Top Items:
Mike Allen / The Politico:
GOP ad casting call: ‘hicky’ W.Va. look — A Republican ad that shows a couple of regular-looking guys commiserating in a diner about West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) turns out to have been shot with actors, from a script, in Philadelphia. — But not just any actors …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, CNN, TPMDC, The Fix, Hotline On Call, Hullabaloo, Salon, Daily Kos, Indecision Forever, Think Progress, The Caucus, Washington Monthly, No More Mister Nice Blog, Althouse, The Reid Report, Ben Smith's Blog, Connecting.the.Dots, National Review, The Awl, The Plum Line, First Draft, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine and Weigel
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The Politico:
George Allen preps for 2012 Senate bid — Former Virginia Sen. George Allen is taking increasingly aggressive steps to lay the groundwork for a 2012 Senate comeback bid. — POLITICO has learned that Allen, the Republican who was ousted from his seat in 2006 by now-Democratic Sen. Jim Webb …
Discussion:
Wonkette and HotAirPundit
Jeremy P. Jacobs / Hotline On Call:
NRSC Pulling Controversial West Virginia Ad
NRSC Pulling Controversial West Virginia Ad
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
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 Plum Line, Guardian, The Wire, Hit & Run, The Washington Independent, Wonkette, Political Insider, Weigel and Romenesko
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Scot J. Paltrow / Reuters:
Bank foreclosure cover seen in bill at Obama's desk — (Reuters) - 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:
Felix Salmon, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, zero hedge, HousingWire, naked capitalism, The Reaction, Hullabaloo, Clusterstock, The Confluence, TalkLeft and Progress Ohio
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Michelle Malkin:
What the hell: How stealth banking bailout reached Obama's desk; Update: Here comes the first O-veto — Scroll for updates... Both the left and right sides of the blogosphere are buzzing about a bipartisan TARP-style banking bailout bill that somehow reached President Obama's desk …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, protein wisdom and Open Congress
Jake Tapper / Political Punch:
President Obama to Pocket-Veto Bill That Might Make It Easier to Foreclose on Homes
The Huffington Post:
White House Has ‘Concerns’ About Notarization Bill Seen As Foreclosure Cover
White House Has ‘Concerns’ About Notarization Bill Seen As Foreclosure Cover
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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:
The Confluence
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:
National Review, protein wisdom and JammieWearingFool
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
NYT: Obama letting big corporations off the hook with ObamaCare waivers
NYT: Obama letting big corporations off the hook with ObamaCare waivers
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Weasel Zippers, PoliPundit.com and Liberty Pundits Blog
Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Gingrich Can't Figure Out Why Food Stamps Are Stimulative: 'I Don't Understand...Liberal Math' — Newt Gingrich's new messaging strategy has been to tell Republican candidates to label Democrats “the party of food stamps,” while, claiming the GOP is in turn “the party of paychecks.”
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, CBS News, Firedoglake and CNN
RELATED:
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, Commentary, Weasel Zippers and Gateway Pundit
Ben Pershing / Washington Post:
NRA backs Democrats in key races, frustrating GOP
NRA backs Democrats in key races, frustrating GOP
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Religion Dispatches, National Review and Raw Story
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 …
RELATED:
Christina Wilkie / The Hill:
Dem candidate fires back after racy photos surface — Democratic Virginia House candidate Krystal Ball (yes, that's her real name) went on the offensive Wednesday after racy photos of her surfaced online this week. — The photos, which were taken at a costume party, show Ball wearing …
Discussion:
Politics Daily and JammieWearingFool
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.
Discussion:
newsfeed.time.com, Washington Post, The Awl and Wonkette
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:
Gothamist and The Reaction
RELATED:
Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:
Tea Party Wants to Ambush More GOP Senators in 2012
Tea Party Wants to Ambush More GOP Senators in 2012
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Mother Jones and MyFox DC
Jay Heflin / The Hill:
Study: Expiration of Bush tax cuts will hit poorest hardest — Low-income workers stand to lose the most if lawmakers fail to reach a consensus on the Bush-era tax cuts, according to a new report from the Tax Foundation. — The report states that on Jan. 1 the doubling of the child tax credit …
Discussion:
The Plum Line and TPMDC
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
REPUBLICANS STILL JUST DON'T LIKE THE UNEMPLOYED.... That Republican officials seem to actively dislike unemployed Americans isn't exactly new. We're talking about a party that's waged war against jobless benefits and tried to kill jobs bills during a recession — which should tell the public quite a bit about the GOP's priorities.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein, The Washington Independent, The New Republic, The State, Newshoggers.com and A Spork in the Drawer
Caroline May / The Daily Caller:
Polls show Republican Mark Kirk leading in race to take Senate seat once held by President Obama — The polling numbers coming out of Illinios in the race to take President Barack Obama's former Senate seat are yet another indication that Democrats are facing an unfriendly electorate this year.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Bloomberg, NRSC, Barcepundit and Rasmussen Reports
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Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Obama Desperately Trying to Save His Own Senate Seat
Obama Desperately Trying to Save His Own Senate Seat
Discussion:
BackyardConservative and Chicago Sun Times
Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:
U.S. companies buy back stock in droves as they hold record levels of cash — For months, companies have been sitting on the sidelines with record piles of cash, too nervous to spend. Now they're starting to deploy some of that money - not to hire workers or build factories, but to prop up their share prices.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Other McCain, Clusterstock and Mother Jones
Dylan Lovan / Associated Press:
Southern Baptist leader on yoga: Not Christianity — LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Southern Baptist leader who is calling for Christians to avoid yoga and its spiritual attachments is getting plenty of pushback from enthusiasts who defend the ancient practice. — Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler …
Discussion:
AlbertMohler.com
Paul Krugman:
Tunnel Of Idiocy — Many reports that Chris Christie is about to scuttle the second rail tunnel under the Hudson. If so, it's arguably the worst policy decision ever made by the government of New Jersey — and that's saying a lot. — The story seems to be that Christie wants to divert …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Atlantic Online, The League of Ordinary … and Clusterstock
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, The Stir By CafeMom, Washington Post, New York Times, Right Wing News, PrawfsBlawg, Reuters and ABCNEWS
CNN:
O'Donnell: I've been character assassinated — Newark, Delaware (CNN) — Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell is asking voters to give her a second look. At a candidate forum sponsored by a group of local Republicans, O'Donnell blamed her campaign's recent troubles on unfair coverage in the “liberal media.”
Discussion:
TPMDC and The Political Carnival
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:
Associated Press, ArtsBeat, Prairie Weather and alicublog