Win McNamee / Getty
–Robert Byrd, the longest serving congressman in U.S. history, died at 92 early Monday:
For more than a third of its 144-year existence, the state of West Virginia was represented in the U.S. Senate by one man: Robert C. Byrd. So encompassing was Byrd’s 50 years of service in the Senate and so encyclopedic
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As Adam notes, early this morning negotiators wrapped up work on the most sweeping overhaul of the rules that govern Wall Street in a generation. While the conference didn’t make for must see TV, conference chairman Barney Frank did provide a certain amount of comedy relief with his biting set-downs of the opposition. A look at Frank’s …
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
–Final language for financial reform is more or less done. The marathon 20-hour session that only wrapped up a few hours ago saw House and Senate negotiators run out of paper and conferees fall asleep at the table, but ultimately produced a product that (likely) has the support to make it to the president’s …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Petraeus’s words prove prescient.
–House and Senate conferees are trying to wrap up their negotiations on financial reform today. You can watch on C-SPAN 3.
–They’ve saved the best (read: most difficult) for last.
–Blanche Lincoln is still defending her derivatives language, …
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
–Obama and McChrystal are meeting face-to-face this morning and the administration’s full AfPak team will convene shortly thereafter.
–More consequential than any personnel decision is the overall direction of the war.
–McChrystal is reportedly telling administration officials he’s …
Kate already pointed out one important story getting buried by the McChrystal bombshells–for my money, amid the raft of bad judgment McChrystal exhibits in the profile, perhaps the most alarming is his fondness for Talladega Nights–but here are a few other items you might have missed today.
Official White House Photo
–You can read Rolling Stone‘s full piece on Stanley McChrystal here. The general and his inner circle were something beyond cavalier and insulted a lot of people, but probably the most troubling aspect to the White House is that the commander of American forces in Afghanistan brazenly impugned the …
Politico has an interesting story about about Tea Party efforts in several states to recall politicians — when, you know, the electoral thing just isn’t working for you. Bob Menendez in New Jersey, Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu and Kent Conrad of North Dakota have all been targeted.
Yes, because the $66 million recall of California …
They’re nearly done and when they are it’ll be a big, much needed victory for Dems and President Obama. But, there are still a few key sticking points. In case you haven’t been glued to C-SPAN3, a look at what’s happened so far in the conference and why this week is crucial.
The thing I find so interesting about this entire process is …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Ahead of this week’s G20 summit in Toronto and in wake of intensive lobbying efforts by Timothy Geithner, China has announced plans to allow its currency to float against the dollar. It’s widely viewed as a strategic concession, and the long-term impact of the decision is still largely …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–A National Journal Insiders Poll finds 91% of the Democrats surveyed said unemployment is a greater political liability than government spending and 54% of Republicans agreed.
–The cut down “tax extenders” bill was nonetheless stymied again last night in the Senate.
–Cap-and-trade …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–BP CEO Tony Hayward is testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee this morning. You can watch the brutal proceedings unfold here.
–If criminal charges come down the pike, BP is on the hook for a lot of money.
–Scott Brown throws cold water on cap-and-trade, which …
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtSoUNCpz0E]
About six minutes in to the speech Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, focuses on a center for Islamic studies founded at Harvard during Elena Kagan’s tenure as the Dean of Harvard Law. An excerpt:
Around the same time that Dean Kagan was
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