Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Quote of the Day (Political Wire)
“Obama’s team are the best linguists I’ve ever seen. Republicans aren’t in his league right now.” — Frank Luntz, author of Words that Work, in an interview with Politico.
Frank Luntz is the man who espouses the juxtaposition of phrases that don’t belong together, to make people believe that they belong together, without telling outright lies.  He’s responsible, for example, for Republicans saying “Saddam Hussein” and “9/11” in the same sentence, to make Americans think Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, when he clearly was not.

The Radical Fringe

Obama’s Justice nominees signal end of Bush terror tactics (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — In filling four senior Justice Department positions Monday, President-elect Barack Obama signaled that he intends to roll back Bush administration counterterrorism policies authorizing harsh interrogation techniques, warrantless spying and indefinite detentions of terrorism suspects.
At least we can hope.

Obama’s impressive new OLC chief (by Glenn Greenwald at Unclaimed Territory, Salon)
Other than Attorney General-designate Eric Holder and Obama himself, there is probably no official who will have a more significant role [than head of the Office of Legal Counsel] in determining the extent to which the Obama administration really does reverse the lawlessness and legal radicalism of the Bush years. [Monday], … Barack Obama announced several new appointments to key DOJ posts, including Dawn Johnsen to head the OLC.  Johnsen is a Professor of Law at Indiana University, a former OLC official in the Clinton administration (as well as a former ACLU counsel), and a graduate of Yale Law School.  She’s become a true expert on executive power and, specifically, the role and obligation of the OLC in restricting presidential decisions to their lawful scope. There are several striking pieces of evidence that suggest this appointment may be Obama’s best yet, perhaps by far. 
Click through for more information.

Obama’s intel picks short on direct experience (AP)
President-elect Barack Obama’s decision to fill the nation’s top intelligence jobs with two men short on direct experience in intelligence gathering surprised the spy community and signaled the Democrat’s intention for a clean break from Bush administration policies. Former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, an eight-term congressional veteran and administrative expert, is being tapped to head the CIA. Retired Adm. Dennis Blair is Obama’s choice to bedirector of national intelligence… Neither Panetta nor Blair are tainted by associations with Bush administration policies, in large part because they both come from outside the intelligence world. Blair was posted at the CIA for about a year.

Inspired Choices for DNI and CIA? (by Larry Johnson at No Quarter)
If you look back at the people that Bill Clinton and George Bush put in charge of the CIA, then the choice of Panetta seems particularly inspired. Why? The ideal candidate is someone who is smart, who is not looking to feather his or her nest to reap economic benefits, and who understands that the President needs an honest broker… Panetta appears to be a decent, honest, smart man who is not bent on feathering his own nest. Given his prior experience as an intelligence consumer at the highest level in the U.S. government he at least understands what the intelligence community needs to produce in order to ensure the President has the best information. I am pleasantly surprised by the Panetta choice.
Glenn Greenwald says, “Spencer Ackerman reports that Sen. Dianne Feinstein is upset with the selection of Panetta, petulantly complaining that she wasn’t consulted in advance and that it would be best to have an “intelligence professional” in that position.  CQ’s Tim Starks reports that Sen. Jay Rockefeller is making very similar noises about this selection.  Few things could reflect better on Panetta’s selection than the fact that Feinstein and Rockefeller — two of the most Bush-enabling Senators — are unhappy with it.”

Obama’s Stumbles (by Steve Soto at The Left Coaster)
Simply put, I am appalled at the news that Obama has selected Leon Panetta to head the CIA. The Obama team selected Panetta without consulting any of the congressional Democrats leading the intelligence committees, perhaps wanting to avoid a leak. Yet the choice itself of a political manager who knows zip about the world of intelligence reeks of a White House that wants control of the apparatus through a master beancounter. This is far less desirable than redirecting the Agency’s policies and improving its morale by appointing a capable veteran like Stephen Kappes.

Second, I am equally appalled to see the Obama team try and blame Bill Richardson for underestimating his exposure from a grand jury investigation first reported back in August, the details of which would have been unknown to him. Team Obama is now smoothly throwing Richardson under the bus for their own vetting process and willingness to nominate someone possibly tied to a public and active grand jury investigation. But then, they got what they wanted from Richardson: a Hillary supporter who turned against her, a national Latino political supporter who delivered a key state, who never got the job he really wanted (Secretary of State) and is now not getting any job at all.

