Top Items:
Byron York / Beltway Confidential:
Obama: 'I'd appreciate a little break' — It's often remarked that President Obama has enjoyed a number of getaways, vacations, and mini-vacations during his 20 months in office. But at a Democratic fundraiser Thursday night, the president said, “I'd appreciate a little break.”
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, Weasel Zippers and National Review
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Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
Pete Rouse, who will replace Emanuel as chief of staff, is known as ‘fixer’ — Few people outside Washington, and not many inside, have heard the name Pete Rouse. The man President Obama will name as his interim White House chief of staff on Friday is a quiet political player who avoids the spotlight.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Note, Ezra Klein, Bloomberg, The Politico, Chicago Tribune, Political Punch, Swampland and The Page
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Filling an Aide's Shoes With Very Different Feet — WASHINGTON — Pete Rouse is the anti-Rahm. — If Rahm Emanuel, the colorful, profane, in-your-face White House chief of staff, has loomed large over Washington politics, Mr. Rouse, whom President Obama has chosen as Mr. Emanuel's temporary replacement, does his best to loom small.
Discussion:
The Future of Capitalism
The Politico:
White House scorecard: MSNBC up, bloggers down
Discussion:
Left Coast Rebel, Speakeasy and The Huffington Post
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Pelosi: Democrats will hit campaign trail with a ‘spirit of optimism’
Discussion:
The Politico, Taylor Marsh and Weasel Zippers
Seema Mehta / PolitiCal:
Whitman's husband says ‘it is possible’ handwriting on letter is his [Updated] — Dr. Griff Harsh, Meg Whitman's husband, just released a statement saying that it may be his handwriting on a 2003 letter that raised the possibility that their housekeeper was undocumented.
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, CBS News, TMZ.com, ABCNEWS, Michelle Malkin, Left Coast Rebel and Daily Kos
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TMZ.com:
Gloria Allred: Meg Whitman Is a Liar
Discussion:
PolitiCal, The Political Carnival, American Power, Raw Story, RedState, Hot Air and Pajamas Media
Carla Marinucci / San Francisco Chronicle:
Document shows Meg Whitman lying, attorney says
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and New York Magazine
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Chambliss fires staffer over posting of anti-gay slur — Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) fired a staffer for having posted a threatening slur against gays on a blog. — Chambliss said that, following an investigation by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, he'd decided to fire the staffer …
Discussion:
Politics Daily and CNN
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Erika Lovley / The Politico:
Sen. Saxby Chambliss aide fired over anti-gay comment
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
Robert Shrum / The Week Magazine:
Democrats will hold the House and Senate — For Democrats, it's Rove time: rally the base and save Congress — Maybe I'm wrong. — In fact, maybe I'm really, really wrong, which is the reaction I hear when I dare even to broach this notion to commentators and political strategists in both parties.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, HillBuzz and JammieWearingFool
Laura Berman / Detroit News:
Assistant AG suspended over gay-bashing blog — Attorney General Mike Cox changed his stance Thursday, suspending Andrew Shirvell after the assistant attorney general attracted national attention for a controversial blog that ridicules and denounces a University of Michigan student leader …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Lez Get Real, Raw Story, Pam's House Blend, Towleroad News #gay, CNN and Joe. My. God.
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
The Uncanny Accuracy of Polling Averages*, Part 2: What the Numbers Say — This is the second article in a three-part series in which I'm addressing a question from a reader whom I'm calling Skeptical Sam. — Sam wondered why our election forecasts seem so confident.
Discussion:
National Review
Brendan Scott / New York Post:
Paladino: Uh, what smear?? — Tweet — ALBANY — Carl Paladino beat a hasty retreat last night and insisted he never intended to smear gubernatorial rival Andrew Cuomo with allegations of infidelity. — The Tea Party-backed Republican told his hometown paper that his remarks had been misunderstood.
