Top Items:
Ezra Klein:
How the White House cut its deal and lost its base — If you look at the numbers alone, the tax cut deal looks to have robbed Republicans blind. The GOP got around $95 billion in tax cuts for wealthy Americans and $30 billion in estate tax cuts. Democrats got $120 billion in payroll-tax cuts …
Discussion:
TaxVox, msnbc.com, Center for American Progress, Commentary, Hot Air, PostPartisan, Liberal Values, RedState, National Review and The New Republic
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The Huffington Post:
Mary Landrieu: ‘Obama-McConnell’ Plan Is ‘Almost Morally Corrupt’ — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — Sen. Mary Landrieu, a conservative Democratic from Louisiana, lashed out Tuesday at President Obama's deal with congressional Republicans that allows tax cuts for the wealthy to be extended for two years.
New York Times:
Obama Defends Tax Deal, but His Party Stays Hostile — WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday strongly defended his tax cut deal with Congressional Republicans against intense criticism from his own party, insisting it was “a good deal for the American people.” — Enlarge This Image
The Hill:
Pelosi escalates criticism of tax-cut deal — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) escalated the Democratic criticism of the tax cut deal President Obama struck with Republicans and singled out the GOP-favored estate tax proposal as “a bridge too far.” — Pelosi, speaking to reporters …
Discussion:
TigerHawk, National Review and FrumForum
Jennifer Bendery / Roll Call:
Tax Deal Opponents Shut Down White House Phones — Liberal activists angry about President Barack Obama's concession on tax cuts for upper-income Americans crashed two phone lines at the White House and are gearing up for another onslaught of calls to Senate Democratic leaders in an eleventh-hour push to kill the deal.
Discussion:
Hot Air, TPMDC, Raw Story, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Kos
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Poll: Obama supporters strongly opposed to deal extending Bush tax cuts
Poll: Obama supporters strongly opposed to deal extending Bush tax cuts
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog, TPMDC, Power Line, The Atlantic Online, New York Post, Hot Air and South Capitol Street
Associated Press:
Obama Lashes Out At ‘Hostage-Taking’ Republicans, Sanctimonious Democrats
Obama Lashes Out At ‘Hostage-Taking’ Republicans, Sanctimonious Democrats
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com and The Hill
Greg Mankiw / Greg Mankiw's Blog:
The Tax Deal — I am generally pleased with the compromise …
The Tax Deal — I am generally pleased with the compromise …
Discussion:
Free exchange, Felix Salmon, Paul Krugman, Real Time Economics and Ezra Klein
Russell Berman / The Hill:
Pelosi attacks Obama-GOP tax plan as House Dems signal fight
Pelosi attacks Obama-GOP tax plan as House Dems signal fight
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, The Atlantic Online, Pundits Blog, CBS News, Commentary, The Page, Daily Kos, Democracy in America, PERRspectives and Grasping Reality …
Patrick O'Connor / Washington Wire:
Landrieu: ‘Obama-McConnell Plan’
Landrieu: ‘Obama-McConnell Plan’
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack and Cafe Hayek
Raleigh News & Observer:
Cancer claims Elizabeth Edwards — Elizabeth Edwards, author of ‘Saving Graces’ , greets and autographs copies of her book for the community in 2006. — Elizabeth Anania Edwards, who became a national figure in her fight against cancer and as a partner in her husband John's political career, died today.
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite and Zandar Versus The Stupid
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Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
A Political Life Filled With Cruel Reversals — Elizabeth Edwards, who as the wife of former Senator John Edwards gave America an intimate look at a candidate's marriage by sharing his quest for the 2008 presidential nomination as she struggled with incurable cancer and, secretly …
Discussion:
American Power, NO QUARTER, Raw Story, Close Read, skippy the bush kangaroo and Towleroad News #gay
The Politico:
Elizabeth Edwards dies of cancer — Elizabeth Edwards died at her Chapel Hill, N.C. home Tuesday. She was 61. Courtesy — Elizabeth Edwards, who remade the role of the political spouse for a new media age, died Tuesday after a six-year struggle with cancer at her home in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, CNN, theblogprof, Ben Smith's Blog and CBS News
Elizabeth Edwards / WTVD-TV:
Elizabeth Edwards dead of cancer at 61
Elizabeth Edwards dead of cancer at 61
Discussion:
Hot Air, Gawker, The Moderate Voice, Patterico's Pontifications, TalkLeft, New York Magazine and Donklephant
Free exchange:
Did Barack Obama lose a political battle but win a war? — THE number crunchers have had their first stab at Monday's tax deal and the economic impact is impressive. Goldman Sachs now thinks the economy will grow as much as one percentage points faster next year than its current forecast of 2.7% …
Discussion:
Economist's View and Grasping Reality …
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David Kocieniewski / New York Times:
Tax Package Will Aid Nearly All, Especially Highest Earners
Katrina vanden Heuvel / Washington Post:
Obama: On the way to a failed presidency?
Obama: On the way to a failed presidency?
