memeorandum: Senate Confirms Kansas Governor as Health Secretary (Robert Pear/New York Times)

9:20 AM ET, April 29, 2009

Top Items:

William Kristol / PostPartisan:

Good News for Republicans! — On May 24, 2001, I wrote an op-ed for The Post in the wake of Vermont Sen. James Jeffords's party switch. I argued that the switch, which cost Republicans control of the Senate, could well turn out to be good for President Bush.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, McClatchy Washington Bureau, pandagon.net, Political Punch, Washington Post, Time, The Next Right, Jules Crittenden and The Politico

Olympia Snowe / New York Times:

We Didn't Have to Lose Arlen Specter — IT is disheartening and disconcerting, at the very least, that here we are today — almost exactly eight years after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party — witnessing the departure of my good friend and fellow moderate Republican …

Discussion: The Note, Think Progress, Glenn Thrush's Blog, Philly.com, New York Times, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Wall Street Journal and NY Daily News

Newt Gingrich / Washington Post:

Arlen Specter's Switch — The Post asked politicians, former officials and others about the Pennsylvania senator's defection from the Republican Party. — Former Republican speaker of the House — Arlen Specter's decision to leave the Republican Party in name as he left it in spirit …

Discussion: The Hill, The Washington Independent, The Moderate Voice, D-Day, Sadly, No!, The Huffington Post, Crooks and Liars, skippy the bush kangaroo and The Politico

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Defection reshapes Senate — Sen. Arlen Specter stunned Capitol Hill on Tuesday by switching parties and bringing Senate Democrats within one seat of a filibuster-proof majority. — Specter's move shocked and angered Republicans, while Democrats rejoiced and contemplated a Congress …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Politico

Ramesh Ponnuru / The Corner:
Specter on Jeffords — When Jim Jeffords became an “Independent” …

Discussion: The New Republic, The New Ledger, JammieWearingFool and Blue Crab Boulevard

CNN:
Limbaugh to Specter: Please take McCain with you

Discussion: The Politico, The Strata-Sphere, Salon and Hot Air

Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:
Specter condemned Jim Jeffords' party switch in 2001

Discussion: Nashville Post, Think Progress, the talking dog, MSNBC, The Politico and PERRspectives

Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:
Specter Speaks, Defends Decision to Leave Republican Party

Discussion: Booman Tribune, The Politico, The Plum Line, Flopping Aces, Ben Smith's Blog, The Nation, The Democratic Daily and Firedoglake

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Specter and the Flat Tax

Discussion: CQ Politics, Open Left and Marginal Revolution

Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Steele: Specter ‘flipped the bird’ at GOP

Discussion: The Politico, GayPatriot, Pro Patria, Raw Story and TPMDC

The Huffington Post:
Limbaugh To Specter: Take McCain And His Daughter With You

Discussion: Media Matters, Hot Air, AmSpecBlog, Vanity Fair, The Caucus, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
What Specter's switch says about him, the Democrats and our political spectrum

Discussion: Room for Debate, Moonbattery, alicublog, The Next Right, Young Philly Politics, Puma P.A.C., DISSENTING JUSTICE, The Huffington Post, Open Left, Macleans.ca, Club for Growth, MyDD and The Hill

Glenn Thrush / Glenn Thrush's Blog:
Specter tried to block party switching

Discussion: Think Progress

Tabassum Zakaria / Reuters:

U.S. officials want ‘swine’ out of flu name — Source: Reuters — What's in a name? U.S. pork producers are finding that the name of the virus spreading from Mexico is affecting their business, prompting U.S. officials to argue for changing the name from swine flu.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, protein wisdom, Fausta's Blog, Fox News, MoJo Blog Posts, Israel Matzav, 24Ahead and Don Surber

Doug Gross / CNN:

Regular flu has killed thousands since January — (CNN) — There had been no confirmed deaths in the United States related to swine flu as of Tuesday afternoon. But another virus had killed thousands of people since January and is expected to keep killing hundreds of people every week for the rest of the year.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Blue Crab Boulevard and Telegraph

David P. Fidler / asil.org:

ASIL Insights — The Swine Flu Outbreak and International Law — A new swine influenza virus is causing outbreaks in humans in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, and the virus has possibly spread to other countries. This outbreak has alarmed public health officials …

Discussion: SF Appeal

Andie Coller / The Politico:
Dems put swine flu to good use

Discussion: The Swamp and Macsmind

Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
With Eye on Industry, Ag Secretary Stops Calling Outbreak ‘Swine Flu’

Discussion: MyDD and Perez Hilton

Declan McCullagh / CBS News:
DHS Sets Guidelines For Possible Swine Flu Quarantines

Discussion: Reuters, Raw Story and Associated Press

Anthony Faiola / Washington Post:
Flu Outbreak Threatens Global Economic Recovery

Discussion: Times of London, AMERICAblog News, Wall Street Journal and NO QUARTER

WCBS-TV:

FAA Memo: Feds Knew NYC Flyover Would Cause Panic — Threatened Federal Sanctions Against NYPD, Secret Service, FBI & Mayor's Office If Secret Ever Got Out — Furious Obama Apologizes: “It Will Never Happen Again” — CBS News Interactive: Sept. 11 And Since

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Fausta's Blog, JONATHAN TURLEY, BitsBlog, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Gawker, Blue Crab Boulevard and The Strata-Sphere

Bloomberg:

Obama Orders Review of New York Flight as Cost Put at $328,835 — President Barack Obama ordered a review of a publicity-photo shoot with one of the planes that serves as Air Force One that cost taxpayers $328,835 and caused a furor in New York City. — Obama said he wasn't informed …

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Clusterstock, Power Line, JammieWearingFool, Gateway Pundit and The New Ledger

Michelle Malkin:

100 Days of the Poser Presidency — My syndicated column commemorates Barack Obama's 100 days with the Scare Force One story as a take-off point. Imagine if this fiasco had happened under George Bush's watch. It would have made the Left's incessant carping over the “fake plastic turkey …

JammieWearingFool:
Wonderful: Feds Knew NYC Flyover Would Cause Panic, Proceeded Anyway

Discussion: GretaWire, Hot Air, Betsy's Page and TigerHawk

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Senate Confirms Kansas Governor as Health Secretary — WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of health and human services on Tuesday, allowing President Obama to fill the last vacancy in his cabinet with a seasoned politician who will take charge of the fight against swine flu.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and Washington Monthly

Martin Kady II / The Politico:
Sebelius wins Senate confirmation

Discussion: The Swamp

CNN: HHS secretary confirmed in midst of outbreak

Robert Pear / The Caucus:
Senate Confirms Sebelius as Health Secretary

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics, Colorado Independent, DownWithTyranny! and The Washington Independent

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Sebelius Confirmed To Health & Human Services, With Specter's Support

Discussion: Group News Blog, Obsidian Wings, RHRealityCheck.org, MyDD and Majikthise

Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:

Official Defends Signing Interrogation Memos — WASHINGTON — Judge Jay S. Bybee broke his silence on Tuesday and defended the conclusions of legal memorandums he had signed as a Bush administration lawyer that allowed use of several coercive interrogation practices on suspected terrorists.

Discussion: Time, Buck Naked Politics, Think Progress, The Volokh Conspiracy, TalkLeft, Democracy in America and Balloon Juice

Charles Lane / Washington Post:

Electric Cars — Not Ready to Roll — General Motors has announced a plan to stave off bankruptcy that includes cutting 21,000 jobs, reducing its dealer network and eliminating its Pontiac division. “I'm a believer in dealing with reality,” GM chief executive Fritz Henderson said.

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

A Torturous Compromise — Weighing everything, President Obama got it about as right as one could when he decided to ban the use of torture, to release the Bush torture memos for public scrutiny and to not prosecute the lawyers and interrogators who implemented the policy.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Commentary

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

Poll: Obama gets high marks for first 100 days — NBC/WSJ poll shows Obama's numbers are higher than Bush, Clinton — WASHINGTON - As he enters his 100th day in office, President Barack Obama enjoys higher marks from the American public than his most recent predecessors did at similar points …

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics and Macsmind