Discussion:
New York Times, Informed Comment and Bloomberg
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
News Corp. gave $1 million to pro-GOP group — News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, a source close to the company told POLITICO.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Caucus, Gawker, The New Republic and Prairie Weather
Washington Post:
U.S. tense over Pakistan — Political upheaval in Pakistan and a sudden rupture in relations with the United States have heightened the Obama administration's concern about the stability of a crucial partner in its Afghanistan war strategy. — Pakistani authorities closed …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, PostPartisan, The Nation, Reuters, Outside the Beltway, New Atlanticist, The Page and Newshoggers.com
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Aaron Favila / Associated Press:
Dozens of NATO oil tankers attacked in Pakistan
Discussion:
The AfPak Channel, Ventura County Star Stories, Jihad Watch, Washington Post and New York Times
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Why is Obama sending troops to Afghanistan? — From the beginning, the call to arms was highly uncertain. On Dec. 1, 2009, commander in chief Barack Obama orders 30,000 more Americans into battle in Afghanistan. But in the very next sentence, he announces that an American withdrawal will begin after 18 months.
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Commentary and Betsy's Page
Sam Hananel / The Huffington Post:
Feds Sue Fox News Over Reporter Catherine Herridge's Charges Of Discrimination, Retaliation — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are suing the Fox News Network for allegedly retaliating against a reporter after she complained about unequal pay and job conditions based on her gender and age.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and New York Magazine
Andrew Taylor / Associated Press:
Senate votes to turn down volume on TV commercials — WASHINGTON - Legislation to turn down the volume on those loud TV commercials that send couch potatoes diving for their remote controls looks like it'll soon become law. — The Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday …
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Report gives stimulus package high marks — The massive economic stimulus package President Obama pushed through Congress last year is coming in on time and under budget - and with strikingly few claims of fraud or abuse - according to a White House report to be released Friday.
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, NewsBusters.org and The Page
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
G.O.P. Stays on Upswing in Senate Forecast — Republican chances of taking over the Senate have improved again in this week's forecast. They are now 22 percent — up from 18 percent last week and 15 percent two weeks ago. Republican chances are now approaching the point where they stood prior …
Discussion:
Don Surber, Prairie Weather and Rick Green
Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
TARP Bailout to Cost Less Than Once Anticipated — WASHINGTON — Even as voters rage and candidates put up ads against government bailouts, the reviled mother of them all — the $700 billion lifeline to banks, insurance and auto companies — will expire after Sunday at a fraction of that cost …
Discussion:
Think Progress, New York Magazine, Prairie Weather and Associated Press
Byron York / Washington Examiner:
A GOP unknown is in striking range of Barney Frank — Sean Bielat, the Republican candidate for Congress in Massachusetts' 4th District, has had just one conversation with his Democratic opponent, Rep. Barney Frank. — It was in August, at a parade in New Bedford.
Discussion:
sisu and Washington Times
Wall Street Journal:
The Twister of 2010 — America's political landscape will never be the same. — On a recent trip to Omaha, Neb., I found a note prominently displayed in my hotel room warning of the possibility of “extreme weather” including “tornadic activity.” The clunky euphemism was no doubt meant …
Discussion:
Riehl World View
Quinnipiac University:
Despite Annoying Ads, Scott Leads In Florida Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Obama Approval 16 Points In The Hole — Republican Rick Scott holds a 49 - 43 percent lead over State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democrat, in the race to become Florida's next governor …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Hotline On Call and Post on Politics
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
“You Elected Me To Do What Was Right” — Obama's speech to Gen44 tonight knocked my socks off. It's streaming on CSPAN here. If you've forgotten why many of you worked your ass off for this guy, and felt hope for the first time in many years, watch it. He deserves criticism when necessary …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute and Comments from Left Field
The Hill:
2012 hopefuls are not showing the Tea Party candidates the money — Senate GOP candidates backed by the Tea Party movement have received much less financial support than more established candidates from their party's leading contenders for the White House. — The GOP figures jockeying …
Discussion:
GOP 12
Vox Popoli:
Gay rights killed Clementi — The body count of the gay rights movement grows by one. … It was obvious from the start that the orientationally-challenged activists would attempt to blame Clementi's death on his roommate. But the surreptitious filming of sexual activity …
Discussion:
American Power, New York Times, Truth Wins Out, Sadly, No!, The Daily Caller, Good As You and alicublog
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ABCNEWS:
NJ Gov. Wonders How Rutgers ‘Spies’ …
Discussion:
CNN, Truth Wins Out, msnbc.com, JammieWearingFool, Feministing, GayPatriot and This Just In
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