memeorandum: Barack Obama should drink less alcohol and try harder to kick … (Daily Mail)

4:25 PM ET, March 2, 2010

Top Items:

Emily Pierce / Roll Call:

Collins Tries to Stop Bunning Filibuster — Senate Republicans sought Tuesday to insulate themselves from the damage caused by Sen. Jim Bunning's (R-Ky.) filibuster of a bill that would extend unemployment and health benefits and highway programs. — Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) …

Discussion: The Politico, NPR Blogs, Wall Street Journal, Top of the Ticket, Swampland, pandagon.net, The Washington Independent and Erick's blog

Hogan / hogan's Diary:

It's Not a Filibuster You Freaking Idiots — Dennis Miller once joked about those who would mispronounce certain words on the Senate floor, “now color me reactionary, but I don't think you should vote on this sh*t unless you know how to pronounce it.” Well, I think we should amend …

Discussion: Hot Air, Mediaite, TPMDC, JammieWearingFool, News Desk, The Politico and CNNMoney.com

The Note:

Bunning Blinks? — ABC's Jonathan Karl reports: — In another interview at the Senators-only elevator near his office, Senator Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said he is working on a deal to pass the unemployment extension bill he has been blocking since last Wednesday. — “We're working on it,” Bunning told ABC News.

Discussion: The Corner on National …

The Huffington Post:

GOP Sen. Kyl: Unemployment Benefits Make People Not Want To Get A Job — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — A debate on the Senate floor Monday over unemployment compensation crystallized, at least for a moment, the divide between the two parties in Washington. — Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona …

Discussion: Swampland, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, PoliBlog, Don Surber, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, Washington Monthly, Raw Story, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Economist's View and Bark Bark Woof Woof

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Collins joins Dems in urging Bunning to drop benefits objection

Discussion: The Politico, Michelle Malkin and The Swamp

Manu Raju / The Politico:
Bunning's fiscal hardball jams GOP

Discussion: CNN, Bloomberg, The Note and Washington Post

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Jim Bunning and the End of Outrage

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, TPMDC and Matthew Yglesias

CNN:
Obama embraces GOP health care proposals

Discussion: The Politico

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
G.O.P. Splits on Senator's Move to Block Benefits

Discussion: ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Economix and The Caucus

McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Who really gets hurt when GOP's Bunning blocks this bill?

Mark Thoma / moneywatch.bnet.com:
Unemployment Compensation has Broad Based Benefits

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Lexington Herald-Leader:
Bunning's callous grandstanding

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Wonk Room and WataugaWatch

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Health care by Easter? — With AP suggesting that nine “no” Democrats in the House could switch to “yes,” Inside Health Policy has a timeline: — According to [a] Democratic memo, the timeline may be: Step one: The House passes the Senate's health reform bill by March 19.

Discussion: The Politico, TPMDC, Wonk Room, Open Congress, Open Left and New York Magazine

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly: THE RESULTS OF THE HCR SUMMIT.... President Obama is scheduled …

Jesse Lee / White House.gov Blog Feed:
President Obama Follows Up on Thursday's Bipartisan Meeting on Health Reform

Discussion: Washington Wire, Open Congress, AOL News Collection and Wonkette

Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
Tom Harkin: I'll Be For the Public Option Again - After I'm Against It

Discussion: TalkLeft and DownWithTyranny!

The Huffington Post:
Obama Wants Comprehensive Bill, GOP Ideas; READ His Letter To Congress

Discussion: Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Political Punch:
President Obama Tells Congressional Leaders of GOP Ideas He's Willing …

Discussion: NRSC, Hot Air and The Corner on National …

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
BREAKING: Obama Embraces GOP Ideas, Urges Dems to Move Forward

Discussion: Firedoglake and Guardian

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
Memo Outlines Possible Easter Recess Timeline

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Firedoglake and National Review

Jason Horowitz / Washington Post:

Hotheaded Emanuel may be White House voice of reason — Rahm Emanuel is officially a Washington caricature. He's the town's resident leviathan, a bullying, bruising White House chief of staff who is a prime target for the failings of the Obama administration.

New York Times:

Obama to Highlight Cost in New Health Bill Push — WASHINGTON — President Obama this week will begin a climactic push to rally restive Congressional Democrats to pass major health care legislation by hammering the argument that the costs of failure will be higher insurance premiums and lost coverage for individuals and businesses.

