday. A stunned Murkowski said she is not giving up hope until absentee ballots are counted starting next week.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Weigel, Outside the Beltway, Swing State Project and Taegan Goddard's …
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E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Tuesday's tutorial: a GOP too far right — Republicans are in the midst of an insurrection. Democrats are not. This vast gulf between the situations of the two parties — not some grand revolt against “the establishment” or “incumbents” — explains the year's primary results …
Discussion:
New York Times, Commentary, Washington Wire, The New Republic, Cato @ Liberty, Riehl World View, PostPartisan, Prairie Weather, Guardian and Philly.com
Shushannah Walshe / The Daily Beast:
Exclusive: Palin Foe Mulls Third-Party Run
Exclusive: Palin Foe Mulls Third-Party Run
Discussion:
The Hill, The Fix, Anchorage Daily News, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, JammieWearingFool, Moe Lane, The Swamp, Progressive Alaska, The Atlantic Online, American Power, Weekly Standard, Ballot Box, Wonkette, The Eye, Gawker, National Review, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, GOP 12, Washington Post and msnbc.com
Shira Toeplitz / The Politico:
Murkowski won't ditch GOP yet
Murkowski won't ditch GOP yet
Discussion:
The Caucus, Swing State Project, The Other McCain, The Mudflats, Conservatives4Palin.com, RedState, CNN and Daily Kos
New York Post:
MSNBC's Ed Schultz goes bonkers — MSNBC talk show screamer Ed Schultz had a meltdown in the network's 30 Rock newsroom, shouting at staff, “I'm going to torch this [bleep]ing place.” — The hot-tempered anchor of “The Ed Show” lost it during a phone call in the packed studio and slammed down the phone before exploding.
Damien Cave / New York Times:
Far From Ground Zero, Obscure Pastor Is Ignored No Longer — GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If building an Islamic center near ground zero amounts to the epitome of Muslim insensitivity, as critics of the project have claimed, what should the world make of Terry Jones, the evangelical pastor here who plans …
Discussion:
Guardian, No More Mister Nice Blog, Sweetness & Light, ACS Blog, Gawker, The Lede and The Awl
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South Union Street:
Eggs and Issues: Bright's Comments about Pelosi Draw Laughter — U.S. Congressman Bobby Bright was heard having a little fun at U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's expense during his recent participation in the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce's Eggs and Issues.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, The Political Carnival, The Plum Line, Hotline On Call and TPMDC
N. R. Kleinfield / New York Times:
Rider Asks if Cabby Is Muslim, Then Stabs Him — It was the first fare of the cabdriver's shift. A young man hailed him at the corner of Second Avenue and East 24th Street, wanting to go to 42nd and Second. It was 6 p.m. on Tuesday; the traffic was dense.
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The Politico:
Party-less Charlie Crist faces harsh reality — WEST MIAMI, Fla. — First, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was supposed to be the Republican nominee for Senate. Then he seemed on track to be the de facto Democratic candidate. Now, following Rep. Kendrick Meek's victory in Tuesday's Democratic primary …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Union leader will blast Sarah Palin, calling her rhetoric ‘poisonous’ — In a speech Thursday, a prominent labor official will blast former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) for recent anti-union rhetoric. — AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, in a speech from Anchorage, Alaska …
Discussion:
The Politico, Weasel Zippers and Riehl World View
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Amy Gardner / Washington Post:
Glenn Beck rally will be a measure of the tea party's strength — When Fox News and talk radio host Glenn Beck comes to Washington this weekend to headline a rally intended to “restore honor” to America, he will test the strength - and potentially expose the weaknesses …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, Townhall.com, Associated Press, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Page and Colorlines
Paul Bedard / US News:
Tea Party Group Hit With Death Threats — One of Washington's principal supporters of the Tea Party movement, former GOP Majority Leader Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, has been receiving death threats and profanity-laced phone calls as it gets involved in the fall elections.
Discussion:
Right Wing News, Sister Toldjah, Weasel Zippers and Instapundit
RELATED:
Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Shaping Tea Party Passion Into Campaign Force
Shaping Tea Party Passion Into Campaign Force
Discussion:
Brilliant at Breakfast, The Mahablog and Prairie Weather
Jason Pinter / The Huffington Post:
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner Speak Out On Franzen Feud: HuffPost Exclusive — What's Your Reaction: — With the publication of Jonathan Franzen's fourth novel, Freedom, which was extensively covered in the New York Times while Franzen himself appeared on the cover of TIME magazine …
Discussion:
Politics Daily and Gawker
Stephen Prothero / CNN:
TRENDING: New York's Bloomberg: We are all Muslims — Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of “God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World,” is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor. — By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers and Gateway Pundit
New York Times:
Key Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A. — KABUL, Afghanistan — The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials.
Tad DeHaven / Cato @ Liberty:
Government's Unwelcome Economic Distortions — A couple of weeks ago, David Boaz discussed the Old Testament story in which the people of Israel ask Samuel for a king to rule over them. God's instructions to Samuel can be summed up as “tell them to be careful of what you wish for.”
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Christian Science Monitor, Liberty Pundits Blog and Balloon Juice
Todd Starnes:
Is “Happy Birthday” Song Insensitive? — A ban on singing “Happy Birthday” lasted all of four days at Chesterfield Elementary School in Missouri after angry parents bombarded the school with complaints. — “Singing is not permitted due to the sensitivity of all student beliefs,” …
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit, Peter Daou and theblogprof
Kathleen Lucadamo / NY Daily News:
Forget the Obama slam: Rep. Charles Rangel is now President's BFF — Rep. Charles Rangel calls himself one of President Obama's ‘best friends.’ — Two days after ripping President Obama, Rep. Charles Rangel took a more respectful tone on Wednesday night, calling himself one of Obama's “best friends.”
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
LA GOPer: November A Choice Between An Atheist Society And A Christian Nation — Appearing before the Republican Women of Bossier with Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) cast the November elections as a choice between godlessness and Christianity. He also called bipartisanship impossible.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Shakesville and Brilliant at Breakfast
New York Times:
Kim Jong-il Reportedly Absent During Carter Visit — SEOUL, South Korea — A special train believed to be carrying the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, entered China around midnight on Wednesday, South Korean officials said, setting off speculation over what might have compelled him to travel …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Runnin' Scared
Timothy Egan / Opinionator:
Building a Nation of Know-Nothings — Having shed much of his dignity, core convictions and reputation for straight talk, Senator John McCain won his primary on Tuesday against the flat-earth wing of his party. Now McCain can go search for his lost character, which was last on display late in his 2008 campaign for president.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Harry's Place, Washington Post and Crooks and Liars
George F. Will / Washington Post:
In the Mideast, the peace process is only a mirage — JERUSALEM Immersion in this region's politics can convince those immersed that history is cyclical rather than linear — that it is not one thing after another but the same thing over and over. This passes for good news because things that do change …
Discussion:
Commentary
Frederic J. Frommer / Associated Press:
FACT CHECK: Stimulus assessments overly optimistic — WASHINGTON - The Obama administration claimed this week that $100 billion invested in innovative technologies under the economic stimulus law is “transforming the American economy” by putting the nation on track for technological breakthroughs …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Time and Riehl World View