First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.
NBC First Read
NBC First Read
It was bound to happen… After all the attention and media coverage her book and book tour have generated, Sarah Palin is enjoying a bit of a political renaissance. As Frank Rich wrote yesterday, “Palin is far and away the most important brand in American politics after Barack Obama, and attention must be paid. Those wh…o wishfully think her 15 minutes are up are deluding themselves." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/opinio
Источник: www.nytimes.com
Sarah Palin is far and away the most important brand in American politics after Barack Obama. Her 15 minutes is far from up.
NBC First Read
As for Saturday’s initial health-care vote in the Senate, Democrats got their 60 votes to start debate. But that was the easy part. Now they’ve got to keep that coalition together, despite significant differences between liberal and centrist Democrats over the public option.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con
Источник: www.washingtonpost.com
Democrats had little time to savor their weekend Senate health-care victory, as two of the lawmakers who voted to move the debate forward Saturday night indicated Sunday that they will not vote to pass the package if it includes a government-run insurance program.
NBC First Read In a way, last week epitomized President Obama’s 10 months in office, and also mimicked the pattern of his campaign: short term pain and long term gain. 2008 was all about the end game (270-plus electoral votes) despite some P.R. hits. Now, despite stimulus sanfus and criticism of the Asia trip, the Senate moved closer to passing health reform and there is growing consensus that the stimulus is working.
NBC First Read Also in the interview, Obama said he expected to sign a health-care bill into law before the State of the Union next year. But when asked if that signing would happen this year, he answered, “You will not hear that from me.”
NBC First Read In an interview with one of us from Beijing, President Obama said he was still weeks away from making a decision on Afghanistan. “I will announce my decision over the next several weeks… I'm confident that at the end of this process we will be able to present to the American people in very clear terms what exactly is at stake what we intend to do..."
NBC First Read A productive day in China: A day-long summit in China led to deals on climate issues, the economy, America's $800 billion debt to the Chinese for financing the stimulus and North Korea. But splits still remain on human rights and potentially Iran.
NBC First Read
Evan Thomas’ piece on Palin in the latest issue of Newsweek raises this provocative question: Would Ronald Reagan be a
target for conservatives today? After all, he raised taxes; his
policies increased the size of the deficit; he reached out, through
diplomatic channels, to Russia to end the Cold War; he had a pragmatist
l…ike James Baker serve as his chief of staff; and he picked the
moderate George H.W. Bush as his running mate. http://www.newsweek.com/id/222786Подробнее
target for conservatives today? After all, he raised taxes; his
policies increased the size of the deficit; he reached out, through
diplomatic channels, to Russia to end the Cold War; he had a pragmatist
l…ike James Baker serve as his chief of staff; and he picked the
moderate George H.W. Bush as his running mate. http://www.newsweek.com/id/222786Подробнее
Источник: www.newsweek.com
Newsweek magazine online plus daily news, features and commentary from our global network of correspondents
NBC First Read It’s quite possible that more Americans -- in the middle of the night -- saw President Obama's town hall than Chinese did in the middle of their day. The reason: State Chinese TV aired only edited clips of the town hall. That, however, didn’t stop Obama from (subtly) denouncing censorship. “I have a lot of critics in the United States who can say all kinds of things about me,” he said.
NBC First Read Lights out in China (and D.C.): Just as one of us was reporting on TODAY about censorship in China, the lights went out in our Washington bureau. It’s just a coincidence our power went out at that very time, we think…
NBC First Read
John Edwards' Haircutgate it's not, but it's pretty close. Politico reports that the Republican National Committee’s insurance plan covers elective abortions. Late last night, the RNC sent out a statement saying that Chairman Michael Steele had instructed the party’s director of administration to opt out of any coverag…e for elective abortions. “I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration," Steele said. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/110
Источник: www.politico.com
Michael Steele: "I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration."
NBC First Read
As NBC first reported last night, the long-rumored departure of White House Counsel Greg Craig has become official today with a statement from President Obama. Craig will be replaced by veteran Democratic Party campaign attorney Bob Bauer. This is the highest-level departure in the Obama White House this year. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2
Источник: firstread.msnbc.msn.com
From NBC's Chuck ToddNBC News has learned the long-rumored departure of White House Counsel Greg Craig will likely be made official tomorrow. Craig will be replaced by veteran Democratic Party campaign attorney Bob Bauer. This is the highest-level departure
NBC First Read First Thoughts: Just when the GOP is enjoying its first good news in five years, here comes Sarah Palin. The next week is going to be about her and how she views the world. And it's not the image some in the Republican Party would like to broadcast, especially now when it appears they have an opportunity to slowly win back the trust of swing voters. http://www.drudgereport.com/flashsp.htm
NBC First Read
Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Rep. Mike Capuano in the MA Dem. Senate primary. Pelosi praised Capuano's health care vote as "courageous." Remember, Coakley said she would have voted against it, because of the Stupak Amendment. Capuano at first sharply criticized Coakley for that. But the next day, he backtracked. But d…on't expect the endorsement to change the trajectory of this race. Coakley is the clear frontrunner.Подробнее
NBC First Read
Sarah Barracuda is back. She's set set to embark on a whirlwind campaign-style "Going Rogue" book tour that will take her to nearly a dozen battleground states. Oprah Winfrey said, of the interview the two taped yesterday, "there's nothing we didn't talk about" in a video linked to her Twitter account. Oprah said they …talked about Palin's daughter Bristol's pregnancy, Levi Johnston and the state of Palin's marriage.Подробнее
