The Stimulus Debate & More

AP: In a first-day whirlwind, President Barack Obama showcased efforts to revive the economy on Wednesday, summoned top military officials to chart a new course in Iraq and eased into the daunting thicket of Middle East diplomacy.  More...

Politico: House Republicans presented President Obama and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill with an alternative proposal aimed at stimulating the disabled economy during a Friday morning meeting at the White House.  More...

Politico: President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly.  More...

NYT: The emergence of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee as the deputy leader of Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch has underscored the potential complications in carrying out the executive order that President Barack Obama signed that the detention center be shut down within a year.  More...

NYP: Barack's Bank Bet- Obama's economic team eyeing its options.  More...

NYT: Nationalization of U.S. banks gets new, serious look.  More...

FoxNews: Obama lifts ban on funding for groups providing abortions overseas.  More...

Drudge: Pelosi says birth control will help economy.  More...

WP: Departing U.S. envoy in Iraq warns against abrupt troop withdrawal.  More...

FT: Obama urges Israel to open Gaza borders.  More...

Reuters: Challenges loom as Obama seeks space weapons ban.  More...

NYT: Obama's partisan, profane confidant reins it in.  More...

Politico: Obama flashes iritation in press room.  More...

AP: Senate confirms Clinton as Secretary of State.  More...

NYP: Governor Paterson picks Gillibrand as liberal Dems howl.  More...

OPINION:

Noonan: Meet President Obama- He begins with a serious, solid Inaugural Address.  More...

Krauthammer: Obama's Inaugural Surprise.  More...

NYT: Oaf of Office.  More...

Morris: The Obama Presidency- Here comes Socialism.  More...

Brooks: The First Test.  More...

WSJ: Obama and Guantanamo- fighting terrorism is simpler when you're a candidate.  More...

Brooks: The Politics of Cohesion.  More...

Kristol: The Next War President.  More...

Rove: Bush Was Right When It Mattered Most.  More...

Pearce: Thanks for putting the blog over the 1,000 page views mark!  It's been fun, and I'm glad you find it useful.  Feel free to comment on the posts anytime.

History Made in America

AP: Before a jubilant crowd of more than a million, Barack Hussein Obama claimed his place in history as America's first black president, summoning a dispirited nation to unite in hope against the "gathering clouds and raging storms" of war and economic woe.  More...

NYT: Mr. Obama, the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, inherited a White House built partly by slaves and a nation in crisis at home and abroad.  More...

Pearce: Read the text of President Obama's Inaugural Address here and see the video posted below.

AP: Roberts, Obama stumble reciting 35-word oath.  Video  More...

Bloomberg: Washington Mobilizes 42,500-Strong Security Force for Inaugural.  More...

WSJ: Obama Attends Star-Studded Ceremony.  More...

AP: Bush Bids Farewell With Secret Note to Obama.  More...

AP: In farewell speech, Bush says he kept nation safe.  More...

AP: Bush tells cheering Texans 'it is good to be home.  More...

NYT: Obama Reaches Out for McCain’s Counsel.  More...

NYT: How long will the Obama honeymoon last?  More...

NYT: A US Airways jetliner with 155 people aboard lost power in both engines, possibly from striking birds, after taking off from La Guardia Airport on Thursday afternoon. The pilot ditched in the icy Hudson River and all on board were rescued by a flotilla of converging ferries and emergency boats.  More...

OPINION:

Telegraph: History will show that George W Bush was right.  More...

Krauthammer: Exit Bush, Shoes Flying.  More...

Brooks: An Economy of Faith and Trust.  More...

State of Inaugural Emergency in DC

NYT: It is true, President Bush sounded alarms about Barack Obama during the campaign season. On Tuesday, Mr. Bush went one step further: He declared Mr. Obama’s inauguration an actual emergency.  More...

NYT: Federal authorities have begun to seal off a security zone extending miles from the Capitol, where President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in on Tuesday, drawing on disparate lessons gleaned from terrorist attacks in London and Mumbai, the Sept. 11 attack at the Pentagon and even annual Fourth of July celebrations on the Mall.  More...

Politico: One thing Barack Obama’s Inauguration hasn’t changed: the free market.  The distribution of 240,000 free tickets to the nation’s most eagerly anticipated party has spawned a thriving gray market in tickets.  More...

