memeorandum: Church Leaders Blast NYC Abortion Numbers (Sumathi Reddy/Metropolis)

1:15 PM ET, January 7, 2011

Top Items:

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

In U.S., 46% Favor, 40% Oppose Repealing Healthcare Law — Three-quarters of Republicans favor repeal; 64% of Democrats oppose it — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans do not strongly endorse the new Republican House majority's efforts to repeal the landmark healthcare legislation passed last year.

Discussion: The Hill, American Power, Washington Post, Swampland, The Page, CNN, Wake up America, National Review and Pajamas Media

David Brooks / New York Times:

Buckle Up for Round 2 — The health care reform law was signed 10 months ago, and what's striking now is how vulnerable it looks. Several threats have emerged — some of them scarcely discussed before passage — that together or alone could seriously endanger the new system. These include:

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Right Turn, Hit & Run, Commentary and The Incidental Economist

New York Times:

Republicans Are Given a Price Tag for Health Law Repeal, but Reject It — WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan budget scorekeepers in Congress said on Thursday that the Republican plan to repeal President Obama's health care law would add $230 billion to federal budget deficits over the next decade …

Discussion: The Politico, ACS Blog, Wonk Room and The New Republic

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:
CBO says health care repeal would deepen deficit

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, GOP 12, Capitol View, Prairie Weather and The Politico

USA Today:
Gallup Poll: U.S. split on health care law repeal

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and The Daily Caller

Christine Hauser / New York Times:

Private Sector Improves Jobs Picture Only Moderately — The United States economy ended the year by adding 103,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday, a number that missed expectations. In addition, the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent last month from 9.8 percent.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, The Caucus, Economix, ThinkProgress, CNNMoney.com, The Atlantic Online, Commentary, Outside the Beltway and The Glittering Eye

The Note:

Bernanke Warns Jobs Recovery Could Take Years, Urges Action on Deficit Problems — ABC News' Matthew Jaffe reports: — Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke today told Congress that if the pace of job creation continues at December's levels - when 103,000 jobs were added to payrolls …

Discussion: The Politico and HotAirPundit

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Key Numbers In Unemployment Report Not So Good

Discussion: Power Line, JustOneMinute, The Atlantic Online, CNBC, Michelle Malkin, Brookings Institute and Moe Lane

Jeffrey Sparshott / Wall Street Journal:
Economy Adds Fewer Jobs Than Expected

Discussion: New Deal 2.0, The Daily Caller and iOwnTheWorld.com

Bob Willis / Bloomberg:
U.S. Adds 103,000 Jobs in December, Unemployment at 9.4%

Discussion: The Maddow Blog and Calculated Risk

Ezra Klein:
103,000 new jobs in December; unemployment down to 9.4 percent

Discussion: Firedoglake, Brookings Institute, Felix Salmon, The Daily Dish and AOL News

New York Post:

Rudy gearing up for DC run — Confident that he'd have a chance to win, Rudy Giuliani is rounding up his top political advisers for a possible 2012 presidential run, sources tell Page Six. — Sources say the tough-talking former mayor “thinks the Republican race will be populated …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wonkette, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, National Review, New York Magazine, Weasel Zippers, GOP 12, TPMDC, JammieWearingFool and Conservatives4Palin

Amelia Chasse / New Hampshire Journal:
Romney flexes muscle in first NH Primary poll while Palin and others lag behind

Discussion: Ballot Box, Weigel, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and GOP 12

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Report: Rudy Giuliani may run again

Discussion: Indecision Forever and GOP 12

blogs.telegraph.co.uk:

Obama mouthpiece Robert Gibbs was forced out by new henchman William Daley — I wondered yesterday whether Robert Gibbs jumped or was pushed and noted that President Barack Obama's words indicated that it was “not an entirely voluntary departure”. — It's being reported by John King …

Discussion: Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake: Did Daley Force Gibbs Out?

