See also Egypt mothership for links to current information and comment, including news sources.
NY Times editorial covers what is a consensus:
The announcement from President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt that he would not run for re-election was welcome, if he means it, but it was unlikely to be enough. It is up to the Egyptian people to decide. But as a proud nationalist, Mr. Mubarak can best contribute to Egypt’s stability and future by stepping aside and letting an interim government take over until truly free elections can be held.
Maureen Dowd recognizes the many ways Bush and the neocons got it wrong (despite the siily claims that this is all their doing):
In another irony, one of the reasons Bush decided he needed to do something about the Arab dictatorships was his belief that they were spawning terrorists. But to try to fulfill his grandiose promise to defeat "every terrorist group of global reach," he needed the cooperation of the same dictators the U.S. had always supported. And he fell back to relying on the help of dictatorships to try to shut down dictatorships. Instead, he shut down the democratization process in 2006 after he and Rice were blindsided by Hamas winning the Palestinian elections.
Reuters:
Egypt's army has called for protesters to return home and allow life to return to normal after nine days of anti-government demonstrations.
The call came amid continued pressure on President Hosni Mubarak to quit after a speech in which he pledged not to stand for re-election in September.
Not at all clear what happens next regarding timing.
Al Jazeera:
US viewers seek Al Jazeera coverage
No one would accuse us of failing to forecast Egypt's boiling anger, or Tunisia's for the matter. That's not because our journalists are superheroes - though, if you watch, you appreciate their determination to get the story right. I would posit a simpler explanation for their successes: our journalists exist in the right places and are given the space and resources to get the job done. Most importantly, they have editorial freedom.
Even still, there are many places where we cannot do our jobs. The governments of Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, and Bahrain will not let our journalists step foot on their soil.
We were also banned in Ben Ali's Tunisia. We overcame this through the use of social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Politico:
The Center for American Progress Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Action Fund will argue at a briefing this morning that Republicans are "pushing an extreme ideological agenda" on social issues that’s likely to alienate female swing voters at the start of the 2012 cycle. In a memo that will be shared with reporters, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund takes aim at several specific bills – backed by GOP Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Mike Pence of Indiana and Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania – that aim to restrict federal funding for abortion services and groups that provide them, including Planned Parenthood. From the memo: "House leadership is already risking a political backlash ... [T]hey have introduced a number of anti-women’s health bills that will alienate a key voting demographic, independent women voters.... they risk being out of step with the American public by pushing an extreme ideological agenda that takes away women’s health benefits and rights, instead of focusing on jobs and the economy."
Katrina vanden Heuvel:
But while Lincoln was committing himself to the advancement of science and innovation, he remained focused on ending the nation's more immediate and immobilizing crises. President Obama must do the same; it is today's job market, not tomorrow's, and the victims of our historic chasm between great wealth and deep poverty, that deserve his primary focus now.
It shouldn't be either/or.
And...
A colossal winter storm stretching from New Mexico to Maine hit the heartland of the United States with snow, high winds and freezing rain on Tuesday, and experts said the worst was still to come as the storm moved northeast and temperatures were set to plunge.