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, Left in the West, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Left Coast Rebel, Rortybomb, JustOneMinute, Taylor Marsh, CANNONFIRE, Balkinization, Commentary, Brilliant at Breakfast, AMERICAblog News, The Confluence, Shot in the Dark, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The New Republic, Balloon Juice, Washington Post, Prairie Weather, Suburban Guerrilla, The Impolitic, Riehl World View, Daily Kos, Connecting.the.Dots, The Atlantic Online and The Huffington Post
RELATED:
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:
CNN, The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, theblogprof, PoliPundit.com and The Gateway Pundit
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, Daily Kos, USA Today, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, PERRspectives, Guardian and GOP 12
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Obama Using Unemployed as an Excuse to Get What He Wanted All Along — It's been clear for some time that President Obama made the political calculation that he does not want any of the Bush tax cuts to expire. He doesn't have to be the guy in 2012 running for President on having “raised taxes during a time of recession.”
Discussion:
The Confluence, The Atlantic Online, Mother Jones and Hullabaloo
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.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, New York Times, USA Today, Right Turn, McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Commentary, Wall Street Journal, ThinkProgress, TPMDC, Ezra Klein, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos, The Plum Line, FrumForum and CBS News
Brad Reed / Crooks and Liars:
Dear Democrats, please, please, please don't eff this up — An artist's rendition of me begging the Dems to not cave. Yes, in real life I am a dog. — I'm taking a break from the Opening Bell this morning to write a letter to the Democratic Party. — OK, guys, here's the deal.
Discussion:
JOSHUAPUNDIT, Washington Post, Squawk Box and The Hill
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Dem senator compares negotiating with GOP to talks with terrorists
Dem senator compares negotiating with GOP to talks with terrorists
Discussion:
The Politico, Cubachi, The Hill, Liberty Pundits Blog and Hot Air
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Collins says 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal must wait for tax cuts
Collins says 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal must wait for tax cuts
Discussion:
U.S. Senator Susan Collins, The Daily Dish, The Caucus and Box Turtle Bulletin
John Stanton / Roll Call:
Menendez Likens Tax Fight to Negotiating With Terrorists
Menendez Likens Tax Fight to Negotiating With Terrorists
Discussion:
National Review and Balloon Juice
Adam Sorensen / The Page:
Donkey Doozy — The Democratic Party spirals unidirectionally.
Donkey Doozy — The Democratic Party spirals unidirectionally.
Discussion:
Don Surber, Hot Air and Commentary
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:
Boston Globe, The Gavel and CBS News
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, The Other McCain, Lean Left, The Enterprise Blog and The Daily Dish
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, The Hill, Firedoglake, The Angle, Omaha World-Herald, Pam's House Blend, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo and AMERICAblog Gay
RELATED:
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Scott Brown backs 'don't ask' repeal measure
Scott Brown backs 'don't ask' repeal measure
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared and Prop 8 Trial Tracker
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Can we please have some nuance? — It's being widely reported right …
Can we please have some nuance? — It's being widely reported right …
Discussion:
Gawker and Washington Monthly
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:
The Politico, Weasel Zippers and Towleroad News #gay
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:
Hot Air, Atlas Shrugs, theblogprof, Weasel Zippers, Sultan Knish, NewsBusters.org blogs, Right Wing News, 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, Moe Lane, FrumForum and The New Republic
Mark Joyella / Mediaite:
Karl Rove Slams Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee Over Bush-Bashing Comments — On Laura Ingraham's radio show, Karl Rove defended the Bushes against a series of comments, including Sarah Palin's reference to the Bushes as “blue-bloods” and Mike Huckabee saying the Bushes “weren't for me.”
RELATED:
Praveen Swami / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:
The sight of women's breasts won't deter Islamists - they're obsessed with sex — Denmark's government is being called upon to employ a lethal new weapon in the fight against Islamist extremism: bare breasts. — No, I'm not making this up - and also deny outrageous suggestions that I'm looking …
Discussion:
iOwnTheWorld.com and The Gateway Pundit
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.
Discussion:
Economix, Calculated Risk, Wall Street Journal, Washington Monthly, McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Other McCain, protein wisdom, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Wake up America, Indecision Forever, The Moderate Voice, About.com US Liberal Politics, New York Magazine, Don Surber, The Gateway Pundit, Wonkette, Questions and Observations, TalkLeft and Balloon Juice
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.
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
Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin:
UN Climate Summit Leader Prays to Mayan Moon Goddess — Watch out, Al Gore, your moonbat congregation is starting to direct their prayers elsewhere: … It just makes sense: When you're pushing a myth, there's no more appropriate entity to pray to than a mythical goddess. Why be inconsistent?
Discussion:
Oliver Willis
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
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 …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, Ezra Klein, Ross Douthat, The Note, Swampland, Hot Air, FrumForum and Divided We Stand
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
Enid Nemy / New York Times:
Elaine Kaufman, Who Fed the Famous, Dies at 81 — Elaine Kaufman, who became something of a symbol of New York as the salty den mother of Elaine's, one of Manhattan's best-known restaurants and a second home for almost half a century to a bevy of writers, actors, athletes and other celebrities, died Friday at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Discussion:
City Room, Gothamist and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, more at Mediagazer »
Terry / CNSNews:
Michele Bachmann: Jesus Had a Right to Life from the Moment of Conception — In response to a question from CNSNews.com, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R.-Minn.) said this week that Jesus Christ had a right to life from the moment of conception and that all human beings deserve legal protection from the moment of conception.
Discussion:
Breitbart.tv and GOP 12
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
After Catfood Commission Fails to Meet Mandate, Dem Senators Rally for Austerity — Fourteen Democratic Senators have asked Harry Reid for action on reining in the budget deficit, on the same day that the Catfood Commission failed to reach the threshold to deliver an official report.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Hullabaloo and The Hill
Myglesias / Yglesias:
Mental Prisoner of the Congress — An except from the President's statement on the Simpson/Bowles Commission: … I have various disagreements with this, but I think this also illustrates the extent to which the former-Senator President his senior staff full of former legislative aids …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama issues first pardons of presidency, four in cocaine cases — President Obama issued the first pardons of his presidency, excusing the convicts of crimes, many of which were drug-related. — Obama made nine pardons, four of which were in cases related to cocaine convictions.
Discussion:
The Politico
Ian Traynor / Guardian:
WikiLeaks cables claim first scalp as German minister's aide is sacked — Helmut Metzner admitted acting as a mole for the US embassy during negotiations to form a government — The WikiLeaks revelations have claimed their first political scalp in Europe with the sacking …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Firedoglake and Antiwar.com
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:
What's So Hard About Hardball? — Kevin Drum on the Democratic Party's congenital inability to play hardball politics: … The bigger issue, I think, is that Republicans have an astounding level of ideological unity and a keen understanding of the political dynamics at work.
Discussion:
The New Republic
Mitt Romney / Boston Globe:
Stop START — Nuclear treaty limits America's options for missile defense — WHY THE hurry, Mr. President? It's a question we've asked twice before. There was a rush to pass his $787 billion “stimulus” to hold unemployment below 8 percent. Congress obliged, and now we are saddled with higher unemployment and crushing debt.
Discussion:
The Politico, Eunomia, The Angle, GOP 12, Fox News, The Foundry, Balloon Juice and Congress Blog
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 …
Barry Eichengreen / voxeu.org:
Ireland's rescue package: Disaster for Ireland, bad omen for the Eurozone — Irish interest spreads did not fall and contagion continues. Here one of the world's leading international economists explains why. Short-sighted, wishful thinking by EU and German leadership designed a package …
Discussion:
Marginal Revolution