Top Items:
George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:
Obama Exclusive: I Was Born in Hawaii and I Don't ‘Have Horns’ — I thought the president would take a pass when I asked him about Donald Trump's rise to the top of the Republican field in my exclusive interview today. — Far from it. — He grabbed at the chance with a big smile …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Mediaite, Don Surber, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, FrumForum, Hot Air and MyDD
RELATED:
George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:
Obama Exclusive: Concedes Senate Vote Against Raising Debt Limit Was ‘Political’
Obama Exclusive: Concedes Senate Vote Against Raising Debt Limit Was ‘Political’
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Roll Call, The New Republic, Patterico's Pontifications, MyDD and TPMDC
Juana Summers / The Politico:
Tim Pawlenty: Obama gives ‘false choice’ on debt limit
Tim Pawlenty: Obama gives ‘false choice’ on debt limit
Discussion:
The Page, AMERICAblog News and The Hill
George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:
Exclusive Interview with Obama: Video and Part One of the Transcript
Exclusive Interview with Obama: Video and Part One of the Transcript
Discussion:
Washington Wire
Jonathon M. Seidl / The Blaze:
OLBERMANN: S.E. CUPP SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN, PROVES ‘NECESSITY’ OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD — Keith Olbermann is not known for his candor. In a sense, it's what's made him a popular figure on the left. And sure, he makes off-the-wall comments sometimes in order to evoke a response.
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool, Mediaite, NewsBusters.org, Pajamas Media, National Review, iOwnTheWorld.com and That Mr. G Guy's Blog
RELATED:
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Defunding healthcare, Planned Parenthood passes House, fails Senate — The House on Thursday afternoon approved two resolutions that would amend the FY 2011 spending bill to block funding designated for Planned Parenthood and last year's healthcare law. But House passage is largely symbolic …
Discussion:
The Politico, Cubachi and Weasel Zippers
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
White House to Gang of Six: Wrap up work on deficit-reduction plan — Senate Democrats and the White House are pressuring Republican members of the Gang of Six to reach an agreement on a deficit-reduction package so it can be used as a credible alternative to the budget unveiled last week …
Discussion:
New York Times, FrumForum and Associated Press
RELATED:
The Politico:
Labor leaders tee off on Barack Obama, Harry Reid — Top labor leaders excoriated President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a closed session of the AFL-CIO's executive board meeting in Washington Wednesday, three labor sources said. — Furious union presidents complained …
Discussion:
Betsy's Page, Weasel Zippers, That Mr. G Guy's Blog and aflcio.org
Tucker Reals / CBS News:
Obama: GOP tried to “sneak” agenda into budget — In what he thought was a private chat with campaign donors Thursday evening, President Obama offered the most revealing behind-the-scenes account to date of his budget negotiations with GOP leaders last week.
RELATED:
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Arizona birther bill in Gov. Jan Brewer's hands — Arizona's birther bill has cleared the state legislature and is headed to Republican Gov. Jan Brewer's desk. — After it easily cleared the state Senate Wednesday, the Arizona House on Thursday night voted 40-16 in favor …
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay, Outside the Beltway and FrumForum
RELATED:
Alia Beard Rau / Arizona Republic:
Arizona lawmakers OK requiring proof of citizenship to run for president — The Arizona Legislature has become the first in the nation to pass a measure requiring presidential candidates to provide proof of citizenship in order to get on the state's ballot. — House Bill 2177 got final approval Thursday night from the House.
Discussion:
Gawker and The Politico
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Who's Serious Now? — Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, sounds upset. And you can see why: President Obama, to the great relief of progressives, has called his bluff. — Last week, Mr. Ryan unveiled his budget proposal, and the initial reaction of much of the punditocracy …
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Prairie Weather
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Barack Obama reelect's first job: Reconnect — CHICAGO — President Barack Obama's fledgling reelection campaign is building a volunteer network with the audacious goal of contacting every single person who voted for him in 2008, as part of a reinvented voter outreach that will be as focused …
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times
RELATED:
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Barack Obama kicks off 2012 campaign in Chicago
Barack Obama kicks off 2012 campaign in Chicago
Discussion:
Right Wing News
Jonathan Schwarz / A Tiny Revolution:
Then They Came for Dana Milbank — For the past 20 years, as the U.S. middle class has quietly collapsed, Dana Milbank has made a great living as a media liberal who constantly ridicules liberals. But recently it seemed as though he'd suddenly noticed something was going on. Why?
