Top Items:
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Barack Obama takes opportunity Sarah Palin missed — In the span of a single news cycle, Republicans got a jarring reminder of two forces that could prevent them from retaking the presidency next year. — At sunrise in the east on Wednesday, Sarah Palin demonstrated that she has little interest …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Salon, A plain blog about politics, RedState, Outside the Beltway, AOL News, The Sundries Shack, No More Mister Nice Blog, Guardian, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Plum Line, Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Monthly, neo-neocon, Reuters, Taegan Goddard's …, Balloon Juice, Hot Air and New York Times
RELATED:
Richard PéRez-PeñA / The Caucus:
Christie Says Palin Needs to Go Unscripted to Contend for 2012 — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey says it's way too early to handicap the field of his fellow Republicans who might run for president in 2012, but on Wednesday he voiced a few sharp words about the most famous one.
Michael Shear / The Caucus:
Obama and Palin, a Tale of Two Speeches — President Obama spoke Wednesday night at an event at the McKale Memorial Center honoring the shooting victims in Tucson. — Wednesday was bookended by two remarkable — and remarkably different — political performances that demonstrated the vast expanse of America's political landscape.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, NewsBusters.org, iOwnTheWorld.com, Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway, Runnin' Scared, AMERICAblog News, Washington Monthly and Marbury
The White House:
Remarks by the President at a Memorial Service for the Victims of the Shooting in Tucson, Arizona — McKale Memorial Center University of Arizona — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Please, please be seated. (Applause.)
Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Pawlenty defends Palin, saying after shooting, she was ‘falsely accused’
Pawlenty defends Palin, saying after shooting, she was ‘falsely accused’
Discussion:
CNN
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
John Boehner turns down Air Force One ride to Tucson — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) turned down an offer by President Barack Obama to travel on Air Force One to Arizona for a memorial service on behalf of the victims of Saturday's shooting, a decision that has upset some Democrats.
Discussion:
Hot Air, USA Today, CNN, Mediaite, Wake up America, Politics Daily, Riehl World View, Taylor Marsh, Roll Call, Outside the Beltway, FrumForum and The Hill
RELATED:
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Obama speech undercuts federal charge for judge's murder
Obama speech undercuts federal charge for judge's murder
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Emptywheel and Don Surber
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Boehner Didn't Really Snub Obama, Tucson Memorial
Boehner Didn't Really Snub Obama, Tucson Memorial
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, Gawker and Raw Story
Michelle Malkin:
Branding the Tucson massacre: “Together We Thrive” …
Branding the Tucson massacre: “Together We Thrive” …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Firedoglake, Commentary, BlogPost, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo, Politics Daily, Fox Nation, The Moderate Voice, Liberty Pundits Blog, The Mahablog, Newshoggers.com, Scared Monkeys, Tammy Bruce, alicublog, Pundit & Pundette, NewsBusters.org blogs, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Pajamas Media, TBogg, The Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool, Gawker, Crooks and Liars, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Proof Positive, American Power, Doug Ross and Breaking News
Gromer Jeffers Jr / Dallas Morning News:
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison won't seek re-election in 2012 — gjeffers@dallasnews.com — Kay Bailey Hutchison will not run for re-election to the U.S. Senate. — In a letter to supporters, Hutchison said she enjoyed serving Texas. — “I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media, The Page, AmSpecBlog, msnbc.com and FrumForum
RELATED:
Suzi Parker / Politics Daily:
Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has served three terms …
Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has served three terms …
Discussion:
Facebook, United States Senator … and Joe. My. God.
