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The Presidential Divider — Obama's toxic speech and even worse plan for deficits and debt. — Did someone move the 2012 election to June 1? We ask because President Obama's extraordinary response to Paul Ryan's budget yesterday—with its blistering partisanship and multiple distortions …
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Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Krauthammer's take on Obama's budget address: ‘I thought it was a disgrace’ — It's been just a few hours since President Barack Obama has finished his budget address at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and there already been significant pushback from the right.
The White House:
FACT SHEET: The President's Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility — The President believes that we need a comprehensive, pro-growth economic strategy that invests in winning the future, lays the foundation for strong private-sector job growth and ensures …
Paul Krugman:
The Budget Speech — Style: I liked the way Obama made a case for government at the beginning. I liked the way he accused Republicans of pessimism, of abandoning a hopeful vision of America. Good that he went after the Ryan plan — and good that he went after the cruelty of that plan.
Discussion:
National Review, Hendrik Hertzberg, It's A Free Blog, DownWithTyranny!, Weasel Zippers, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Liberal Values, Climate Progress, The Huffington Post, That Mr. G Guy's Blog, The Mahablog, Firedoglake, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, Corrente, Booman Tribune, The Daily Dish, Wall Street Journal, Economist's View and Gawker
cbpp.org:
Statement: Robert Greenstein, President, on President Obama's Deficit-Reduction Plan
Statement: Robert Greenstein, President, on President Obama's Deficit-Reduction Plan
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, The New Republic, American Prospect, Hullabaloo, American Times, Paul Krugman and AMERICAblog News
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Analysis: Obama speech frames a 2012 choice for the country
Discussion:
Pirate's Cove, msnbc.com, Daily Kos, Guardian, New York Times and Gothamist
Fred Lucas / CNSNews:
Obama: ‘We Would Not Be a Great Country’ Without Gov't Entitlements
Obama: ‘We Would Not Be a Great Country’ Without Gov't Entitlements
Discussion:
protein wisdom and The Gateway Pundit
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CBO: Budget deal cuts this fiscal year's deficit by just $353 million, not $38 billion touted — WASHINGTON — A new budget estimate released Wednesday shows that the spending bill negotiated between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner would produce less than 1 percent …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, RedState, Fox News, theblogprof, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Right Wing News, FrumForum, National Review, The Sundries Shack, Weasel Zippers, The New Republic, The Caucus, No More Mister Nice Blog, Erick's blog, Wonk Room, Fox Nation, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Hill, Datechguy's Blog, ThinkProgress, Hot Air, The Daily Dish, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Riehl World View, Daily Kos, Hit & Run, Weigel, The Hill and Wall Street Journal
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National Review:
Strike One — We initially supported the deal House Speaker John Boehner cut with the White House to cut $38.5 billion from the rest of the fiscal year 2011 budget. It was only a pittance in the context of all of Washington's red ink, but it seemed an acceptable start, even if we assumed it would be imperfect in its details.
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CBO Says Budget Deal Will Cut Spending by Only $352 Million
Discussion:
Connecting.the.Dots and Washington Post
Shane D'Aprile / The Hill:
Freshmen shrugging off Tea Party primary threats over spending deal
Freshmen shrugging off Tea Party primary threats over spending deal
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News
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Arizona Senate approves ‘birther’ bill — PHOENIX - The Arizona Senate has approved a revised bill requiring presidential candidates to prove they are U.S. citizens eligible to run for the office. — The bill approved Wednesday gives candidates additional ways to prove they meet the constitutional requirements to be president.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Vox Popoli and Pajamas Media
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David Weigel / Weigel:
Birther Bill Passes Arizona Senate
Birther Bill Passes Arizona Senate
Discussion:
Yglesias, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Raw Story, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TPMDC, Balloon Juice, Mediaite and Wonkette
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
DeMint: If vote to raise debt ceiling is GOP's Waterloo, ‘let it be’ — A top conservative senator on Thursday indicated he is willing to go to extreme lengths to prevent a vote on raising the debt ceiling, even if it hurts the Republican Party politically.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and FrumForum
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David Weigel / Slate:
Dancing on the Ceiling — How Republicans are framing the debate …
Dancing on the Ceiling — How Republicans are framing the debate …
Discussion:
OpenSecrets.org, Weigel and protein wisdom
Lauraklairmont / CNN:
Trump to make announcement about announcement — Washington (CNN) - Proving once again that Donald Trump knows a bit about publicity, the business man and real estate mogul will make an announcement on the season finale of “Celebrity Apprentice” about his intentions on running for the White House.
