Top Items:
Mark Weaver / 630 WMAL:
Michelle Obama's ‘Get Moving’ Program Linked to Pedestrian Deaths — WASHINGTON — The Governors Highway Safety Association says pedestrian deaths increased in the first half of 2010 and the First Lady's program to get Americans to be more active could be partly responsible.
RELATED:
Amanda Carey / The Daily Caller:
First Lady's anti-obesity campaign could be causing more pedestrian deaths
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Guardian, TPMMuckraker, Wonkette and FrumForum
James Joyner / Outside the Beltway:
Michelle Obama “Linked” to Pedestrian Deaths
Discussion:
Hot Air, JustOneMinute, Detroit News, The Atlantic Online, USA Today and Mediaite
Scott McCabe / Washington Examiner:
Exercise, iPods could be causing pedestrian deaths
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Online, The Incidental Economist and Ben Smith's Blog
Jon Ward / The Daily Caller:
A number of the House GOP's leading conservative members on Thursday will announce legislation that would cut $2.5 trillion over 10 years, which will be by far the most ambitious and far-reaching proposal by the new majority to cut federal government spending.
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Wake up America and AmSpecBlog
RELATED:
Washington Examiner:
Can't reduce federal spending? Here's a plan to cut $2.5 trillion by 2021
Discussion:
Cubachi, The Foundry and Big Government
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Republicans set down marker on spending: $2.5 trillion in cuts
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and TPMDC
The Fix:
A three-way pileup atop 2012 GOP presidential race — Former Govs. Mike Huckabee (Ark.), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Mass.) make up the top tier of the 2012 Republican presidential field, according to a new poll from the Washington Post and ABC News.
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama looking stronger — PPP's monthly look ahead to next year's Presidential race finds Barack Obama in his best position against the major Republican contenders since 2009. — The GOP hopefuls who would make it most competitive against Obama continue to be Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, each of whom he leads by 5 points.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, GOP 12, Taegan Goddard's …, The Politico and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Are the political winds changing?
Discussion:
GOP 12, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Other McCain
Mark Murray / msnbc.com:
NBC/WSJ poll: Obama bouncing back
Discussion:
Salon, Crooks and Liars, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, Reuters, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Daily Kos, AOL News and The Page
Lbentzterp / CNN:
Huckabee's book tour lavishes attention on Iowa, South Carolina
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, GOP 12 and Ben Smith's Blog
Dan Friedman / The Atlantic Online:
GOP Can Force a Senate Vote on Repeal — While the health care repeal that the House passed Wednesday has little chance of passage in the Senate, Republicans will probably succeed in eventually forcing a vote on the measure — albeit with at least a 60-vote threshold.
Discussion:
NationalJournal.com and Salon
RELATED:
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
How Should Dems Manage the Healthcare Repeal Circus? — It's a slow day, so let's do some political strategizing. Here's what the LA Times has to say about yesterday's vote in the House to repeal healthcare reform: … Here's my take: Democrats are nuts to take this attitude.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein
The Note:
SPOTTED: Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan Waiting for Jury Duty — ABC News' Devin Dwyer reports: If you thought Supreme Court justices are exempt from jury duty in their local courts, think again. — Justice Elena Kagan was spotted among a crowd of prospective jurors huddled in a waiting lounge this morning at D.C. Superior Court.
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Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Advocacy Group Says Justices May Have Conflict in Campaign Finance Cases — WASHINGTON — When the conservative financier Charles Koch sent out invitations for a political retreat in Palm Springs later this month, he highlighted past appearances at the gathering of “notable leaders” …
Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Rick Santorum plays race card on President Obama — In eye-brow raising comments, possible presidential hopeful Rick Santorum is questioning how President Barack Obama - as an African-American - can support abortion rights. — Santorum, a former Republican senator from Pennsylvania …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, TPMDC, NJDC Blog and FrumForum
RELATED:
David Brody / The Brody File:
Rick Santorum Responds to Brody File on Comment About President Obama's Race and Abortion — EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: RICK SANTORUM HAS JUST SENT THE BRODY FILE A STATEMENT ON THE STORY BELOW: … Abortion is a toxic subject. Race is a toxic subject. And soon to be GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, CNN, AmSpecBlog, TPMDC, GOP 12 and Right Wing Watch
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Obama to Close Political Office and Start 2012 Campaign — WASHINGTON — President Obama will close the office of political affairs at the White House, aides said, restructuring his organization to prepare for his re-election campaign, which is to start building a fund-raising and grassroots operation based in Chicago by late March.
