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?
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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 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:
Washington Monthly and GOP 12
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Frank: White House ‘gravely mistaken’ in tax cut strategy
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers and Associated Press
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.
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Wall Street Journal:
Economy Added Fewer Jobs Than Expected in November
Discussion:
Washington Wire, Commentary, iOwnTheWorld.com and American Power
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
AWFUL MONTHLY JOBS REPORT SHOULD WAKE UP WASHINGTON. …
Discussion:
McClatchy Washington Bureau, Crooks and Liars and New York Times
CNBC:
Jobs Up 39,000, Well Below Hopes as Rate Hits 9.8%
Discussion:
Felix Salmon, Scared Monkeys and AmSpecBlog
Ezra Klein:
An ugly jobs report
Discussion:
Calculated Risk, Free exchange, The Atlantic Online 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 …
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Jeanne Sahadi / CNNMoney.com:
Debt plan draws bipartisan support — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Defying expectations, more than 60% of President Obama's debt commission voted Friday in favor of the group's final recommendations for reducing the country's long-term debt. — In a strong bipartisan showing, 11 of 18 members voted yes.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller, Fortune, RedState and AmSpecBlog
John Maggs / The Politico:
Debt panel falls short on votes
Discussion:
Hot Air, National Review, New York Times, Felix Salmon and The Nation
Ezra Klein:
The fiscal commission succeeded — sort of
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Taegan Goddard's …
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
14 Dems want deficit action despite failed fiscal commission vote
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online
Roxana Tiron / The Hill:
Military chiefs advocate keeping 'Don't ask' for now; McCain threatens block — The top Marine Corps, Army and Air Force officers said Friday Congress should not scrap the “Don't ask, don't tell” policy in the near-term, and a key Senate Republican threatened to block a bill containing repeal language from being debated.
Discussion:
FrumForum, Maggie's Farm and New York Times
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Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
Service Chiefs Agree That Certification Process Would Allow …
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Monthly and Towleroad News #gay
Gordon Lubold / The Politico:
Marines, Air Force don't endorse 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal
Discussion:
AMERICAblog Gay and Prop 8 Trial Tracker
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:
Gawker, Big Journalism, Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org blogs, Patterico's Pontifications, Wonkette and JammieWearingFool
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:
Weasel Zippers, Right Wing News, NewsBusters.org blogs, Pajamas Media, Elder of Ziyon and Solomonia
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Niraj Warikoo / Detroit Free Press:
Defiant Helen Thomas defends remarks that led to exit
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and FrumForum
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Rangel: I don't deal in average American citizens — One might have thought, given all of the handwringing from Capitol Hill last night over the horrors of censuring, that Charlie Rangel would have learned a little humility from the process. For instance, on CNN moments after Nancy Pelosi read aloud …
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs and The Daily Caller
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Kerry Picket / Washington Times:
Rangel to TWT: I don't deal in average American citizens (VIDEO)
Discussion:
Breitbart.tv, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Pajamas Media
ABCNEWS:
President Obama Makes Surprise Trip to Afghanistan, Sources Tell ABC News — Visit Comes Amid Backdrop of Wikileaks Report Highlighting Afghan Corruption — President Obama is in Afghanistan on a surprise visit, sources told ABC News' Martha Raddatz. — Obama's surprise trip comes …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Gateway Pundit
Andy Kessler / Wall Street Journal:
Time to Shut Down the FCC — More transistors exist today than ever and there is plenty of capacity inside fiber-optic cables and out in the air. What's missing is competition for consumers. — It's time to close the Federal Communications Commission. This week, FCC Chairman Julius …
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James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
The Mystery of John McCain — I have been on the road, got home late tonight (while my wife is traveling elsewhere), and amused myself with.... the C-SPAN rebroadcast of today's Don't Ask Don't Tell Senate hearings. Yes, this is exciting life for a member of The Atlantic's team.
Discussion:
Daniel W. Drezner, The Moderate Voice, Prairie Weather, The Daily Dish and A plain blog about politics
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Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
McCain Exudes Grumpiness At DADT Hearing
Discussion:
BLACKFIVE, ThinkProgress, Pam's House Blend, Daily Kos and Open Left
Reuters:
Hillary Clinton says she in her last public job — (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton said on Friday that her current job as U.S. secretary of state was probably her last public position and that she would in future return to her roots as an advocate for women. — Clinton, who has repeatedly …
Discussion:
The Hill and New York Magazine
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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.
Discussion:
Classical Values, Outside the Beltway, LewRockwell.com Blog, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit
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:
The Daily Dish
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, NewsBusters.org blogs, Right Turn, The Huffington Post and EconLog
Guardian:
Julian Assange answers your questions — The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, answers readers' questions about the release of more than 250,000 US diplomatic cables — Fwoggie … Julian Assange: — I am an Australian citizen and I miss my country a great deal.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, msnbc.com, techPresident, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, The Nation, News: News blog and Gothamist, more at Techmeme »
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:
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