Saturday punditry.
WaPo:
Gay rights activists, congressional aides and supportive lawmakers are anticipating a successful vote this weekend to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" law.
CBS:
"I simply don't believe that someone who makes $1 million should get a $116,000 tax cut for Christmas," Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), one of the deal's most vocal opponents, said on CBS' "The Early Show" this morning. "Today in America, the top 1 percent of the country makes as much as the next 25 percent. We need to stand up for the middle class. I think the very well-to-do have already had their piece."
Like Weiner, most Democrats framed their opposition to the deal as a matter of moral principle. Several other lawmarkers, pundits and political operatives -- on both sides of the issue -- have also taken that tack.
NYT:
Far from being the legislative wasteland that some had predicted, this year’s congressional lame-duck session has developed into an intense, make-or-break series of cliffhanger events for the president and his soon-to-expire Democratic majority on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Obama is now on the knife’s edge; the hours and days ahead could go either way for him. But the president is concluding 2010 by directly confronting issues that have come to define the sweep of his presidency – the economy, foreign engagement and questions of social justice.
And could have wins on many of them.
Charles Blow:
According to a Gallup poll on Thursday, the percentage of Democrats who identify as liberal rose by nearly a third from 2000 to 2007, for the first time matching the percentage who describe themselves as moderate. Over the same period, the percentage of conservative Democrats declined. In 2000, there was a relatively small margin between the number of liberal Democrats and conservative Democrats. Now there are twice as many liberal Democrats as conservative ones.
Long-term, that may be fine, as demographics work in the Democrats’ favor. But, near-term, this could prove problematic as Republicans and independents grow ever more conservative, and liberals remain by far the smallest ideological group.
Blow wonders about purges. Nonsense. No purges, just push (hard) for correction. But no free rides either.
Want some horse race?
Six in 10 voters say they would not even consider voting for the former Alaska governor if she launches a White House bid, and she loses badly to President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 general election test.
Despite her high profile, amplified this fall by her campaign appearances and endorsements and her new reality TV program, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," Palin has not made demonstrable progress in overcoming opposition to her possible candidacy. If anything, she has slipped over the past year...
Still, the survey shows limits to Obama's appeal. More than four in 10 voters - 44 percent - say they would not even consider voting for him in 2012, with about one in four definitively behind him. Among independents, 40 percent say they would not vote for him, 36 percent say they would consider it and 21 percent say they would certainly back him.
It's the economy, stupid. And note that Obama does better when a named opponent is offered. He beats Romney and adding Mike Bloomberg in a three way doesn't change the equation.
Gail Collins:
The way this is going, the Republican presidential hopefuls will eventually be on television every single minute. Possibly they can be convinced to do something more entertaining than talk about earmarks. Maybe race around the world in teams of two, or compete at ballroom dancing, or agree to all be locked in a house together for several months with no contact with the outside world.
I know; you’re liking the last one already.
More horse race from Tom Jensen/PPP:
Palin's Ohio lead shows you how much centrists matter in a GOP primary- close to zip these days- http://tinyurl.com/...