Top Items:
Bob Woodward / Washington Post:
Robert Gates, former defense secretary, offers harsh critique of Obama's leadership in ‘Duty’ — In a new memoir, former defense secretary Robert Gates unleashes harsh judgments about President Obama's leadership and his commitment to the Afghanistan war, writing that by early 2010 …
Discussion:
Power Line, JustOneMinute, Yahoo! News, CNN, Politico, The Fix, The Daily Caller, Doug Ross, Guardian, his vorpal sword, Ed Driscoll, Weasel Zippers, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Business Insider, Hullabaloo, TheBlaze.com, The PJ Tatler, Washington Free Beacon, Post Politics, The Lead with Jake Tapper, Weekly Standard, Balloon Juice and National Review
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Thom Shanker / New York Times:
In His New Memoir, Robert M. Gates, the Former Defense Secretary, Offers a Critique of the President — WASHINGTON — President Obama eventually lost faith in the troop increase he ordered in Afghanistan, his doubts fed by top White House civilian advisers opposed to the strategy …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Politico, CNN, Talking Points Memo, WorldViews, ABC News, The Week, Close Read, Weasel Zippers, Liberal Values, Hot Air, Post Politics, Mediaite, NBCNews and Washington Free Beacon
Robert M. Gates / Wall Street Journal:
The Quiet Fury of Robert Gates — Bush and Obama's secretary of defense had to wage war in Iraq, Afghanistan—and today's Washington … All too often during my 4½ years as secretary of defense, when I found myself sitting yet again at that witness table at yet another congressional hearing …
Discussion:
Washington Wire
Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:
White House Defends Joe Biden Against Book By Former Defense Secretary — “Joe Biden has been one of the leading statesmen of his time, and has helped advance America's leadership in the world,” says the National Security Council spokesperson. — Tim Shaffer / Reuters / Reuters
Discussion:
Mediaite
Burgess Everett / Politico:
In surprise, unemployment benefits advance — In a surprise, several Senate Republicans on Tuesday morning joined with Democrats to break the filibuster of a bill to extend unemployment benefits for three months. — By 60-37, Senate Democrats secured the votes needed to advance the bill …
Discussion:
Slate, CNN, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, The Raw Story and Outside the Beltway
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Robert Costa / Post Politics:
House GOP leaders coach rank-and-file on discussing unemployment — House Republican leaders sent a memo this week to the entire GOP conference with talking points designed to help rank-and-file Republicans show compassion for the unemployed and explain the Republican position on unemployment benefits.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Wonkblog, The Plum Line and The Fix
John Bresnahan / Politico:
Michael Bloomberg gives $2.5M to Senate Majority PAC
Michael Bloomberg gives $2.5M to Senate Majority PAC
Discussion:
Washington Wire and Weasel Zippers
Patricia Murphy / The Daily Beast:
The Senate's Last Compassionate Conservative Tries to Help the Jobless
The Senate's Last Compassionate Conservative Tries to Help the Jobless
Discussion:
NewsBusters and The Plum Line
Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Jobless Benefits Extension Clears One Hurdle, but More Remain
Jobless Benefits Extension Clears One Hurdle, but More Remain
Discussion:
The World's Greatest … and National Review
Reid J. Epstein / Politico:
Obama hits House GOP on unemployment benefits
Obama hits House GOP on unemployment benefits
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill and ThinkProgress
Catherine Taibi / The Huffington Post:
Rush Limbaugh's Polar Vortex ‘Hoax’ Comments Knocked Down By Weatherman (VIDEO) — Rush Limbaugh made headlines Monday when he called the “polar vortex” of dangerously cold conditions sweeping across the Midwest a “hoax,” but now an actual weatherman is saying otherwise.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Riehl World News, The Right Scoop and Politico
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Alan Duke / CNN:
What the heck is a polar vortex?
What the heck is a polar vortex?
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Weasel Zippers, Blogcritics and Rush Limbaugh
CNN:
Angry Dennis Rodman defends North Korea basketball game — (CNN) — Dennis Rodman defended his visit to North Korea with a team of fellow former NBA players in a combative exchange Tuesday, saying the trip was a “great idea for the world.” — In an exclusive interview with Chris Cuomo of CNN's …
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Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Burglars Who Took On F.B.I. Abandon Shadows — Stealing J. Edgar Hoover's Secrets: One night in 1971, files were stolen from an F.B.I. office near Philadelphia. They proved that the bureau was spying on thousands of Americans. The case was unsolved, until now.
Kasey Babbitt / fox4kc.com:
Daisy Coleman hospitalized in Kansas City after suicide attempt — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Maryville Mo., teenager, who has been at the center of a rape case which made national headlines, was in a Kansas City hospital on Monday night after attempting to take her own life.
Discussion:
The Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Daily Mail and Washington Post
Hadas Gold / Politico:
Navy mistakenly sends FOIA plans to reporter — The Unites States Navy inadvertently sent a memo to a local NBC News reporter this week detailing how it intended to try and deter requests he had filed under the Freedom Of Information Act. — Scott MacFarlane, a reporter for NBC 4 in Washington …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Gawker, Mediaite and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »
Charlie Cook / NationalJournal.com:
Six-Year Itch Plagues Presidents in Midterms — History shows that midterm elections are usually bad for the president's party. — Second-term blues: Fatigue erodes a president's relationship with the electorate. (Kent Nishimura-Pool/Getty Images) — It is as certain as the sun coming up in the morning.
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Larry J. Sabato / Politico:
Republicans Really Could Win It All This Year
Republicans Really Could Win It All This Year
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, American Power, CANNONFIRE, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, The Week, First Read and The Plum Line
James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:
How value judgments cloud social thought. — City Journal's Kay Hymowitz weighed in over the holidays with a response to our Dec. 16 column, in which we faulted the premise of her earlier article titled “Boy Trouble.” She maintains that the main body of the article (which we described as …
Discussion:
Shakesville
Austin Frakt / The Incidental Economist:
What happened to US life expectancy? — Here's another chart from the JAMA study “The Anatomy of Health Care in the United States”: — Why did the US fall behind the OECD median in the mid-1980s for men and the early 1990s for women? Note, the answer need not point to the health system.
Discussion:
Wonkblog, Washington Center … and Firedoglake
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Obamacare ads to hit the Olympic slopes — The Obama administration is planning an Olympic-size ad blitz to push health coverage during the Winter Games next month. — The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Tuesday that it has bought advertising time in markets with high rates …
Discussion:
CNN
Deirdre Walsh / CNN:
Trey Radel returns to Capitol Hill after cocaine bust, treatment — (CNN) - U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, R-Florida, returned to work on Capitol Hill Tuesday for the first time after pleading guilty to cocaine possession last November. — He repeatedly apologized for his actions and insisted he's …
Discussion:
Politico
Richard Pollock / Washington Examiner:
Surprise! Walmart health plan is cheaper, offers more coverage than Obamacare — WATCHDOG OBAMACARE HEALTH CARE ACCOUNTABILITY WALMART — New Obamacare health insurance enrollees may feel a pang of envy when they eye the coverage plans offered by Walmart to its employees.
Discussion:
Ricochet Conversations Feed and TheBlaze.com
Bruce Schneier / The Atlantic Online:
How the NSA Threatens National Security — Our choice isn't between a digital world where the agency can eavesdrop and one where it cannot; our choice is between a digital world that is vulnerable to any attacker and one that is secure for all users. — Secret NSA eavesdropping is still in the news.
Discussion:
Washington Post
Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:
4 Million Medicaid Enrollees Under Obamacare? Doubtful. — The White House has propagated numbers regarding sign-ups for the Affordable Care Act, claiming that the program is responsible for 4 million people gaining coverage through Medicaid expansion; 3 million enrollees in their early 20s …
Discussion:
National Review, The Fact Checker, AEIdeas, Wonkblog and Americans Against the …
Theresa Vargas / Washington Post:
Agency rejects trademark of ‘Redskins Hog Rinds,’ calling term ‘derogatory’ — The same federal agency that will determine whether Washington's professional football team gets to keep its trademark registration recently struck down a request for a company to sell pork rinds with the name “Redskins.”
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Deadspin