Top Items:
New York Times:
The Travails of Tom Daschle — When President Obama nominated former Senator Tom Daschle to be his secretary of health and human services, it seemed to be a good choice. Mr. Daschle, as the co-author of a book on health care reform, knew a lot about one of the president's signature issues.
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Washington Post:
Back Taxes, Part Two — THE TAX PROBLEMS plaguing the nomination of former senator Thomas A. Daschle to be secretary of health and human services are troubling — as were the problems of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. In both cases, the nominees had failed to pay the full amount of taxes they owed.
David Rogers / The Politico:
Obama picks Gregg for Commerce — Sen. Judd Gregg will be nominated as the new Commerce secretary Tuesday morning, giving President Obama a fresh independent voice in his Cabinet but at a huge cost to Republicans and the larger Senate. — The run-up to the nomination has focused on backroom deals …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Swamp, Reuters, Matthew Yglesias, Open Left, TIME.com, The Politico, MyDD, Blue Hampshire, Donklephant, D-Day and Swing State Project
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The Huffington Post:
Stimulus Spin War: Obama To Go On Media Offensive — Barack Obama is slated to sit down with the five major television news networks tomorrow, a media play that is almost certain to be part of a broader effort to sell his stimulus package to the American public.
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:Obama Set to Add Republican to Cabinet
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Scorecard's Blogs, The Politico, AmSpecBlog, Political Machine and Climate Progress
Murray Waas / TPMMuckraker:
Attorney: Rove Will Cooperate With DOJ Probes — Karl Rove will cooperate with a federal criminal inquiry underway into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys and has already spoken to investigators in a separate, internal DOJ investigation into the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, his attorney said in an interview.
Discussion:
Think Progress, Buck Naked Politics, The Huffington Post, Political Machine, Emptywheel and The Raw Story
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Gareth Porter / IPS Inter Press Service:
US-IRAQ: Generals Seek to Reverse Obama Withdrawal Decision — CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, supported by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months at an Oval Office meeting Jan. 21.
Discussion:
Salon, The Strata-Sphere, American Street, Hullabaloo, Jules Crittenden, Crooks and Liars, Balloon Juice and Whiskey Fire
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Wall Street Journal:
Daniel Pearl and the Normalization of Evil — When will our luminaries stop making excuses for terror? — This week marks the seventh anniversary of the murder of our son, former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. My wife Ruth and I wonder: Would Danny have believed that today's world emerged after his tragedy?
Discussion:
Cold Fury
Simon Romero / New York Times:
In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism — UYUNI, Bolivia — In the rush to build the next generation of hybrid or electric cars, a sobering fact confronts both automakers and governments seeking to lower their reliance on foreign oil: almost half of the world's lithium …
Discussion:
Fausta's Blog
Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Ex-Journalists' New Jobs Fuel Debate on Favoritism — WASHINGTON — Republicans have long accused mainstream journalists of being on the payroll of President Obama and the Democratic Party, a common refrain of favoritism especially from those on the losing end of an election (see Bush vs. Gore, Clinton vs. Bush and Bush vs. Dukakis).
Wayne Slater / Dallas Morning News:
Sarah Palin endorses Texas Gov. Rick Perry for re-election — wslater@dallasnews.com — AUSTIN - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has endorsed Rick Perry for re-election, calling him the “true conservative” in a primary election showdown with fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison.
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Mesh / Middle East Strategy at Harvard:
Behind the blow-out at Davos — From Michael Reynolds — Origins of a cooperation. For the past two decades, cooperative relations between Turkey and Israel had been one of the constants of international relations in the Middle East. While it would be incorrect to describe those ties …
Discussion:
Israel Matzav
Frank Newport / Gallup:
Americans Support Stimulus, but Many Want Major Changes — Most say plan will not have major impact this year — USA - Business and Economy - Congress - Credit Crisis - Personal Finances - Taxes - Americas - Northern America — PRINCETON, NJ — A strong majority of Americans (75%) …
Discussion:
Political Machine
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama's Pledge to Reform Ethics Faces an Early Test — WASHINGTON — During almost two years on the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to slay the demons of Washington, bar lobbyists from his administration and usher in what he would later call in his Inaugural Address a “new era of responsibility.”
The Politico:
Daschle pushed Hindery for Obama job — Tom Daschle backed the patron who paid him a million-dollar salary and supplied him with a free car and driver for a job inside the Obama administration, two Democrats said Monday. — Leo Hindery, whose InterMedia Partners employed the former Senate Majority Leader …
Binyamin Appelbaum / Washington Post:
Despite Federal Aid, Many Banks Fail to Revive Lending — The federal government has invested almost $200 billion in U.S. banks over the last three months to spark new lending to consumers and businesses. — So far, it hasn't worked. Lending has declined, and banks that got government money …
David Segal / New York Times:
Wall St., a Financial Epithet, Stirs Outrage — Monday was the last day of Iris Chau's 11-year career at JPMorgan Chase and she says there's a lot she'll miss about the job, including her colleagues, her paycheck and her role managing a technical support team.
Wall Street Journal:
What Other Financial Crises Tell Us — The lesson of history is grim: Expect a prolonged slump. — Perhaps the Obama administration will be able to bring a surprisingly early end to the ongoing U.S. financial crisis. We hope so, but it is not going to be easy.
Discussion:
The Big Picture
Newsday:
Groundhog bites Bloomberg at ceremony — Mayor Michael Bloomberg paid a visit to an apparently-disgruntled constituent nicknamed ‘Staten Island Chuck’ on Groundhog's Day — and got bit for his trouble. — Staten Island's famous groundhog, Charles G. Hogg, inexplicably bit Mayor Bloomberg during …
Jeff Poor / The Business & Media Institute:
Cramer on Obama's Anti-Wall Street Comments: ‘We Heard Lenin’ — ‘Mad Money’ host compares new president's attack on corporate profits to rhetoric from Russian communist. — Business & Media Institute — With all the populist sentiment generated from the economic slowdown by politicians …
Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Joe the Plumber advises GOP-ers — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — Fresh off his stint as a war correspondent in Gaza, Joe the Plumber is now doing political strategy with Republicans. — When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting …
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