Top Items:


GOP defies Obama overtures — House Republicans have proposed an alternative that leaders say would create 6.2 million jobs for only $478 billion. — “What Member can't go back his or her District and explain: Rather than voting for a bloated bill, ... I voted for an alternative …
RELATED:

HALPERIN BLAMES OBAMA.... President Obama went to great lengths to reach out to House Republicans, trying to get them to support an economic stimulus in the midst of an economic crisis. The president not only offered them more tax cuts than seemed necessary, he also acted swiftly …

For House Republicans, Zero is the Loneliest Number — Is this really the Associated Press lede that the Republicans wanted? … Zero is sometimes a big number. If the stimulus bill had passed the House today with a handful of Republican votes — six or eight or twelve or twenty …

Dems Play Hardball: Target Republican Senators For Stimulus Support (VIDEO)
Discussion:
KansasCity.com Prime Buzz, Agence France Presse, The Huffington Post, Needlenose and ONTD: Politics

FIRST THOUGHTS: THE BIG, FAT O
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Marc Ambinder, The Moderate Voice, race42008.com, Liberal Values, Capital Journal, Political Machine and Sister Toldjah

NEW ADS TARGET REPUBLICAN SENATORS ON RECOVERY BILL

1993 All Over Again? — One of the goals of the unanimous Republican …
Discussion:
Eunomia, New York Times, Daily Kos, Gallup, Outside The Beltway, The Daily Dish, Washington Post, Open Left and AmSpecBlog

My Bipartisan Stimulus — Let's cut taxes, as I want, and spend more, as Obama would like. — There's a serious debate in this country as to how best to end the recession. The average recession will last five to 11 months; the average recovery will last six years.
RELATED:

Public Support for Economic Recovery Plan Slips to 42% — Public support for the economic recovery plan crafted by President Obama and congressional Democrats has slipped a bit over the past week. At the same time, expectations that the plan will quickly become law have increased.

Dick Armey and post-partisan harmony
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Feministe, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!


White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code — WASHINGTON — The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Swamp, Anne Schroeder's Blogs, Power Line, Weekly Standard, Michelle Malkin, AMERICAblog News, New York Magazine, MyDD, JustOneMinute, marbury, A Blog For All, Lost in Transition, Argghhh!, The Huffington Post, Wonkette, Mudville Gazette, Gawker, Daled Amos, Green Inc., Althouse, The BLT and Right Wing News
RELATED:

The Obama White House May Be a Crowded Mess — There will be four people in my old office. — On the campaign trail, Barack Obama criticized Washington for being “obsessed with the perpetual campaign.” As president he is the first occupant of the Oval Office to give his director of political affairs …


Obama Seeks Accord With Military on Iraq — WASHINGTON — As President Obama moves to redefine the nation's mission in Iraq, he faces a difficult choice: Is he willing to abandon a campaign promise or risk a rupture with the military? Or can he finesse the difference?
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Washington Post, D-Day, Newshoggers.com, Commentary, democracyarsenal.org and Kevin Drum
RELATED:

Obama vs Odierno — The institutional pushback against Obama's attempt to change Iraq policy is unfolding as predicted. After a steady stream of Washington Post and Wall Street Journal editorials warning against withdrawing troops from Iraq, the New York Times today reports on the jockeying between …


Obama Made a Rash Decision on Gitmo — The president will soon realize that governing involves hard choices. — During his first week as commander in chief, President Barack Obama ordered the closure of Guantanamo Bay and terminated the CIA's special authority to interrogate terrorists.
RELATED:

Torture Lover John Yoo Excoriates Obama For Banning Torture
Discussion:
D-Day


Quinn: ‘I will be ready’ — The Bible is ready. The oath has been prepared. The lieutenant governor and his family are on their way to Springfield. And the current governor's belongings are boxed up and waiting to be picked up at the Executive Mansion.
RELATED:

Bad — As the Obama administration apparently prepares to launch Hankie Pankie II — buying troubled assets from banks at prices higher than they will fetch on the open market — it occurred to me that an updated version of an old Communist-era joke may be appropriate: under Bush …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias

Military Judge Denies Obama Request to Suspend Hearings at Guantanamo — A military judge in Guantanamo Bay has denied the Obama administration's request to delay proceedings for 120 days in the case of a detainee accused of planning the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole warship …


Obama Signs First Piece of Legislation Into Law — Lilly Ledbetter Act Makes It Easier for Workers to Sue for Pay Discrimination — President Obama this morning signed a law that expanded the time frame in which workers can sue for discrimination they have experienced based on gender, race, national origin or religion.
RELATED:

“I am the Speaker of the House. I don't get into that.” — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is defiantly ignoring Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge — who spent much of the week nitpicking her stimulus bill on issues ranging from STD prevention funding to cash for the re-sodding the National Mall.
RELATED:

Perspective — From Brad DeLong, part of The Week's impressive new virtual op-ed page: … All true. But the kicker matters, too: … That we'll never be satisfied with what we have probably goes without saying. But the most pressing issue, it seems to me, is whether we've reached …
RELATED:

Sen. McConnell Calls on GOP to Redefine Itself — John D. McKinnon reports on politics. — In a major political-strategy statement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky - one of the country's highest-ranking Republicans - will warn his party leadership later this afternoon …
Discussion:
TIME.com
RELATED:


With Al Due Respect, We're Doomed — The lawmakers gazed in awe at the figure before them. The Goracle had seen the future, and he had come to tell them about it. — What the Goracle saw in the future was not good: temperature changes that “would bring a screeching halt to human civilization …

Palin, Obama to share stage — In what could be a preview of the 2012 presidential race, Sarah Palin and Barack Obama will share a stage together this Saturday night in Washington, D.C., Politico has learned. — The Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee …

Bush War on Roquefort Raises a Stink in France — ROQUEFORT-SUR-SOULZON This seems an unlikely spot to fight a trade war. — A village of 600 souls in a remote part of southern France, Roquefort clings precariously to the side of Combalou Rock, a promontory overlooking a deep valley …