memeorandum: Olbermann announces next move (Alexander Mooney/CNN)

4:05 PM ET, February 8, 2011

Top Items:

Mark Mellinger / WANE-TV:

Lugar to Tea Party: “Get real.” — WASHINGTON, DC (WANE) - He's an institution in Washington, DC. Over the years, few senators have garnered more respect on Capitol Hill than Indiana's Richard Lugar . He's been a fixture in the Senate since 1977; seemingly unbeatable at the ballot box.

Discussion: The Politico, Hotline On Call, National Review and Evansville Courier & Press

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Ditching unwritten rules for Senate freshmen, Paul does it his way — Rand Paul has broken with tradition by eschewing the unwritten rules for freshman senators: Keep a low profile, learn the chamber's arcane procedures and cozy up to senior colleagues. — Unlike ex-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton …

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Hill, Barefoot and Progressive and Wonkette

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Lugar tells Tea Party to ‘get real’ — Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) chided Tea Party activists in his state, telling them to “get real” about their opposition to the New START treaty. — Lugar, who voted for the treaty's confirmation late last year, dismissed the Tea Party's criticism of his vote …

Discussion: The Fix, Weasel Zippers and Ballot Box

Laurence H. Tribe / New York Times:

On Health Care, Justice Will Prevail — THE lawsuits challenging the individual mandate in the health care law, including one in which a federal district judge last week called the law unconstitutional, will ultimately be resolved by the Supreme Court, and pundits are already making bets on how the justices will vote.

Discussion: Althouse, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway, ACS Blog, Patterico's Pontifications, campusprogress.org, The New Republic, Politics, SCOTUSblog, LewRockwell.com Blog, Pajamas Media, The Politico, Marginal Revolution and Newsweek

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

What They Mean by ‘Civility’ — The New York Times raises no objection to murderous, racist rhetoric at a Common Cause rally. — (Best of the tube tonight: We'll discuss Common Cause's smear campaign on “America's Nightly Scoreboard” with David Asman. Fox Business, 7 p.m. ET tonight, with a repeat showing at midnight ET.)

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Betsy's Page, JustOneMinute, Doug Ross, SCOTUSblog, Don Surber, Jay Currie, TigerHawk, Shot in the Dark and The Daily Caller

Media Decoder:

Olbermann Said to Be Going to Current TV — Keith Olbermann, the former top-rated host on the news channel MSNBC, will announce his next television home on Tuesday, and people on Monday familiarwith his plans pointed to a possible deal with the public affairs channel Current TV.

Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Olbermann announces next move

Discussion: UNCOVERAGE.net and iOwnTheWorld.com

Mark Joyella / Mediaite:
Keith Olbermann's New Gig, Revealed: “Chief News Officer, Current Media”

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Mock, Paper, Scissors

Manu Raju / The Politico:

A new Dem threat to health care law — A handful of moderate Senate Democrats are looking for ways to roll back the highly contentious individual mandate — the pillar of President Barack Obama's health care law — a sign that red-state senators are prepared to assert their independence ahead of the 2012 elections.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Mock, Paper, Scissors, The Note, Wake up America, Hot Air, Guardian and The Huffington Post

The Politico:
GOP hedges on health care funds

Discussion: Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and Washington Post

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:
Fix or repeal? Obama's health-care trap

Discussion: National Review, protein wisdom and The New Republic

Christine McConville / Boston Herald:

Comic treatment for health plan — MIT econ whiz's hip idea to explain overhaul — The MIT economics whiz who crafted President Obama's national health-care overhaul now plans to explain the complex and controversial plan to the masses — in one long comic book.

Discussion: Indecision Forever, Michelle Malkin, protein wisdom, Weasel Zippers, JammieWearingFool, Economix, NewsBusters.org, Swampland and Pajamas Media

Lbentzterp / CNN:

CNN Poll: Republicans want winner over ideology in 2012 — Washington (CNN) - Given the choice between a candidate who agrees with them on the issues or a candidate who can defeat President Barack Obama in 2012, a new national poll indicates Republicans overwhelming want a winner.

Discussion: Hot Air, GOP 12 and The Politico

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
That's the ticket: GOP loves look of VP field

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Ryan Crowe / CBS Dallas:

Mandatory Arabic Classes Coming To Mansfield — MANSFIELD (CBSDFW.COM) - Some Students at Mansfield ISD schools could soon be learning Arabic as a required language. The school district wants students at select schools to take Arabic language and culture classes as part of a federally funded grant.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Moonbattery, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media, Don Surber, Atlas Shrugs and Liberty Pundits Blog

BBC:

Egypt protests: Hosni Mubarak's concessions rejected — The BBC's Jim Muir says Egyptians from all walks of life are present — Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have poured into Cairo's Tahrir Square for the latest protest calling for Hosni Mubarak's government to step down.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Marc Lynch, Raw Story and Politics

Telegraph:
WikiLeaks: Israel's secret hotline to the man tipped to replace Mubarak

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Salon, Firedoglake, Aljazeera, The Jawa Report and Suburban Guerrilla

Los Angeles Times:
U.S. eases off call for swift Egypt reform

Discussion: The Huffington Post, News: News blog and Salon

Tim Adler / Deadline.com:

First Look: Meryl Streep As Mrs. Thatcher — Pathé UK has released the first shot of Meryl Streep as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Streep is in the 2nd week of filming The Iron Lady here in London. It's the first feature from director Phyllida since she directed Streep in Mamma Mia.