Could Panetta Switch to Commerce? (Political Wire)
Political Wire has learned that early in the Obama transition former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta was actually angling to be secretary of commerce — not CIA Director. However, now that the leaked news of Panetta’s nomination has apparently ticked off Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), the incoming chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee — and with the commerce seat now open again — might Panetta be tapped for that job instead?

Obama should appoint a woman to Commerce, because jobs for women are not a given. (by Sheryl Robinson at the New Agenda)
Women typically suffer greater hardship than men in times of economic downturn. More women in government means more support for issues that affect women, according to the UNIFEM report released this Fall. For this reason, Obama should appoint a woman to replace Bill Richardson, who has withdrawn as U.S. Secretary of Commerce-designate.
Is Obama listening?  See below.

Gregoire Trip Fuels Speculation (Political Wire)
Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) canceled a Tuesday lunch appearance and two sources confirmed to The Hill she is in Washington, D.C. The governor’s actions “have triggered a wave of speculation” that Gregoire could soon replace Gov. Bill Richardson (D) as President-elect Obama’s Commerce Secretary-designate. “Her office refused to confirm Gregoire’s whereabouts all day Monday.”

Becerra Back in the Mix for Commerce (Political Wire)
An Obama transition team source told the San Antonio Express-News that Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) has emerged as the leading candidate to become secretary of Commerce now that Gov. Bill Richardson backed out. Said the source: “Even though he turned down the trade representative slot, Becerra is not only Hispanic, but he has the skill, talent and experience to do the Commerce job.”

Why Did Obama’s Transition Team Ignore Bill Richardson’s Long History of Dubious Dealings? (by James Ridgeway at MoJo Blog, Mother Jones)
The wreck of Bill Richardson, who withdrew earlier today as President-elect Obama’s nominee for Commerce Secretary, surely should have been anticipated by the Obama vetters. As previously reported by Mother Jones, the New Mexico governor has, over the last decade, left behind a wide trail of questionable business dealings, many of them involving the energy industry. Obama’s transition team apparently chose to ignore these past whiffs of scandal. They also seem to have been unfazed by the current federal investigation into a possible pay-to-play scandal, which was already well underway when Richardson’s nomination was announced on December 3. Within two weeks of the nomination, the media was widely reporting that Richardson was the subject of a grand jury probe in a “highly active stage.”

Richardson Not Alone in Collecting Money from Embattled Contributor (Capital Eye)
Putting aside whatever involvement New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson had in an alleged “pay-to-play” scheme in his home state, his future as U.S. commerce secretary is now a casualty of an ongoing federal investigation into a company that has funded the former presidential candidate’s state-level political committees. While no other incoming federal lawmaker or Cabinet member is said to be under investigation, others have certainly seen their campaign efforts propped up by the embattled company. Since 1991, California-based CDR Financial Products and its president, David Rubin, have given $279,100 in campaign contributions at the federal level alone, 95 percent to Democrats.

Recipients include interior secretary nominee Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.); Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), incoming chairman of the House Energy & Commerce committee and even President-elect Barack Obama (see below for a full list). Individuals at the firm also gave $26,200 this cycle to the Democratic National Committee through the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee set up to support Obama’s candidacy.

We’re Known By the Company We Keep (by Alegre)
I don’t know about you, but this latest dust-up regarding Bill Richardson has been a sort of light bulb moment for me.  From what I’ve been reading, it wasn’t Richardson’s idea to withdraw his name from nomination as our next Commerce Secretary.  He got a lot of pressure from BHO’s team.  Now is it just me, or does BHO seem quick to toss his friends and supporters under that bus of his the minute they become a problem?

Well actually to be fair, there have been a few exceptions.  He’s stood by people who’ve caused problems for him, but even these cases don’t speak highly of his decisions or choices when it comes to women and our concerns.  Scandal – or even a hint of scandal is reason enough for BHO to toss his friends under that bus of his unless that scandal centers around hateful or disrespectful words or actions toward women.  When you get right down to it, he has a history of standing by those who show a total lack of respect for women.

