Top Items:
Robert Draper / New York Times:
The Palin Network — On the night of the midterm elections earlier this month, Sarah Palin stayed up until 3 in the morning. From her hotel bedroom in Manhattan, she and her husband, Todd, followed the returns while she wrote e-mails on her iPad — congratulating winners, consoling losers …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Hill, CNN, Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, Hit & Run, msnbc.com, The New Republic, ABCNEWS, Weigel, Guardian, Salon, Anchorage Daily News, The Note, Outside the Beltway, MyFox Philadelphia, The Daily Caller, Indecision Forever, The Nation, USA Today, GOP 12 and Swampland
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Mary Bruce / ABCNEWS:
Sarah Palin Says She Could Beat Obama — In Interview With Barbara Walters, Palin Says She Is Seriously Considering Entering Race in 2012 — Sarah Palin says she is seriously considering a run for the White House, and she believes she could beat President Obama in 2012, the former Alaska governor told ABC News' Barbara Walters.
The Smoking Gun:
Man Shoots TV Over Bristol Palin Dancing — Suspect surrendered after 15-hour standoff with Wisconsin cops … Like most Americans, Steven Cowan has been perplexed by Bristol Palin's curious ability to keep advancing in TV's “Dancing with the Stars” competition.
Discussion:
Cubachi, The Jawa Report, Big Hollywood, Mediaite, Indecision Forever, Liberty Pundits Blog and Hot Air
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JSOnline:
Bristol Palin's dancing prompts man to shoot his TV — By Sharif Durhams of the Journal Sentinel — A rural Dane County man believes Bristol Palin should not be on “Dancing With The Stars.” — He demanded his wife get his pistols to emphasize his point.
Discussion:
City Room, Weasel Zippers and Another Black Conservative
Jezebel:
How Palin Conservatives Are Cheating The DWTS Voting System — It's been alleged that the Tea Party's “Operation Bristol” is keeping the teen mom in the competition. However, the real conspiracy is that her conservative supporters have figured out a way to exploit ABC.com's email-voting feature, allowing infinite votes.
Ed Treleven / host.madison.com:
Bristol Palin's dancing on TV set off man in standoff, complaint says
Bristol Palin's dancing on TV set off man in standoff, complaint says
Discussion:
theblogprof and Show Tracker
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Nancy Pelosi Elected to Lead House Dems in New Congress; Boehner to Lead GOP — Updated 4:07 p.m. Eastern Time — Nancy Pelosi has been elected to lead House Democrats in the new Congress despite presiding over the loss of more than 60 House seats in the midterm elections.
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, msnbc.com, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Fox Nation, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Queerty and Wake up America
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The Hill:
House Dems elect Pelosi as leader — Despite the party's drubbing in the midterm elections, Speaker Nancy Pelosi will remain the Democratic leader in the next Congress. — Members of the caucus voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to make Pelosi minority leader, brushing aside a challenge by Rep. Heath Shuler …
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, Associated Press, Washington Wire, HotAirPundit, American Power and AMERICAblog News
The Politico:
Nancy Pelosi survives Democratic revolt — Democrats elected Nancy Pelosi as their minority leader on Wednesday, but only after a brutal two days of arguing behind closed doors and a 150-43 vote that revealed a bloc of disgruntled Democrats to be firmly in the anti-Pelosi camp.
Discussion:
The Nation, Weasel Zippers, Weigel, Gawker and ProfessorBainbridge.com
The Politico:
Why Democrats don't dump Nancy Pelosi
Why Democrats don't dump Nancy Pelosi
Discussion:
The Caucus, FiveThirtyEight, The Atlantic Online, American Thinker, CNN and Right Wing News
Patrick O'Connor / Wall Street Journal:
Pelosi Elected House Democratic Leader
Pelosi Elected House Democratic Leader
Discussion:
Another Black Conservative, Patterico's Pontifications, The Gateway Pundit and Pajamas Media
Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:
Murkowski's lead more than 10,000 votes — Today's review of write-in ballots ended with Sen. Lisa Murkowski enjoying an apparently insurmountable 10,420-vote lead over Joe Miller. — Murkowski also now has collected more votes that went unchallenged by Miller ballot observers than Miller's total vote count.
Discussion:
TPMDC, Hot Air, Politics Daily, USA Today, Ballot Box, Hotline On Call, Talking Points Memo, Gawker and Daily Kos
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Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Lisa Murkowski Makes History, Wins Alaska Senate Race
Lisa Murkowski Makes History, Wins Alaska Senate Race
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs and Joe. My. God.
Politics Daily:
Lisa Murkowski Defeats Joe Miller, Hangs On To Alaska Senate Seat
Lisa Murkowski Defeats Joe Miller, Hangs On To Alaska Senate Seat
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Aaron Blake / The Fix:
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski wins write-in bid
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski wins write-in bid
Discussion:
PostPartisan, TPMDC and The Other McCain
Jordy Yager / The Hill:
Leader of TSA offers pat-downs to senators — The head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) offered on Wednesday to have airport screeners come to Capitol Hill to give senators a pat-down so they could fully understand the mechanics of the newly deployed, controversial technique.