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, The Fix, Top of the Ticket, JOSHUAPUNDIT, JustOneMinute, New Deal 2.0, National Review, The Daily Dish, Salon, Left Coast Rebel, Outside the Beltway, alicublog, Althouse, Swampland, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, New York Times, The New Republic, Connecting.the.Dots and Right Wing News
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
For Obama, Tax Deal Is a Back-Door Stimulus Plan
For Obama, Tax Deal Is a Back-Door Stimulus Plan
Discussion:
Economix, ThinkProgress and Ezra Klein
Hugh Hewitt / Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog:
DeMint To Oppose “the Deal” — Senator JimDeMint just announced on my program that he will oppose the deal as well as a vote for cloture on the deal. He is reluctant to criticize GOP Senate leadership, but believes the deal at a minimum has to be paid for, and that we need “a permanent economy” …
Discussion:
Breitbart.tv, Hot Air, The Hill, James Pethokoukis and South Capitol Street
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Jack Shafer / Slate:
Julian Assange's Great Luck — Why his arrest and jailing in the United Kingdom is good news for him. — A U.K. magistrates' court denied Julian Assange bail and jailed him this morning over charges filed in Sweden that he had violated sex laws in that country last summer.
Discussion:
Guardian, Threat Level, South Capitol Street and Ben Smith's Blog
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David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Seminal Moment — Let's be honest with each other here: Presidential press conferences are usually news voids into which a lot of ink and chatter are dumped. — But Obama's press conference this afternoon will be seen as a turning point if not in his Presidency then in how we understand and perceive him and his approach to politics.
Discussion:
Da Techguy's Blog and South Capitol Street
Carl Zimmer / Slate:
Scientists see fatal flaws in the NASA study of arsenic-based life. — On Thursday, Dec. 2, Rosie Redfield sat down to read a new paper called, “A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus.” Despite its innocuous title, the paper had great ambitions.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, msnbc.com, Wired Science, Watts Up With That?, Hot Air, Gawker, Pharyngula and LewRockwell.com Blog
The Politico:
Harry Reid tries to add online poker to tax bill — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to use the tax cut package President Barack Obama brokered with Republicans to legalize online poker, POLITICO has learned — a move that could further complicate the deal Obama announced Monday.
Discussion:
National Review and FrumForum
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Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
More Dems Sign On To Extended Session Plan To Save DADT Repeal
More Dems Sign On To Extended Session Plan To Save DADT Repeal
Discussion:
South Capitol Street, The Hill, The Reality-Based Community, Talking Points Memo, The Politico and Wonk Room
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Obama administers a stern scolding to lefty critics — I noted this morning that Obama's strategy going forward will be to position himself as Washington's lone resident adult in a town full of squabbling children on right and left, and at his presser just now, Obama offered a surprisingly stern …
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Fix, FiveThirtyEight, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Ben Smith's Blog
Matt Bai / New York Times:
Murmurs of Primary Challenge to Obama — WASHINGTON — President Obama's compromise with Republicans on extending tax cuts for the wealthy, which his self-described progressive critics see as a profound betrayal, is bound to intensify a debate that has been bubbling up on liberal blogs …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Caller and Sky Dancing
Blogger Bob / The TSA Blog:
TSA Response to “TSA Breast Milk Screening” Video — Nearly a year ago, a passenger going through airport screening on two separate occasions requested that her breast milk be visually inspected and not screened by the X-ray machine. She filed a complaint with TSA regarding her screening experience.
Discussion:
South Capitol Street
Michael C. Moynihan / Reason:
Olbermann, Assange, and the Holocaust Denier — When you want to believe, you'll believe anything. — It now seems that the smears in the Julian Assange rape case are bidirectional, from the exceptionally flimsy charges accusing the WikiLeaks boss of being a sexual predator to the increasingly loud …
Discussion:
Salon, Hot Air, Hit & Run, FrumForum and The Other McCain
John Nova Lomax / Hair Balls:
WikiLeaks: Texas Company Helped Pimp Little Boys To Stoned Afghan Cops — Another international conflict, another horrific taxpayer-funded sex scandal for DynCorp, the private security contractor tasked with training the Afghan police. — While the company is officially based in the DC area …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Boing Boing
Nancy Altman / Nancy Altman's myFDL diary:
The End of Social Security — President Obama and the Republicans will say that the payroll tax holiday is all about stimulating the economy. But don't be fooled. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities,extending the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, is a much better, more targeted stimulus.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, TPMCafe, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, naked capitalism and AMERICAblog News
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Klobuchar Formidable — Amy Klobuchar is overwhelmingly popular and would cruise to reelection at this point pretty much no matter who her Republican opponent was. — Klobuchar's approval rating is 59% with only 29% of voters disapproving of her. She is universally well liked by the Democratic base …
Discussion:
Minnesota Independent and Taegan Goddard's …
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama solid in Michigan
Obama solid in Michigan
Discussion:
The Political Carnival, GOP 12 and Liberal Values