Obama appoints CAP’s Brad Kiley as Director of Office of Management and Administration. (Think Progress)
This afternoon, the Obama transition team announced several new White House staff members, including our friend and former colleague Brad Kiley as the Director of the Office of Management and Administration. Brad is currently the Director of Operations for the transition team. He served as Vice President of Finance and Operations at the Center for American Progress, and before that, as deputy assistant to the president for management and administration in the Clinton White House. With his new position, Brad is the highest ranking LGBT appointment in the White House. We wish him all the best.

Burris denied seat in US Senate to succeed Obama (AP)
WASHINGTON – Roland Burris announced Tuesday he was rejected for Barack Obama’s Senate seat, in a bizarre rainy-day scene on the Capitol grounds as lawmakers awaited the gaveling of the 111th Congress into session. Standing amid a huge throng of reporters and television cameras in a cold and steady rain, Burris, 71, declared that he had been informed that “my credentials are not in order and will not be accepted.” The former Illinois attorney general said he was “not seeking to have any type of confrontation” over taking the seat that he was appointed to by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But Burris also said he was looking at options for taking the seat.

Lawsuit last option for Coleman in Minn. recount (AP)
Minnesota’s Canvassing Board on Monday certified that Democrat [Al] Franken won 225 more votes than Republican [Norm] Coleman, out of almost 3 million cast. Franken took his own opportunity to declare himself the victor… But Franken’s ability to claim the seat immediately is in doubt. Minnesota law prohibits final certification of a winner until a legal challenge is resolved, and Senate Republicans have indicated they would filibuster if necessary to block Franken from participating when new senators are sworn in Tuesday.

US looks upscale for London embassy design (AP)
WASHINGTON – Having decided to vacate the aging and stodgy U.S. Embassy in London, the State Department is looking upmarket and modern for a firm to design the nation’s new diplomatic post in the British capital.
In that case, Caroline Kennedy should definitely be named British ambassador, rather than U.S. senator from New York.  But on the other hand, consider Giuliani.

Why Rudy Giuliani should be senator, by Rudy Giuliani (by Alex Koppelman at War Room, Salon)
The former New York City mayor offers a list of job requirements for the person who’ll replace Hillary Clinton, and it seems he has one candidate in mind.

Bennet Begins Campaign (Political Wire)
Michael Bennet — the surprise choice by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) to replace Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) in the U.S. Senate — has already set up a campaign web site, indicating he fully intends to stand for election in 2010. According to the AP, Bennet “will file official candidacy papers within a few days.”

New D.C. tone: Obama meets both Dems, GOP on stimulus (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — Amid a galloping global economic crisis and mounting U.S. job losses, President-elect Barack Obama and congressional leaders agreed Monday on broad aspects of what’s sure to be the largest short-term economic stimulus plan the nation has ever seen and promised to pass legislation quickly.

Stimulus arithmetic (wonkish but important) (by Paul Krugman)
Bit by bit we’re getting information on the Obama stimulus plan, enough to start making back-of-the-envelope estimates of impact. The bottom line is this: we’re probably looking at a plan that will shave less than 2 percentage points off the average unemployment rate for the next two years, and possibly quite a lot less

No New Tax Cuts (by Jeff Madrick, Boston Review, thanks to Economist’s View)
The proximate cause of the financial crisis that has now engulfed the world and led to serious recession in the United States was the bursting of the housing bubble. But the true cause was the anti-government ideology that developed in the 1970s, solidified during the Reagan presidency, and was carried to extremes in recent years by Republicans and, to a significant degree, by Democrats as well. The nation’s economic and political health now depend not on substituting an old ideology for a new one, but on freedom from these ideological restraints and on the pragmatic, robust use of government…

We need not take on the economic theories of Milton Friedman and his disciples to make a case for government. Even Friedman acknowledged that free markets do not adequately supply some public goods, like primary education and roads. The benefits of such investment are spread across society; no one business or individual will invest enough. And there are other strong theoretical arguments to be made for state intervention in areas of information economics, behavioral economics, agency problems (who really runs corporations), and institutional economics and the power of the firm.
Public goods cost money, just as private goods do.  And that means citizens have to pay taxes.  Politicians need to stop pandering to the no-taxes crowd, and wake Americans up to this reality.

