memeorandum: Fiscal Shock — I see that the Washington Post editorial board … (Paul Krugman)

7:20 PM ET, January 5, 2011

Top Items:

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:

Gibbs to Leave as White House Press Secretary — Updated Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary and close confidante to President Obama, said Wednesday that he will step down and become an outside political adviser to the president and his re-election campaign.

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Howard Dean endorses Daley for chief of staff, rips White House — Former DNC chairman and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said Wednesday that William Daley would be a “huge plus” for the Obama administration if he is tapped to be the president's new chief of staff.

Discussion: The Politico, CNN, Weasel Zippers, The Nation and TPMDC

Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:

Howard Dean on Tea Party: ‘Last Gasp of the 55-Year-Old Generation’ — Speaking to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning, former Vermont governor and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Dr. Howard Dean shared his thoughts on the Tea Party.

Discussion: Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Fox Nation and Nice Deb

The Huffington Post: Dean Endorses Bill Daley, Rips Outgoing Obama Aides For ‘Contempt’

Ezra Klein:

A very smart speech by Speaker Boehner — If you spent the afternoon watching C-SPAN, as I did, you heard applause. A lot of it. Over and over again. And when John Boehner took the podium to be sworn in as Speaker of the House of Representatives, it swelled back up, and stayed there.

Discussion: PostPartisan, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Dish, Hot Air and Prairie Weather

Ezra Klein:

Repealing health-care reform would cost hundreds of billions of dollars — and Eric Cantor knows it — House Republicans are in a pickle: One of their new rules says that new legislation must be paid for. But the health-care bill reduces the federal deficit by more than $100 billion over the next 10 years.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Caucus, The New Republic, National Review, The Incidental Economist, Progress Illinois, The Baseline Scenario, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Oliver Willis and TPMDC

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
New team, same rules

Discussion: The Caucus, Washington Monthly, The Hill and American Spectator

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO BREAK KEY PROMISE ON DAY 1. …

Discussion: CNN, PERRspectives, Hot Air and ThinkProgress

The Politico:

19 Democrats vote against Nancy Pelosi — Nearly 20 Democrats abandoned their party's pick for speaker of the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a sign of their concerns about supporting the unpopular former speaker and of the difficulty she will have in marshaling her forces …

Discussion: CNN, The Note, Michelle Malkin, The Hill, The Caucus, GayPatriot, Big Government, Wake up America, Weasel Zippers, ABCNEWS, Balloon Juice and Online NewsHour

Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
19 Democrats Oppose Pelosi's Bid for Speaker

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:
Wily old Dems take on whippersnapper Republicans

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Jon Ward / The Daily Caller: Democratic staff passed out a press release to reporters …

Megan Carpentier / TPMDC:
Pelosi Faces 19 Defectors In Symbolic Speaker Vote

Discussion: Jeff Mapes on Politics and The Impolitic

Robert Pear / New York Times:

U.S. Alters Rule on Paying for End-of-Life Planning — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, reversing course, will revise a Medicare regulation to delete references to end-of-life planning as part of the annual physical examinations covered under the new health care law, administration officials said Tuesday.

New York Times:

Pomp, and Little Circumstance — A theatrical production of unusual pomposity will open on Wednesday when Republicans assume control of the House for the 112th Congress. A rule will be passed requiring that every bill cite its basis in the Constitution. A bill will be introduced to repeal the health care law.

Discussion: Power Line, Yahoo! News, National Review, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Hill, Questions and Observations, Cold Fury, YID With LID, Weasel Zippers, The Politico, Hot Air, The Reid Report, Right Wing News and Don Surber

Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar / Associated Press:
Administration reverses on end-of-life counseling

Discussion: AmSpecBlog and National Review

John R. Parkinson / ABCNEWS:

EXCLUSIVE: President Michele Bachmann? — Sources: Tea Party Favorite Is Mulling a Presidential Bid in 2012 — Forget the fervent chatter speculating that Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann is considering launching a campaign to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar for the Minnesota U.S. Senate seat …

Kasie Hunt / The Politico:
Michele Bachmann mum on presidential run

Discussion: MinnPost and The Note

Garance Franke-Ruta / The Atlantic Online:
Michele Bachmann for President?

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Sean Higgins / Investor's Business Daily:

Hoyer: Tea Party People Come From Unhappy Families — On the eve of his demotion by voters from House Majority Leader to House Minority Whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Hoyer offered this insight into the psychology of the Tea Party movement: … So, there you have it.