Discussion:
GOP 12 and Outside the Beltway
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Ronald Kessler / NewsMax.com:
Exclusive: Trump to Announce His Run for President
Exclusive: Trump to Announce His Run for President
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Hot Air
Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:
Fireworks expected as Gov. Walker heads to Hill to talk unions — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) could be in for a rowdy welcome from unions and liberal groups when he comes to Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify about his work on reducing the state's budget deficit.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, ThinkProgress and ABCNEWS
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Share of population working — Roll over each state to see the share of the population working in 2010: — Sources: USA TODAY, Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics — The share of the population that is working fell to its lowest level last year since women started entering the workforce …
Discussion:
The Politico, Pajamas Media and Right Wing News
Ben Terris / NationalJournal.com:
‘Patriotic Millionaires’ Ask to Be Taxed More — If President Obama's deficit-reduction speech today includes a call to end the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, there will surely be pushback; Republicans have already begun a preemptive attack on raising taxes.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air, Right Wing News, Washington Post, Moe Lane and Instapundit
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Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise; Inflation Pressure Grows — New claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, bouncing back above the key 400,000 level, while core producer prices clumbed faster than expected in March, government reports showed on Thursday.
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative
Lauraklairmont / CNN:
Romney beefs up campaign staff — Washington (CNN) - Just three days after announcing he was forming a presidential exploratory committee, Mitt Romney made another key hire as he continues to build up his campaign staff. — Romney's exploratory committee announced Thursday that Gail Gitcho will serve as communications director.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and GOP 12
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Gallup: Obama's Approval Drops Below 50 Percent Among Poorest Americans; No Longer Enjoys Majority Approval In Any Income Class — (CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama's approval among the poorest Americans dropped to an all-time low of 48 percent last week, according to the Gallup poll …
Discussion:
RedState, Scared Monkeys and The Page
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
AP poll shows 6 in 10 Americans want spending cuts, not tax hikes — Barack Obama tried to make the case for tax hikes yesterday as a means to close the budget deficit and reduce debt, but a new poll from the Associated Press shows that new taxes will be a tough sale.
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Stephen Ohlemacher / Associated Press:
AP-GfK Poll: Are your taxes fair? Most say yes
AP-GfK Poll: Are your taxes fair? Most say yes
Discussion:
The Politico and msnbc.com
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In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions of Top Figures — It is a question asked repeatedly across America: why, in the aftermath of a financial mess that generated hundreds of billions in losses, have no high-profile participants in the disaster been prosecuted?
Discussion:
The Confluence, The Awl, The Big Picture, Reuters, Prairie Weather, FrumForum and The Politico
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Gov. Chris Christie Tells Reporters To ‘Take The Bat’ To 76-Year Old Widow Legislator — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who has virtually declared war on the state's labor unions, is known for having an antagonizing style of politics, with some of his most infamous moments including telling …
Discussion:
NorthJersey.com
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
New DNC chief: GOP budget endangers senior citizens' lives — Republicans' budget plan would put seniors' lives at risk, the incoming chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said Thursday. — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida congresswoman tapped by President Obama to lead the DNC …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Obama, Spending Three Times as Fast as Bush, Blames Bush — Seven quick thoughts on the Most Important Speech of Obama's Presidency Since the Last One . . . 1. The prepared text begins, “This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page, more than just cutting and spending.
Donald L. Luskin / Wall Street Journal:
Remembering the Real Ayn Rand — The author of “Atlas Shrugged” was an individualist, not a conservative, and she knew big business was as much a threat to capitalism as government bureaucrats. — Tomorrow's release of the movie version of “Atlas Shrugged” is focusing attention …
Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times:
Raise America's Taxes — President Obama in his speech on Wednesday confronted a topic that is harder to address seriously in public than sex or flatulence: America needs higher taxes. — That ugly truth looms over today's budget battles, but politicians have mostly preferred to run from reality.
Discussion:
Daily Kos and PERRspectives
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House kills another part of health law — The House on Wednesday voted to terminate another piece of last year's healthcare law — the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which is currently scheduled to receive nearly $18 billion over the next few years. The House vote came just moments …