AP: A staggering 2.6 million jobs disappeared in 2008, the most since World War II, and the pain is only getting worse with 11 million Americans out of work and searching. Unemployment hit a 16-year high of 7.2 percent in December and could be headed for 10 percent or even higher by year's end.  More...

Politico: Senate GOP Bailout Support Plummets.  More...

AP: Tax problems derail fast Senate OK for Geithner.  More...

ABC News: Bin Laden Challenges Obama in New Audio Message.  More...

CNN: Bush says President's priority is preventing attack.  More...

Reuters: Pentagon says 61 ex-Guantanamo inmates return to terrorism.  More...

FoxNews: Obama to End Military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy.  More...

Politico: Bush says his low point was 'Being called a racist'  More...

Politico: Poll finds low trust in feds.  More...

Power Lunch & More

AP: President-elect Barack Obama hailed a rare Oval Office gathering of all U.S. presidents as an extraordinary event on Wednesday as the current occupant, President George W. Bush, reminded his predecessors and successor that the office "transcends the individual."  More...

AP: Lebanese militants fired at least three rockets into Israel early Thursday, threatening to open a new front for the Jewish state as it pushed forward with a bloody offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 700 people.  More...

Politico: Harry Reid is poised to let Roland Burris take a seat in the Senate — an embarrassing about-face for a Democratic leader at the pinnacle of his power.  More...

Politico: Republican Sen. Norm Coleman announced Tuesday that he is filing a lawsuit contesting the results of the Minnesota Senate recount that declared Democrat Al Franken the winner.  More...

McClatchy: The forecast Wednesday of a jaw-dropping $1.2 trillion one-year federal budget deficit will make it harder for President-elect Barack Obama to win broad support for a massive stimulus package that would add even more to the red ink.  More...

AP: The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.  More...

Pearce: The Wall Street Journal has produced a very informative 3-part documentary called The End of Wall Street.  Take 25 minutes to learn what happened, why it happened and what happens next.

AP: Democrats misstepped in handling Burris matter.  More...

NYT: Obama warns about years of trillion-dollar deficits.  More...

Fix: Jeb Bush will not run for Florida Senate seat.  More...

AP: Al-Qaida No. 2 blames Obama for Gaza fight.  More...

Hill: Reid says 'I don't work for Obama.'  More...

Reuters: Salmonella outbreak sickens 388 across U.S.  More...

Telegraph: Terrorists could use 'insect-based' biological weapon.  More...

USA Today: Coming soon to cellphones: Free, over-the-air TV.  More...

WSJ: Bush on His Record: The president defends his democracy agenda and his economic interventionism.  More...

OPINION:

WSJ: Funny Business in Minnesota.  More...

Friedman: The Mideast's Ground Zero.  More...

Friedman: Time to Reboot America.  More...

Rove: President Bush Tried to Rein in Fan and Fred.  More...

2009 Here We Go

NOTE: The picture is of the Samsung big-screen over Times Square in New York City.  We put a Happy New Year message up there just for you.  Here's to 2009!

WSJ: Israeli tanks and troops pushed deep into the Gaza Strip Sunday, committing to a large-scale ground invasion that risks significant casualties on both sides, but also departs sharply from the playbook used in Israel's largely unsuccessful war against Hezbollah in Lebanon two years ago.  More...

Guardian: Obama is losing a battle he doesn't know he's in.  The president-elect's silence on the Gaza crisis is undermining his reputation in the Middle East.  More...

Politico: Aiming to foster bipartisan support for his record-setting economic stimulus, President-elect Obama plans to propose huge tax cuts for businesses and middle-class workers that will total about 40 percent of the package, or up to $310 billion, congressional officials said.  More...

Politico: President-elect Barack Obama’s record-setting stimulus plan — the biggest special spending bill in history — is getting such astonishingly quick treatment from House Democrats that officials say it could go from draft to final passage in one week.  More...

AP: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract.  More...

Reuters: Reid cites "legal authority" to bar Illinois pick.  More...

Politico: Senate Dems in tough spot on Burris.  More...

AP: Franken leads as Minnesota recount nears finish line.  More...

Politico: A guide to the RNC chairman race.  More...

Hill: Ideology steers RNC chairman race.  More...

Politico: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine to head DNC.  More...

Wash. Post: Security Agencies Alter Strategies, Add Backup for Inauguration Week.  More...

AP: Good luck getting around D.C. on Inauguration Day.  More...

OPINION:

Cook: Change you can count on.  More...

Rove: Let's Be Worthy of Their Sacrifice.  More...