Discussion: Big Hollywood, AmSpecBlog and The Gateway Pundit

Wall Street Journal:

'I Didn't Raise Taxes Once' — Refreshing the President's memory. — Bill O'Reilly's Fox interview with President Obama on Sunday was fascinating, and not merely because Mr. Obama made clear he's an ardent fan of these pages. What really caught our attention was the President's claim that “I didn't raise taxes once.

Discussion: Politifact.com Truth …, TaxProf Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ThinkProgress and Prairie Weather

Charles S. Johnson Ir / Helena Independent Record:

Rehberg blasts Obama, wolf ruling — U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg R-Mont., speaking to the Legislature Monday, attacked the policies of the Obama administration, defended states' rights and said a federal judge in Montana belongs on the Endangered Species Act for his ruling on wolves.

Discussion: The Politico, Ballot Box, PERRspectives, Talking Points Memo, TPMDC and AMERICAblog News

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
GOP Rep. Rehberg: Federal Judges Should Be ‘On The Endangered Species List’

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly and Montana Standard

Nikki Finke / Deadline.com:

Michael Moore vs Movie Accounting: Sues Weinsteins For More 9/11 Movie Profits After Already Pocketing $19.8 Million; Yes Or No - “He Redefines The Term Greedy”? — UPDATED: At least multi-millionaire Michael Moore didn't have the chutzpah to sue Harvey and Bob Weinstein in a court in New York City where they're based.

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com and Pajamas Media

Matthew Belloni / Hollywood Reporter:
Michael Moore Sues Weinsteins Over ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ (Updated)

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Other McCain

David Corn / Politics Daily:

Glenn Beck is walking toward a cliff—or running, or skipping. The question is, will Fox News go flying over the edge with him, or give him a push? — For years, Beck has pitched various conspiracy theories with a rather predictable thrust: the left is out to take over and/or destroy the United States.

Discussion: Commentary, Crooks and Liars, NewsReal Blog, The Reaction, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller and Mother Jones

Andy Barr / The Politico:

CNN's King: I'm out-Foxed — CNN's John King acknowledged last night that his network has a “Fox problem,” complaining that CNN gets little access to the expected GOP presidential field. — Introducing a quick interview with Newt Gingrich the CNN host was able to land over the weekend in Simi Valley …

Discussion: Mediaite

The Politico:

For jobs Gibbs lacks, the list goes on — Robert Gibbs has held many jobs in his accomplished political career: White House spokesman, presidential confidant, campaign strategist and more. He even ran a Democratic 527 group during the 2004 campaign. — But there are also quite …

Discussion: Commentary

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Rep. Posey Can't Say If He Takes Govt. Health Care Because He Doesn't ‘Know’ If He's ‘A Federal Employee’ — Over the past few months, congressional Republicans have endured much criticism for privately accepting government-sponsored health insurance as they publicly railed against health care reform.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Daily Kos

New York Times:

On Evolution, Biology Teachers Stray — Teaching creationism in public schools has consistently been ruled unconstitutional in federal courts, but according to a national survey of more than 900 public high school biology teachers, it continues to flourish in the nation's classrooms.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Volokh Conspiracy and Joanne Jacobs

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:

Inside the Secret Service — When President Obama and two-thirds of the world's leaders gather in New York City, it is up to the U.S. Secret Service to keep them all safe. Granted unprecedented access, our author tells the story of how the agency pulls off the most complicated security event of the year …

Sharon Otterman / New York Times:

Most New York Students Are Not College-Ready — New York State education officials released a new set of graduation statistics on Monday that show less than half of students in the state are leaving high school prepared for college and well-paying careers. — The new statistics …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, Right Wing Nut House, Mother Jones and Balloon Juice

Lynn Bartels / Denver Post:

Wadhams drops bid for re-election as Colorado GOP chairman — Dick Wadhams on Monday unexpectedly dropped his bid for re-election as chair of the Colorado Republican Party, warning GOP leaders that their chances in 2012 could be “severely undermined” by a strategy aimed solely at uniting conservatives.

Discussion: TPMDC and Washington Monthly