Gromer Jeffers Jr / Dallas Morning News:
'It's time for a new person,' U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says
'It's time for a new person,' U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says
Discussion:
National Review, The Daily Caller and PoliPundit.com
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Thoughts on Hutchison — Regardless of the official reasons …
Thoughts on Hutchison — Regardless of the official reasons …
Discussion:
Hotline On Call
Ben Dimiero / Media Matters for America:
Conservatives Accuse Obama Of Lying About Giffords Opening Eyes; Her Doctors Disagree — In one of the most cynical displays in recent memory, following the lead of Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft, several conservative websites - including Fox Nation and MRC arm CNS News - suggested that President Obama lied …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Guardian and Mediaite
RELATED:
Jake Tapper / Political Punch:
Giffords' Eye Opening News
Giffords' Eye Opening News
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, CNSNews, Fox Nation, Mediaite and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Megan Carpentier / TPMDC:
Sen. Gillibrand, Rep. Wasserman Schultz Describe Giffords Opening Her Eyes
Sen. Gillibrand, Rep. Wasserman Schultz Describe Giffords Opening Her Eyes
Discussion:
The Politico, Blog For Arizona and Talking Points Memo
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Doctors cite ‘major milestone’ in Rep. Giffords's recovery, remain cautious
Doctors cite ‘major milestone’ in Rep. Giffords's recovery, remain cautious
Discussion:
The Politico
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Dems settle on branding for GOP repeal effort: “The Patient's Rights Repeal Act” — “The Patient's Rights Repeal Act.” — At a House Dem leadership meeting last week, Dem leaders decided that this is the phrase they will officially use to brand the House GOP's push to repeal health reform, aides tell me.
Discussion:
Daily Kos
RELATED:
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House GOP to move quickly on healthcare 1099 tax repeal
House GOP to move quickly on healthcare 1099 tax repeal
Discussion:
Hot Air and Michelle Malkin
Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:
GOP in a bind over healthcare repeal vote
GOP in a bind over healthcare repeal vote
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications and RedState
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
House GOP to move forward with repeal next week
House GOP to move forward with repeal next week
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Caucus, Raw Story, TPMDC and Swampland
Kyle / Right Wing Watch:
If Elected President, Pawlenty Tells Fischer He'll Reinstate Don't Ask, Don't Tell — There are few Religious Right leaders active today who can compete with the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer in terms of openly hostile bigotry against gays, Muslims, and all those who do not share his radical worldview:
RELATED:
Jillian Rayfield / TPMDC:
Pawlenty To Bryan Fischer: I'd Support Reinstating DADT
Pawlenty To Bryan Fischer: I'd Support Reinstating DADT
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Wall Street Journal:
Why the Left Lost It — The accusation that the tea parties were linked to the Tucson murders is the product of calculation and genuine belief. — There has been a great effort this week to come to grips with the American left's reaction to the Tucson shooting.
Discussion:
American Power, The Politico, HillBuzz.org, Opposing Views and Cato @ Liberty
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
S&P, Moody's Warn On U.S. Credit Rating — LONDON—Two leading credit rating agencies on Thursday cautioned the U.S. on its credit rating, expressing concern over a deteriorating fiscal situation that they say needs correction. — Moody's Investors Service said in a report Thursday …
Erin McPike / Real Clear Politics:
Romney Locks in Beeson, Newhouse for '12 Bid — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has secured both a pollster and a political director for his near-certain presidential bid this coming cycle, according to sources connected to Romney's 2008 presidential effort.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway and TPMDC
Joyce Wadler / New York Times:
Don't Try This at Home: Adultery in the Marital Bed — THE woman who came to see Ken Altshuler, a divorce lawyer, had reason to be enraged: her husband was not only having an affair, he was also having an extravagant, money's-no-concern, fabled-and-faraway-beaches affair.
Discussion:
Jezebel, New York Magazine and Runnin' Scared
Wall Street Journal:
A Fifth Star for David Petraeus — The general clearly deserves to join the rank held by MacArthur, Marshall and Nimitz. His promotion would also honor our troops and their mission in the war on terror. — On a cold December evening in 1783, at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan …
Discussion:
Parker Spitzer, Commentary, Swampland and The Moderate Voice
David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:
What violent rhetoric? Another right-wing nutcase arrested for threatening congressman. Was O'Reilly the inspiration? — Gee, and here I thought that all this talk about violent rhetoric was just a figment of our liberal imaginations: — One arrested in threats against Seattle congressman
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Daily Kos, Shakesville, DownWithTyranny!, TPMMuckraker and Gawker
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
What the left did wrong — Why were the last four days a mini-disaster for the swampland of the left? It boils down to: facts, response and time. — Members of the left pounced first and didn't much care about the facts. Before it was clear just how crazy Jared Loughner is …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, neo-neocon, Booman Tribune and Pajamas Media
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Booker, Christie would fight to a draw — New Jersey voters were fine with Chris Christie staying at Disney World instead of coming back to deal with the snow storm the state had a couple weeks ago. But they're also very fond of Cory Booker and a hypothetical contest between the two of them in 2013 would start out as a tie.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog and Taegan Goddard's …