Top Items:
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.
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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 …
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, Hullabaloo, Washington Monthly, iOwnTheWorld.com, Runnin' Scared, AMERICAblog News 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.)
Michelle Malkin:
Branding the Tucson massacre: “Together We Thrive” in white and blue; Updated: Liveblogging the bizarre pep rally; Gov. Brewer booed; in sum: right speech, too late, boneheaded venue (WOOT!) — President Obama used to preach that there was no “Red America” and no “Blue America,” just one America.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, BlogPost, Hullabaloo, Tammy Bruce, The Mahablog, Fox Nation, Liberty Pundits Blog, alicublog, Scared Monkeys, Pundit & Pundette, Crooks and Liars, TBogg, Gawker, Proof Positive, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Pajamas Media, The Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool, NewsBusters.org blogs, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, American Power, Doug Ross and Breaking News
Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Facing Challenge, Obama Returns to Unity Theme — TUCSON — When President Obama took the stage here Wednesday to address a community — and a nation — traumatized by Saturday's killings, it invited comparisons to President George W. Bush's speech to the nation after the attacks of Sept. 11 …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, Weasel Zippers, Moonbattery, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, The Empire and The Gateway Pundit
Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Conservatives Criticize Free T-Shirts At Tucson Memorial Service — TUCSON, AZ — Some conservatives are upset over t-shirts bearing the logo “Together We Thrive: Tucson & America” that were handed out to attendees at tonight's memorial service in the McKale Center on the campus of the University Of Arizona here.
Gail Collins / New York Times:
Obama Brings It Home
Discussion:
Raw Story, iOwnTheWorld.com, USA Today, Guardian and Daily Kos
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:
Politics Daily, The Daily Caller, TPMDC, Wake up America, CNN, Mediaite, USA Today, Riehl World View, Taylor Marsh, FrumForum, Outside the Beltway and The Hill
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Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Obama speech undercuts federal charge for judge's murder — It may have been inadvertent, but a passage in President Barack Obama's speech to a memorial service in Tucson Wednesday night could undercut a criminal charge federal prosecutors have leveled at suspect Jared Loughner for the death …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish and Don Surber
The Politico:
Pelosi is there as Giffords opens eyes
Discussion:
TPMDC, Wonkette, Reuters, The Page, FrumForum, JammieWearingFool, Naked Politics, The Note and The Hill
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 …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, National Review, The Foundry, James Pethokoukis, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway and Suburban Guerrilla
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:
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, The Hill, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC, Pam's House Blend, Outside the Beltway, GOP 12 and Towleroad News #gay
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:
Opposing Views, The Politico, Cato @ Liberty and HillBuzz.org
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Zombie / Pajamas Media:
Word-salad of Hate at Oakland vigil for Tucson victims
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Washington Post:
Sarah Palin's effort to defuse controversy backfires with ‘blood libel’ comment — The presidential-quality stagecraft was there: an American flag over Sarah Palin's left shoulder and another over her heart. So was the rhetorical polish, with its invocations of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution, God and Ronald Reagan.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs and Informed Comment
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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:
The Moderate Voice, Parker Spitzer, Commentary and Swampland
The White House:
Press Gaggle by Senator Gillibrand and Representative Wasserman Schultz Aboard Air Force One en route Andrews Air Force Base — Q So tell us what it was like in there. You were just standing around a friend of yours and — just put it in your terms. — SENATOR GILLIBRAND: Okay, well, I'll go, and then you'll go — okay.
Discussion:
White House.gov Blog and Swampland
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Byron Tau / Ben Smith's Blog:
Thune to speak at CPAC — Don't count John Thune among CPAC's critics. The Senator will speak at the conservative conference, in another sign he's weighing a presidential bid. — In another sign that Sen. John Thune seriously is considering a bid for president, he has accepted an invitation …
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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 and TPMMuckraker
Paolo Mastrangelo / NYC The Blog:
Subway Riding Rat Wakes Up Sleeping Man By Crawling Up His Face — It was only a matter of time before rats started riding the subway with us. Some units have already annexed a park. This one, on the 4 train near Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn on Tuesday, played out everyone's worst nightmare …
Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:
GOP in a bind over healthcare repeal vote — House Republican leaders are eager to fulfill their promise to vote to repeal the legislation, but taking up the divisive issue could hurt the party at a time of calls for rejecting partisan rhetoric. — As lawmakers promise a new era of comity …
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications and RedState
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, Booman Tribune and Pajamas Media
Maureen O'Connor / Gawker:
Your Zodiac Sign May Have Changed — Astronomers have restored the original Babylonian zodiac by altering its dates to accommodate for millennia of subtle shifts in the Earth's axis. Prepare to have your mind blown, all you people with easily blowable minds.
Discussion:
Feministe, TIME.com, JONATHAN TURLEY, Fox News Insider and Moe Lane
James Rosen / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Gingrich visits South Carolina as presidential decision looms — WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich doesn't do coy. — When the former House speaker and Republican flamethrower addresses South Carolina business leaders Thursday night, he readily acknowledges the state's historic importance …
Discussion:
CNN and Taegan Goddard's …
David Frum / FrumForum:
The Uneasiness of Talk Radio — Interesting experience listening to talk radio these past days. The tone? Extra militant and - in the case of Rush Limbaugh especially - extra provocative. Sarah Palin's video address seems to have been composed under the influence of this mood …
Discussion:
Riehl World View and Outside the Beltway
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Yglesias Award Nominee — The Corner had few reactions to last night's speech but all of them were effusively positive. Fox's pundits seemed more impressed than CNN's. At some point, conservatives will realize that Obama is the liberal they can talk to.
Discussion:
The Plum Line
New York Post:
Prez perfect - but the crowd was appalling — Never before in the annals of national moments of mourning have the words spoken been so wildly mismatched by the spirit in which they were received. — The sentences and paragraphs of President Obama's speech last night were beautiful and moving and powerful.
Paul / Power Line:
An evening in Tucson — the good, the bad, and the ugly — In the post immediately below, I praised President Obama's speech in Tucson this evening in honor of the victims of that horrific shooting spree. His speech was part of a larger ceremony which, on the whole, was rather a mixed bag.
Discussion:
Fausta's Blog, Fox Nation, Sadly, No!, Right Wing Watch and The Huffington Post
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