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GOP elite see Mitch Daniels as 2012 savior — Top Republicans are increasingly convinced that President Barack Obama will be easily reelected if stronger GOP contenders do not emerge, and some are virtually begging Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to add some excitement to the slow-starting nomination race.
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With Huckabee Out, No Clear GOP Front-Runner — Bachmann and Cain generate high positive intensity among those who know them — PRINCETON, NJ — With Mike Huckabee out of the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, three well-known politicians, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin …


Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin jump to top in new Gallup poll — With Mike Huckabee's exit from the race, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin are now on top of the Republican field, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday. — Twenty percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters say they'd support …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics

Cain generates most enthusiasm among voters, according to Gallup poll
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers


Tully: Daniels says decision on 2012 presidential run is near
Discussion:
GOP 12 and The New Republic

Gingrich and Romney run against their own party
Discussion:
Conservatives4Palin

Daniels to headline Tennessee GOP dinner
Discussion:
GOP 12, The Page and The Politico


Newt Apologizes To Paul Ryan, Begs Democrats Not To Use His Own Quotes In Ads — Newt Gingrich's walk back tour reached its zenith Tuesday night, as Gingrich personally apologized to Paul Ryan for dismissing his Medicare plan as “right wing social engineering.”
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Newt Gingrich apologizes to Paul Ryan — Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich apologized in a telephone call to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday afternoon for his remarks on “Meet the Press,” where the presidential candidate referred to Ryan's Medicare proposal as “radical change.”
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ThinkProgress, The Note, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Raw Story, Pajamas Media, Fox Nation, New York Magazine, The Reaction, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, Fox News, National Review, Nice Deb, Politics, The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Caller and The Page


Gingrich hit with glitter at Minneapolis event
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Wonkette, The Gateway Pundit, FrumForum and American Power

Newt Gingrich campaign fights for its life
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msnbc.com, CNN, USA Today, Salon and American Power

US Debt Holders Willing to Miss Payments: Rep. Ryan
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, FrumForum and TPMDC

Breathtaking
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Crooks and Liars, The Daily Dish and Associated Press

White House shuts out Herald scribe — The White House Press Office has refused to give the Boston Herald full access to President Obama's Boston fund-raiser today, in e-mails objecting to the newspaper's front page placement of a Mitt Romney op-ed, saying pool reporters are chosen based on whether they cover the news “fairly.”
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Democrats' plan for millionaire surtax intended to soften up GOP — Senate Democrats are using their proposal to raise taxes on millionaires as a stalking-horse to force Republicans to accept other tax increases. — Democratic officials privately acknowledge that raising personal income tax rates …
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Booman Tribune, AMERICAblog News and Simply Left BehindThe …
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Senate Refuses to End Tax Breaks for Big Oil
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather and Climate Progress

Vote to hike taxes on oil fails in Senate 52-48; Dems vow to revive it
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Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos and Climate Progress

Ben Stein Watch, DSK edition — Without further ado, the top ten lines from Ben Stein's article on Dominique Strauss-Kahn: — If he is such a womanizer and violent guy with women, why didn't he ever get charged until now? — This is a case about the hatred of the have-nots for the haves, and that's what it's all about.
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, Outside the Beltway, Pundit & Pundette, News Desk, Gawker, Salon, Daniel W. Drezner, ThinkProgress, Jezebel, New York Magazine and RADAMISTO
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Pressure Is Building on Jailed IMF Chief
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New York Times, Global Public Square, New York Magazine, The BLT and FrumForum, more at Mediagazer »

I.M.F. Chief May Claim Consensual Sex as a Defense
Discussion:
The Other McCain, TalkLeft, Pajamas Media, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, This Just In, Fox News and Connecting.the.Dots


Catholic Church Investigation Says Hippies Made Catholic Priests Sexually Abuse Children — Laurie Goodstein reports on the release of an inquiry by American bishops into sex abuse scandals: … This hippie-blaming strategy seems unlikely to persuade anyone.
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Church Report Cites Social Tumult in Priest Scandals
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Religion News Service, Salon, Gawker, Washington Post, Philly.com and Joe. My. God.


Thomas defends ideals of court — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told a packed dinner crowd of Augusta's judges, lawyers and politicians Tuesday that while discourse in American society seems to be growing coarser and angrier, the Supreme Court remains a bastion of respectful disagreement …
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The Politico
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ThinkFast: May 18, 2011 — Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said yesterday that critics of the court's decisions are either illiterate or lazy, and that their critiques are undermining “the integrity of the law.” Thomas, who hasn't uttered a word during the high court's oral arguments …
Discussion:
Gawker, Wonk Room, Prairie Weather and The BLT


BREAKING: Jerome Corsi's Birther Book Pulled from Shelves! — In a stunning development one day after the release of Where's the Birth Certificate? The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President, by Dr. Jerome Corsi, World Net Daily Editor and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway and Towleroad News #gay

Obama: “My People, You Continue to Have My Blessing.” — What kind of political leader tells his supporters this? … President Obama does. That's what he said toward the end a speech at a campaign fundraiser last night in Washington to a relatively youthful crowd of supporters …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Left Coast Rebel, theblogprof, Nice Deb, Doug Ross, AMERICAN DIGEST, Pundit & Pundette, UrbanGrounds and Weasel Zippers

All Giuliani now — Mike Allen scoops this morning that Jon Huntsman is basing his campaign in Orlando, Florida, setting up a showdown in that state with Romney. — Planting a flag like that in Florida will inevitably bring comparisons (first!) to Rudy Giuliani's late strategy …


State Department snubs the Elders — Former President Jimmy Carter and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari were hoping to visit the State Department this week to brief officials on their recent trip to North Korea, but nobody at the State Department was available to meet with them.
Discussion:
YID With LID, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media and AmSpecBlog


Prayer request for Osama bin Laden at Catholic Church in West Palm Beach — Priest to honor request at Sunday Mass — Last Updated: 3 hours and 54 minutes ago — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The name of Osama bin Laden appears in the Holy Name of Jesus Sunday bulletin. There's a cross next to it.
Discussion:
Atlas Shrugs, Wonkette, Left Coast Rebel, JammieWearingFool and iOwnTheWorld.com


‘Gang of Six’ on verge of collapse as Republican Sen. Coburn withdraws — View Photo Gallery — "You've got to have Republicans and Democrats talking and trying to find common ground," says Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.). But in these immoderate times, his aisle-reaching is politcially dangerous.
Discussion:
Yglesias, New York Times, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Wonk Room, msnbc.com, Erick's blog, News Desk, The New Republic and The Hill

Healthcare reform waivers part of ‘crony politics,’ Pawlenty says — Likely GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty on Tuesday added to already widespread criticism of healthcare reform law waivers, calling the practice an example of “crony politics.” — Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor …