Top Items:
Mike Allen / The Politico:
GOP casting call: ‘hicky’ W.Va. look — A new Republican ad that shows a couple of guys at the counter of a diner, wearing ball caps and plaid shirts as they take shots at West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D), was shot with actors, from a script, in Philadelphia.
Reed Abelson / New York Times:
Waivers Address Talk of Dropping Health Coverage — As Obama administration officials put into place the first major wave of changes under the health care legislation, they have tried to defuse stiffening resistance — from companies like McDonald's and some insurers …
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Drew Armstrong / Bloomberg:
McDonald's, 29 other firms get health care coverage waivers — Nearly a million workers won't get a consumer protection in the U.S. health reform law meant to cap insurance costs because the government exempted their employers. — Thirty companies and organizations, including McDonald's …
Discussion:
protein wisdom
Isabel Macdonald / The Nation:
Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite — Research support for this article was provided by the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. — In Lou Dobbs's heyday at CNN, when he commanded more than 800,000 viewers and a reported $6 million a year for “his fearless reporting and commentary,” …
Discussion:
The Wire, The Washington Independent, Hit & Run, Political Insider, Weigel and Romenesko
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2010: South Dakota House of Representatives — South Dakota House: Noem (R) Regains Small Lead Over Herseth-Sandlin (D) — Republican Kristi Noem has edged back into the lead over incumbent Democrat Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin in South Dakota's U.S. House race.
Discussion:
National Review and Top of the Ticket
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Ben Pershing / Washington Post:
NRA backs Democrats in key races, frustrating GOP
NRA backs Democrats in key races, frustrating GOP
Discussion:
Politics Daily and National Review
Bob Cusack / The Hill:
POLL: Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not drain swamp, key voters believe
POLL: Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not drain swamp, key voters believe
Discussion:
The Politico, Weasel Zippers and Hotline On Call
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Poll: Sarah Palin Favorable Rating Just 22 Percent — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — Sarah Palin is viewed unfavorably by nearly 50 percent of Americans, a new CBS News poll finds …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Conservatives4Palin.com and Outside the Beltway
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Andy Barr / The Politico:
Poll: Sarah Palin woes could hurt Carly Fiorina
Poll: Sarah Palin woes could hurt Carly Fiorina
Discussion:
Conservatives4Palin.com
Moneynews:
Foreclosure Cover for Banks Seen in Bill at Obama's Desk — A bill that homeowners advocates warn will make it more difficult to challenge improper foreclosure attempts by big mortgage processors is awaiting President Barack Obama's signature after it quietly zoomed through the Senate last week.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, The Confluence and Progress Ohio
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Joe Weisenthal / Clusterstock:
Senate Shockingly Passes Bill That Could Bail The Banks Out Of Foreclosure-Gate
Senate Shockingly Passes Bill That Could Bail The Banks Out Of Foreclosure-Gate
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, zero hedge and Open Congress
Anemona Hartocollis / New York Times:
New York Asks to Bar Use of Food Stamps to Buy Sodas — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg sought federal permission on Wednesday to bar New York City's 1.7 million recipients of food stamps from using them to buy soda or other sugared drinks. — The request, made to the United States Department of Agriculture …
Discussion:
City Room, Bloomberg, The Big Picture, New York Magazine, Corrente and Liberty Pundits Blog
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Julie Bosman / New York Times:
Vargas Llosa Is Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature — The Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, whose deeply political work vividly examines the perils of power and corruption in Latin America, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. — Announcing the award in Stockholm …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather and ArtsBeat
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Associated Press:
Mario Vargas Llosa Wins Nobel Literature Prize — STOCKHOLM (AP) — Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Spanish-speaking world who once ran for president in his homeland, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday. — The Swedish Academy said it honored …
Discussion:
Marginal Revolution and Fausta's Blog
Dina Cappiello / Associated Press:
Panel: Gov't blocked scientists on spill estimate — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration blocked efforts by government scientists to tell the public just how bad the Gulf oil spill could become and committed other missteps that raised questions about its competence and candor during the crisis …
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Todd Purdum / Vanity Fair:
The Man Who Never Was — Desperate to keep his Senate seat, John McCain repudiated his record, his principles, and even his maverick reputation, entrenching himself as the anti-Obama. Which raises the issue of whether the leader so many Americans admired—and so many journalists covered—ever truly existed.