More Money for Robert Rubin (by Dean Baker)
The media seem to have largely overlooked the Citigroup tax credit in their discussion of the latest items in President Obama’s stimulus proposal. According to the Washington Post, the proposal will allow companies to write off current losses against taxes paid over the last 4-5 years, not just 2 years, as in current law. There are relatively few companies that could benefit from this tax break since most companies will not have losses so large that they would need more than two years of tax payments to balance them against. But, really big losers, like Robert Rubin’s Citigroup, and other badly failing financial institutions, are losing much more money in 2008 and 2009 than they earned in 2006 and 2007.

Did the political connections of Robert Rubin and others in the financial industry have anything to do with the decision of Obama’s economic team to be so generous to them? I don’t have an answer to that question, but the media should be asking it.

The Senate Goes Wobbly on Card Check (By Kimberley A. Strassel, Wall Street Journal, thanks to Owen Paine at Stop Me Before I Vote Again)
Responsibility has a way of focusing the mind. Take Mark Pryor, Democratic senator from Arkansas. In 2007, Mr. Pryor voted to move card check, Big Labor’s No. 1 priority. And why not? Mr. Pryor knew the GOP would block the bill, which gets rid of secret ballots in union elections. Besides, his support helped guarantee labor wouldn’t field a challenger to him in the primary. Postelection, Mr. Pryor isn’t so committed… It hasn’t been much noticed, but the political ground is already shifting under Big Labor’s card-check initiative.

The Washington Post Discovers Job Loss in Manufacturing (by Dean Baker)
A Washington Post editorial yesterday commented on an issue brief from the Congressional Budget Office which, “shows just how precipitous the recent decline in manufacturing work has been: 22 percent since the 2001 recession.”… The Post is disturbed by the fact that: “The study will provide some ammunition for those inclined to blame free trade for American industry’s plight,” since it points out that an increase in imports was an important factor in the job loss. Actually, few people are likely to blame “free trade,” they are far more likely to blame the current pattern of selective protectionism that largely shields more highly educated workers from foreign competition while explicitly forcing manufacturing workers to compete with the lowest paid workers in the world.

[Standard] “free trade” models show that the U.S. economy would experience large gains if it were as easy for a kid growing up in India to work as a doctor or lawyer or Washington Post editorial writer, as a kid growing up in the New York suburbs. Trade policy has done little to reduce the barriers that protect professionals from this sort of competition.

Government Wants Madoff in Jail Now (ABC News)
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan today asked a court to place alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme operator Bernard Madoff in jail while they continue developing their case against him… A federal prosecutor argued that cufflinks, watches, and other personal property purportedly worth $1 million had been shipped by Madoff and his wife to relatives and friends during the holiday season, and that this constituted a violation of the terms of bail because the “dissipation of assets” could potentially harm investors seeking to recoup any of their losses from investing with Madoff.

Health spending slowed in ‘07, but that’s cold comfort (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — U.S. health care spending in 2007 grew at its lowest rate in nine years, due mainly to a slowdown in prescription drug spending and lower administrative costs for the Medicare program, according to a new government report released Monday.

Respectfully, Hume Torch Is Passed (Washington Post)
Bret Baier, who took over Fox’s Washington newscast last night, says he will gradually put his own “stamp” on the program. Yet in praising the decade-old show that Brit Hume built from scratch, Baier doesn’t sound like a man with an agenda. “Why change the thing that has worked so well?” he asks.
No agenda.  At Fox News.  You can believe it if you want to.

‘Daily Show’ Returns — As Alan Colmes Becomes Stephen Colbert’s Co-Host (Editor & Publisher)
NEW YORK After being off the air for what seemed like months, “The Daily Show” returned Monday night on Comedy Central, with Jon Stewart taking a funny, but tougher, line on Israel’s attack on Gaza than nearly any leading figure in the “real” media. A little later, Stephen Colbert, on his show, shocked the world by introducing ex-Foxman, Alan Colmes, as his new co-host, now that Sean Hannity didn’t want him anymore. He seated Colmes next to him — in a lower chair and with a list of expressions he had to use to praise Stephen whenever he made a point. 

