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Drudge Report
Drudge banners: "IOU" and links to this LA Times story on the budget crisis in California. And the U.S. says North Korea does not appear to be readying a missile launch in this Bloomberg story is also highlighed on Drudge. ... READ MORE

Huffington Post
The Huffington Post banners: "Obama's first major military operation underway in Afghanistan" and links to this AP story. Unemployment to hit a 9.6 percent, a 26 year high, according to this AP report, highlighted on the HuffPo. And Jesse Berney ... READ MORE

HotAir
The Obama administration doesn't see the contradiction between calling for free elections in Honduras and staying out of the election in Iran, writes Allahpundit. And veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas went "nuclear" on the White House for controlling the ... READ MORE

DailyKos
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) wants to president but "she couldn't even get her own campaign's scheduling staff to give her enough time to run," writes Jed Lewison. And South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's (R) recent confessions have set off ... READ MORE

Townhall
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's (R) Republican enemies hope he stays in office, writes Matt Lewis. And, drawing on examples from other countries, Carol Platt Liebau writes what ObamaCare "really means." READ MORE

OpenLeft
Advancing the debate over torture is always going to be difficult, writes Daniel de Groot. And Mike Lux takes a look at the fight over a new Pecora commission. READ MORE

RedState
The press is "finally" calling out the Obama administration for controlling the press, writes Paint it Red. And Moe Lane takes a detailed look at the 2010 election and the ages of several Democratic committee chair people. READ MORE

MyDD
Mitt Romney appears to be urging Republicans to stand up to President Obama, writes Charles Lemos. And Lemos also writes that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) must think the Associated Press is a "licensed therapist." READ MORE

Powerline
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) appeared to open the door to the Obama administration making more demands Israel in the peace process while in the country, writes Paul. And new polling shows that support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is ... READ MORE

Matthew Yglesias
The entire committee system in Congress "leaves a lot to be desired," writes Matthew Yglesias. And Yglesias also points out a general thought among the punditry right now: Congress is asserting its dominance in setting and controlling the agenda, not ... READ MORE

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Morning Read | Midday Blog Roundup | Day's End Roundup

June 19, 2008

MIDDAY ROUNDUP

@ 12:48 pm by Walter Alarkon

Barack Obama’s decision to opt out of the general election public finance system has liberal bloggers pleased and conservative ones charging the Democrat with breaking his word. Democratic House leaders who have reached a compromise with the White House over spying and telecom immunity get excoriated by liberal bloggers.

Obama’s decision to rely on his donors to finance his campaign should set a precedent for future Democratic candidates, writes MyDD’s Jerome Armstrong, who believes that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) would have won the White House if he had opted out of the public financing system in 2004. Obama can help convince the public that he made the right decision by stressing that small-dollar donations can reduce the influence of special interests, according to Ed Kilgore, The Democratic Strategist.

But Obama is not only contradicting his pledge to use the system, he’s being “dishonest” in blaming his decision on lobbyist donations given to John McCain and the Republicans, writes Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey. For someone who rails against old politics, Obama sounds like the “same-o, same-o” by breaking his promise, writes RedState’s c17wife.

House Democrats have reached a deal with Republicans to give intelligence agencies broader spying authority and telecom companies “conditional immunity” from lawsuits for participating in the White House’s domestic wiretapping program, reports the Wall Street Journal. The conditions companies must satisfy to earn immunity are too easily reached, writes TalkingPointsMemo’s David Kurtz. The deal endorses the “Nixonian view” of the current administration that if the president says something is legal – as he has done with his wiretapping program – then it actually is legal, writes Laura Rozen at War and Piece.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama Opts Out - Ed Kilgore, The Democratic Strategist
Obama Will Not Opt Into Public Financing System - J. Singer, MyDD
Obama Passes on Public Financing - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Obama Breaks His Word Again - c17wife, RedState
Obama Opts Out: What Happens Now? - Marc Ambinder
Barack Obama and NAFTA - Andrew Roth, Club for Growth
I Take It All Back - James Kirchick, The Plank
That’s Some Compromise - David Kurtz, TalkingPointsMemo
FISA Deal: An Awful Precedent - Laura Rozen, War and Piece
War Money on its Way to the Floor Today - Kagro X, Daily Kos
Please Get Rid Of Don Young - Soren Dayton, The Next Right
Everything’s Coming Up Baucus - Matthew Yglesias
Why Are Americans Are Convinced of Bad Econ.? - Novak, Corner
GOP Women Aren't Solid for McCain – DemFromCT, Daily Kos
Rice Says Her ‘Time Is Up’ – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
Michelle Obama Plays Nice – Jonathan Cohn, The Plank

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
House to Vote on FISA Reform FridayThe Hill
Lawmakers Reach Deal to Expand Surveillance - Wall Street Journal
Obama Won’t Accept Public FinancingThe Hill

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