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Palin: Media goes easy on Kennedy — Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) believes Caroline Kennedy is getting softer press treatment in her pursuit of the New York Senate seat than Palin did as the GOP vice presidential nominee because of Kennedy's social class. — “I've been interested …
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Palin on Olbermann: ‘THAT guy is EVIL!’ — Right-winger John Ziegler — who is waging a one-man crusade to prove that President-elect Obama won the election solely because of “media bias” — recently interviewed Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK). In a gushing description published on a new website devoted …


Palin takes digs at Fey, Couric — (CNN) — Sarah Palin is credited with making Tina Fey a world-wide star and boosting Katie Couric's ratings at CBS. — But in a recent interview with conservative John Ziegler, Palin said both “exploited” her twelve-week candidacy — a fact, she said, that “says a great deal about our society.”

Video Exclusive: A Revealing Morning With Sarah Palin — If someone told me five months ago that in early January I would pay over $1,400 for an incredibly inconvenient plane ticket and $120 for a 3 a.m. cab fare to get from sunny Los Angeles to Wasilla, Alaska, I would have told …
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About.com Conservative …, NewsBusters.org, USA Today, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Other McCain and Hot Air


An Unnecessary War — I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided. — After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn …
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The Jews Face a Double Standard — Why doesn't Israel have the same right to self-defense as other nations? — The world-wide protests against Israel's ground incursion into Gaza are so full of hatred that they leave me with the terrible feeling that these protests have little …


Why Democrats recoil from Gaza — Good for Shrum for championing Israel's right to defend itself against the Hamas rocket barrage. He is correct, too, that lasting peace will come only when the Palestinians abandon their hope that Israel can somehow be defeated or destroyed.

Obama serves Reid taste of Chicago Way — So the Chicago Way hauled off and slapped the U.S. Senate in the face—one of those backhands with the knuckles to unsuspecting lips—and guess who blinked? — It wasn't Chicago. — It was the Senate. — Get used to it, America.
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Conyers: Obama Should Not Nominate Sanjay Gupta — Rep. John Conyers has written a letter to Democratic colleagues urging them to join him in publicly opposing the nomination of Dr. Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General. — Conyers, the veteran Judiciary Committee chairman, writes that Gupta …
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Obama, Spider-Man on the same comic-book page — In a growing world of Barack Obama collectibles, one item soon may be swinging above the rest. — On Jan. 14, Marvel Comics is releasing a special issue of Amazing Spider-Man #583 with Obama depicted on the cover.
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Obama and Spider-Man appear in comic together
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Washington Wire

MO-Senate: Bond to Retire — Missouri Sen. Kit Bond (R) will retire in 2010, a decision that hands Democrats a prime pickup opportunity in a state where the party has made strides in recent years. — “In 1972, I became Missouri's youngest Governor,” Bond said this morning in an address to the Missouri General Assembly.
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Obama Digs In for His BlackBerry — WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has yet to relent, but he conceded that he might be losing the battle to keep his independent lifeline to the outside world. — “I'm still clinging to my BlackBerry,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday. “They're going to pry it out of my hands.”
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Dramatic action (Update: Photos)
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Howard and Rahm — Obama, introducing Tim Kaine at the DNC, showered praise on Howard Dean — who, unaccountably, isn't present, a scheduling conflict being taken by some close to Dean as a snub. — In a discordant note, Obama praised Dean for retaking the House, “working with my chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.”
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The New Republic
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CASS SUNSTEIN PREPARES TO NUDGE. — There's some confusion over a celebrity thinker like Cass Sunstein being appointed to head an office as obscure and bureaucratic as the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. But OIRA is important! It's just also boring.
Discussion:
Democracy in America
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Barack Obama asks longtime University of Chicago professor Cass Sunstein to join his administration — Law scholar will handle regulation issues, transition official says — WASHINGTON — Cass Sunstein, a longtime University of Chicago legal scholar and prominent author …
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Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Democracy in America, Liberal Values and Greg's Opinion


Paterson notes Kennedy's ‘lack of elected experience’ — ALBANY - Caroline Kennedy's lack of elected office experience “does not help her” in her quest to represent New York in the U.S. Senate, Gov. David Paterson told The Buffalo News this morning. — “The notion that I have to take Caroline …
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Washington Wire
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The Two Richard John Neuhauses — The following reflection on the passing of Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009) is cross-posted at the National Catholic Reporter. Additional thoughts on Neuhaus' life and legacy will appear in this space over the coming days.
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What Are the Chances of a Depression? — The answer to the question in the headline, of course, depends on just who you ask. — According to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted last month, 35 percent of Americans think that a “depression” — which the poll defines as “an economic downturn …
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Oakland Turns Violent Over Shooting — Protesters angry over a deadly New Year's Day shooting of a young black man by a transit police officer erupted into violence in downtown Oakland on Wednesday night while investigators struggled to determine what prompted the officer to fire his gun into the unarmed man's back.
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Cheney awkwardly stands before Congress as Pelosi interrupts his speech to applaud Obama's victory.» — Today, Vice President Cheney stood before Congress and read the official results of the 2008 presidential election. After reading the electoral totals, he declared that they …

Gaza Children Found With Mothers' Corpses — PARIS — The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday it had discovered “shocking” scenes — including small children next to their mothers' corpses — when its representatives gained access for the first time to parts of Gaza battered by Israeli shelling.
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‘Concentration camp’ remark threatens Pope's visit to Israel — A question mark hangs over Pope Benedict XVI's planned trip to Israel in May after Israeli officials expressed outrage over a Vatican statement comparing Gaza to a “big concentration camp”. — The Pope today condemned the use …


Key Senate Democrats blast Obama tax proposals — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Even as President-elect Barack Obama was giving a major address on his economic stimulus plan, it was running into trouble with key members of his own party on Capitol Hill. — Several Senate Democrats emerged …

Obama Recommends Delay in Digital TV Switch — Six weeks before the nation's television stations are scheduled to convert to digital transmission, an aide to President-elect Barack Obama is asking Congress to consider a delay. — In the most significant sign to date of concern …

Panel urges impeachment of Blagojevich — The special Illinois House panel investigating Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued a draft report today recommending impeachment, putting lawmakers on a path toward removing the two-term Democrat from office. — “The citizens of this state must have confidence …
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