Top Items:
The Note:
Senator Kyl Drops Out of the Debt Talks, Leaving Zero Republicans at the Table — ABC News' Sunlen Miller (@sunlenmiller) reports: — Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., will also drop out of the debt talks, a source within his office confirms today. The Arizona Republican's office will issue a formal statement shortly.
Discussion:
The Politico, TPMDC, The TrogloPundit, The Daily Dish, Taylor Marsh, The Other McCain, Political Punch, The Moderate Voice, YID With LID and HotAirPundit
RELATED:
Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Why Eric Cantor won't make the budget deal — (Brendan Hoffman - Getty Images) Eric Cantor is pulling out of the debt-ceiling talks. But he's not saying they should end. In fact, he's saying they've been very successful thus far. “We have a blueprint to move forward to trillions …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Sky Dancing, The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly, Weigel, Balloon Juice and Blue Virginia
Wall Street Journal:
Cantor Pulls Out of Biden-Led Budget Talks — WASHINGTON—House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Thursday said he was pulling out of the bipartisan budget talks headed by Vice President Joe Biden for now because the group has reached an impasse over taxes that only President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) could resolve.
Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
How To (Temporarily) Survive a Debtpocalypse — Intra-caucus dynamics on the GOP side seem to be dooming the debt limit talks. Eric Cantor's preference is for John Boehner to sign a deal he can grumble about, so that when the GOP loses seats in 2012 he can challenge Boehner for the leadership.
Discussion:
The Caucus, National Review and Washington Monthly
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Budget Talks Near Collapse as G.O.P. Leader Quits
Budget Talks Near Collapse as G.O.P. Leader Quits
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Jared Bernstein
David Rogers / The Politico:
Deficit talks in danger as Eric Cantor bails
Deficit talks in danger as Eric Cantor bails
Discussion:
The Hill, Don Surber, The Reid Report, CNN and Outside the Beltway
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Cantor pulls out — Eric Cantor pulled out of the debt ceiling talks …
Cantor pulls out — Eric Cantor pulled out of the debt ceiling talks …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars and Daily Kos
Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
McConnell: GOP Would Not Voice Opposition To Libya Campaign If Obama Was A Republican
McConnell: GOP Would Not Voice Opposition To Libya Campaign If Obama Was A Republican
Discussion:
TPMDC and Los Angeles Times
BooMan / Booman Tribune:
Republicans Appear Incapable of Compromise
Republicans Appear Incapable of Compromise
Discussion:
The Hill and Ballot Box
Michele Chabin / USA Today:
U.S. Jews not able to fly on Delta flights to Saudi Arabia — JERUSALEM — Jews and Israelis, or passengers carrying any non-Islamic article of faith, will not be able to fly Delta Air Lines flights from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia under Delta's new partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines.
Discussion:
YID With LID, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media, Fox Nation, Doug Ross, Runnin' Scared and American Glob
RELATED:
Bob Unruh / WorldNetDaily:
Delta adopts Saudi ‘no-Jew’ fly policy — Challenge to discrimination building as Congress, lawyers warned of plan — Delta Air Lines' plan to add Saudi Arabian Airlines to its SkyTeam Alliance of partnering companies would require the American carrier to ban Jews and holders of Israeli passports …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, USA Today and Atlas Shrugs
The Note:
Mystery Candidate Leads to Walk Out at Ames Straw Poll Land Auction — ABC News' Russell Goldman (@GoldmanRussell) and Arlette Saenz (@ArletteSaenz) report: — A little bit of intrigue at the Ames straw poll land auction... Representatives of Republican candidates are meeting today in Ames …
Discussion:
USA Today and Ben Smith's Blog
RELATED:
Craig Robinson / The Iowa Republican:
Thaddeus McCotter Creates Chaos At Straw Poll Auction — At today's Iowa Straw Poll land auction, participating campaigns were surprised by a mystery participant who would not state which campaign she was representing. — Kellie Paschke, a lobbyist whose clients include Iowans for Tax Relief …
Discussion:
The Politico and Nice Deb
James Freeman / Wall Street Journal:
Is Rick Running? — A Republican campaign veteran tells us that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to run for President, though the official word from Team Perry is still a definite maybe. — A Republican campaign veteran tells us that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to run for President …
Discussion:
The TrogloPundit, The Note, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Atlantic Online, USA Today, Flap's Blog, Ballot Box, The Daily Caller and The Page
Robert Kagan / Washington Post:
Military leaders know Obama's decision is a disaster — The press is reporting that the top military leaders have “endorsed” President Obama's Afghan troop withdrawal decision. With all due respect to the fine reporters, that is not the news. Under our Constitution …
Discussion:
Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Guardian, New York Times, Pajamas Media, American Glob, National Review and Swampland
RELATED:
Erin Kelly / Arizona Republic:
Afghan drawdown risky, McCain says
Afghan drawdown risky, McCain says
Discussion:
Christian Science Monitor and PolitickerNY
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Obama Addresses New York Marriage Equality Bill At LGBT Fundraiser: Issue Best Left To States — President Obama spoke at an LGBT fundraiser this evening in New York City, just as the New York Senate prepares to take up marriage equality legislation. Obama addressed the measure directly …
Discussion:
