Top Items:
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Do-Nothing Congress as a Cure — A trick question: If Congress takes no action in coming years, what will happen to the budget deficit? — It will shrink — and shrink a lot. This simple fact may offer the best hope for deficit reduction. — As federal law currently stands …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Mother Jones, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Prairie Weather, Eschaton, Associated Press, Washington Post and The Hill
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Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Left's angst grows over Obama's shift to the political center — Anxiety over President Obama's shift to the political center is threatening to alienate the White House's liberal base. — As Obama prepares Wednesday to outline his deficit reduction strategy, liberals worry he'll embrace Medicare …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, msnbc.com, Prairie Weather and JammieWearingFool
Wall Street Journal:
Deficit Speech Will Be Lightning Rod — Lawmakers in Both Parties Are Likely to Fault Obama's Approach Wednesday to Long-Term Cutbacks — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will describe his plans for long-term deficit reduction Wednesday, in a move likely to kick off a months-long debate …
Discussion:
dallasmorningviewsblog … and Pirate's Cove
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Progressive Group To Supporters: Withhold Donations To Obama If He Cuts Medicare, Medicaid
Progressive Group To Supporters: Withhold Donations To Obama If He Cuts Medicare, Medicaid
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Politico
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Obama speech to focus on four steps for fiscal reform
Obama speech to focus on four steps for fiscal reform
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News
Washington Post:
Obama risks losing liberals with talk of cutting budget
Obama risks losing liberals with talk of cutting budget
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Enterprise Blog, AMERICAblog News, Wonkette and The Politico
Sam Youngman / Ballot Box:
Obama '12 strategy: Deal and get results
Robert Borosage / The Politico:
President Obama doesn't need to be an accountant in chief
President Obama doesn't need to be an accountant in chief
Discussion:
CNN
Mary Beth Schneider / Indianapolis Star:
Daniels' presidential run would take on big issues — But governor says he still hasn't decided on 2012 campaign — Gov. Mitch Daniels' campaign for president would be a crusade against federal debt and for major entitlement reform — if, that is, he runs.
Discussion:
CNN, msnbc.com, Taegan Goddard's … and Hotline On Call
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Kasie Hunt / The Politico:
Mitt Romney to birthers: Barack Obama was born here. Period. — Mitt Romney forcefully said Tuesday night that he believes President Barack Obama was born in America and that “the citizenship test has been passed.” — “I think the citizenship test has been passed.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, FiveThirtyEight, Freed Thinking, Weasel Zippers, The Reaction, CNN, Washington Post, This Just In, Taylor Marsh and Outside the Beltway
Joshua Green / The Atlantic Online:
What Donald Trump's Birther Investigators Will Find in Hawaii
What Donald Trump's Birther Investigators Will Find in Hawaii
Discussion:
Conservatives4Palin, Prairie Weather, Piers Morgan, CNN and Outside the Beltway
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Americans Back Budget Deal but Declare No Winner — Split on whether next year's budget should further cut domestic spending — PRINCETON, NJ — Six in 10 Americans approve of the 11th-hour federal budget agreement that congressional leaders reached in time to avert a government shutdown.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway and Hot Air
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Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Tea Party group warns GOP members: Shape up or face primaries
Tea Party group warns GOP members: Shape up or face primaries
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Susan Page / USA Today:
Poll: Budget deal wins support, but Americans wary
Poll: Budget deal wins support, but Americans wary
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Taegan Goddard's … and The Daily Caller
Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Lobbyists Won Key Concessions in Budget Deal — WASHINGTON — At a quarter till midnight last Friday, with a deal to avert a government shutdown barely an hour old, Senator Harry Reid phoned a fellow Democratic senator, Ron Wyden, at home and startled him with some bad news.
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Ben White / The Politico:
Wall Street executives warn John Boehner on debt limit — NEW YORK — Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about the impact a bruising fight over raising the nation's $14.29 trillion debt ceiling could have on U.S. financial markets. — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) …
Discussion:
Riehl World View
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Annie Lowrey / Slate:
How Congress can balance the budget in eight years by literally doing nothing. This is not a joke. — The Simpson-Bowles blue-ribbon deficit commission longs to slash Social Security and defense spending. The Bipartisan Policy Center's Alice Rivlin and Peter Domenici yearn for a value-added tax.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Capital Gains and Games blogs and The New Republic
Isabel Kershner / New York Times:
Diplomatic Breakdown Amid Bieber Fever in Israel — JERUSALEM — The teenage pop idol Justin Bieber became embroiled in a diplomatic imbroglio on Tuesday when it emerged that plans for a meeting between the singer and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had been called off, with the sides differing over why.
Discussion:
Global Public Square
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Justin Bieber / Haaretz:
Netanyahu cancels Bieber date over refusal to meet kids affected by Gaza rockets
Netanyahu cancels Bieber date over refusal to meet kids affected by Gaza rockets
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Israel Matzav and Religion Dispatches
Lauraklairmont / CNN:
Pawlenty makes another hire — Washington (CNN) - Republican Tim Pawlenty is adding to his team of advisers and strategists. — The former Minnesota governor announced Wednesday that GOP strategist Jon Seaton will join Pawlenty's presidential exploratory committee as national political director, the second big hire in three days.
Discussion:
GOP 12
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Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Pawlenty: 'I'm running for president'
Pawlenty: 'I'm running for president'
Discussion:
Associated Press, Derek Wallbank, Gawker and InvestmentWatch
Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:
The Real Housewives of Wall Street — Why is the Federal Reserve forking over $220 million in bailout money to the wives of two Morgan Stanley bigwigs? — By — America has two national budgets, one official, one unofficial. The official budget is public record and hotly debated …
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid and The Moderate Voice
Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:
ThinkProgress Leaves Bachmann Speechless: Doesn't ‘Have An Answer’ On Whether Homosexuality Is A Public Health Hazard — Yesterday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) — who is seriously considering launching a campaign for the presidency — appeared before the FAMiLY Leader, an anti-gay social conservative group in Iowa.
Discussion:
Wonkette, Shakesville, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Pam's House Blend, Towleroad News #gay and Good As You
Glenn Harlan Reynolds / Wall Street Journal:
Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Drink — Republicans can make up for a Reagan-era error by returning this issue to the states. — 'If you get shot at, you can have a shot. " That's the rationale behind Alaska State Representative—and Vietnam veteran—Bob Lynn's effort to establish …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, The Volokh Conspiracy and Don Surber
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama in dicey shape in Pennsylvania — Pennsylvania's looking like it could be a very tough state for Barack Obama in 2012. His approval rating there is only 42% with 52% of voters disapproving of him, and he's within the margin of error in the state against 3 potential Republican opponents …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Ballot Box, Conservatives4Palin and GOP 12
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Bad news for Congressional Republicans
Bad news for Congressional Republicans
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid, The only adult in the room, Rumproast, Firedoglake, The Impolitic, The Moderate Voice, The Lonely Conservative, Riehl World View, The Washington Independent, Indecision Forever, RADAMISTO, Balloon Juice, iOwnTheWorld.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos and Taegan Goddard's …
John Melloy / Fast Money:
Inflation Actually Near 10% Using Older Measure — After former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker was appointed in 1979, the consumer price index surged into the double digits, causing the now revered Fed Chief to double the benchmark interest rate in order to break the back of inflation.
Discussion:
Doug Ross
Patrick Martin / Globe and Mail:
Egypt junta bows to protesters, Mubarak and sons jailed — It didn't take long for Egypt's interim military-backed regime to respond to the country's latest popular demands. — On Friday hundreds of thousands of Egyptians again filled Cairo's Tahrir Square, this time demanding the government …