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:
Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, Betsy's Page 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.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Rahm for Mayor — As a fan of urban policy, I can certainly sympathize …
Rahm for Mayor — As a fan of urban policy, I can certainly sympathize …
The Politico:
Hill worries Rahm's exit changes little
Hill worries Rahm's exit changes little
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, New York Times, The Caucus and American Power
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Filling an Aide's Shoes With Very Different Feet
Filling an Aide's Shoes With Very Different Feet
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and The Future of Capitalism
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, Towleroad News #gay, CNN, Joe. My. God. and Think Progress
RELATED:
AnnArbor.com News:
UPDATED: Assistant AG takes leave of absence after national attention over blog against U-M student body president — One would expect that the current Republican attorney general contender, along with Rick Snyder and other major GOP state candidates, had a word or two with Mike Cox.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Bilerico Project, AMERICAblog Gay, Advocate and Pam's House Blend
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:
The Daily Dish, Weekly Standard, HillBuzz, JammieWearingFool, Daily Kos and iOwnTheWorld.com
Ezra Klein:
The demographics of 2010 — Some nice demographic polling out from Gallup today. Over the past seven months, middle-age voters have been pretty stable in their preferences between Democrats and Republicans. It's the young and the old who've diverged, with the young swinging toward …
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla
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Lydia Saad / Gallup:
In Midterms, Dems Gain With Young Voters, Slip With Hispanics
In Midterms, Dems Gain With Young Voters, Slip With Hispanics
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Hot Air
Stand UP!:
CNN's Rick Sanchez Calls Jon Stewart ‘Bigot’ — Cuban-American anchor Rick Sanchez came on Stand Up! with Pete Dominick today for a loose exchange on current events, media, and journalism. Throughout much of the interview, the discussion touched on race. To our surprise, at various points …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, Mediaite and The Nation
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Sanchez: CNN run by the Jews
Reuters:
Coalition Picks Maliki in Move That May End Iraq Stalemate — An alliance of Iraq's Shiite political blocs has chosen the incumbent, Nuri al-Maliki, as its nominee for prime minister, alliance officials said on Friday, ending months of wrangling that had stalled formation of a government.
Discussion:
The Page
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Leila Fadel / Washington Post:
Still struggling to form government, Iraq breaks a world record
Still struggling to form government, Iraq breaks a world record
Discussion:
democracyarsenal.org
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 …
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:
Matthew Yglesias, Washington Monthly, AmSpecBlog, NewsBusters.org and The Page
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:
Commentary, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Betsy's Page
RELATED:
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Armed Services chairman: Obama must not budge on Afghan withdrawal date
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
Reed Abelson / New York Times:
Insurer Cuts Health Plans as New Law Takes Hold — The Principal Financial Group announced on Thursday that it planned to stop selling health insurance, another sign of upheaval emerging among insurers as the new federal health law starts to take effect. — The company, based in Iowa …
Aaron Favila / Associated Press:
Dozens of NATO oil tankers attacked in Pakistan — SHIKARPUR, Pakistan - Suspected militants in southern Pakistan set ablaze more than two dozen tankers carrying fuel for foreign troops in Afghanistan on Friday, highlighting the vulnerability of the U.S.-led mission a day after Pakistan closed a major border crossing.
Discussion:
The AfPak Channel, Jihad Watch, Ventura County Star Stories, Atlas Shrugs, Washington Post and New York Times
RELATED:
David Brooks / New York Times:
The Austerity Caucus — If I had as much money as Meg Whitman, I'd probably have a more exuberant house. Hers is perfectly nice. But at a time when other Silicon Valley moguls were installing underground squash courts, arcade-size game rooms and other gewgaws, she stuck with a New England-style colonial.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, The Daily Dish, The Huffington Post and driftglass
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.
RELATED:
Carla Marinucci / San Francisco Chronicle:
Document shows Meg Whitman lying, attorney says
Document shows Meg Whitman lying, attorney says
Discussion:
PolitiCal, The Huffington Post and New York Magazine
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 and No More Mister Nice Blog
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 …
Robert Bazell / msnbc.com:
U.S. to apologize for STD experiments in Guatemala — Government researchers infected patients with syphilis, gonorrhea without their consent in the 1940s — U.S. government medical researchers intentionally infected hundreds of people in Guatemala, including institutionalized mental patients …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Checkup, TPMMuckraker, Raw Story, Boing Boing and Swampland
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:
Ben Smith's Blog, CNN, Washington Monthly, The Caucus, Gawker, The New Republic and Prairie Weather
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, TPMDC 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, Comments from Left Field and Althouse
Jennifer Wishon / CBN.com:
O'Donnell: 'God's Keeping Me in the Race' — In an exclusive interview with CBN News, Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell said God is keeping her in the race. — She made the statement before she stopped doing interviews at the advice of Tea Party power broker Sarah Palin.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Raw Story
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:
Think Progress, Erick's blog and GOP 12
John Podhoretz / Commentary:
The Meltdown Accelerates — at the Very Top — Here are some things Barack Obama said this evening to Democratic donors (I quote from Mark Knoller's Twitter feed): — “Now's not the time to quit...it took time to free the slaves...ultimately we'll make progress.” — “I need you to be fired up.”