Discussion:
The Fix, Lynn Sweet, CNN, Ben Smith's Blog, Taegan Goddard's …, Political Punch and msnbc.com
RELATED:
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Biden: Obama has best record since FDR
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Ballot Box
Ezra Klein:
If Obama wants to be bold, he should be bold — Peter Baker has a lot of juicy tidbits about the frequent infighting and petty spats that split the White House economic team over the past two years, but the individual who comes off worst in the article is not Larry Summers or Christina Romer or Peter Orszag or Rahm Emanuel.
James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
Palinoia, the Destroyer — What's behind the left's deranged hatred. — Why does their hatred of her burn so hot? — Ask them, and they'll most likely tell you: Because she's a moron. But that is obviously false. To be sure, her skills at extemporaneous speaking leave much to be desired.
Discussion:
Don Surber, The Other McCain, The Mahablog, Mediaite, Conservatives4Palin, Classical Values and Power Line
Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:
Palin Putting Out Presidential Feelers in Iowa — DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has tasked her aides with quietly gauging her level of support for a potential presidential campaign by making inquiries to a select pool of likely allies and grassroots activists in Iowa, RealClearPolitics has learned.
Discussion:
The Politico, Outside the Beltway, The Note, Hot Air, Conservatives4Palin, GOP 12, Washington Post, TPMDC and National Review
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
AN UNSHAKABLE PERSECUTION COMPLEX.... I missed the speech yesterday in which a House Republican compared health care reform to tyranny of King George III, so I was glad to see Greg Sargent track it down. — Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), a freshman, railed against the individual mandate provision …
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Delusions of world-historical grandeur
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and TPMDC
Jose Lambiet / Page2Live.com:
Parents of Giffords' doc supported Tea Partier Christine O'Donnell with Palm Beach cash — The name of Michael Lemole, the University of Arizona neurosurgeon who's been treating U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' brain injuries since the Jan. 8 shooting, may sound familiar to Palm Beachers.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and Patterico's Pontifications
RELATED:
P.J. Gladnick / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Palm Beach Post Columnist Slams Parents of Rep. Giffords Doctor …
Discussion:
Page2Live.com, The Jawa Report and Michelle Malkin
Gail Collins / New York Times:
Goodbye to a Guy Named Joe — On Wednesday, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut announced that he won't be a candidate for re-election in 2012. Normally people look particularly appealing when they're promising to go away. This time, not so much. — “I can't help but also think about …
Jonathan Dienst / NBC New York:
FBI Rounding Up 100 Mobsters in Biggest Mafia Bust in New York History — Charges range from gambling to racketeering to murder — The FBI calls it the biggest mafia round-up in New York history. More than 100 suspected mobsters are being arrested this morning in connection …
Discussion:
newsfeed.time.com, TPMMuckraker and Gawker
RELATED:
William K. Rashbaum / New York Times:
F.B.I. and Police Arrest More Than 100 in Mob Sweep
Discussion:
New York Magazine, AOL News, Prairie Weather and Eschaton
Reuters:
Fixing Social Security is progressive — Last week, 200 progressive organizations launched a public campaign directed toward President Barack Obama that argues against any fix to Social Security that would touch future benefits. This is not only bad for Social Security; it's not particularly progressive.
Discussion:
ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*
RELATED:
Murphy / The Beast:
The 50 Most Loathsome Americans of 2010 — Charges: The A.Q. Khan of the culinary world, her secret recipes are demonstrably more dangerous to America than a nuclear armed North Korea. When not delighting delusional hicks on “Huckabee,” she's cooking up coronary-clogging treats like the …
Discussion:
Liberty Street, Althouse and Pharyngula
Amie Parnes / The Politico:
Walmart joins FLOTUS health push — In an unusual endorsement, Michelle Obama appeared with Walmart executives at a community center on Thursday as the discount giant announced long-term plans to encourage healthy eating, including cutting prices of fresh fruits and vegetables and working …
The Hugh Hewitt Show:
Karl Rove begins to handicap the next presidential and Senatorial cycle — HH: Joined now by Karl Rove, author most recently of Courage And Consequence. Karl, Happy New Year to you. — KR: Same to you. How are you? — HH: I'm great. I've got to ask you about this state dinner …
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