memeorandum: Ohio Republican lawmakers introduce slew of bills aimed at … (Reginald Fields/Plain Dealer)

12:45 PM ET, February 9, 2011

Top Items:

Webb won't seek reelection — Virginia Democratic Senator Jim Webb plans to announce today that he won't seek reelection, the Senator confirmed Wednesday. — Webb appeared likely to face a rematch with former Senator George Allen, whom he beat in a bruising 2006 contest.

Discussion: Raw Story, AmSpecBlog, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Washington Note, Politics, JOSHUAPUNDIT and National Review

Ben Pershing / Virginia Politics Blog:

Sen. James Webb won't run for reelection in 2012 — Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) has announced that he will not run for reelection in 2012. — Webb's decision, long anticipated by many in Virginia politics, will make his seat more difficult to hold for his party.

Discussion: The Nation, Wonkette, The Page and AMERICAblog News

Washington Post:

Patriot Act extension fails in the House by seven votes — House Republicans suffered an embarrassing setback Tuesday when they fell seven votes short of extending provisions of the Patriot Act, a vote that served as the first small uprising of the party's tea-party bloc.

Discussion: Politics Daily, Weigel, Daily Kos, Bloomberg, Examiner, Sky Dancing, The Foundry, Prairie Weather, Firedoglake and Salon

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

House rejects measure that would extend key Patriot Act provisions through December — A measure to extend key provisions of the Patriot Act counterterrorism surveillance law through December failed the House Tuesday night, with more than two-dozen Republicans bucking their party to oppose the measure.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Plum Line, Comments from Left Field, No More Mister Nice Blog, Talking Points Memo, PostPartisan, Commentary, Barefoot and Progressive, The Huffington Post, The Reaction, The Nation, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and ThinkProgress

David Rogers / The Politico:

GOP cuts target EPA, high speed rail — Trying to quell a revolt on the right, House Republicans released new details Wednesday morning of tens of billions in spending cuts that will hit hardest at prized Democratic initiatives including high speed rail, renewable energy programs and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Discussion: CNN

The Politico:
Rank-and-file reject Patriot Act

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Threat Level, Hot Air, The Hill, ThinkProgress, The Nation, The Note and Proof Positive

Teddy Partridge / Firedoglake:
Tea Party Meets Kucinich Halfway, Foils PATRIOT Act Extension

Discussion: Washington Post and rubber hose

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House fails to extend Patriot Act surveillance as Republicans defect

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, National Review, Fox News, Raw Story, Booman Tribune, The Impolitic and Hit & Run

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Obama's Approval Rating on Deficit Sinks to New Low — Egypt ranks among issues on which Obama is best rated — PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama's approval rating for handling the federal budget deficit has gone from bad to worse in recent months, even as his ratings …

Discussion: The Note, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Commentary, Wake up America, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and National Review

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Just as things looked brighter for Obama, Americans' approval …

Discussion: Gallup

Quinnipiac University:
New Jersey Voters Say Christie's First Year A Success, Quinnipiac …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill and GOP 12

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Arianna Huffington's ideological transformation — Did Arianna Huffington just sell out her fellow progressives? — In the literal sense, she undoubtedly has: The sale of Huffington Post to AOL for $315 million (including a large pile of cash going to Huffington herself) …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Mediaite, The New Republic and Online NewsHour, more at Mediagazer »

Simmi Aujla / The Politico:
West: AOL-HuffPo merger threatens tea party groups

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Monthly and Weigel

Tim Rutten / Los Angeles Times:
AOL ♥ HuffPo. The loser? Journalism

Discussion: protein wisdom

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Rep. Allen West receives plum speaking slot at conservative gathering — Freshman Tea Party Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) will deliver the coveted closing speech on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). — West, the headline-grabbing lawmaker and former Army officer …

Discussion: The Politico, Goldfish and Clowns …, Hotline On Call, Ben Smith's Blog and The Other McCain

The Note:
Freshman Florida Congressman Allen West Gets High-Profile CPAC Speaking Role

Discussion: Cubachi, Liberty Pundits Blog and The Hill

Rachel Weiner / The Fix:
Orrin Hatch courts tea party activists, Tea Party Express divided

