Top Items:
National Review:
Winnowing the Field — A hard-fought presidential primary campaign is obscuring the uncharacteristic degree of unity within the Republican party. It has reached a conservative consensus on most of the pressing issues of the day. All of the leading candidates, and almost all of the lagging ones, support the right to life.
Discussion:
Washington Post, 2012 Decoded, Ballot Box, USA Today, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, GOP 12, Pundit & Pundette, Erick's blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Other McCain, NewsHounds blog, The Caucus, Campaign 2012, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Business Insider, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Enterprise Blog
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New York Times:
In a Tactical Shift, Romney Trains Sights on Gingrich — Mitt Romney, his presidential aspirations suddenly endangered by Newt Gingrich's rapid resurgence, is employing aggressive new arguments in an effort to disqualify Mr. Gingrich as a credible choice to Republicans, calling him “zany” …
Discussion:
msnbc.com, The Politico, NY Daily News, The Caucus, The Atlantic Online, Wall Street Journal, American Spectator, ABCNEWS and CBS News
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Giuliani slams Romney, likens Newt to Reagan — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani slammed Mitt Romney as an unelectable flip-flopper, and said Newt Gingrich, who he compared to Ronald Reagan, offers Republicans the best shot at unseating President Obama.
Discussion:
CNN and nation.foxnews.com
Tim Mak / The Politico:
Rudy: Mitt is world class flip flopper — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani unleashed a blistering attack Thursday on Mitt Romney, saying he's never seen anyone change positions on core issues as often or as quickly as the ex-Massachusetts governor. — “I ran against him in '07 and '08 …
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
Pretending That Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Pretending That Ron Paul Doesn't Matter Won't Make Him Go Away
Rasmussen Reports:
Iowa: Romney 23%, Gingrich 20%, Paul 18% — For the fifth straight survey, the GOP field has a new frontrunner in Iowa. — On this first release video, Scott Rasmussen reveals Mitt Romney as the new frontrunner in the Iowa Caucus. — Although this video is available to everyone, most of the content on Rasmussen Reports is not.
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Byron York / Campaign 2012:
Poll: Dramatic drop in Gingrich support in Iowa — DES MOINES — A new survey from pollster Scott Rasmussen shows support for Newt Gingrich in Iowa has fallen sharply in recent days. The poll shows the former House speaker with the support of 20 percent of likely Republican caucus-goers …
Discussion:
Washington Wire, CatholicVote.org, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Althouse and Pundit & Pundette
David Grant / Christian Science Monitor:
Jon Huntsman leapfrogs Ron Paul in New Hampshire, says poll — GOP candidate Jon Huntsman has replaced Ron Paul in third place in New Hampshire, behind Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, says a new Suffolk University poll. — WASHINGTON — The latest poll out of New Hampshire …
Discussion:
Shakesville, CNN, The Daily Dish and Business Insider
New York Times:
U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over — BAGHDAD — The United States military officially declared an end to its mission in Iraq on Thursday even as violence continues to plague the country and the Muslim world remains distrustful of American power. — In a fortified concrete courtyard …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Towleroad News #gay, Simply Left BehindThe …, UN Dispatch, Guardian and emptywheel
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Wall Street Journal:
A Bipartisan Way Forward on Medicare — Allowing private plans to compete with traditional Medicare will help lower costs and spur innovation. — Few issues draw more heated partisan rhetoric than the future of Medicare. Seniors are a reliable and powerful voting bloc …
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Bloomberg:
U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Proposal for Medicare With Private Option
U.S. Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Proposal for Medicare With Private Option
Discussion:
The Hill, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com and ThinkProgress
Wall Street Journal:
The Wyden-Ryan Breakthrough — A better, bipartisan Medicare future.
The Wyden-Ryan Breakthrough — A better, bipartisan Medicare future.
Discussion:
Corrente
Robert Pear / New York Times:
Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Plan to Overhaul Medicare
Lawmakers Offer Bipartisan Plan to Overhaul Medicare
Discussion:
Hot Air, National Review and Hotline On Call
Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Payroll tax cut and spending bill stall in Senate, raising threat of shutdown — Negotiations over how to extend a payroll tax holiday for 160 million Americans and avoid a government shutdown this weekend ground to a halt Wednesday after a standoff in the Senate over how to proceed.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, The Heritage Foundation, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, The Lonely Conservative, The Hill and The Politico
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Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
White House backs down from threat to veto Defense bill over detainee language
White House backs down from threat to veto Defense bill over detainee language
Discussion:
Wonkette
Associated Press:
‘Dismal’ prospects: 1 in 2 Americans are now poor or low income — Juan Morena sits on a Los Angeles, Calif., sidewalk as he waits for the St. Francis Center soup kitchen to open on Sept. 13. — By Associated Press — WASHINGTON - Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Reuters, Hullabaloo and Brilliant at Breakfast
Chris McGreal / Guardian:
Americans face Guantánamo detention after Obama climbdown — Defence funding bill allows American citizens to be arrested as terrorists on home soil and held indefinitely without trial — Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military …
Discussion:
CBS News, Indecision Forever, HillBuzz.org, The Lonely Conservative and Prairie Weather
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard / Telegraph:
China's epic hangover begins — China's credit bubble has finally popped. The property market is swinging wildly from boom to bust, the cautionary exhibit of a BRIC's dream that is at last coming down to earth with a thud. — Chinese stocks are flashing warning signs. The Shanghai index has fallen 30pc since May.
Discussion:
americanthinker.com, New York Times and Samizdata.net
Richard Milne / Financial Times:
Sarkozy plan to prop up sovereigns is worrying — If Albert Einstein's dictum of insanity being the act of doing the same thing again and again expecting different results were applied to the eurozone, political leaders would be well on their way to being institutionalised.
Discussion:
EconLog
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Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Tom Friedman, hitting rock bottom — Today's Tom Friedman's column has set off a firestorm. Now, he says and writes many wrong-headed things, about China and other dictatorial regimes, primarily. But today he hits rock bottom: … You see, in Friedman's eyes, the entire U.S. Congress is bought and paid for by a cabal of Jews.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Power Line, American Power, The Mahablog, Mondoweiss, NewsBusters.org, americanthinker.com, The Week and Elliott Abrams
Mj Lee / The Politico:
Herman Cain's Cabinet dream: DOD — Herman Cain says that if he could be a Cabinet secretary, he wants to be head of the Department of Defense. — In an interview with Barbara Walters, who chose Cain as one of the “10 Most Fascinating People” of the year, the former presidential hopeful was asked what Cabinet position he would like.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway, The Hinterland Gazette and newsfeed.time.com
Mackenzie Weinger / The Politico:
Report: Death sentences down — The number of new death sentences handed out dropped below 100 this year for the first time in over three decades, according to a new report Thursday. — Just 78 new inmates were sentenced to death in 2011 — the lowest number since capital punishment …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Detroit Free Press
Josh Lederman / The Hill:
Cantor: Palestinian culture ‘infused with resentment and hatred’ — NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) delivered a severe rebuke to Palestinians on Thursday, linking their culture to terrorism and questioning their worthiness to have an independent state.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Tom MacDonald / NewsWorks:
Opponents in Philadelphia say bill on Sharia law unfair to Muslims — A bill in Harrisburg that opponents say is targeted against Muslims has followers of that faith upset. — House Bill 2029 would ban Pennsylvania courts from considering any foreign legal code or system that isn't identical with the Constitution.
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Atlas Shrugs, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch