Politics
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CNN Announces Black Managing Editor
CNN announced today that Mark Whitaker will hold the newly created role of executive vice president and managing editor. What does it mean that a black man will be leading the direction of the network’s reporting? Unclear. When Whitaker was promoted to executive editor of Newsweek in 1998, he told the New York Times, “my…
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Hawaii to Charge $100 for a Copy of Obama's Birth Certificate?
AOL News is reporting that Hawaiian state legislators have found a solution to the requests from so-called Birthers asking to see President Barack Obama’s birth certificate. They’ve proposed a bill that would offer a copy to anyone who asks … in exchange for $100. “If it passes, it will calm the Birthers down,” Rep. Rida…
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Unrest in Egypt Tops Obama's Agenda
CNN reports that multiple briefings on the ongoing Egyptian protests and a memo on the unrest in the country from National Security Adviser Tom Donilon have become the focus of the commander in chief’s attention today. He and Vice President Joe Biden are each navigating questions about their views on the actions of President Hosni…
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George W. Bush Is Over Politics
In an interview set to air on Sunday, former President George W. Bush told C-SPAN that his political career is a wrap — not just as a candidate, but as a fundraiser and public critic, too. Could it be that Michele Bachmann’s recent camera confusion and historical blunders reminded him of how rough the press…
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Virtual Insanity: Egypt Shuts Down Internet as Protests Intensify
The Telegraph (U.K.) is reporting that Egypt’s government has cut off all Internet access in order to gain control of street protests that threaten to “topple” President Hosni Mubarak. Organizations that track global Internet access detected a collapse in traffic into and out of Egypt at around 10:30 GMT on Thursday night. The shutdown involved…
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Why Michele Bachmann Is the Real Sarah Palin
Playing her designated role as oracle of the nonconservative wing of the Republican Party, Meghan McCain joined the chorus of critics this week dismissing Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union. McCain’s take wasn’t as harsh as Esquire’s assessment that Bachmann is a “howling loon,” but it was right…
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Obama Names New Press Secretary
The Washington Post reports that President Obama has chosen Jay Carney as the replacement for Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who will leave the White House in February. Carney is currently communications director for Vice President Joe Biden. Other candidates considered were Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton and Deputy Communications Director Jennifer Psaki. Read the full…
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Striking a Balance on the National Debt
Just about everyone in Washington these days is busying themselves talking about America’s debt, plugging their ideas as the surefire solution to trim the deficit. In Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Obama offered belt-tightening proposals based on the recommendations of his bipartisan fiscal commission. Last week, House Republicans introduced a bill to sharply…
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Anonymous Author of Obama Novel Revealed
Time is reporting that Mark Salter, who has served as a senior campaign adviser and speechwriter for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), is the author of the anonymous political novel O. Based on this information alone, we were ready to make a prediction about how flattering the book’s portrayal of the president would be: not very.…
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Round 1: Harry Reid Squares Off With President Obama
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is stepping into the ring with President Obama. He has some harsh words for Obama after the 2011 State of the Union address, in which Obama called for the elimination of earmarks. In his address, the president stated he would veto any legislation that included earmarks. During an appearance on…