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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 …
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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.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Hill, The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, The Note, The Fix, CNN, Hotline On Call, New York Times, National Review, Shakesville, The Hill, The Page and Gretawire
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.)
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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:
Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, BlogPost, Tammy Bruce, Hullabaloo, 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, Doug Ross and Breaking News
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Obama and Palin, a Tale of Two Speeches — President Obama gives his speech honoring the January 8 shooting victims at McKale Memorial Center. — Wednesday was bookended by two remarkable — and remarkably different — political performances that demonstrated the vast expanse of America's political landscape.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, iOwnTheWorld.com, Runnin' Scared, AMERICAblog News and Marbury
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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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, The Empire, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite
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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 — Maybe President Obama was saving the magic for a time when we really needed it. — We've been complaining for two years about the lack of music and passion in his big speeches. But if he'd moved the country when he was talking about health care or bailing out the auto industry …
Discussion:
Raw Story, iOwnTheWorld.com, USA Today, Guardian and American Power
Associated Press:
On shootings and politics, Palin has her own rules
On shootings and politics, Palin has her own rules
Discussion:
USA Today, Sweetness & Light and MyFox Phoenix
Helene Cooper / The Caucus:
Obama Urges ‘Civility’ in Public Discourse
Obama Urges ‘Civility’ in Public Discourse
Discussion:
Political Punch, Indecision Forever, blogs.abcnews.com, Guardian and Arizona Republic
Joe Klein / Swampland:
The President's Speech — Barack Obama spoke to the city of Tucson …
The President's Speech — Barack Obama spoke to the city of Tucson …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The Daily Dish
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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, Wake up America, CNN, Mediaite, USA Today, Riehl World View, Taylor Marsh, FrumForum, Outside the Beltway and The Hill
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Pelosi is there as Giffords opens eyes — TUCSON, Ariz. — Simple sentiments, spoken by family and some of her closest friends in Congress, inspired the “miracle” of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' open eyes Wednesday evening. — Surrounded in her hospital room by her husband, her parents …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Wonkette, Reuters, The Page, FrumForum, JammieWearingFool, Naked Politics, The Note and The Hill
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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, Hot Air, James Pethokoukis, Outside the Beltway and Suburban Guerrilla
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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:
ThinkProgress, The Hill, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC, Pam's House Blend, Outside the Beltway, GOP 12 and Towleroad News #gay
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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
Word-salad of Hate at Oakland vigil for Tucson victims
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
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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Udall wants parties together at SOTU — Can't we all just get along? — Sen. Mark Udall wants Republicans and Democrats to sit next to each other at President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech - rather than on opposite sides of the chamber as it the usual practice - in “a symbolic gesture of unity rather than division.”
Discussion:
FrumForum
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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:
Informed Comment and NewsBusters.org blogs
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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, Commentary and Swampland
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:
Taegan Goddard's …
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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 …
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared, Mediaite, ANIMAL and The Awl
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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
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.