SLOWLY WE LEARN: (by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
We saw a lot of revealing work during our week in the frozen north… [M]ajor pundits wasted your time beating up retrospectively on George Bush—while failing to note the active role they themselves had played in getting him into the White House. [A] piece by Bob Herbert was worst of the lot—but we saw similar work by Richard Cohen and Gene Robinson, and we thought Frank Rich briefly followed suit in [Sunday’s] column. Is Bush “a narcissist with no self-awareness whatsoever?” Frankly, we’re slow to accept Dr. Rich’s pronouncements, when we recall the fact that he spent years insisting that Bush and Gore were equally vapid—two well-matched peas in a pod…

Weirdly, though, we were perhaps most struck by a batch of reader comments. The comments were appended to [a] relatively inocuous blog post by Paul Krugman … headlined “Katrina and Bush.”… Krugman presents two famous photos—photos which are quite similar. The first shows Bush looking out the window of Air Force One on September 11, 2001; the second shows Bush looking out the window of Air Force One as he flies over New Orleans shortly after Katrina… Krugman goes on to offer his view of why the photos were viewed so differently—why one photo was “considered a wonderful picture of leadership” while the other was widely treated as a portrait of hauteur and indifference. In our view, the reason for this disconnect is fairly easy to explain:

In large part, the press corps seized on the post-Katrina photo as a way to spread a new negative judgment it had finally managed to reach about Bush… They did the same thing in late 1997 when they invented and pimped the ludicrous Love Story canard; they did the same thing in 1999 when they worked themselves into an Official Group Fury about Hillary Clinton, the Cubs and the Yankees. But back in 1997, they were using an innocuous comment to turn the public against the loathed Gore. In the case of that post-Katrina photo, the press corps was using a meaningless moment to promote their new view of George Bush. In fact, the press corps does this all the time: Once opinion leaders have formed a Group Judgment, they seize upon some trivial statement, action or photo to bring the public around to that view.

NBC bumps Ann Coulter, denies conspiracy (Hollywood Reporter)
NBC News denied Monday that conservative author Ann Coulter has been banned from the network after “Today” dropped her from Tuesday’s program because of breaking-news events. The Coulter incident garnered huge headlines on the Drudge Report, which reported that network sources said NBC was not going to allow the frequent guest to appear any more. That’s not true, NBC News said Monday. Coulter’s segment was dropped from the schedule because of news that the show was expecting to cover in the Gaza Strip with the Israeli military action there… Coulter was to promote her new book, “Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America.”
Ann Coulter is a lying sack of lower body effluent.  NBC should have canceled her appearance for that reason alone, and should have had the courage to say so.

The Drudge collapse, cont’d (County Fair, Media Matters for America)
Drudge apparently concocted out of whole cloth his exclusive that NBC had “banned Ann Coulter for life!” NBC immediately denied the claim and suggested Coulter wold soon appear on NBC. So now Drudge claims NBC is re-thinking its non-existent ban on Coulter. Somebody get Mark Halperin to write this up.

Beck’s response to violence in Gaza: ‘Can someone please retract the Jimmy Carter Nobel Peace Prize?’ (Think Progress)
On his radio show today, conservative talker Glenn Beck responded to the current violence in Gaza by arguing that former President Jimmy Carter should be stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize… Despite Beck’s claims to the contrary, Carter contributed significantly to the Middle East peace process, brokering a lasting peace between Egypt and Israel in 1978. As Juan Cole said of the Carter’s Middle East peace legacy, “Jimmy Carter powerfully affected the destinies of all Egyptians and Israelis.”
Click through to listen to the audio.

Guns, taxes and Reagan: Contenders for GOP chairman debate (On Politics, USA Today)
The six men who want to head the Republican National Committee agreed on many things [Monday] at “the first televised public debate in the history of the republic for the chairmanship of the RNC,” in the words of Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform. All the candidates said they oppose abortion, support parental choice for schools and would encourage candidates to sign no-tax pledges. Asked their favorite Republican president, each answered “Reagan.” “OK, everyone got that one right,” Norquist said, then asked who is their least favorite GOP president. Despite his assurance that “it’s safe to go with the dead ones,” only two gave an answer.

