Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Boehner's Obama Gamble — A tax increase now for the promise of tax reform later won't fly. — President Obama wants Congress to raise the $14.3 trillion national debt limit, which means he needs House Republican votes. Yet Mr. Obama and the Washington chorus are insisting that in return …
Discussion:
James Pethokoukis, Connecting.the.Dots, The Hill, The Politico, National Review, Washington Post and The Caucus
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Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Conrad budget cuts $800B from Defense — The secret Senate Democratic budget resolution relies heavily on $800 billion in cuts to the Pentagon. — The secret Senate Democratic budget resolution drafted by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and shared with the White House relies heavily …
Discussion:
Say Anything and Balloon Juice
Mark Halperin / The Page:
The Road (Maybe) Ahead — HALPERIN'S TAKE — This isn't a prediction, but here is one highly plausible sequence of a series of events that could play out on the debt crisis: — Some time in the next 5 days, the President reaches an understanding with Speaker Boehner, Congressman Hoyer …
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and ThinkProgress
Jay Newton-Small / Swampland:
Has Nancy Pelosi Been Marginalized in the Debt Debate?
Has Nancy Pelosi Been Marginalized in the Debt Debate?
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla, The Hill, Hot Air and Moe Lane
Jamie Klatell / The Hill:
Obama calls for a ‘balanced approach,’ sacrifices in debt deal
Obama calls for a ‘balanced approach,’ sacrifices in debt deal
Discussion:
CNN, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, JammieWearingFool and New York Magazine
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
A real problem vs. an imaginary one — After the release of the June job numbers, there were plenty of worthwhile charts and graphs making the rounds, but this one from Paul Krugman was especially helpful. — In case it's a little hard to see, that red line is the unemployment rate …
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
Charting Our Policy Insanity — Just to say what should be obvious: unemployment is extremely high by historical standards, while interest rates are very low. Yet unemployment has almost disappeared from policy discussion, which is preoccupied with the need to appease hypothetical bond vigilantes.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway and The New Republic
Ann Althouse / Althouse:
The new oppo research: Spotting the labels on the wine on the politician's restaurant table. — Some busybody business professor named Susan Feinberg pulled this trick on Paul Ryan and Talking Points Memo is lapping it up: … So, Feinberg was appalled, stunned, and outraged. That's got to hurt.
New York Post:
Clueless about jobs — America's economy grew by a minus cule 18,000 jobs in June, and unem ployment rose to an eye-popping 9.2 percent. Since April, the economy has produced a mere 43,000 new jobs. — Responded President Obama yesterday: “We still have a long way to go and a lot of work …
Discussion:
JammieWearingFool
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Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
Obama turns to small-scale solutions to a weak economy
Obama turns to small-scale solutions to a weak economy
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers and Pirate's Cove
Keith Koffler / White House Dossier:
Ninety Percent of Obama Travel at Least Partly Politics
Ninety Percent of Obama Travel at Least Partly Politics
Discussion:
Poor Richard's News, The Lonely Conservative, Nice Deb and Weasel Zippers
Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:
After Years of Struggle, South Sudan Becomes a New Nation — JUBA, South Sudan — The celebrations erupted at midnight. Thousands of revelers poured into Juba's steamy streets in the predawn hours on Saturday, hoisting enormous flags, singing, dancing and leaping on the back of cars.
Discussion:
The Lede, The Gateway Pundit and Outside the Beltway
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Panetta Says Defeat of Al Qaeda Is ‘Within Reach’ — KABUL, Afghanistan — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, who arrived in Kabul on Saturday, said that the United States was “within reach of strategically defeating Al Qaeda” and that the American focus had narrowed to capturing or killing 10 …
Discussion:
Attackerman, ThinkProgress and Daily Pundit
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David S. Cloud / Los Angeles Times:
Panetta says U.S. is ‘within reach’ of defeating Al Qaeda
Panetta says U.S. is ‘within reach’ of defeating Al Qaeda
Discussion:
Salon and Emptywheel
Joe Nocera / New York Times:
Sheila Bair's Bank Shot — 'They should have let Bear Stearns fail," Sheila Bair said. — It was midmorning on a crisp June day, and Bair, the 57-year-old outgoing chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — the federal agency that insures bank deposits and winds down failing banks …
Discussion:
naked capitalism and The Big Picture
Enid Nemy / New York Times:
Betty Ford, Former First Lady, Dies at 93 — Betty Ford, the outspoken and much-admired wife of President Gerald R. Ford who overcame alcoholism and an addiction to pills and helped found one of the best-known rehabilitation centers in the nation, died Friday in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 93.
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Donnie Radcliffe / Washington Post:
Betty Ford dies at 93: Former first lady founded iconic clinic
Betty Ford dies at 93: Former first lady founded iconic clinic
Discussion:
blogs.telegraph.co.uk and The Nation
Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:
Former First Lady Betty Ford Dead at 93
Former First Lady Betty Ford Dead at 93
Discussion:
Scared Monkeys, GayPatriot, americanthinker.com, Associated Press, The Politico, Hot Air and The Lonely Conservative
Eli / Firedoglake:
Worst President Ever, Revisited — No, I'm not ready to crown Barack Obama the Worst President Ever just yet, but consider this: — Yes, George W. Bush wrecked our economy, destroyed New Orleans, turned a budget surplus into massive deficits, ignored warnings of a major terrorist attack …
Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Trailing G.O.P. With Cameras, Seeking Gaffes — AMHERST, N.H. — Aaron Fielding quietly stalks his prey — Republicans — with his video camera, patiently waiting for a political moment worthy of YouTube. — At 27, he is a full-time “tracker” for American Bridge 21st Century …
Discussion:
National Review, The Gateway Pundit and Balloon Juice
James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
The Trouble With Approval Ratings — They provide only a very fuzzy picture of the electorate's attitudes. — Political observers love presidential approval ratings, which seem to make elections predictable, at least in those years when an incumbent is running.
Discussion:
Betsy's Page
Guardian:
James Murdoch could face criminal charges on both sides of the Atlantic — As phone hacking scandal leaves News Corp open to prosecution, James Murdoch looks less likely to inherit empire — James Murdoch and News Corp could face corporate legal battles on both sides of the Atlantic …
Discussion:
newsfeed.time.com, Runnin' Scared and Raw Replay, more at Mediagazer »
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Tim Arango / New York Times:
Phone Scandal Poses Defining Test for a Murdoch Son
Phone Scandal Poses Defining Test for a Murdoch Son
Discussion:
Gawker, Guardian and Zandar Versus The Stupid, more at Mediagazer »