Top Items:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Freezing Out Hope — After the Democratic “shellacking” in the midterm elections, everyone wondered how President Obama would respond. Would he show what he was made of? Would he stand firm for the values he believes in, even in the face of political adversity?
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Brilliant at Breakfast, CANNONFIRE, Left Coast Rebel, Commentary, Washington Post, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Confluence, The New Republic, Prairie Weather, Taylor Marsh, Suburban Guerrilla, AMERICAblog News, Shot in the Dark, Balloon Juice, Connecting.the.Dots, Riehl World View, The Impolitic and The Huffington Post
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The Huffington Post:
Harkin: If Obama Caves On Taxes, He Better Pray For Palin In 2012 — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — The sense of frustration among Senate Democrats over the White House's handling of the tax cut debate has grown throughout the week, culminating in a series of articles …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Monthly, Guardian, GOP 12 and Washington Post
Washington Post:
Obama, GOP in quiet talks to extend tax cuts — The White House and congressional Republicans have begun working behind the scenes toward a broad deal that would prevent taxes from going up for virtually every U.S. family and authorize billions of dollars in fresh spending to bolster the economy.
The Note:
Dem Senator: Negotiating with Republicans “Almost” like Negotiating with “Terrorists” — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: Did Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) just compare Republicans to terrorists? — Well, not really. But he did compare negotiating with Republicans to negotiating with terrorists.
Discussion:
The Politico
Brad Reed / Crooks and Liars:
Dear Democrats, please, please, please don't eff this up
Dear Democrats, please, please, please don't eff this up
Discussion:
Washington Post and Squawk Box
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Menendez: Dealing with GOP like negotiating with ‘terrorists’
Menendez: Dealing with GOP like negotiating with ‘terrorists’
Discussion:
The Politico, The Hill and Hot Air
John Stanton / Roll Call:
Menendez Likens Tax Fight to Negotiating With Terrorists
Menendez Likens Tax Fight to Negotiating With Terrorists
Discussion:
National Review
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Frank: White House ‘gravely mistaken’ in tax cut strategy
Frank: White House ‘gravely mistaken’ in tax cut strategy
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Note and Weasel Zippers
Faiz Shakir / ThinkProgress:
CBS Poll Finds Only 46 Percent Of Republicans Support GOP's Stand …
CBS Poll Finds Only 46 Percent Of Republicans Support GOP's Stand …
Discussion:
CBS News, Boston Globe and Washington Post
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Scott Brown comes out in favor of DADT repeal — This is potentially important. The statement just out from Senator Scott Brown's office: … A few quick points on this. First, it shows beyond doubt — as I thought would happen — that Robert Gates's handling of this whole affair …
Discussion:
Salon, Pam's House Blend, New York Magazine, The Daily Dish and AMERICAblog Gay
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Can we please have some nuance? — It's being widely reported right now that at the Senate hearings this morning, the Service Chiefs issued very stark warnings against repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. And it's true that Army Chief of Staff George Casey and U.S. Marine Corps Commandant James Amos …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish
Roxana Tiron / The Hill:
Military chiefs advocate keeping 'Don't ask' for now; McCain threatens block
Military chiefs advocate keeping 'Don't ask' for now; McCain threatens block
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Maggie's Farm, FrumForum and New York Times
Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
Service Chiefs Agree That Certification Process Would Allow …
Service Chiefs Agree That Certification Process Would Allow …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Joe. My. God., Washington Post and Towleroad News #gay
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. Brown offers key support for 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal
Sen. Brown offers key support for 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Towleroad News #gay
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Scott Brown Announces Support for Repealing “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”
Scott Brown Announces Support for Repealing “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”
Discussion:
Omaha World-Herald, Hullabaloo and Open Left
Motoko Rich / New York Times:
Disappointing Job Growth in U.S. as Jobless Rate Hits 9.8% — In a significant setback to the recovery and market expectations, the United States economy added just 39,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, according to the Department of Labor.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Economy Added Fewer Jobs Than Expected in November
Economy Added Fewer Jobs Than Expected in November
Discussion:
Commentary, Washington Wire, iOwnTheWorld.com and American Power
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
AWFUL MONTHLY JOBS REPORT SHOULD WAKE UP WASHINGTON. …
AWFUL MONTHLY JOBS REPORT SHOULD WAKE UP WASHINGTON. …
Discussion:
McClatchy Washington Bureau, Crooks and Liars and New York Times
Chusa / ConservativeHome's Survey blog:
The top ten pundits among Republican activists — 1,152 Republican activists, as identified by YouGov America and polled by ConservativeHome.com, have chosen their favorite pundits. — These pundits, more than any other, will be the talking heads who will influence the choice of the GOP's nominee for 2012.
