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IN Dem Misses The Deadline — Restaurant owner Tamyra d'Ippolito (D) has enough signatures to make the ballot in the race to replace Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), she told Hotline OnCall in a brief interview, but an official in a key district says she has failed to reach the threshold.
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Winners and losers from Evan Bayh's retirement — Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh's decision not to run for re-election is a massive shock to the political system, the full ramifications of which won't be fully known for weeks or months. — But, Bayh's retirement did produce its fair share …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Politics Daily, Ben Smith's Blog, Federal Eye and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Evan Bayh's Retirement Leaves Democrats Scarred And Demanding Aggression — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Senator Evan Bayh's abrupt announcement on Monday that he will retire at the end of his term has further united disparate voices within the Democratic Party behind the idea that legislative action …
Discussion:
Time, Washington Monthly, The Hill, SpeakEasy, Commentary, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and AMERICAblog News

Evan Bayh Blasts ‘Brain-Dead Partisanship’ — Indiana Senator Rules Out 2012 Presidential Run, Mum on 2016 Ambitions — Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, whose retirement announcement Monday stunned the political world, today assailed partisanship in Congress and said he could achieve much more in the private sector than as a senator.
Discussion:
The Note, Salon, The Caucus, Real Clear Politics, Mediaite, The Page, USA Today, Donklephant and The Eye

D'Ippolito: I Have Enough Signatures To Get On The Ballot For IN-SEN Dem Primary

What Will Bayh Do With $13 Million War Chest? No Decision Yet, Spox Says

Secret Joint Raid Captures Taliban's Top Commander — WASHINGTON — The Taliban's top military commander was captured several days ago in Karachi, Pakistan, in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces, according to American government officials.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Guardian, The Washington Independent, BLACKFIVE, The Long War Journal, neo-neocon, Raw Story, Registan.net, Newshoggers.com, Informed Comment, Los Angeles Times, Michael Calderone's Blog, Washington Post, Michelle Malkin, The Corner on National …, NPR Blogs, Danger Room, ABCNEWS, Sister Toldjah, Neptunus Lex, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Shakesville, democracyarsenal.org, Sweetness & Light, GayPatriot, Washington Monthly, Scared Monkeys, The Majlis, Betsy's Page, Daily Kos, Another Black Conservative, Politics Daily, Prairie Weather, MyDD, PoliBlog, Power Line, No More Mister Nice Blog, News Hounds, TigerHawk, Wall Street Journal, The Vail Spot, The Daily Beast and Enduring America
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It's Extremely Important We Don't Torture Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Daily Dish, Guardian, Raw Story, DaTechguy's Blog and The Corner on National …


Tea Party Lights Fuse for Rebellion on Right — SANDPOINT, Idaho — Pam Stout has not always lived in fear of her government. She remembers her years working in federal housing programs, watching government lift struggling families with job training and education.
Discussion:
Townhall.com, Little Green Footballs, Jack & Jill Politics, Firedoglake, TPMCafe, Right Wing Watch, Gawker, Prairie Weather, First Draft, The Mahablog, Hullabaloo, No More Mister Nice Blog, DailyHowler.com, The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, Sadly, No!, Think Progress, Los Angeles Times and SONICFROG DOT NET
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Tea party leaders will meet with Steele and other Republican operatives
Discussion:
The Note, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Hotline On Call, Politics Daily, Riehl World View, The Page and msnbc.com

FIRST THOUGHTS: BYE, BAYH
Discussion:
pa2010.com, The Fix, The New Republic, The Caucus, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Shot in the Dark and Democratic Strategist

Join our DADT blog swarm, call HRC today — AMERICAblog joins today with a coalition of gay and straight bloggers in asking our readers to contact the Human Rights Campaign on behalf of the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.” — OUR MESSAGE TO HRC IS SIMPLE:
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Most Americans think Congress should start over on healthcare reform, poll says — In a brutal assessment of the Democratically authored healthcare reform bills pending in Congress and the party's approach to healthcare, more than half of the respondents to a new Zogby International-University …

Does Dick Cheney Want to Be Prosecuted? — After he was indicted for the murder of Alexander Hamilton, vice president Aaron Burr fled to South Carolina, to hide out with his daughter. Another vice president, Spiro Agnew, kept completely silent before pleading nolo contendere on corruption charges.
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Oh, Canada for HRC if Pres. Palin? — From NBC's Courtney KubeSecretary of State Hillary Clinton could not escape U.S. politics during her trip to Saudi Arabia. Early this morning during a town hall meeting with students at Dar Al Hekma College, a student asked Clinton if she thinks Sarah Palin …
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What's the Deal? — One of the most intriguing news stories of the past week is the murder of Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai. The team that carried out the assassination allegedly included eleven members, ten men and a woman. They were evidently traveling on fake passports …
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Sens. seek Obama boost on campaign trail — GOP hopes to see him on stump — President Obama kicks off what might be called his “Save the Senate” tour this week, heading west to campaign for two embattled Democrats trailing badly against Republican challengers - including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Discussion:
The Politico, NewsBusters.org, QandO, AmSpecBlog, The Lonely Conservative, GayPatriot and USA Today
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Milbank writing Beck book: ‘Tears of a Clown’ — Dana Milbank recently wrote how a Fox News star has really “captured the moment,” before posing the question: “Is Glenn Beck America?” — Milbank, who only had about 750 words to tackle that question in his Washington Post column …


Excise Tax Loses Support Amid White House Push — WASHINGTON — An agreement to tax high-cost, employer-sponsored health insurance plans, announced with fanfare by the White House and labor unions last month, is losing support from labor leaders, who say the proposal is too high a price …


Lake Erie Frozen over; First Time in 14 Years — Following a cold snap in the Northeast, Lake Erie's surface is virtually frozen over for the first time in about 14 years. — The ice ranges in thickness between paper thin along the northern shore and several inches along the southern shore, where many people are ice skating.


Bayh for President! — To state what I think should be obvious, talk of Evan Bayh somehow challenging Barack Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination is bizarre. No incumbent president has ever been defeated in a primary. And the only “close calls” came in a tightly bunched historical period …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog


FAIL... Just 6% of Americans Believe Obama's $787 Billion Stimulus Created Jobs — In December the Obama Administration announced they had “saved or created” 1.1 million jobs. — In January the Obama Administration announced they had “saved or created” 2 million jobs.


Romney Assaulted on Flight Leaving Olympics — A passenger became “physically violent” when the former Massachusetts governor asked him to move his seat upright for take-off.


Beware fear's racist temptation — Don't blame your fear of the future on Obama's skin color — SPECIAL COMMENT — Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on this Presidents' Day celebrating George Washington, and the Founding Fathers he represents and Abraham Lincoln, and the Emancipation he represents.