Discussion: Roll Call, Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, Washington Times, The Hill, The Politico, Michelle Malkin, JustOneMinute, Washington Post, Dennis the Peasant, The Huffington Post, Agence France Presse, Prescriptions, Right Pundits, The Page and Bloomberg

Sam Youngman / The Hill:
White House downplays internal rifts

Discussion: CNN

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:

Feel the Kausmentum — With the valuable Glenn Reynolds and Jonah Goldberg endorsements in hand, Mickey Kaus' bid for a Democratic Party primary win is looking more solid than ever. — That said, I'm going to go counter-counterintuitive here and say that if some weird process put Mickey Kaus …

Discussion: Winds of Change.NET

Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:
Kf Caught in the Act

Discussion: Pollster.com All Content, The Atlantic Online and Ross Douthat

Dennis Romero / LA Daily:
CORRECTED: Mickey Kaus Takes Out Papers For U.S. Senate Run

Discussion: Firedoglake, LA Observed, Michael Calderone's Blog, New York Times, Townhall.com, ATTACKERMAN, Moe Lane, Betsy's Page, Outside The Beltway, The Impolitic, Israel Matzav, The Other McCain and Alas, a blog

Jonah Goldberg / The Corner on National Review Online: Mickey for Senate? — By: Jonah Goldberg

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Coffee Party Parasites — The New York Times and Washington Post are promoting a group called the “Coffee Party” organized by filmmaker Annabel Park. — The Coffee Party is a political parasite which presents itself as something it is not. As reported in the NY Times [see update below] …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, JustOneMinute, Right Pundits, American Power and Pajamas Media

Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Coffee Party, With a Taste for Civic Participation, Is Added to the Political Menu

Discussion: JOSHUAPUNDIT, Commentary, Left Coast Rebel, New York Magazine, skippy the bush kangaroo, The Lonely Conservative, Hot Air and Another Black Conservative

Orrin Hatch / Washington Post:

Reconciliation on health care would be an assault to the democratic process — America's Founders gave us a system of governance designed to limit government power and maximize liberty. The legislative branch is different from the executive, and the Senate is different from the House.

Discussion: Bark Bark Woof Woof, Capital Gains and Games blogs, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, SpeakEasy, Washington Monthly, Wonk Room, TPMDC, The Plum Line, Wall Street Journal and NRSC

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Orrin Hatch Rewrites History Of His Own Voting Record On Reconciliation

Discussion: Media Matters for America, PERRspectives, Think Progress and Eschaton

Scott Collins / Los Angeles Times:

Roger Ebert takes to Twitter to give tea party followers a thumb's down — The film reviewer is aiming barbs at Sarah Palin and other conservatives. — Who's the biggest scourge of the tea party movement these days? It might be film critic Roger Ebert, who lately has been tossing brickbats …

Discussion: Big Hollywood, Althouse, JammieWearingFool and Wilshire & Washington

William Wan / Washington Post:

Same-sex marriage leads Catholic Charities to adjust benefits — Employees at Catholic Charities were told Monday that the social services organization is changing its health coverage to avoid offering benefits to same-sex partners of its workers — the latest fallout from a bitter debate …

Discussion: Associated Press, SpeakEasy, Pam's House Blend, Shakesville and AMERICAblog Gay

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Ford bolts; Zuckerman rises — Harold Ford gave many reasons for his decision not to launch a primary challenge against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, but he didn't mention a decisive one: The emergence of a richer, stronger center-right challenger whom many of Ford's potential supporters …

Discussion: New York Times, New York Magazine, Glenn Thrush's Blog, Top of the Ticket, The Caucus, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Washington Independent and CNN

Patterico's Pontifications:

Debunking Some Emerging ACORN Liberal Myths — This post debunks several liberal myths about ACORN that have emerged in recent weeks — many from Eric Boehlert of Media Matters and Brad Friedman. — POSING AS PIMP AT ACORN — Liberal Myth: James O'Keefe did not pretend to be a pimp inside ACORN.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, StarkReports.com, pandagon.net, The Jawa Report and The BRAD BLOG

Yahoo / Local News from The Thibodaux Daily Comet:

Jindal develops extensive campaign organization — For his re-election bid, Gov. Bobby Jindal has tapped into an extensive network of Republican fundraising and consulting firms known for their work for GOP candidates and causes around the country. — Jindal is seeking a second term as governor.

Discussion: The Page

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Cheney group questions loyalty of Justice lawyers — Liz Cheney's group Keep America Safe, which has led the resurgent Republican attacks on President Obama's national security policies, is releasing a video this morning that questions the loyalties of Justice Department lawyers who advocated …