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 Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, Political Punch, The Daily Dish, YID With LID and HotAirPundit
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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:
The Atlantic Online, TPMDC, Washington Monthly, Sky Dancing 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.
David Rogers / The Politico:
Deficit talks in danger as Eric Cantor bails — Republicans launched a concerted campaign Thursday to draw President Barack Obama more directly into deficit-reduction talks with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor saying that he will no longer participate in White House talks until the president …
Discussion:
CNN, Don Surber, The Hill, Outside the Beltway and The Reid Report
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Budget Talks Near Collapse as G.O.P. Leader Quits
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Reuters:
Debt talks collapse, Republicans walk out over taxes
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Right Scoop
Jennifer Steinhauer / The Caucus:
Cantor Quits Biden's Debt Ceiling Talks
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, TalkLeft and Weigel
Stephen Moore / Wall Street Journal:
Drafting Rubio — The Republican nomination for president is completely up for grabs, but there's a lot of agreement on who the vice presidential pick should be: freshman senator Marco Rubio. — The Republican nomination for president is completely up for grabs, but there's a lot of agreement …
Discussion:
GOP 12, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Pulp, Ben Smith's Blog, Taegan Goddard's …, Daily Kos, AmSpecBlog and The Daily Caller
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Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Romney leads the way in Florida — Mitt Romney has a double digit lead for the Republican Presidential nomination in Florida, further cementing his front runner status in the wake of Mike Huckabee's exit from the race. — Romney is at 27% to 17% for Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann …
Discussion:
GOP 12, Orlando Sentinel, Flap's Blog and Taegan Goddard's …
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.
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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 Note, The Atlantic Online, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, USA Today, The Daily Caller, GOP 12 and The Page
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
White House threatens to veto Defense bill — The White House on Thursday threatened to veto the 2012 defense appropriations bill. — “The administration strongly opposes a number of provisions in this bill. If a bill is presented to the President that undermines his ability as commander …
Discussion:
The Politico
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Dan Berman / The Politico:
Enviros, celebs plan W.H. protest
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org blogs and Weasel Zippers
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:
Mediaite, Wonkette, Fox Nation, The Wire, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Gawker
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:
National Review, Water Over Rocks, The Volokh Conspiracy and JTA
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Jews In America And Israel
Discussion:
The Reality-Based Community, Water Over Rocks, Mondoweiss and The Atlantic Online
Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
President Obama's Afghanistan speech confirms America's decline — The American Century just ended. This was the phrase coined by Henry Luce, which so aptly described America as the modern-day colossus, more powerful than any nation had ever been. Wednesday night, President Obama said that power had reached its limit.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Jack & Jill Politics and Mediaite
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New York Post:
So much for real victory - unless, that is, it's merely a political one
Discussion:
msnbc.com and National Review
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
‘Mission accomplished,’ Obama style
Discussion:
New York Times and Weekly Standard
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 …
Discussion:
The New Republic, americanthinker.com, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, GOP 12 and Wake up America
Reuters:
Dutch populist Geert Wilders acquitted of hate speech — (Reuters) - Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders was acquitted of inciting hatred of Muslims in a court ruling on Thursday that may strengthen his political influence and exacerbate tensions over immigration policy.
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Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
Geert Wilders Verdict: Not Guilty All Counts! Eureka! “Today is a victory for freedom of speech”
Discussion:
Nice Deb and Israpundit
Heidi Przybyla / Bloomberg:
Ryan Medicare Plan Would Make Americans Worse by 57%-34%, Poll Shows — Representative Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman who has become a star in the Republican Party with his plan to overhaul Medicare, is emerging as a polarizing figure among Americans.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Washington Post, Comments from Left Field and Healthwatch
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Reid J. Epstein / Reuters:
Poll: Ryan 3rd-most-disliked GOPer
Discussion:
Hot Air, CNN, The Hill and Dependable Renegade
Jack Shafer / Slate Magazine:
Who Is Jose Antonio Vargas? — A prominent journalist comes out as an illegal immigrant, raising additional questions about his real identity. — A prefatory note before I join the Jose Antonio Vargas commentary: I am an immigration dove, to pluck a pungent phrase from today's Twitter-stream.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The New Republic, SFGate and Democracy in America, more at Mediagazer »
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:
Guardian, Pajamas Media, National Review and Swampland
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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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Huffington Post
James Bovard / Wall Street Journal:
The Food-Stamp Crime Wave — The number of food-stamp recipients has soared to 44 million from 26 million in 2007. Not surprisingly, fraud and abuse are rampant. — Millionaires are now legally entitled to collect food stamps as long as they have little or no monthly income.
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, Moonbattery and Gawker
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:
The Note, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Datechguy's Blog, CNN and HotAirPundit
NY Daily News:
Senate Republicans moving closer to saying ‘I do’ to gay marriage in New York State — ALBANY - Senate Republicans on Wednesday were close to signing off on a religious protection provision that could boost the chances that gay marriage will pass in New York.
Ta-Nehisi Coates / New York Times:
The Haunting of Rick Perry — Should Gov. Rick Perry of Texas enter the 2012 presidential race, he would enjoy a strange and remarkable escort — the irrepressible ghost of Cameron Todd Willingham. — Charged with the horrific crime of intentionally torching his home and leaving …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, The Atlantic Online and Lawyers, Guns & Money
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
I Liked the ‘Chinese Professor’ Ad, But This Is Stupid and Offensive — (See update below.) Unlike many people, I admired the panache and artistry of the “Chinese Professor” ad used during last fall's campaign to warn about the self- destructive tendencies of America's borrow-and-spend era.
Discussion:
Weigel
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