memeorandum: State of the Christmas Trees (Nicole Gelinas/National Review)

10:15 AM ET, January 20, 2011

Top Items:

Russell Berman / The Hill:

House repeals healthcare law, 245-189 — The House voted on Wednesday to repeal the sweeping healthcare law enacted last year, as Republicans made good on a central campaign pledge and laid down the first major policy marker of their new majority. — The vote was 245-189.

Discussion: The Politico, AmSpecBlog, Questions and Observations, Scared Monkeys, Pirate's Cove, The Nation, NewsReal Blog, Blogcritics, National Review, JustOneMinute, Sister Toldjah, The Other McCain, GayPatriot, Donklephant, Yahoo! News, TPMDC and The Hill

The Note:

Say What? Democrat Compares Republicans to Nazis — ABC News Jonathan Karl reports: — The newfound civility didn't last long. Political rhetoric in Congress doesn't get much nastier than the words of one House Democrat during the debate on repealing the health care law.

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:

House Repeals Obama Health Care Law in Symbolic Act — WASHINGTON - The House on Wednesday voted to repeal the Democrats' landmark health care overhaul, in a largely symbolic step that the new Republican majority said marked the beginning of an all-out effort to dismantle President Obama's signature domestic policy achievement.

Discussion: Firedoglake, FiveThirtyEight, USA Today, The Hill, The Confluence, Raw Story, CBS News, The Atlantic Online, Booman Tribune, Power Line, The Moderate Voice, SCOTUSblog, Shakesville, The Democratic Daily and National Review

Washington Post:
House votes to repeal health-care law

Discussion: Ezra Klein, PostPartisan, Wall Street Journal, Prairie Weather, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway, TPMDC, The Atlantic Online and FrumForum

Erika Niedowski / The Hill: House Republicans move on from repealing health law to replacing it

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
House Dem exemplifies New Tone by comparing GOP to Nazis on House floor

Discussion: CNN, JammieWearingFool, TPMDC, Indecision Forever, msnbc.com, The Enterprise Blog, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media and Erick's blog

David Streeter / NJDC:
NJDC Criticizes Comments of Representative Steve Cohen

Discussion: The Plum Line

Mark Murray / msnbc.com:

NBC/WSJ poll: Obama bouncing back — The president's approval rating returns to the 50s, but challenges remain, according to the latest poll — Below: — Deputy political director — WASHINGTON — What a difference a few weeks can make. — Last month, Republicans were celebrating …

Discussion: Reuters, Associated Press, AOL News, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Salon, The Page and The Fix

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:

POTUS's Big Numbers, What's Next in Health Care, Giffords to Leave Hospital, Debate Over Guns & Ammo, Trivia — FLASH: POTUS UP — An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll out this morning shows President Obama's right-side up these days. “In the survey, 53% said they approved of the job Mr. Obama …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Wall Street Journal:

President's Ratings Climb — President Barack Obama is riding a surge of public support into next week's State of the Union address, with more Americans approving of his performance and more seeing him as a political moderate, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Discussion: Online NewsHour, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, Politics Daily, American Power, Cheat Sheet and Taegan Goddard's …

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama presidency a success or failure?

Discussion: The Politico

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Business Leaders Make Cut at State Dinner With Hu — WASHINGTON - Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter made the cut. So did Bill Clinton and his wife, the secretary of state. The heads of Microsoft, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Boeing and Walt Disney were on the list.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Taylor Marsh, Gawker and The Caucus

Annie Groer / Politics Daily:
Obamas Host China's President Hu at Glitzy White House State Dinner

Discussion: News Hounds

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Republican lawmaker compares China to Nazi regime

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Hill

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.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, Outside the Beltway, Lone Star Report Blog and Raw Story

Jonathan Martin / Ben Smith's Blog:

Huck adviser to be Hill CoS — Mike Huckabee and his top advisers insist that he's thinking seriously about running for president, but he's doing little to put together the sort of organization needed to mount a campaign. The latest evidence: Chip Saltsman, his campaign manager in 2008 …

Discussion: CNN and msnbc.com

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 …

Discussion: Commentary, Connecting.the.Dots, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Swampland, First Draft and The New Republic

Jeanne Cummings / The Politico:

Scalia, Thomas and Citizens United — To mark Friday's anniversary of a court decision that allowed corporations to sink millions into politics, Common Cause, a reform group, is asking the Department of Justice to investigate alleged conflicts of interest involving two Supreme Court justices …

Discussion: Raw Story

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Advocacy Group Says Justices May Have Conflict in Campaign Finance Cases

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Caucus and FrumForum

Bradley Blackburn / ABCNEWS:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Stands on Both Feet, Looks Out Window — Giffords to Be Moved to Houston Rehab Facility — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords stood on both feet with assistance and looked out a window, another milestone in her recovery after a gunman fired a bullet through her brain during …

Discussion: The Wire and American Power

New York Post:
Doctor says Rep. Giffords stood on her own two feet

Discussion: New York Magazine

ThinkProgress:

Glenn Beck And Sean Hannity Dropped From Philadelphia Radio Station — Yesterday, hate radio hosts Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity had their nationally syndicated radio shows dropped from WPHT in Philadelphia, which is the second radio station to drop both of the conservative commentators.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Feministing

The Huffington Post:

Obama's Social Security Talk Is Turning Voters Off, Pollsters Say … WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's apparent willingness to consider cuts in Social Security benefits may be winning him points with Washington elites, but it's killing him with voters, who see the program as inviolate …

Discussion: Suburban Guerrilla, AMERICAblog News and Open Left

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: New York Times, newsfeed.time.com, msnbc.com, TPMMuckraker and Gawker

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 Note, GOP 12 and Conservatives4Palin

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

U.S. Prepares to Lift Ban on Guantánamo Cases — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is preparing to increase the use of military commissions to prosecute Guantánamo detainees, an acknowledgment that the prison in Cuba remains open for business after Congress imposed steep new impediments to closing the facility.

Discussion: FP Passport, TalkLeft and New York Magazine

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: The Moderate Voice, Liberty Street, Althouse and Pharyngula

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.

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.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway and The Powers That Be

Kevin / Daily Ructions:

Murphy To Announce Senate Candidacy Thursday. — United States Representative Christopher Murphy will announce Thursday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate from Connecticut in 2012, Daily Ructions has learned. Murphy's declaration follows …

Discussion: Ballot Box and Capitol Watch

Kyle / Right Wing Watch:

Santorum: It's “Common Sense” That We Should Not “Defy Nature” By Letting Gays Get Married or Adopt — Today, CNS News posted a nearly two hour long interview with Rick Santorum conducted by CNS News editor-in-chief Terry Jeffrey which covered a wide range of issues, including Santorum's opposition …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Hotline On Call, Wonk Room, Oliver Willis and Pam's House Blend

Sarah Boesveld / National Post:

Heritage Minister orders Library and Archives Canada to show controversial film — The Harper government sent a diplomatic note to Iran Wednesday, as Heritage Minister James Moore lashed out at Tehran for its part in a campaign that cancelled the screening of a movie critical of the Iranian regime at Library and Archives Canada.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Iranium, Harry's Place, Gates of Vienna, The Volokh Conspiracy and Blazing Cat Fur

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Our Second Annual TV News Trust Poll — PPP's annual look at the public's trust in various TV news outlets finds that Fox News' credibility is on the decline, that the traditional networks are seeing an up tick in their numbers, and that PBS is at the top of the heap.

Discussion: Raw Story, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, FrumForum and AOL News