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Trump Not Running for President: ‘Decision Does Not Come Easily Or Without Regret’ — ABC News' Michael Falcone, Jennifer Wlach, Sara Just and Devin Dwyer report: — After a roller-coaster flirtation with a presidential bid, Donald Trump bowed out of the 2012 contest in true Trump fashion on Monday …
Discussion:
The Caucus, Speakeasy, The Daily Beast, msnbc.com, Crooks and Liars, TPMDC, Washington Post, Wonkette, The Atlantic Online, Salon, Balkinization, Taylor Marsh, Runnin' Scared, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, The Gateway Pundit, GOP 12, CNN, Politics, The Democratic Daily, FrumForum, The Atlantic Wire, Michelle Malkin, The Lonely Conservative, Gawker, Simply Left BehindThe …, The Page and Left Coast Rebel
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What Trump can teach the GOP field — Wealthy businessman Donald Trump's Icarus-like rise and fall in the 2012 presidential race is likely to wind up as no more than a footnote in the story of this election. — But, that doesn't mean the Trump saga — and, it was a saga …
Discussion:
Dean's World


The Donald ducks — Donald Trump to Donald Trump: “You're fired.” — The publicity-loving New York developer and reality-TV star pulled the plug on his would-be 2012 presidential run Monday afternoon, saying he still believes he'd be best for the job but that he's not ready to give up on making money in the private sector.
Discussion:
CNN, The Reality-Based Community, Daily Kos and Philly.com

Trump won't run for president in 2012
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Nation, Jack & Jill Politics and Variety

Donald Trump: I'm fired
Discussion:
The Huffington Post and Media Decoder


Full release: — “After considerable deliberation and reflection …
Discussion:
National Review, Weasel Zippers, No More Mister Nice Blog and Hot Air

Not a Good Sign for Donald Trump
Discussion:
New York Post, The Daily Caller, The Note and Taylor Marsh


Judge Denies Bail to I.M.F. Chief in Sexual Assault Case — Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the leader of the International Monetary Fund, was ordered on Monday to be held without bail over allegations that he had sexually assaulted a maid in a $3,000-a-night suite at a Midtown hotel.
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French Shocked by I.M.F. Chief's ‘Perp Walk’ — As our colleagues Steven Erlanger and Katrin Bennhold report, “The arrest in New York of one of France's leading global figures and a possible next president, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on charges of attempted rape produced an earthquake of shock …
Discussion:
Philly.com and Yglesias


French gals burned by pol ‘in heat’ — He's un animal. — IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn acted like a “chimpanzee in heat” during a creepy previous grab-and-grope with a French journalist — an incident with eerie similarities to his alleged attack on a Manhattan hotel maid Saturday, according to an explosive interview.
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool and Weasel Zippers


IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Charged With Rape, Sexual Abuse, Unlawful Imprisonment — International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn allegedly forced a New York City hotel housekeeper to perform oral sex and submit to anal sex, in addition to allegedly attempting to rape her …
Discussion:
RedState, Mediaite, TVNewser, The Gateway Pundit, FrumForum, The Other McCain, Capital Tonight, New York Times and Guardian


IMF chief to remain jailed, defense says alleged sex assault ‘not consistent with a forcible encounter’
Discussion:
Law Blog, Above the Law, ProPublica, Gothamist, EconomicPolicyJournal.com and New York Times

Filing Details Alleged Attack By IMF Chief
Discussion:
Reuters, Guardian, Patterico's Pontifications, Pajamas Media and New York Times

GOP Rep. Ryan swipes at Gingrich: ‘With allies like that, who needs the left?’ — Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) took a swipe Monday at Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich after the former House Speaker criticized hiss proposed Medicare reforms. — “With allies like that, who needs the left?”
Discussion:
The Politico, TPMDC, The Reaction, Conservatives4Palin, Swampland, Mother Jones, Ballot Box, Healthwatch, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, New York Times, Crooks and Liars, Sister Toldjah, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Gawker, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, theblogprof, Weekly Standard, The Note, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Pirate's Cove, Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal, Daily Kos and FrumForum
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Ryan telling GOPers he's unlikely to run — Rep. Paul Ryan is reaching out to potential Senate candidates in Wisconsin, informing them he's unlikely to run for Herb Kohl's seat next year, according to two sources familiar with the conversations. — The House Budget Committee chairman …
Discussion:
National Review, Hot Air and The Raw Story


