Morning Must Reads: Alternative

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–Tony Karon thinks talk of arming Libyan rebels means the West is convinced that Gaddafi’s not going anywhere.

–Mark Benjamin reports burial problems at Arlington aren’t getting fixed.

–Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky writes the political and policy eulogy for TARP:

In the final analysis, it has been Treasury’s broken promises that have turned TARP — which was instrumental in saving the financial system at a relatively modest cost to taxpayers — into a program commonly viewed as little more than a giveaway to Wall Street executives.

–David Leonhardt argues the Fed has been too timid. Obama’s best bet for trying to affect employment is still acting aggressively on governor confirmations at the central bank.

–It’s in Speaker Boehner’s negotiating interests to appear as if he fears his conservative freshman, but the existence of a viable and available alternative in Eric Cantor really might make Boehner a wildcard.

–Perhaps setting the tone for ambitious Republicans in Congress, Marco Rubio comes out against a debt ceiling hike in the Journal.

–House Republicans have rolled out eight bills designed to reduce the government’s role in sinkhole mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Nothing’s going to happen fast as neither party is monolithic on how to deal with them and the Senate wants to take this one really slow.

–Jerry Brown gives up wooing Republicans on the budget, likely pulling the plug on a June tax increase referendum in California.

–Obama returns to energy policy.

–Marc Ambinder lays out the President’s plans to announce the reelect.

–An illustration of how late the presidential primary is starting this cycle: NBC News and Politico have to move back their Reagan Library debate.

–LifeNews.com’s Steven Ertelt thinks Tim Pawlenty is the go-to candidate on abortion.

–His 22-year-old defunct Clintonite web video guru revealed.

–And Alan Greenspan’s argument against Dodd Frank: As much as I can discern, he’s saying banks are global (true!), they can’t afford to issue debit cards (false!), and regulation threatens the financial sector’s glorious role in a larger and larger segment of the economy (no comment).

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