Top Items:
Cal Fussman / Esquire:
Bill Richardson: What I've Learned — The just-tapped Secretary of Commerce shares intimate new stories on how Barack Obama saved his ass before he became his boss, Saddam Hussein's guile, Bush's charm, racial politics and more. — After the campaign, I grew a beard as a rebellion …
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Frank James / The Swamp:
Obama calls on Fox News, mourns beard — At the recently completely press conference at which President-elect Barack Obama officially named Gov. Bill Richardson his choice for Commerce Secretary, Obama called on Fox News's White House reporter. — The interchange was interesting for a few reasons.
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Obama grants Fox News its first question at his press conference.» — During today's press conference, President-elect Barack Obama called on Fox News to ask a question for the first time since the election. Fox News had not been called on in Obama's five prior press conferences.
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Chambliss: Palin ‘allowed us to peak’ — Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base. — “I can't overstate the impact she had down here,” Chambliss said during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News.
Discussion:
The Opinionator, Open Left, Hot Air, Democracy in America, No More Mister Nice Blog, Noblesse Oblige, TIME.com and QandO
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:Saxby Shows Republicans The Way Forward?
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Open Left, MyDD, Democratic Strategist, The Note, Media Blog and Washington Post
Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:
Franken Camp's Claim: We're Now Ahead! — In a briefing going on right now with reporters, Al Franken's lead recount lawyer Marc Elias made a stunning announcement: According to the campaign's methodology of tracking the recount results, they believe Al Franken now leads Norm Coleman by a margin of 22 votes.
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Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
Franken camp: 'We're winning' — Al Franken's campaign attorney Marc Elias said today that, based on its latest internal tally, Franken has taken the lead over Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) for the first time in the recount process. — In a conference call, Elias said Franken leads Coleman by 22 votes at the end of last night's count.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Note, Wilshire & Washington, Salon and The Politico
Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Franken claims he is in the lead — Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken's campaign said Wednesday that the comedian has taken the lead in his race against Sen. Norm Coleman (R). — Franken's lawyer, Marc Elias, has been pressing for the media to focus on the campaign's internal vote totals …
Huma Khan / Political Radar:
Bushes Planning a Move to Dallas — ABC News Ann Compton Reports: President and Laura Bush are moving to Dallas once they leave the White House, the First Lady said on Wednesday. — Laura Bush confirmed that she and the President are buying a house in Dallas, about two hours from his beloved Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas.
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Access Hollywood:
Access Exclusive: ‘Oprah’ Going To Washington For Inauguration — Ms. Winfrey is going to Washington. — The media mogul (and staunch Barack Obama supporter) will be hosting “The Oprah Winfrey Show” from Washington, D.C. during the week of the presidential inauguration …
Gstasiewicz / Judicial Watch:
Judicial Watch Announces Hillary Clinton Constitutionally Ineligible to Serve as Secretary of State — Ineligibility Clause of Constitution Prohibits Clinton Appointment — Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption …
The Trail / Washington Post:
Obama Gives Political Ambassadors Their Pink Slips — The incoming Obama administration has notified all politically-appointed ambassadors that they must vacate their posts as of Jan. 20, the day President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office, a State Department official said.
Ben Armbruster / Think Progress:
Novak: 'I Don't Think I Hurt Valerie Plame' And I Would Out Her Again Because The Left ‘Tried To Ruin Me’ — During a recent interview with the National Ledger, conservative columnist Robert Novak was asked if he would reveal Valerie Plame Wilson's secret CIA identity if he could go back and do it all over again.
The New Republic:
Newt Gingrich Hasn't Gotten The Memo — Michelle Goldberg is the author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism. Her new book, The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World, will be published in April by Penguin Press. — As I was walking out the door yesterday evening, the phone rang.
Marc Ambinder:
Discourse Watch: Obama's Citizenship A Legit Topic? — Townhall.com is a mainstream, legitimate, comprehensive, informative, and entertaining conservative news and opinion magazine and website. Disclosure: they've written nice things about me. To liberals and non-conservatives, their content can sometimes be edgy.
Campbell Brown / CNN:
Campbell Brown: Sexism sneaks in over open mic — Editor's note: Campbell Brown anchors CNN's “Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull” at 8 p.m. ET Mondays through Fridays. She delivered this commentary during the “Cutting through the Bull” segment of Tuesday night's broadcast.
Discussion:
www.redstate.com
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Against Soft Power — Via Michael Crowley, Michael Chertoff is making sense: … I might note that draconian security rules and visa policies are not helpful in this regard, something Chertoff might want to consider. Foreigners don't like being treated as if there's a presumption …
David Sirota / Blog entry:
Mandate Watch: Obama Backs Off Promise to Pass Windfall Profits Tax on Big Oil — Good news and bad news in the last day. The good news: Barack Obama has appointed a NAFTA critic, Rep. Xavier Becerra, as the next U.S. Trade Representative (more on that here). The bad news is this just off the Reuters wire:
Discussion:
Houston Chronicle, Open Left, Political Punch, Salon, Marc Ambinder, Ben Smith's Blogs, MoJoBlog and asbl.com
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Associated Press:
Ala. county sets ‘Barack Obama Day’ as new holiday … MARION, Ala. (AP) - A small central Alabama county whose mainly black residents gave Barack Obama more than 70 percent of the vote on Election Day has created an annual holiday in honor of the president-elect.
John Koblin / New York Observer:
Meet Slate's New Columnist: Eliot Spitzer — Media Mob has learned that former New York governor Eliot Spitzer will write a new column for Slate beginning tomorrow. The column will appear every other week and it'll be about government, regulation and finance.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs
Tamar Lewin / New York Times:
College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S. — The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the annual report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
Ben Adler / American Prospect:
Are Cows Worse Than Cars? — Everyone knows driving an SUV or leaving the lights on is bad for the earth. But when it comes to your environmental impact, what's on your plate is just as important. — These days almost any proposal to reduce global warming gets taken seriously, even by conservatives.
The Huffington Post:
Obama Team Restates Strong Support For Union Bill — An aide to Barack Obama reaffirmed the President-elect's support for the labor movement's chief legislative priority in a one-word statement issued to the Huffington Post on late Tuesday. — Asked if Obama's support …
Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
Federal Prosecutor Is Making Inquiries in the Investigation of the Dismissal of 9 U.S. Attorneys in 2006 — A prosecutor who is investigating the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys has been meeting with defense lawyers, dispatching subpoenas and seeking information about the events, according to legal sources familiar with the case.
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The NYT And The T-Word — The front-page piece in the NYT today on Obama's thorny task in staffing the CIA, after seven years of its violation of the Geneva Conventions, is revealing in many ways. Like many in the MSM, the NYT cannot bring itself to describe the techniques that the CIA has used as “torture.”
Discussion:
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