Discussion: Fox Nation, Weasel Zippers, Gates of Vienna, Hot Air, Right Pundits and National Review

CNN:
Tea Party leaders not swayed by Lugar meeting

Discussion: Ballot Box, Hotline On Call and National Review

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Here it is: The filibuster reform package! — Here's a copy of the filibuster reform resolution that Senate Democrats will introduce later today, sent over by an aide to Tom Udall, one of the key Senators driving this campaign. — While the broad outlines of the proposal were already public …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, TPMDC, Daily Kos, A plain blog about politics, RedState, Washington Monthly and The Foundry

Myglesias / Yglesias:
Biting the Bullet on Majority Rule

Discussion: Washington Post and Right Turn

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Ben Nelson on filibuster: ‘The last thing we need to do is start changing rules’

Discussion: The Note, Omaha World-Herald, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake and Grist

Henri Paget / ninemsn:

KFC employee screams insults at customer — A worker at a KFC restaurant in Sydney has been suspended after he was filmed screaming vicious insults and threatening to attack a customer. — The violent outburst happened at a Halal-friendly KFC in Punchbowl on December 26 …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Andrew Bolt, American Power and Tim Blair

Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:

GOP Rep. Mulvaney, Against Raising Debt Ceiling, Admits He Doesn't ‘Know’ What Will Happen If It Isn't Raised — In recent weeks, a number of high-profile Republicans have stated their intention to vote against any increase to the U.S. debt limit. From Sen. Mike Lee (UT) to Rep. Michelle Bachmann …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and George's Bottom Line

Mary Katharine Ham / The Daily Caller:
Flip Flop Alert: Harry Reid on raising the debt ceiling in 2006 [VIDEO]

Discussion: Wake up America, Hot Air and National Review

Philly.com:

Man found in landfill tied to arson attempt — Source: John P. Wheeler 3d planted incendiary devices at a neighbor's home in Del. days before his disappearance. — Police in Delaware have discovered evidence that a former Pentagon aide may have been involved in an attempted arson days before his murder …

Discussion: delawareonline, Raw Story, TPMMuckraker, The Politico, Mediaite, Gawker and Talking Points Memo

Paul Krugman:

Fiscal Shock — I see that the Washington Post editorial board is shocked, shocked to discover that the incoming Republicans aren't serious about deficit reduction. Who could have suspected? — I was going to be snarky all the way here, but actually let's be serious …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Open Left, The Huffington Post and Suburban Guerrilla

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Post-Midterm Approval Ratings Don't Predict Re-Election Chances — Barack Obama got some good news to start his new year: his Gallup approval rating ticked up to 50 percent yesterday, against 42 percent disapproval. That's the first time it has been at the 50 percent threshold since early June.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather, The Fix and Gallup

Aftenposten:

S E C R E T TEL AVIV 002447 — NEA/IPA INR/TNC TREASURY FOR GLASER, D. — E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018 TAGS: PREL, KPAL, KTFN, EFIN, IS SUBJECT: CASHLESS IN GAZA? — REF: A. 10/22/08 AGOR-BURNETT HOLMSTROM ET. AL. E-MAIL B. TEL AVIV 2144 C. TEL AVIV 2291 D. TEL AVIV 1742 E. TEL …

Discussion: The Lede, msnbc.com, Informed Comment, Open Left and Obsidian Wings

Warren P. Strobel / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

WikiLeaks: ‘Voluptuous’ nurse cable costs diplomat his job — WASHINGTON — In what appears to be the first diplomatic casualty from the latest WikiLeaks revelations, the U.S. ambassador to Libya has returned to Washington and is likely to leave his post, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

Discussion: AOL News, New York Magazine, Guardian and The Politico

Political Correction RSS:

GOP Budget Chairman Paul Ryan: “I Can't Tell You The Answer” To Specific Spending Cuts — 3 hours and 30 minutes ago — Matt Finkelstein — This morning on NBC, incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) discussed the spending cuts that Republicans plan to enact in the new Congress.

Discussion: The New Republic, Daily Kos, New York Times and Eschaton

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Democratic Party ID Drops in 2010, Tying 22-Year Low — Democrats still outnumber Republicans, while independent identification increases — PRINCETON, NJ — In 2010, 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, down five percentage points from just two years ago and tied …

Discussion: Politics Daily and Right Turn

Sarah Kliff / The Politico:

Obama administration reorganizes health bureaucracy — The Obama administration will reorganize and expand its infrastructure for health reform implementation, POLITICO has learned. — The Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, a new division created shortly after the passage …

USA Today:

‘Earmarks’ to nowhere: States losing billions — WASHINGTON — Almost 13 years ago, Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., directed $375,000 in federal funding “to improve State Road 31” in Columbus, Ind., a city at the edge of his district. — The McIntosh “earmark” seemed routine at the time …

Discussion: Americans for Prosperity, The Politico, Bankrupting America and msnbc.com

Louise Radnofsky / Washington Wire:

O'Donnell's Lawyer Says Campaign Records to Be Amended — Christine O'Donnell's lawyer has told the Federal Election Commission that she is reviewing the campaign's spending records and will file any fixes to them by the end of this month. — Cleta Mitchell, a top Republican elections attorney …

Discussion: Politics Daily and Wonkette

Michael Klein / Philly.com:

Trial set for firing over use of ‘n’ word — A federal jury will be asked to decide whether it is acceptable for an African American person, but not a white person, to use the “n” word in a workplace. — U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick has ruled that former Fox29 reporter-anchor …

Discussion: Vox Popoli and protein wisdom