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Dear A.I.G., I Quit! — The following is a letter sent on Tuesday by Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group's financial products unit, to Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of A.I.G. — DEAR Mr. Liddy, — It is with deep regret that I submit …
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Analysis: Teleprompter telegraphs Obama caution — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - What kind of politician brings a teleprompter to a news conference? — A careful one. — President Barack Obama took no chances in his second prime-time news conference …
Discussion:
MyDD, Jules Crittenden, Stop The ACLU, MSNBC, The Caucus, The Other McCain and Fausta's Blog
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President Obama's News Conference — Following is a complete of President Obama's prime-time press conference on March 24, as transcribed by Federal News Service. — PRESIDENT OBAMA: Hello, everybody. Please have a seat. — Good evening. Now, before I take questions from the correspondents …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, 365 Gay News, Blogs and Stories, Gawker, Balloon Juice, The Corner, Israpundit, 24Ahead and Sister Toldjah


In a Volatile Time, Obama Strikes a New Tone for Crisis — WASHINGTON — For just under an hour on Tuesday night, Americans saw not the fiery and inspirational speaker who riveted the nation in his address to Congress last month, or the conversational president who warmly engaged Americans …
Discussion:
The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Connecting.the.Dots, The Swamp and The Democratic Daily

A Better Press Corps Please
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Opinionator, Salon, The Caucus, Mother Jones, RADAMISTO and Hot Air


Transcript: President Obama's Press Conference — [*] OBAMA: Hello, everybody. Please have a seat. — Good evening. Now, before I take questions from the correspondents, I want to give everyone who's watching tonight an update on the steps we're taking to move this economy from recession to recovery …
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Obama skips major papers — During President Obama's second East Room news conference, he took questions from 13 reporters over about an hour — that's the same as during his first presser on Feb. 9. — But in quite a departure from the first presser — and White House protocol — Obama skipped over the nation's top newspapers.
Discussion:
The Note, The Swamp, Chicago Tribune, Time, The Plum Line, Washington Post, The Fix, Lynn Sweet, Gateway Pundit and Taegan Goddard's …

Toomey smokes Specter in new poll — Former Congressman Pat Toomey (R) would crush Sen. Arlen Specter (R) in the 2010 GOP primary, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday. — Toomey, who is currently the president of the conservative Club for Growth, beat the senator 41 percent …
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The Hill
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Little-Known GOP Challenger Tops Specter In Primary, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Support For Obama Plan Helps Among Democrats — Apparently paying a political price for his support of President Barack Obama's Stimulus Plan, longtime Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter …

‘Global War On Terror’ Is Given New Name — The Obama administration appears to be backing away from the phrase “global war on terror,” a signature rhetorical legacy of its predecessor. — In a memo e-mailed this week to Pentagon staff members, the Defense Department's office of security review noted that …


Bush Deficit vs. Obama Deficit in Pictures — President Barack Obama has repeatedly claimed that his budget would cut the deficit by half by the end of his term. But as Heritage analyst Brian Riedl has pointed out, given that Obama has already helped quadruple the deficit with his stimulus package …

U.S. bill seeks to rescue faltering newspapers — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.

DEFICITS DON'T MATTER (RIGHT NOW).... Following up on Hilzoy's overnight comments on President Obama's prime-time press conference, what jumped out at me had less to do with the president's responses and more to do with the questions themselves. — For example, I had assumed …
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Stimulus idea: How about massive forgiveness of student loans? — Nothing on this yet from Congress or The One, but a Facebook group dedicated to the proposal has 138,000 members and counting. No typo. My sense of personal responsibility says no but my debt-crushed monthly budget cries proceed:
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications
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Building Bridges on Capitol Hill — Last week, the three of us announced the formation of a moderate Democratic working group in the U.S. Senate. — Even though the White House and Senate leadership praised the group's formation, some commentators reacted by reporting signs of a rift and a power struggle within the Democratic Party.
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Vandals Hit Home of Ex-Chief of Bank — LONDON — The house of Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of ailing Royal Bank of Scotland, was vandalized early Wednesday and windows of his car were smashed. — Mr. Goodwin attracted criticism for keeping his £703,000, or $1 million …
Discussion:
Clusterstock


Barack Obama's delivery of no news is quite smooth — Tuesday morning The Ticket examined the White House's current political strategy and asked the question who would show up at Barack Obama's second nationally-televised news conference that evening: the president or the senator? — The answer: Neither.


GOP faithful still loves Jindal — While President Barack Obama commanded a national prime time TV audience, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal played to the GOP faithful Tuesday night, warning a Republican fund raising dinner that Obama was undertaking “the greatest expansion of government in our lifetimes.”
Discussion:
First Draft


Top Hedge Fund Managers Do Well in a Down Year — The financial crisis may have turned much of Wall Street's wealth into dross, but a select group of hedge fund managers has managed to maintain a golden touch that might make King Midas blush. — As major markets and economies careened downward last year …


Obama must choose this week between two radically different Afghanistan policies. — With just a week until President Barack Obama flies to Strasbourg, France, for his first NATO conference, his top advisers are still divided over what U.S. policy should be on the summit's No. 1 issue: how to fight the war in Afghanistan.

Politicians Fret as Muslim Population Swells in Europe Amid Little Integration — BRUSSELS, Belgium — A clash of civilizations may be taking place on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, but it's also happening a lot more quietly in European cities. — Old Europe's population …

IT'S LIKE THIS BLOG FELL ASLEEP AND IS HAVING A NIGHTMARE. — Last weekend, my best friend, an aid worker in Sierra Leone, was in a motorcycle crash. Injuries were serious but not life threatening. The worst of it were three breaks in his leg: Two clean, one less so.
Discussion:
MoJo Blog Posts

Senate Dems hold on to Madoff money — Scam financier gave $100,000 — The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which received $100,000 in campaign contributions from disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, has yet to rid itself of the tainted funds that other Washington politicos …


As Clinton Visits Mexico, Strains Show in Relations — MEXICO CITY — Mexico's economy is being dragged down by the recession to the north. American addicts have turned Mexico into a drug superhighway, and its police and soldiers are under assault from American guns.
Discussion:
New York Times

Open for Questions: President Obama to Answer Your Questions on Thursday — Today, the President invited everyone to use a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov called “Open for Questions” to ask a question about the economy and rate other questions up or down. Then, on Thursday morning …