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Happy Hour Roundup

* President Obama briefly bowed before the King of Saudi Arabia, and TownHall.com even has video of the offending moment:

* Which prompts Michelle Malkin’s readers to question Obama’s self-esteem and to wonder if anyone has ever seen Obama eating pork.

* Eric Cantor dismisses claims that Dem attacks are getting under his skin as “ridiculous.”

* I commanded all of you to start following numbers-obsessive Eric Kleefeld’s coverage of the intensely-watched House race in New York’s 20th, now that it’s entering legal limbo. His latest: It’s a tie!

* No, wait! Dem Scott Murphy has edged into a lead of 198 votes!

* Steve Benen offers a typically sane take on the MoveOn-Harry Reid-Chris Van Hollen saga.

* Democracy is a messy business.

* GOP strategists tell Sam Stein that governors like Mark Sanford and Sarah Palin won’t pay a price with the base for taking the stimulus money in the end.

It’s kind of a two-fer — they built up a bit of good will with conservatives by grandstanding against the stimulus for a little while. But now they won’t have to take the hit for the economic fallout that would have resulted if they’d made good on their threat not to take the money.

* And for the near term I won’t be posting on weekends, so please consider this an open thread. Back first thing Monday morning.

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Posted by Greg Sargent | 04/03/2009, 05:55 PM EST | Categories: Happy Hour Roundup, House Republicans, Middle East, President Obama

11 Responses

  1. Kelley | April 3rd, 2009 at 06:05 pm

    Greg, you sound rather giddy. Heading out early for the weekend???

    :-)

  2. Greg Sargent | April 3rd, 2009 at 06:11 pm

    kelley, I couldn’t put into words how much I’m looking forward to this weekend.

  3. Bernie Latham | April 3rd, 2009 at 07:21 pm

    Inquiring of Chuck Todd, who’d been at an Obama townhall meeting in a college town in France, Chris Matthews just asked whether the attendees were getting a instantaneous translation “or are they like me, listening to French music while not understanding a word of it?” How is it possible he’s that isolated and ignorant?

  4. Bernie Latham | April 3rd, 2009 at 07:56 pm

    And Todd Palin’s half sister just got arrested for breaking into aWasilla house and stealing (twice).
    I wonder what Rich (Sarah Kamasutra) Lowry might have to say on the matter. Perhaps it depends on what the woman looks like.

  5. Bernie Latham | April 4th, 2009 at 09:50 am

    Greg – Andy McCarthy comments on the Olson/Koh matter (though the turkey links to Politico rather than the source reporting). http://corner.nationalreview.com/
    It is, as one would expect, an ideological piece which acknowledges Koh’s smarts and integrity, but takes him to task for possible internationalist notions of jurisprudence…think John Bolton but only one quarter as crazy.
    How this corner of the right has become so convinced of American exceptionalism is a really interesting question.

  6. Greg Sargent | April 4th, 2009 at 11:18 am

    Bernie — what’s striking about that is that it’s been shown again and again to be an awful basis for policy-making — and yet these folks never, ever want to learn or accept that.

  7. Greg Sargent | April 4th, 2009 at 11:20 am

    btw, I highly recommend Yglesias’ book, which deals with this topic from a number of different angles…

    http://www.amazon.com/Heads-Sand-Republicans-Foreign-Democrats/dp/047008622X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238858383&sr=8-2

  8. Bernie Latham | April 4th, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    Greg – thanks for the Yglesias tip. If I may return the favor… http://www.amazon.com/America-Right-Wrong-American-Nationalism/dp/0195168402

  9. sgwhiteinfla | April 4th, 2009 at 01:44 pm

    I try not to comment too much on Sarah Palin’s family because I just don’t think its all that important and families should be off limits. But she keeps putting her family out there and I just can’t help it this time. She has now given us the Wasilla version of the Jerry Springer Show.
    .
    http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20270152,00.html

  10. Bernie Latham | April 5th, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    “Consider the erotic potential between blogger and commenters.” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/fashion/05althouse.html?_r=1
    Hey there, big boy. Wink wink.

  11. Kelley | April 5th, 2009 at 11:05 pm

    Bernie, I hate to admit it but that’s where my mind went when I read that article, too!

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