Mike Huckabee / Des Moines Register:
Backers tell Iowa Republicans: Stay true to Huckabee — Until Mike Huckabee decides whether to run for president, Iowans loyal to the Arkansas Republican are trying to keep passions burning with an off-the-official-grid campaign. — A new “Stuck on Huck” online live radio show …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog and GOP 12
Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:
Scott Walker Admits Union-Busting Provision 'Doesn't Save Any' Money For The State Of Wisconsin — Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called Govs. Scott Walker (R-WI) and Peter Shumlin (D-VT) to testify in a hearing titled “State and Municipal Debt: Tough Choices Ahead.”
Discussion:
Wonkette, Zandar Versus The Stupid, JSOnline, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Page, Firedoglake, The Awl, News Hounds and First Draft
Anna M. Tinsley / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
Another one of Ron Paul's children may run for Congress — First it was just Ron Paul. — An obstetrician-gynecologist and libertarian-leaning Republican from Lake Jackson, Paul was elected to the U.S. House more than 20 years ago and maintains a devout following of those who share his anti-war, anti-tax, limited-government beliefs.
Discussion:
The Politico and Taegan Goddard's …
New York Times:
Libya's Pathway to Peace — Together with our NATO allies and coalition partners, the United States, France and Britain have been united from the start in responding to the crisis in Libya, and we are united on what needs to happen in order to end it. — Even as we continue …
Discussion:
CNN, Aljazeera, JONATHAN TURLEY, Hot Air and normblog
Mitt Romney / Orlando Sentinel:
Rein in government - starting with Obama — There's some good news and some bad news as we mark the unhappy occasion of the April 18 tax filing deadline. Let's start with the good news. — For the first time in the post-World War II era, there is a significant popular movement to scale …
Donovan Slack / Boston Globe:
Romney makes the most of funding rules — WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney kicked off his presidential exploratory committee this week in an enviable position. — Since his defeat in the 2008 GOP presidential primary, a few political friends have given generously to Romney's political operation …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Ballot Box
Steven L. Taylor / Outside the Beltway:
The Ryan Plan's Political Problem — I have been meaning to write about the Ryan Plan for days, but have not gotten around to it (although, in general, I think that both James Fallows and Michael Kinsely are largely on target). This post is less about the plan itself than about the politics of the plan.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Economist:
The rise and rise of the princelings, the country's revolutionary aristocracy — “THERE are some sour and smelly literati these days who are utterly abominable,” a retired military officer reportedly told a recent gathering in Beijing. “They attack Chairman Mao and practise de-Maoification.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and China Digital Times
Derek Hunter / The Daily Caller:
Righteous Indignation: Andrew Breitbart is out to save the world (and he just might) — You won't find too many people who are indifferent toward Andrew Breitbart. But love him or hate him, you can't ignore him. With his ever-growing collection of “Big” websites (Big Government …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Big Government and American Power
Tom A. Peter / Christian Science Monitor:
Afghan mullahs push peaceful protest in wake of Quran-burning violence — More Qurans were inadvertently burned during recent Afghan protests than by the US pastor Terry Jones. Spiritual leaders in Kandahar called a meeting to teach Afghans how to channel their passions peacefully.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Reuters:
U.S., allies see Libyan rebels in hopeless disarray — (Reuters) - Too little is known about Libya's rebels and they remain too fragmented for the United States to get seriously involved in organizing or training them, let alone arming them, U.S. and European officials say.
Discussion:
Guardian, LewRockwell.com Blog, Boston Globe, The Other McCain and The Lonely Conservative
Quin Hillyer / AmSpecBlog:
No “Fallout” is Necessary — Jim Antle's post below says that most of the cuts in the Continuing Resolution are mere “smoke and mirrors.” It's time for me to step up to the plate and explain some budgetary facts of life. I speak from fairly deep knowledge of this stuff.
Discussion:
Washington Post and FrumForum