Discussion:
Salon, Lean Left, The Other McCain, The Enterprise Blog and The Daily Dish
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Deficit panel's plan goes down to defeat — In an 11-7 vote, President Obama's fiscal commission on Friday failed to adopt a sweeping plan for reining in the federal budget deficit. — The panel had been working since February on a plan that would cut almost $4 trillion in deficit spending …
RELATED:
Jeanne Sahadi / CNNMoney.com:
Debt plan draws bipartisan support
Debt plan draws bipartisan support
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, Fortune, RedState and AmSpecBlog
Jeff Dunetz / YID With LID:
Helen Thomas is At it Again-Says Those Rich Jews Control America — Proving once again that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, former White House Correspondent Helen Thomas told an anti-Arab-Bias workshop in Dearborn Michigan that she absolutely stands by her ugly comments about Jews …
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs, theblogprof, Sultan Knish, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Right Wing News, NewsBusters.org blogs, Pajamas Media, Solomonia and Elder of Ziyon
RELATED:
Niraj Warikoo / Detroit Free Press:
Defiant Helen Thomas defends remarks that led to exit
Defiant Helen Thomas defends remarks that led to exit
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The New Republic and FrumForum
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Ron Paul stands up for Julian Assange — Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is taking a stand as one of Julian Assange's few defenders in Washington, arguing that the WikiLeaks founder should get the same protections as the media. — Attorney General Eric Holder said this week that the Justice Department …
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, Ben Smith's Blog and Lawfare
RELATED:
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Hillary Clinton: State is ‘last’ public post — Hillary Clinton says, ‘I think I will serve as secretary of state as my last public position.’ — Secretary of state will be Hillary Clinton's “last public position,” she said Friday, yet again tamping down speculation that she's plotting …
RELATED:
Reuters:
Hillary Clinton says she in her last public job
Hillary Clinton says she in her last public job
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Hill, Wonkette and New York Magazine
Marc Lacey / New York Times:
Arizona Cuts Financing for Transplant Patients — PHOENIX — Even physicians with decades of experience telling patients that their lives are nearing an end are having difficulty discussing a potentially fatal condition that has arisen in Arizona: Death by budget cut.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Incidental Economist, The Reality-Based Community and Gawker
Ryan Singel / Threat Level:
Feds Warrantlessly Tracking Americans' Credit Cards in Real Time — Federal law enforcement agencies have been tracking Americans in real-time using credit cards, loyalty cards and travel reservations without getting a court order, a new document released under a government sunshine request shows.
Myglesias / Yglesias:
For the Record... I really wonder what's happening, subjectively, inside the heads of people who oppose repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. Do any of them think they're on the right side of history here? That people are going to look back from 2040 and say “if only we'd listened to John McCain thirty years ago?”
Discussion:
The Plum Line
Bristol Palin / Facebook:
Mr. Olbermann—Sorry We Can't All Be As Perfect As You — Recently, a left wing commentator named Keith Olbermann attacked me for being a spokesperson for abstinence education and for being an Ambassador for the Candies Foundation, which promotes teen pregnancy awareness and prevention education.
Discussion:
Big Journalism, Gawker, NewsBusters.org blogs, Weasel Zippers, Wonkette, Patterico's Pontifications and JammieWearingFool
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Montana Republican Numbers — On the Montana poll that we released a couple weeks ago we also had some numbers on who Republicans in the state wanted as their candidates for President and Senate in 2012 and we just never got around to releasing them. So here goes:
Discussion:
GOP 12 and Conservatives4Palin.com
David Brooks / New York Times:
A Tax Reform Vision — I have a vision. — Sometime over the next couple of weeks, President Obama issues a statement that reads: “Over the past several months, Republicans and Democrats have been fighting over what to do with the Bush tax cuts. I have my own views …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, FT Alphaville, Right Turn, NewsBusters.org blogs, EconLog and The Huffington Post