Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
Political news, polls and buzz
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Leading with the Numbers
Ezra Klein: "The Senate [health care] bill, we now know, costs a smidge under $850 billion during its first 10 years, cuts the deficit by $127 billion, and covers 31 million people. In the second decade, it cuts the deficit by an improbably large $650 billion. But we don't know anything else. We hav …
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Pawlenty Couldn't Win His Home State
A new St. Cloud State University poll finds that President Obama would handily beat Minnesota Gov. Time Pawlenty (R) in his home state, 49% to 40%, if they were to face off in the 2012 presidential race.
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Reid's Bill Scored Well
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) health care reform proposal will cost $849 billion over 10 years but cut the deficit by about $127 billion, Roll Call reports. The CBO cost estimate also concluded that the health care reform bill would help more than 94 percent of Americans get health i …
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Rove's Book Coming in March
Karl Rove's memoir will be called Courage and Consequence and released on March 9, 2010, the AP reports.
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On Polling Issues
Joe Klein: "The point is, polling on issues is next to useless -- especially on issues as emotionally complicated as wars and as technically complicated as health care reform. The only safe conclusion from these particular polls is this: the public has mixed feelings on Afghanistan and health care r …
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Predicting the Senate Health Care Vote
Here's something interesting: Congress.org is crowdsourcing predictions on the Senate health care vote.
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Schwarzenegger Will Not Be Back
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) "won't say what his plans are when his term expires next year, but it won't be running for another office," the AP reports. Said Schwarzenegger: ''I have never labeled myself as a politician, so I am not going to run for anything else."
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Palin Watch
Oprah Winfrey's interview with Sarah Palin on Monday to discuss Going Rogue "scored the talk show host her highest rating in two years," according to the Live Feed. At Palin's first book signing -- this morning in Michigan -- the Detroit Free Press reports that more than 1,500 people lined up in …
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Thompson Considering Challenge to Feingold
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) is still considering a possible challenge to Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Said Thompson: "I haven't said no. I'm looking at it. I'm looking at governor, I'm looking at senator and I'm looking at mayor of Elroy. On …
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Missouri Senate Race Remains Close
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Missouri finds Robin Carnahan (D) edging Roy Blunt (R) in a U.S. Senate match up, 43% to 42%. This is essentially unchanged from a poll back in January. Analysis: "It's a good sign for Carnahan that her status hasn't worsened as things have gone sour in g …
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Reid May Unveil Health Care Bill Today
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scrambled "to lock down votes" behind a health-care bill that he may present as early this afternoon, the Washington Post reports. Reid "would not confirm that he had received commitments from all 60 members of his caucus to overcome GOP procedural objections and …
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Obama Angry About Leaks
CBS News asked President Obama if he's as angry as Defense Secretary Robert Gates about all the leaks coming out of his administration about the Afghanistan decision. Said Obama: "I think I'm angrier than Bob Gates about it. We have deliberations in the situation room for a reason; we're making l …
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Most Republicans Choose Ideological Purity
A new CNN/Opinion Research poll suggests that the Democrats may be the party of pragmatism and Republicans may be the party of ideological purity. "The poll indicates that a slight majority, 51%, of Republicans would prefer to see the GOP in their area nominate candidates who agree with them o …
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Murdoch Trashes Paterson
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch ripped New York Gov. David Paterson (D) at a conference yesterday, saying he's a "very nice, honest man who's blind and can't read braille and doesn't really know what's going on. It's not a joke, it's a tragedy we're facing at the moment."
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Obama Has Different Supporters on Afghanistan
A new Quinnipiac poll finds Republican support for the war in Afghanistan is more than twice as strong as Democratic support. By a 47% to 42% margin, voters that President Obama should send 40,000 more combat troops to Afghanistan as the military commanders on the ground have requested. Only 27% …
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Byrd Reaches Milestone
With Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) reaching the milestone of becoming the longest serving member of Congress today, it's interesting to watch a C-SPAN interview from a few years ago in which he talks about the role of the U.S. Senate. Said Byrd: "As long as there is a place where one can speak as loudl …
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Recap of our Midterm Election Preview
Here's some coverage of our Midterm Election Preview this morning:Politics Magazine: "At the midway point of this midterm cycle, some of the country's top pollsters gathered in Washington to discuss what can and can't be discerned from the 2009 election results for the 2010 elections." St. Louis …
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Most See Afghanistan War as Not Worth the Costs
According to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, President Obama has "a formidable sales job ahead" to sell his strategy for Afghanistan: 52% see the war in Afghanistan as not worth its costs and nearly as many trust the Republicans in Congress to deal with the war as trust Obama. "Asked to cho …
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Really Going Rogue
Marc Ambinder has emails from the McCain presidential campaign that show Sarah Palin and her staff really did go rogue. "As the campaign came to a climax in October, Palin isolated herself from headquarters, refusing to communicate with them directly. Her staff, suspicious that McCain's retinue …
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Hoffman "Unconcedes" Special Election
As the absentee ballot count gets underway today in NY-23, Doug Hoffman (C) has withdrawn his concession, NPR reports. "Conceding an election doesn't necessarily mean anything, other than it's a gracious way of congratulating a victorious opponent. But it holds no legal meaning."Nonetheless, most …
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
