CQ Politics' Web Picks

Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases

While the Obama administration prepares to unveil on Wednesday its plan to rescue the U.S. housing market, officials in Lee County, Fla., come up with their own unique plan for dealing with the crisis. To clear a huge backlog of foreclosures, judges are hearing "rocket dockets" of nearly 1,000 cases a day and calling retired colleagues back to the bench to help ease the workload.

Chicago Tribune: Roland Burris, Resign

The benefit of the doubt had already been stretched thin and taut by the time Roland Burris offered his third version of the events leading to his appointment to the U.S. Senate. It finally snapped like a rubber band, popping him on that long Pinocchio nose of his, when he came out with version four. Enough. Roland Burris must resign. His protests that he had nothing to hide just don't square with his obvious attempts to hide something, as evidenced by the evolving truths in three sworn statements to the House impeachment panel.

Washington Post: Back Home in Alaska, Palin Finds Cold Comfort

A couple of weeks before the Alaska legislature began this year's session, a bipartisan group of state senators on a retreat a few hours from here invited Gov. Sarah Palin to join them. Accompanied by a retinue of advisers, she took a seat at one end of a conference table and listened passively as Gary Stevens, the president of the Alaska Senate, a former college history professor and a low-key Republican with a reputation for congeniality, expressed delight at her presence. Would the governor, a smiling Stevens asked, like to share some of her plans and proposals for the coming legislative session? "I feel like you guys are always trying to put me on the spot," Palin said as the room became silent.

New York Times: Obama Team Has Billions to Spend, but Few Ready to Do It

The once efficient Obama transition has ground to a near standstill after tax problems bedeviled several of his nominees, leaving the top echelon of his government largely unassembled. Three cabinet jobs remain unfilled, only two of the 15 cabinet departments have deputy secretaries confirmed, and the vast majority of lower-level political jobs remain vacant.

Boston Globe: Pope to meet with Pelosi at Vatican*

Pope Benedict XVI is planning to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Vatican on Wednesday. The meeting has been the subject of considerable chatter in the conservative Catholic corner of the blogosphere for days, anticipating Pelosi's time in Rome as head of a congressional delegation to Italy. Pelosi, of course, is a practicing Catholic and mother of five (and grandmother of seven), but also is a supporter of abortion rights, and that combination has infuriated some conservatives who argue that support for abortion rights should disqualify Catholic politicians from receiving Communion and from being honored by Catholic universities.

Fortune: Why a 9/11-Style Panel Should Examine the Financial Crisis

After yet another -- but not-undeserved -- public flogging of Wall Street's remaining CEOs before Congress last week, it has become more than a little obvious that such hearings have lost their ability to be either shocking, entertaining or informative, and are accomplishing little of substance. Instead of political theater, what is desperately needed now is a 9/11-style commission that will investigate how Wall Street's highly paid executives brought the capitalist system to its knees.

USA Today: Civil Rights in Court Spotlight

When the Supreme Court returns to the bench Monday for the second half of its annual term, justices will hear several cases that could make this the most important session for civil rights law in years. The slate of cases on divisive civil rights issues offers a reminder of the importance of each individual justice's vote.Says Columbia University law professor Theodore Shaw, a former counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund: "One of the things that these cases and this term could underscore is the lasting significance of Supreme Court appointments. Long after administrations have come and gone, their justices sit on the court."

San Francisco Chronicle: Obama Shifts Tactics After GOP Outreach Fails

White House aides are shifting tactics, dialing back their expectations of big bipartisan majorities for future bills. They plan to capitalize on President Obama's high public approval ratings and use public events, like Tuesday's bill signing at a science museum in Denver, to rally public support and put pressure on Congress.