Saturday edition.
Reuters:
A proposed tax on banks and hedge funds to fund the landmark financial overhaul bill will last a decade and proceeds will be barred from use to bail out failing firms, according to text of the legislation...
Add that to 'things this Congress has done'.
NY Times:
"This is a clear respite from the theme that Obama had lost control," said David Rothkopf, a former Clinton administration official who wrote the definitive history of the National Security Council, the organization American presidents have used for 60 years to assert authority around the country and the world. "He sent a loud and clear message to the generals about who is in charge. And he has engineered a pivot-point in U.S. economic history, an end, or at least a big change, to the ‘leave it to the markets’ era."
Chris Cillizza:
In some circles, Petraeus was regarded as Republicans' strongest potential 2012 candidate against Obama. His new post effectively ends that speculation.
Sam Stein on Dave Weigel's firing:
But within the Washington Post, Weigel's politics (he is a libertarian with clear progressive leanings) appeared to surprise management, some of whom assumed he was a conservative. The ethos (or perhaps perception) of impartiality is still closely held in the Post newsroom. And with a recent slew of opinion/reporter hires (Ezra Klein, Greg Sargent, and Weigel), some of old guard felt uncomfortable.
How on earth could management be surprised? Do they read his columns? And why is being a conservative more important than being a good reporter?
Greg Sargent on Dave Weigel's firing:
So this isn't about whether Weigel could have continued to be fair, accurate and professional. I have no doubt that he could have.
But if he thinks that his relationship to the movement has become so tainted that he'd have a tough time with sources, if he believes he's become the story to a fault, and if he thinks he could cover other political beats more effectively, then he did the right thing in giving up the blog. And I believe this is what happened.
Weigel is a talented reporter and a great blogger, and won't have trouble flourishing in this profession. His departure also shouldn't preclude The Post from hiring someone who covers the conservative movement every bit as aggressively as he does, which I hope The Post will do.
Ezra Klein on Dave Weigel's firing:
Broadly speaking, neither journalism nor the public has quite decided on how to handle this explosion of information about people we're interested in. A newspaper reporter opposing the Afghanistan war in a news story is doing something improper. A newspaper reporter telling his wife he opposes the war is being perfectly proper. If someone had been surreptitiously taping that reporter's conversations with his wife, there'd be no doubt that was a violation of privacy, and the gathered remarks and observations were illegitimate. If a batch of that reporter's e-mails were obtained and forwarded along? People are less sure what to do about it. So, for now, they use it. Facebook pictures get used too, though there's a bit of shame in it. If the trend continues as it is, people will become much more careful in those forums. For now, we're in an awful transition, where haven't quite adjusted for the public sphere's ability to appropriate the freshly-enlarged private sphere.
Ezra ended journolist as well.
Andrew Alexander (Ombudsman) on Dave Weigel's firing:
Alas, it took only one listserv participant to bundle up Weigel’s archived comments and start leaking them outside the group. The result is that Weigel lost his job. But the bigger loss is The Post’s standing among conservatives.
The biggest loss is that the Post feels they have to pander to conservatives. This ain't the paper of All The President's Men.
The Hill:
Elena Kagan's confirmation hearings, to begin Monday, will feature four military personnel among the GOP witnesses, one of whom drew criticism in 2003 for comparing the War on Terrorism to a struggle against Satan.
The high proportion of military personnel in the GOP lineup suggests Republicans hope to highlight Kagan's efforts to restrict military recruitment at Harvard.
Oops... The Hill:
Judiciary Republicans have disinvited a controversial military officer from testifying at the confirmation hearing of Elena Kagan.
The minoity staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee had announced earlier Friday that retired Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin would appear before the panel next week, likely to discuss Kagan's efforts to restrict military recruiting while dean of Harvard Law of School.
Satan was unavailable for comment.