Scott Brown: ‘Thank God’ Paul Ryan Laid Down Medicare Privatizing Budget (VIDEO)

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Gingrich reaction: Republicans livid …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Mediaite, Pajamas Media, National Review, The Apothecary and The Gateway Pundit

Ryan Defends Medicare Privatization As Strengthening ‘Welfare For Those Who Need It’

Santorum slams Gingrich, defends Ryan
Discussion:
The Politico, The Lonely Conservative, RealClearPolitics Video Log, theblogprof, TPMDC and National Review

Newt: I oppose the Obamacare mandate. Period.
Discussion:
National Review, Hot Air, GOP 12, Taylor Marsh, msnbc.com, Pajamas Media and Ballot Box

Romney: One-day money haul brings in over $10 million — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) announced a one-day haul of over $10 million to support his presidential campaign. — Romney's team said the former governor had brought in $10.25 million in a daylong event …
Discussion:
The Note, The Politico and Wonkette
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In effort to let money show his might, Team Romney raises $10.25 million in a single day
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Hot Air and Pundit Press


Why do one-in-five American voters now believe Osama bin Laden is still alive? — Here we go again. — It's been only two weeks since President Obama reported on national television that an American commando team in four military helicopters had killed Osama bin Laden in his Pakistan bedroom.
Discussion:
The TrogloPundit, The Jawa Report, The Daily Caller and Right Wing News
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Obama's Post-Bin Laden Bounce Disappears In Gallup Poll
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared, Hot Air and Patterico's Pontifications


As Debt Limit Reached, Agreement Still Far Off — The U.S. government is expected to hit the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling Monday, setting in motion an uncertain, 11-week political scramble to avoid a default. — The Treasury Department plans to announce Monday it will stop issuing …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Yglesias, Outside the Beltway, Open Congress, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Gawker, theblogprof, New York Magazine, Free exchange, News Desk, Patterico's Pontifications, Confederate Yankee, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo, The TrogloPundit, ThinkProgress, NewsBusters.org, Prairie Weather, The Lonely Conservative, The Page and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »
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WWRD (What Would Reagan Do) on the debt limit
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Philly.com

Tea Party Express backs Jane Corwin in 26th District — GREECE — Members of the national Tea Party Express visited the Rochester area this morning to publicly throw their support behind Republican Assemblywoman Jane Corwin's bid for Congress and to excoriate her opponent Jack Davis for co-opting the “Tea Party” moniker as his own.
Discussion:
Ballot Box and The Lonely Conservative
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New York 26: Move to Toss-Up/Tilt Democratic
Discussion:
The Lonely Conservative

A few thoughts on the debt ceiling — This topic is so laden with “us vs. them” thinking that I am loathe to approach it. Still, here are a few thoughts: — 1. There is plenty in the federal budget which can be cut and should be cut, starting with farm subsidies but extending considerably further.
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Dems' thuggery knows no bounds — Orrin Hatch, the senior senator from Utah, didn't mince words the other day on Hugh Hewitt's national radio show. The Democrats, he said, “play politics very, very tough, they play it well, and they don't give a damn about what's right and what's wrong.”
Discussion:
National Review

Exclusive: Private letter from CIA chief undercuts claim torture was key to killing Bin Laden — CIA chief Leon Panetta has written a private letter to Senator John McCain that offers the most detailed answer yet to questions about the relationship between torture and Osama Bin Laden's death …

Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story' — In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the cosmologist shares his thoughts on death, M-theory, human purpose and our chance existence — A belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a “fairy story” for people afraid of death, Stephen Hawking has said.
Discussion:
newsfeed.time.com, Boing Boing, Outside the Beltway, The Huffington Post, theblogprof, Althouse and TMZ.com

Justices Allow Search if Police Hear Evidence Being Destroyed — WASHINGTON — The police do not need a warrant to enter a home if they smell burning marijuana, knock loudly, announce themselves and hear what they think is the sound of evidence being destroyed, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in an 8-to-1 decision.
Discussion:
LewRockwell.com Blog, The Agitator and Prairie Weather