The Note:
The Note: Will Obama Sink Or Swim In 2012?: Jobs Report Holds Clues

Discussion: ABCNEWS, CNN and New York Times

Matt Bai / New York Times:
A Shift in Tactics, Not in Ideology

Discussion: Ezra Klein, NewsBusters.org, Prairie Weather, Marbury, Daily Kos, National Review, Ben Smith's Blog and The Atlantic Online

Elizabeth Williamson / Wall Street Journal:
President Revs Up Campaign to Make Peace With Business

Discussion: Associated Press, Shakesville, Political Punch, The Caucus, CNN and The Page

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:

Parts of the Constitution inadvertently skipped in ‘historic reading’ on floor — The U.S. Constitution has still never been read in its entirety and in order on the House floor. — During Thursday morning's “historic reading,” one member apparently skipped Article 4 Section 4 and part …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Washington Post, Politics Daily, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Raw Story, The Huffington Post, The Nation and TPMDC

The Note:
Boehner v. Pelosi: House Leaders Spar Over Significance of Jobs Report

Discussion: The Politico

Nick Gillespie / Hit & Run:
Memo to Speaker Boehner: If You Won a Congessional Majority …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Other McCain and AMERICAblog News

David Dayen / news.firedoglake.com:

MA Supreme Court Deals Banks a Major Blow on Foreclosure Fraud, in the Ibanez Case — In a major ruling in the Massachusetts Supreme Court today, US Bank and Wells Fargo lost the “Ibanez case,” meaning that they don't have standing to foreclose due to improper mortgage assignment.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Emptywheel

Tracy Alloway / FT Alphaville:
A court case to challenge securitisation standards [updated]

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Clusterstock, Bloomberg, naked capitalism and Foreclosure Fraud

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Texas Omen — These are tough times for state governments. Huge deficits loom almost everywhere, from California to New York, from New Jersey to Texas. — Wait — Texas? Wasn't Texas supposed to be thriving even as the rest of America suffered? Didn't its governor declare …

Discussion: Clusterstock, The Future of Capitalism, AMERICAblog News and Prairie Weather

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

To House GOP, illegal immigration is a jobs issue — With Republicans now in control of the House Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder and other Justice Department officials are going to be answering a lot of questions in the next two years. “We're going to start fast,” …

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Lamar Smith issues first DOJ oversight letter

Discussion: NewsReal Blog, The Plum Line, The Foundry, Sister Toldjah, Questions and Observations and Weasel Zippers

Paul Blumenthal / Sunlight Foundation Blog:

Two Members Appear to Break Rules on First Day of New Congress — Two House Republican members, Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick and Pete Sessions, missed their swearing in on Wednesday as they attended a fundraiser in Fitzpatrick's honor at the U.S. Capitol. These two not-quite-yet Congressmen …

Discussion: TPMDC, The Huffington Post, Booman Tribune, Oliver Willis, Suburban Guerrilla, Wonkette, Daily Kos and The Impolitic

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

House approves resolution fixing problem with missed swearing-in — The House has just approved H.Res. 26, which is meant to fix the problems created when two Republican members were not properly sworn in on Jan. 5. — The resolution was approved over Democratic objections in a 257-159 vote.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Washington Monthly

ABCNEWS:

Pawlenty: Sarah Palin Is a ‘Force of Nature’ — Although former Gov. Tim Pawlenty no longer holds the executive seat in Minnesota, that doesn't mean he is hanging up his political hat for good.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Cubachi, USA Today, Liberty Pundits Blog, TPMDC, The Page and Politics Daily

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico: Tim Pawlenty: Sarah Palin is a ‘force of nature’

A. Barton / Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Hinkle: Debates of 2010 Raised More Questions — Time's passage winnows the chaff from the country's big debates. So look back at two of the chief disputes from 2010. You will find something curious in the kernels. — The first debate concerned health-care reform.

Discussion: protein wisdom

New York Times:

U.S. Sends Warning to People Named in Cable Leaks — WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning hundreds of human rights activists, foreign government officials and businesspeople identified in leaked diplomatic cables of potential threats to their safety and has moved a handful …

Discussion: Guardian, Foreign Policy, Little Green Footballs, New York Magazine and The Agonist

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Junior Senate Dems want chairmen to face election by secret ballot — Senate Democrats elected in 2006 and 2008 are challenging the internal caucus procedures that have allowed veteran lawmakers to lock up committee chairmanships for years on end. — A group of junior Democratic senators …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Prairie Weather

Sumathi Reddy / Metropolis:

Church Leaders Blast NYC Abortion Numbers … Archbishop Timothy Dolan joined other religious leaders Thursday vowing to work to reduce the number of abortions in New York City. — Leaders of various faiths denounced figures that showed that 41% of pregnancies in the city were terminated in 2009.

Discussion: Runnin' Scared