Current GOP chairman Mike Duncan named Warren Harding. Ken Blackwell, former Ohio secretary of state, picked Herbert Hoover because “he opened the door to big government activism and I think that unfortunately President Bush has opened up the door to Mr. Obama’s big government.”
So our old friend Ken Blackwell, the man who gave Ohio, and therefore the election, to George Bush in 2004, is running for RNC chairman.  You’d think they’d pick him just for that.  But come to think of it, Katherine Harris wasn’t treated too well by the party after giving Bush Florida, and therefore the election, in 2000.

Steele Slams Saltsman: ‘Magic Negro’ Stunt ‘Reinforces Negative Stereotype’ Of The GOP (Think Progress)
Last month, the Hill reported that RNC chairman candidate Chip Saltsman sent out a Christmas greeting that contained a CD with the song “Barack the Magic Negro” on it… [Monday], the candidates debated the future of the Party at the National Press Club and all agreed that the GOP needs to bring in more minorities. But in an interview with ThinkProgress after the debate, Steele said that Saltsman is detracting from this effort. He strongly criticized Saltsman’s decision to send out the “Magic Negro” song, saying “it doesn’t help at all” the GOP’s effort to bring in minorities to the party.

The Return Of Schiavo: Conservatives Plan To Revive Embarrassing Debacle To Block Obama’s DOJ Nominee (Think Progress)
Conservatives are now brushing off the [Terry] Schiavo case to use it against Thomas Perrelli, President-elect Obama’s pick for the no. 3 spot at the Justice Department. Right-wing websites are outraged at Obama’s association with Perrelli, since he was one of the lawyers who represented Michael Schiavo, who wanted his wife’s feeding tube removed. The Washington Times today reports that these conservatives are now gearing up to fight Perrelli’s nomination:

Report: Former eBay Head Whitman Finally Ready For California Gubernatorial Bid (Paid Content)
Meg Whitman, who announced her retirement as eBay CEO last January, is considering a run for California governor, the WSJ reported, citing an unidentified source… A person whom the WSJ identified only as a California Republican Party official said Whitman will have a team assembled by the end of the month and is bringing on people from the campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Whitman campaigned for Romney in the Republican presidential primaries and later for Sen. John McCain, after he became the party’s nominee.

Bush Wavers on Florida Senate Bid (Political Wire)
“Republican excitement over the prospect of Jeb Bush running for U.S. Senate has given way to increasing speculation that the former governor will stay out of the race,” the St. Petersburg Times reports. Bush declined to comment “but was expected to make an announcement perhaps as early as this week.”

Pew: ‘The overall mood of the public’ has gotten worse under Bush. (Think Progress)
On CBS’ Face The Nation yesterday, host Bob Schieffer asked Vice President Cheney whether Americans were “better off now than we were eight years ago.” Cheney replied that the Bush administration had “done some very good things” in that time. But according to the Pew Research Center, the American public disagrees. In an analysis comparing the mood of the country in 2000 and the mood of the country today, Pew found that a “mere 13% of Americans are now satisfied with the way things are going in the country, compared with 55% eight years ago”.

Bush Cites Failed Social Security Privatization Push As His Biggest Domestic Policy Achievement (Think Progress)
The Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes reports today that he and fellow conservative Bill Kristol met with President Bush last Friday for a lunch… According to Barnes, … the president cited his push to privatize Social Security as his biggest domestic policy accomplishment… [But a] recent Center for American Progress Action Fund report found that if a worker had retired on October 1, 2008 after 35 years of contributions to private retirement accounts, that retiree would have lost nearly $30,000 in retirement funds because of the downturn in the stock market over the last two years.

Part of the reason Bush’s push failed was that very few people actually believed he was trying to reform Social Security and instead thought he was trying to dismantle it. Even back in 2005, despite a lack of support for privatization, the Bush administration was insisting that their efforts were a “great success.” Indeed, a recent CNN poll found that 62 percent of Americans oppose privatizing any part their Social Security taxes. But seeing that Bush regularly ignores what Americans think, its no wonder he thinks he doesn’t get enough credit for his privatization crusade.

