Top Items:
Bill Carter / Media Decoder:
Olbermann's MSNBC Exit Was Weeks in the Making — On Thursday, NBC's news division staged an elaborate presentation for advertisers, seeking to sell commercial time in NBC's news programs over the next year. All the members of MSNBC's prime-time lineup spoke at the lunch with one exception …
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TMZ.com:
Keith Olbermann's Exit — Secret Deal — Keith Olbermann saw the handwriting on the wall with the new owner of NBC and cut a deal for his exit that will give him money and options — sources tell TMZ. — Here's how it went down. Sources familiar with the situation tell us …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, New York Magazine and Epicenter
Deadline.com:
NEW DETAILS: “MSNBC And Keith Olbermann Have Ended Their Contract”; Lefty MSNBC About To Make Right Turn? — 2ND UPDATE, SATURDAY AM: An MSNBC insider told this to Deadline today about Keith Olbermann's departure Friday: … Rachel Maddow & Bill Maher React To Keith Olbermann's Ouster
Discussion:
Mixed Media, The Gateway Pundit, Outside the Beltway, Liberty Pundits Blog, National Review and HillBuzz.org
The Wrap:
Did Keith Olbermann Bolt MSNBC to Create Media Empire? — It was Keith Olbermann's decision to leave his high-profile perch at MSNBC, TheWrap has learned. The outspoken host abruptly announced his departure on Friday evening, sending shock waves through the cable news world.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, News Desk, JammieWearingFool, The Hill, Sky Dancing and The Plum Line, more at Mediagazer »
New York Post:
MSNBC pulls plug on gasbag Olbermann — Broadcast blowhard Keith Olbermann's countdown has finally come to an end. — The liberal lip of MSNBC was unceremoniously dumped by the peacock network last night in a major shakeup that set tongues wagging across the broadcast world.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs, Hot Air, Salon, his vorpal sword, Pajamas Media, The Daily Caller and NewsBusters.org
The Note:
Romney Wins New Hampshire Republican Party Committee Straw Poll — ABC News Political Director Amy Walter reports: — In the first ever “straw poll” of New Hampshire Republican party committee members sponsored by ABC News and WMUR and sanctioned by the state Republican party …
Discussion:
The Other McCain, American Power, Cubachi, CNN, TPMDC, Scared Monkeys and LewRockwell.com Blog
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Kasie Hunt / The Politico:
Mitt Romney wins N.H. GOP straw poll — DERRY, N.H. - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the first presidential straw poll of the 2012 cycle, kicking off New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary election race. — Romney won with 35 percent, beating second-place finisher Ron Paul …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Outside the Beltway and FrumForum
Abby Goodnough / New York Times:
Tea Party Activist Takes Over New Hampshire G.O.P.
Tea Party Activist Takes Over New Hampshire G.O.P.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Politics Daily
James Pindell / WMUR Political Scoop:
Results: WMUR, ABC News, NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll
Results: WMUR, ABC News, NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll
Discussion:
The Fix, The Hill, Freedom's Lighthouse, TPMDC and iOwnTheWorld.com
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
First in nation, last with Sarah Palin
First in nation, last with Sarah Palin
Discussion:
Anchorage Daily News, CNN and Conservatives4Palin
Mwarren / Weekly Standard:
The Decline of the Justice Department — Mukasey's verdict on Holder. — Former attorney general Michael Mukasey is not prone to hyperbole. He's a former federal judge, a meticulous lawyer, and, as he proved in succeeding Alberto Gonzales, a skilled administrator who restored morale …
Discussion:
Power Line and Pajamas Media
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Andrew Cohen / Politics Daily:
United States v. Loughner: The Decision About The Death Penalty … In United States v. Jared Lee Loughner, the federal case against the Tucson shooting suspect, the action now shifts from public disclosures about what happened at the Safeway supermarket on Jan. 8 to private conversations …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
John / Power Line:
The Left's Tucson Strategy: Stage Two — The Left's attempt to link the Tucson shootings to angry rhetoric (not theirs, of course) was stage one of a broader strategy—what both military men and political strategists refer to as preparing the battlefield. The movement to feign nonpartisanship …
Discussion:
Prairie Weather, Balloon Juice and New York Times
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Mike Stopa / Boston Globe:
The reality of death panels — ObamaCare's end-of-life planning comes down to economics — SUPPORTERS OF President Obama's health care reform law have relentlessly derided Sarah Palin's notion of “death panels” as a vulgar rhetorical technique, with no basis in reality …
Discussion:
Don Surber and Conservatives4Palin
Wall Street Journal:
Obama to Push New Spending — State of Union Speech to Call for Boosting ‘Competitiveness’ While Nodding to Need for Budget Cuts — President Barack Obama and GE's Jeffrey Immelt, left, with plant manager Kevin Sharkey, visited a GE factory Friday to talk about green jobs.
Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Former Spy With Agenda Operates a Private C.I.A. — WASHINGTON — Duane R. Clarridge parted company with the Central Intelligence Agency more than two decades ago, but from poolside at his home near San Diego, he still runs a network of spies. — Over the past two years …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and Emptywheel