memeorandum: Can Obama cut the budget and keep Democrats happy? (Washington Post)

1:25 PM ET, April 10, 2011

Top Items:

Abby Phillip / The Politico:

Budget deal leaves liberals disheartened — The $38.5 billion deal brokered between Republicans and President Barack Obama on Friday night may have resolved the immediate threat of a government shutdown. But it didn't take long for many liberal Democrats to begin to realize that there might …

Discussion: New York Times, Proof Positive, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, The Other McCain, UrbanGrounds, That Mr. G Guy's Blog, MyDD, The Hill and CNSNews

Washington Post:

Can Obama cut the budget and keep Democrats happy? — In his first two years, President Obama pursued an agenda that dramatically increased government spending and ushered in the biggest change in social welfare policy since the Great Society. When he spoke to the country late Friday night, he sounded like a born-again budget cutter.

Discussion: New York Times, The Politico, CNN, Fox News, Prairie Weather and The Caucus

Carl Cameron / Fox News:
Who Won the Shutdown Showdown? It Wasn't Even Close

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Fox Nation

The Politico:
John Boehner closes the deal to avoid government shutdown

Discussion: The Note, The Gateway Pundit, Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Power Line, Don Surber, Outside the Beltway, Ballot Box, Political Punch and The Hill

Joshua Miller / ABCNEWS:

Obama Advisor David Plouffe: Budget Cuts Both ‘Draconian’ and ‘Historic’ — Plouffe Lauds Bipartisanship and Slams Trump — Senior Advisor to the President David Plouffe conceded this morning that some of the cuts the White House agreed to in order to avoid a government shutdown were draconian.

Discussion: USA Today, ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, CNN and That Mr. G Guy's Blog

Jamie Klatell / The Hill:

Plouffe: Obama to speak on long-term deficit reduction — President Obama will give a speech this week that lays out his plan for handling the nation's fiscal management, White House senior advisor David Plouffe said Sunday. — “Later this week the president is going to speak about his approach …

Sarah Devlin / Mediaite:

Sarah Palin On Trump's Birth Certificate Investigation: ‘More Power To Him!’ — Sarah Palin was interviewed live today on Fox News' Justice with Judge Jeanine, and was asked to weigh in on the rather sudden addition of Donald Trump's voice to the “Birther movement”, as well as the money …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Gateway Pundit, Connecting.the.Dots, Weasel Zippers and iOwnTheWorld.com

Donald J. Trump / New York Times:
Donald Trump Responds

Discussion: Cubachi, The Wire, Althouse, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog and Runnin' Scared

New York Times:

Banks Are Off the Hook Again — Americans know that banks have mistreated borrowers in many ways in foreclosure cases. Among other things, they habitually filed false court documents. There were investigations. We've been waiting for federal and state regulators to crack down.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and That Mr. G Guy's Blog

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

Republican Rep.: Congress deserves to be ‘tarred and feathered’ — Washington (CNN) - Fresh off the debate to avoid a government shutdown, Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin expressed cautious optimism following the resolution, while gearing up politically for the debt ceiling drama.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Next on the Agenda for Washington: Fight Over Debt

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, Booman Tribune, Moonbattery and The Impolitic

NWCN:

Third day of ‘sleep-in’ at Washington state capitol — OLYMPIA, Wash. - Thousands of union members from all over Washington poured into the state Capitol Friday, calling on lawmakers to “put people first” by ending corporate tax breaks and painful cuts to public programs.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Blowin' in the Idiot Wind — Bob Dylan may have done the impossible: broken creative new ground in selling out. — The idea that the raspy troubadour of '60s freedom anthems would go to a dictatorship and not sing those anthems is a whole new kind of sellout — even worse than Beyoncé …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, That Mr. G Guy's Blog, Booman Tribune and Pajamas Media

New York Times:

Newly Born, and Withdrawing From Painkillers — BANGOR, Me. — The mother got the call in the middle of the night: her 3-day-old baby was going through opiate withdrawal in a hospital here and had to start taking methadone, a drug best known for treating heroin addiction, to ease his suffering.

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community

Katherine Kersten / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Always room in the budget for white guilt — Teachers are headed for a conference that brims with fashionable grievances. — These are tough times for Minnesota schools. In Lakeville, for example, the school board recently announced wrenching cuts of almost $7 million.

Discussion: Power Line and Big Government

Guardian:

NI bomb ‘threatened mass murder’ — Police say bomb found in van on main Belfast to Dublin road could have resulted in huge devastation and loss of life — Dissident republicans who prepared a 500lb (227kg) van bomb risked causing an Omagh-style massacre, politicians in Northern Ireland have said.

Discussion: The Raw Story