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog and Liberty Pundits Blog
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Noah Shachtman / Wall Street Journal:
Has Airport Security Gone Too Far? — Pilots and travelers are rebelling against scanners that douse them with X-rays and reveal their private parts. There must be a better way. — In May, Transportation Security Administration screener Rolando Negrin pummeled a co-worker with his government-issued baton.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, CBS News, Danger Room, Associated Press, Israel Matzav, Left Coast Rebel and Prairie Weather
Joshua Norman / CBS News:
Senators and TSA Defend “Love Pats” at Airports
Senators and TSA Defend “Love Pats” at Airports
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Swampland, Pundit & Pundette, Washington Post and LewRockwell.com Blog
Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
GOP lawmaker: Full-body scanners violate Fourth Amendment
GOP lawmaker: Full-body scanners violate Fourth Amendment
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News and The Gateway Pundit
Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Behind delayed summit: Republican distrust of President Obama — The roots of the partisan standoff that led to the postponement of the bipartisan White House summit scheduled for Thursday date back to January, when President Barack Obama crashed a GOP meeting in Baltimore to deliver a humiliating rebuke of House Republicans.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The Note, CNN, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Pajamas Media, TPMDC, ChattahBox News Blog, Politics Daily, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Front Row Washington, Associated Press, ABCNEWS, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Caucus and Washington Monthly
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
That's the Story? (#GalacticFail Edition)
That's the Story? (#GalacticFail Edition)
Discussion:
The Note, CNN, The Impolitic, JustOneMinute, The Plum Line, Balloon Juice, TPMDC, Gawker, The Politico, Wonkette, Politics Daily, The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Kos
David Dayen / news.firedoglake.com:
Reed, Casey Seek One-Year Extension of Unemployment Benefits — Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Bob Casey (D-PA) want the Senate to take up and pass a one-year extension of unemployment insurance benefits from 26 to 99 weeks, but they did not sound hopeful on a conference call that this could get done …
Discussion:
The Washington Independent and ECHIDNE of the snakes
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Steven Pearlstein / Washington Post:
GOP to jobless: Drop dead
GOP to jobless: Drop dead
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Monthly, National Review and Daily Kos
Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
Fighting the Fed — Sarah Palin is leading conservatives' most sinister campaign to date.
Fighting the Fed — Sarah Palin is leading conservatives' most sinister campaign to date.
Discussion:
TPMDC, National Review, Swampland, Oliver Willis, Weigel and naked capitalism
Howard Kurtz / The Daily Beast:
Roger Ailes Lets Rip — UPDATE: White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday that he was not surprised by Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes quotes about President Obama to The Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz. “I think if you watch most of the programming on the channel …
Fhardingj / CNN:
CNN Poll: Only one-third favor tax cut extension for wealthy — Washington (CNN) - Only a third of all Americans think Bush-era tax cuts should be extended for families regardless of how much money they make, according to a new national poll. — A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Hill, Washington Monthly, The Politico, Hullabaloo, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and AMERICAblog Gay
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Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Democrats Press GOP Lawmakers to Turn Down Government Health Care
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
White House backs ‘Four Loko’ ban — The White House on Wednesday threw its support behind a ban on beverages that infuse alcohol and caffeine. — Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske said he welcomed a ruling by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would effectively ban drinks like Four Loko and Joost …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and Gawker
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Warren E. Buffett / New York Times:
Pretty Good for Government Work — My mother told me to send thank-you notes promptly. I've been remiss. — Let me remind you why I'm writing. Just over two years ago, in September 2008, our country faced an economic meltdown. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the pillars that supported …
Discussion:
The Big Picture, Mediaite, Felix Salmon, Ezra Klein and ChattahBox News Blog
Aaron Wiener / The Washington Independent:
The Washington Independent, signing off — Nearly three years ago, The Washington Independent was launched as a bold experiment in online journalism. The idea was to combine hard-nosed investigative reporting with all the web had to offer: the nimbleness of real-time coverage …
Discussion:
Weigel, ATTACKERMAN, The Other McCain, Gawker and Oliver Willis, more at Mediagazer »
Kris Kitto / The Hill:
The speaker who speaks softly — John Boehner doesn't yell. — Unlike other powerful Washington insiders, the soon-to-be-Speaker of the House doesn't berate his staff or colleagues. The Ohio Republican has a management style that is unique, one that will be tested repeatedly in the next Congress.
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Jake Sherman / The Politico:
No GOP drama: Unanimous vote for John Boehner
No GOP drama: Unanimous vote for John Boehner
Discussion:
Sunlight Foundation
Drew Armstrong / Bloomberg:
Insurers Gave U.S. Chamber $86 Million Used to Oppose Obama's Health Law — Health insurers last year gave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce $86.2 million that was used to oppose the health-care overhaul law, according to tax records and people familiar with the donation.
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Yes, DADT repeal could still pass, Senate staffers say — Good news: Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal is not dead yet. — It's widely assumed that the reason the White House and Dems will punt on holding a vote on Don't Ask Don't Tell during the lame duck session is that there aren't 60 votes …
Discussion:
Advocate, Washington Blade, The Daily Dish, AMERICAblog Gay, Pam's House Blend, Towleroad News #gay and Queerty
ThinkProgress:
Senate Republicans Vote Unanimously Against Bill To Help Guarantee Fair Pay For Women — Our guest blogger is Rebecca Lefton, a Researcher with Progressive Media. — Today, Senate Republicans voted unanimously against legislation to close the pay gap between women and men.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Lez Get Real, nwlc.org, Taylor Marsh, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and ECHIDNE of the snakes