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
The Westboro Baptist Church politely shows the court how to be obnoxious. — Quick constitutional pop quiz: What do you hate? (And by you, I mean you.) — If you answered: homosexuals, Jews, Catholics, the military, the pope, and more or less everyone except Fred Phelps …
Discussion:
SCOTUSblog, Right Wing News, PrawfsBlawg, New York Times, Reuters, Washington Post and ABCNEWS
Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Crist pledges to ‘crash that Tea Party in Washington’ — Gov. Charlie Crist (I) and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) were on the attack during a debate in Florida's three-way Senate race Wednesday night, with most of their fire aimed at Republican Marco Rubio, who holds a double-digit lead in recent polls.
Discussion:
CNN
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Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:
Once Again- Greta Takes Down Gloria Allred: “You Know What Gloria... If You Can't Protect the Client You Shouldn't Do the Job” (Video) — Similar Situation - Similar Results — Greta Van Susteren and Gloria Allred went back at it tonight on FOX News. Greta schooled the Brown supporter and democratic hack.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, GayPatriot and Left Coast Rebel
WTVD-TV:
Federal subpoenas issued in John Edwards investigation — john edwards, rielle hunter, local/state — RALEIGH (WTVD) — The ABC11 Eyewitness News I-Team has learned federal prosecutors in Raleigh have issued a new round of subpoenas in their investigation of former NC Senator John Edwards.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Ben Smith's Blog and ABCNEWS
The Atlantic Online:
Santorum Forums Iowa PAC — He's serious, folks. Former Senator Rick Santorum is abetting speculation that he's planning a presidential run 2012 in a serious way. Today, he's formed a political action committee in Iowa, called the Iowa Keystone Political Action Committee …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, Oliver Willis and GOP 12
Aliyah Shahid / NY Daily News:
Naked Cowboy, Times Square staple, to run for President in 2012 as Tea Party candidate — Yee-huh? — The Naked Cowboy — Time Square's tighty-whitey wearing, guitar-toting tourist magnet — announced he's running for President in 2012... as a member of the Tea Party.
Discussion:
The Reaction
The Huffington Post:
Congressional Candidate Steve Pearce To Birther: ‘Those Questions Need To Be Asked’ (VIDEO) — What's Your Reaction: … During a recent town hall meeting, New Mexico Republican congressional candidate Steve Pearce cast doubt on President Obama's citizenship and said that while the economy …
Discussion:
Ballot Box, Daily Kos, Weigel and New York Magazine
Wall Street Journal:
Pakistan Urges On Taliban — Members of Pakistan's spy agency are pressing Taliban field commanders to fight the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan, some U.S. officials and Afghan militants say, a development that undercuts a key element of the Pentagon's strategy for ending the war.
Discussion:
Guardian, Jihad Watch and The Long War Journal
William K. Rashbaum / New York Times:
Hevesi Is Set to Plead Guilty to Felony in State Pension Case — Former State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi was in custody and awaiting arraignment on Thursday morning on a felony misconduct count stemming from a state pension scandal, several people involved in the case said.
Discussion:
New York Magazine and JammieWearingFool
Ben Smith / The Politico:
David Axelrod, Elie Wiesel lament fanaticism — NEW YORK — David Axelrod, arrived in Washington two years ago with President Obama and his promise of a new, less divisive, and more hopeful politics. — But in a public conversation here Wednesday night, Axelrod and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel mused …
Discussion:
Commentary and TPMCafe
Timothy P. Carney / Associated Press:
Murkowski's ‘Alaska Mafia’ and the public dole — Once insurgent conservative Joe Miller knocked off moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska's Senate primary, almost all Beltway Republicans lined up behind Miller. But thanks to Alaska's unique political culture, there is a small cadre …
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack and Beltway Confidential