memeorandum: Car crash at Dutch Queen parade (BBC)

9:35 AM ET, April 30, 2009

Top Items:

G.O.P. Debate: A Broader Party or a Purer One? — WASHINGTON — A fundamental debate broke out among Republicans on Wednesday over how to rebuild the party in the wake of Senator Arlen Specter's departure: Should it purge moderate voices like Mr. Specter and embrace its conservative roots …

Discussion: The Politico, AmSpecBlog, American Power, New York Times, Balloon Juice, Power Line and Associated Press

CNN:

GOP set to launch rebranding effort — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Coming soon to a battleground state near you: a new effort to revive the image of the Republican Party and to counter President Obama's characterization of Republicans as “the party of ‘no.’” — CNN has learned that the new initiative …

Discussion: The Mahablog, TBogg, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Roger Ailes, Ben Smith's Blog, 24Ahead, Vanity Fair and Newshoggers.com

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Top Dems rebel on Specter — Senior Senate Democrats are objecting to the deal Majority Leader Harry Reid made with Sen. Arlen Specter, saying they will vote against letting the former Republican shoot to the top of powerful committees after he switches parties.

Discussion: The Note, Bloomberg, Washington Post, The Hill's Pundits Blog and Hullabaloo

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
GOP's Big Names Try to Forge New Agenda

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Think Progress and Washington Times

Brad Jackson / The New Ledger:
Is the NRSC Going to Abandon Toomey?

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Politics Daily, The Moderate Voice, The Campaign Spot, Senate Guru and Erick's blog

Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
NRSC Launches Calls To Remind Pennsylvania Dem Voters Of Specter's GOP Roots

Discussion: MSNBC, MyDD, Pennsylvania Ave. and Townhall.com

John / Power Line:
John Cornyn: What the Specter Switch Means

Discussion: Scorecard's Blog and TPMDC

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Reid's Specter deal stirs senior Dems' anger

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Post, Commentary, Top of the Ticket, TalkLeft, The New Ledger, Hot Air and Flopping Aces

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Will GOP Sleep Through Wake-Up Call?

Discussion: Capitol Briefing, AMERICAblog News, Climate Progress, Taegan Goddard's …, Wall Street Journal, CBS News and The Fix

New York Times:

President Obama's 100th-Day Press Briefing — Following is a transcript of President Obama's press briefing as he marks his 100th day in office, as transcribed by Federal News Service. — PRESIDENT OBAMA: Before we begin to tonight, I just want to provide everyone with a few brief updates …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Slate, 24Ahead and MoJo Blog Posts

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:

Dead Certain — Tonight President Obama said he was “absolutely convinced” that he had made the right decision in putting an end to the use of the harsh interrogation techniques employed by the Bush administration. After eight years of President Bush, it certainly is refreshing to have a leader …

Discussion: Macsmind

Wall Street Journal:

Chrysler Chapter 11 Is Imminent — Creditor Talks Collapse as Hedge Funds Balk at Deal; Fiat Waiting in the Wings — WASHINGTON — Talks between the Treasury Department and lenders aimed at keeping Chrysler LLC out of bankruptcy broke down Wednesday, making it all but certain the car maker …

Discussion: Dealbreaker, Clusterstock, Guardian, The Big Picture and New York Times

New York Times:

Chrysler Bankruptcy Looms as Deal on Debt Falters — DETROIT — Last-minute efforts by the Treasury Department to win over recalcitrant Chrysler debtholders failed Wednesday night, setting up a near-certain bankruptcy filing by the American automaker, according to people briefed on the talks.

Discussion: Wheels, The Politico, The Baseline Scenario, American Street and naked capitalism

Washington Post:
Sources: Chrysler Bankruptcy Plan Would Oust CEO, Install Fiat Management

Discussion: TPMMuckraker and Salon

The Politico:

Biden says avoid plane, subways; puts out clarifying statement — Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would not recommend taking any commercial flight or riding in a subway car “at this point” because swine flu virus can spread “in confined places.”

Discussion: NBC New York, The Swamp, Clusterstock, Guardian and Political Punch

Mark Silva / The Swamp: Swine flu: Border closings won't work

The Politico: Greatest hits from ‘100 Days’ stories

Tom Shales / Washington Post:

Obama Deftly Handles Another Prime-Time News Conference — The questions put to Barack Obama at his news conference last night covered nearly every topic but the Craigslist Killer, and if that had come up, Obama probably would have answered it in stride. You ask, he'll answer — earnestly …

Discussion: The Politico, Fausta's Blog, Pundit & Pundette and NewsBusters.org

Calvin Woodward / Associated Press:

FACT CHECK: Obama disowns deficit he helped shape — WASHINGTON - “That wasn't me,” President Barack Obama said on his 100th day in office, disclaiming responsibility for the huge budget deficit waiting for him on Day One. It actually was him — and the other Democrats controlling Congress …

Discussion: PERRspectives, PoliGazette and The New Ledger

Above the Law:

Justice Scalia Responds to Fordham Privacy Invasion! — Last week, we wrote about the Fordham law professor who assigned his information privacy law class to compile a dossier on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. — The professor had chosen Scalia as the target for privacy invasion …

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, Concurring Opinions and The Volokh Conspiracy

STRATFOR:

A Chilling Effect on U.S. Counterterrorism — Over the past couple of weeks, we have been carefully watching the fallout from the Obama administration's decision to release four classified memos from former President George W. Bush's administration that authorized “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

Discussion: Doug Ross, Israel Matzav and The Rhetorican

who.int:

Swine influenza — The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 18:00 GMT, 29 April 2009, nine countries have officially reported 148 cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection. The United States Government has reported 91 laboratory confirmed human cases, with one death.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Scientific American, Blue Crab Boulevard, Liberal Values and Sydney Morning Herald

New York Times:
Mexico Limits Public Services as Flu Alerts Are Increased

Discussion: Guardian

Celeste Katz / NY Daily News:

Elizabeth Edwards write about husband's affair in book … Campaign cad John Edwards' cheating ways made his wife, Elizabeth, sick to her stomach - literally. — After the former presidential hopeful confessed his betrayal, Elizabeth Edwards writes in her new book, “I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up.”

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Wall Street Journal:

Gettelfinger Motors — The mauling of GM's bondholders reveals Treasury's political hand. — Printer — Friendly — President Obama insisted at his press conference last night that he doesn't want to nationalize the auto industry (or the banks, or the mortgage market, or . . .).

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Kausfiles