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and National Review

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

Under Banner of Fiscal Restraint, Republicans Plan New Abortion Bills — WASHINGTON — All but invisible during the midterm elections, the abortion debate has returned to Congress. — Invoking the mantra of fiscal restraint that has dominated House action since lawmakers reconvened last month …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Boston Globe, The Atlantic Online, TPMDC, Sky Dancing, Shakesville, Wall Street Journal, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Politico and StarkReports.com

Nicholas Ballasy / CNSNews:
Lautenberg to Pro-Life Republicans: 'Don't Go Near My Daughters'

Discussion: The Mahablog, JOSHUAPUNDIT and Liberty Pundits Blog

CBS News: Planned Parenthood Video Fuels Abortion Debate

Charles Thomas / WLS-TV:

ABC7 poll: Emanuel leading mayor's race — ABC7's exclusive poll on the Chicago mayor's race provides a snapshot of how the candidates are doing as we head into the final two weeks of the campaign. — Rahm Emanuel's 54 percent share in the survey suggests an overwhelming lead …

Discussion: The Hill

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Rahm Emanuel captures enormous polling lead

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Christian M. Wade / TBO Politics:

RNC's former Tampa convention team spent $1 million — TAMPA - They rented an exclusive waterfront mansion, wined and dined at five-star restaurants and hired family members and friends, all on the taxpayers' dime. — Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's 2012 convention team based …

Discussion: Mother Jones and National Review

John Vidal / Guardian:

Saudi oil reserves ‘overstated by 40%’ — US diplomat convinced by Saudi expert that reserves of world's biggest oil exporter have been overstated by nearly 40% — • Peak oil alarm revealed by secret official talks — • Datablog: Are we running out of oil?

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Daily Dish, Raw Story, Israel Matzav, Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers, Philly.com, The Nation and AMERICAblog News

Washington Post:

Obama to propose relief for states burdened by debt from unemployment benefits — States that have borrowed billions of dollars from the federal government to cover the soaring cost of unemployment benefits would get immediate relief from the Obama administration under a plan to suspend interest payments for the next two years.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Hot Air

Chris Moody / The Daily Caller:
Cantor plans to give Obama a business lesson at White House lunch

Discussion: Mock, Paper, Scissors, Washington Post and Daily Kos

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Democrats: Justice Thomas should recuse himself in healthcare reform case — A group of 73 House Democrats demanded on Wednesday that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recuse himself from any case examining the constitutionality of healthcare reform.

Discussion: The Politico, The Note and The Fix

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke / Board of Governors …:

Testimony — The Economic Outlook and Monetary and Fiscal Policy — Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. — Chairman Ryan, Ranking Member Van Hollen, and other members of the Committee, I am pleased to have this opportunity to offer my views …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Ezra Klein

Binyamin Appelbaum / New York Times:

Plans Near for Freddie and Fannie — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration and House Republicans are settling into a game of chicken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with each side daring the other to advance a plan for replacing the two housing finance companies.

Discussion: DealBook, Ezra Klein, Market Urbanism and Calculated Risk

Nick Timiraos / Wall Street Journal:
White House Plans to Revamp Mortgage Market

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Daniel Strauss / Ballot Box:

Nelson ‘learning toward’ another Senate run — Sen. Ben Nelson has rehired his former campaign manager, sending a strong signal that he will run for reelection in 2012. — KETV NewsWatch 7 in Nebraska reports that Nelson has brought back Paul Johnson, the manager of his 2006 Senate campaign.

Discussion: SENATUS

Suzi Parker / Politics Daily:

Breaking the Sarah Palin Trademark Story: A Lesson in Journalism Ethics … Sometimes a light bulb goes off. — One night at 2 a.m. I was reading a story by Matt Lewis about Herman Cain, a possible 2012 presidential candidate from Georgia. Pursuing the Cain story further …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Poynter

Wall Street Journal:

Apple's New iPad in Production — Apple Inc. has started manufacturing a new version of its iPad tablet computer with a built-in camera and faster processor, said people familiar with the matter. — The new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the first model, these people said.