The New Civil Rights Movement, AMERICAblog Gay and Back2Stonewall.com
RELATED:
Andrew Harmon / Advocate:
Senators to Obama: Time to Evolve
Senators to Obama: Time to Evolve
Discussion:
Prop 8 Trial Tracker and Lynn Sweet
TAPPED:
The Rules of the Game — The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza joins a chorus of voices asking political observers not to underestimate Jon Huntsman's chances for winning the Republican nomination. With his decision to skip the Iowa caucuses, Lizza argues, Mitt Romney has made it easy for Huntsman …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Reaction, News Desk and A plain blog about politics
RELATED:
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads the way in Florida
Romney leads the way in Florida
Discussion:
GOP 12, Flap's Blog and Orlando Sentinel
Stephen Moore / Wall Street Journal:
Drafting Rubio — The Republican nomination for president …
Drafting Rubio — The Republican nomination for president …
Discussion:
GOP 12, Balloon Juice, The Daily Pulp, Ben Smith's Blog, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and AmSpecBlog
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
EXCLUSIVE — Herman Cain: Jon Stewart Attacked Me 'Because I'm Black' — ThinkProgress filed this report from Iowa Falls, Iowa. — Earlier this month, ThinkProgress reported that GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain told an audience in Pella, Iowa that he would not sign a bill longer than three pages.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Salon, Fox Nation, The Wire, Wonkette, The Washington Independent and Gawker
Adam Clark Estes / The Atlantic Wire:
Confirmed: Obama to Address Same-Sex Marriage Debate Tonight — White House Press Secretary Jay Carney expects President Obama to break his recent silence on same-sex marriage at an LGBT fundraiser tonight. But he doesn't anticipate any surprises, “I'm sure he will mention it,” said Carney to the White House press pool.
Discussion:
Gawker, PolitickerNY, Towleroad News #gay, Good As You and Capitol Confidential
RELATED:
Chris Johnson / Washington Blade:
Carney: Obama to ‘mention’ N.Y. marriage bill, but won't endorse it
Carney: Obama to ‘mention’ N.Y. marriage bill, but won't endorse it
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay
Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic Online:
Answering Andrew Sullivan on Allison Benedikt — Andrew weighs in on the Benedikt controversy with a thoughtful post, which you should read in full. He writes, at the end: … The outrage comes form the fact that many of us — I would dare say most American Jews — believe that you just don't get to walk away.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Water Over Rocks, National Review and The Reality-Based Community
Dan Berman / Reuters:
W.H. to release 30M barrels of oil — The Obama administration will release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to offset oil supply disruptions in the Middle East, the Energy Department announced Thursday morning. — Other International Energy Agency countries …
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Note, Datechguy's Blog, CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and HotAirPundit
RELATED:
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
‘Mission accomplished,’ Obama style — There was no banner, no naval cheering section, no aircraft-carrier landing and — thank heavens — no flight suit. But make no mistake: President Obama gave his own version of a “mission accomplished” speech Wednesday.
Discussion:
New York Times and Weekly Standard
RELATED:
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
President Obama's Afghanistan speech confirms America's decline
President Obama's Afghanistan speech confirms America's decline
Discussion:
Jack & Jill Politics and The Moderate Voice
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Why Obama Is Likely to Lose in 2012 — Even a small drop in the share of black voters would wipe out his winning margin in North Carolina. — President Barack Obama is likely to be defeated in 2012. The reason is that he faces four serious threats. The economy is very weak and unlikely …
Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Democrats Blue as Senate Acquires a Reddish Tinge — Larry J. Sabato and Kyle Kondik, U.Va. Center for Politics — As we take a fresh look at next year's Senate races, one thing is clear: Barring an unexpected reelection landslide by President Obama, Republicans are at least slightly favored to take the Senate.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Shelley Murphy / Boston Globe:
Whitey Bulger arrested — Boston gangster surrenders quietly in Calif. after 16 years on run — Fugitive South Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, wanted for 19 murders, was captured last night in Southern California, the result of a tip from FBI television spots that began airing this week.
Robert Stacy McCain / AmSpecBlog:
Gingrich: ‘Strategic Blunder’ for Palin to Mock Obama as ‘Community Organizer’ — Republicans, including Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani, made a “strategic blunder” by making a joke of Barack Obama's work as a community organizer, Newt Gingrich says in a new book about the radical ACORN group.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and The Other McCain
Jennifer Abbasi / Popular Science:
Why Sex With Creatures from the Future Is a Bad Idea — Researchers test sexual adaptations in time-traveling brine shrimp — When time travel finally becomes possible, we might want to think twice about getting it on. According to a new study on tiny shrimp (Artemia franciscana) …
Discussion:
Proof Positive
Robin Bravender / The Politico:
Senate Democrats: Long live the ‘czars’ — Schumer called the amendment a ‘poison pill.’ — Senate Democrats on Thursday knocked down the latest GOP effort to unseat the Obama administration's policy “czars.” — The chamber voted 47-51 to defeat an amendment from Sen. David Vitter …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and American Glob