CQ Politics' Web Picks

Wall Street Journal: Obama to Shift Focus to Budget Deficit

With a $787 billion stimulus package in hand, President Barack Obama will pivot quickly to address a budget deficit that could now approach $2 trillion this year. He has scheduled a "fiscal-responsibility summit" on Feb. 23 and will unveil a budget blueprint three days later, crafted to put pressure on politicians to address the country's surging long-term debt crisis.

Weekly Standard: Remember Rev. Wright?

Earlier this month, President Obama appointed the Reverend Dr. Otis Moss Jr. to serve on the new President's Advisory Council established as part of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The official White House press release notes that Moss is the pastor emeritus of Cleveland's Olivet Institutional Baptist Church. Not noted, however, are Moss's many ties to Trinity and its troublesome former pastor.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Embattled Virginia GOP Head Giving Up House Seat

The embattled chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia is giving up his seat in the House of Delegates and wants his wife to take his place at the General Assembly. Frederick's announcement comes less than a month after the chief fundraiser for the state GOP quit, branding the party "dysfunctional." It was the latest in a series of continuing attacks Frederick faces on his chairmanship, largely from veteran activists who fault him as not doing enough to prevent GOP setbacks last fall.

Reuters: Iraqis Open Arms to Romance as Violence Fades

Romance is in the air in Baghdad as war-weary Iraqis celebrate Valentine's Day after a sharp drop in violence, allowing lovers to cautiously hold hands in parks and to buy gifts for their sweetheart

The Guardian: Drug Giant GlaxoSmithKline Pledges Cheap Medicine for World's Poor

The world's second biggest pharmaceutical company is to radically shift its attitude to providing cheap drugs to millions of people in the developing world. In a major change of strategy, the new head of GlaxoSmithKline, Andrew Witty, has told the Guardian he will slash prices on all medicines in the poorest countries, give back profits to be spent on hospitals and clinics and - most ground-breaking of all - share knowledge about potential drugs that are currently protected by patents.