CQ Politics' Web Picks

Chicago Sun-Times: Lieutenant Governor is Ready

The Bible is ready. The oath has been prepared. The lieutenant governor and his family are on their way to Springfield. And the current governor's belongings are boxed up and waiting to be picked up at the Executive Mansion. "I definitely plan to be in Springfield and I will be ready," Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn told the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday.

D.C. Examiner: Bait and Switch on the Stimulus

In the week since he took office, Obama's ambitions for a bipartisan economic stimulus bill free of controversy have been largely upended by the Washington culture of special interests and political ambitions.

Wall Street Journal: The Obama White House May Be a Crowded Mess

The White House has always had overlapping lines of authority, which creates a certain amount of conflict while everyone figures out who really has clout. But President Obama has added to the confusion by making declarations that multiple people in his cabinet or on his staff have more authority and responsibility than their predecessors. In addition to creating a protracted power struggle within the West Wing, Obama's management decisions may lead to more intrusive, larger government policies gaining traction, writes Karl Rove.

New York Times: Obama Seeks Accord With Military on Iraq

As President Obama moves to redefine the nation's mission in Iraq, he faces a difficult choice: Is he willing to abandon a campaign promise or risk a rupture with the military? Or can he finesse the difference? On Wednesday, Mr. Obama visited the Pentagon for the first time since becoming president, and he seemed to be looking for an option that would let him stay true to his campaign promise, at least in theory, without alienating the generals.

New York Daily News: All-out Effort to Pry Open Your Wallet

The stimulus package approved by the House Wednesday night contains $819 billion in goodies, but only one real goal - to get America spending again. So says economist William Gale, who likens President Obama's stimulus bill to a giant gamble aimed at turning today's vicious cycle of job cuts and gloom into a "virtuous" cycle of job creation and confidence.

Chicago Tribune: New political era? Same as the old one

It was clear from the outcome in the House on the stimulus bill that Barack Obama's efforts so far had not delivered the post-partisan era that he called for in his inauguration address, when he proclaimed an end to the "petty grievances" and "worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics." The familiar machinery of partisan politics, a fixture of the Clinton and Bush eras, kicked into operation undaunted as Republicans began counterattacks on the measure and efforts to pass it.

National Review Online: A Formula for Frustration

In the months since the 2008 election, the Republican National Committee Chair race has hardly invigorated the party. Somewhere along the line, the tactics demonstrated in the contest illuminate what the GOP is good at today: back-slapping clubbiness, anonymous attacks, the occasional race-tinged controversy, and employing an operative class that is much more skilled at skewering intraparty rivals than at taking the fight to Democrats in a difficult environment.

The Nation: Obama's Better Bailout

President Obama is in these early weeks making trillion-dollar decisions that will cast the die for the rest of his promising agenda. Unfortunately, while the new president has already proved to be a brilliant and super-competent agent of change in so many ways, in matters of economic policy he has relied excessively on the financial "experts" who helped get America into this mess.