A bullet dodged (by Paul Krugman)
What would have happened if George W. Bush had actually succeeded in his plan to privatize Social Security? Ask the Italians. “Italy did for retirement financing what President George W. Bush couldn’t do in the U.S.: It privatized part of its social security system. The timing couldn’t have been worse. “The global market meltdown has created losses for those who agreed to shift their contributions from a government severance payment plan to private funds meant to yield higher returns.”

First Lady Gets Small Book Advance (Political Wire)
According to the New York Post, First Lady Laura Bush received an advance of just $1.6 million for her book deal announced yesterday — far less than the $8 million Hillary Clinton received for her memoir, Living History. The New Yorker notes that most publishers that met with Mrs. Bush were unimpressed with her proposal.
Not many people are interested in what a doorstop has to say.

Media Matters for America headlines

• Limbaugh claims Franken “stole” MN Senate race, cites WSJ editorial to claim “[t]hey’re counting votes twice”

• Coulter: Today cancels, but CBS’ Early Show to host her

• Scarborough embellished as “reporting” WSJeditorial’s one-sided echo of Coleman’s recount accusation

• Cunningham on the poor: “They’re poor because they lack values, ethics, and morals”

• MSNBC’s Brewer suggested there is “a cloud over Franken” because lawsuit or filibuster could impede efforts to seat him in Senate

• IBD cited 1930s America, 1990s Japan as evidence that stimulus spending doesn’t work, but economists disagree on both counts

• Wash. Times echoed opponents’ distortion of EFCA in asserting it would “eliminat[e] the secret ballot”

• ABC’s Karl uncritically quoted Cornyn’s baseless claim that Schumer “believes” Franken “should be seated without an election certificate”

Frustrated reporters locked out of Gaza war zone
EREZ CROSSING, Israel – Israel scrapped arrangements Monday to allow the first foreign reporters into the Gaza Strip since the military launched its offensive against Palestinian militants, adding to mounting media frustration at being locked out of the war zone.

Israel targets Hamas TV broadcasts
Israeli Defense Forces bombed the offices of Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV station in Gaza on Sunday and subsequently hacked into its frequency to air an animated clip of the Palestinian group’s leadership being gunned down. “Time is running out,” warned the clip in Arabic. The Intl. Federation of Journalists has criticized Israel for the attack.

Gunmen raid Sri Lanka TV station
Gunmen armed with grenades have ransacked offices of the largest private TV broadcaster in Sri Lanka. The attack near Colombo followed some criticism in state media of the MBC group’s coverage of recent army gains against Tamil Tiger rebels.

Chinese government to Web companies: No porn allowed
In what amounts to a thinly-veiled legal threat, the Chinese government has intensified its campaign against sexually-explicit Internet material by instructing companies including Google to curb the availability of pornography.

Many teens display risky behavior on MySpace: study
CHICAGO (Reuters) – More than half of teenagers mention risky behaviors such as sex and drugs on their MySpace accounts, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

(EU) Government plans to extend powers to spy on personal computers
Police could routinely hack into personal computers without the need for a warrant under new plans from the European Union.

Need to Make Profits Online? It CAN Be Done (by Steve Outing, Editor & Publisher)
After my December column, some asked: How exactly do we make enough money to sustain, let alone grow, our newsgathering organizations? How do we continue to serve our communities’ information needs adequately — while making a profit? 

How Newspapers Tried to Invent the Web (by Jack Shafer, Slate)
It would be easy to accuse editors and publishers of being clueless about the coming Internet disruption and to insist that the industry’s proper reward for decades of haughty attitude, bad planning, and incompetence is bankruptcy. But newspapers have really, really tried to wrap their hands around the future and preserve their franchise, an insight I owe to Pablo J. Boczkowski’s 2004 book, Digitizing the News: Innovation in Online Newspapers. The industry has understood from the advent of AM radio in the 1920s that technology would eventually be its undoing and has always behaved accordingly.

US: Gannett launches ContentOne
Gannett has just launched ContentOne, an initiative which will “upend the traditional thinking about content in our industry, both in how we gather it and how we sell it,” according to Gannett president, Craig Dubow. The initiative is a “venture as a system for content development, sharing and information gathering, which is meant to eliminate content redundancies across its papers in order to better focus on deep local content,” according to Clickz.

Monster.com To Create Co-Branded Job Sites With Sun-Times Media Group (Paid Content)
The Sun-Times Media Group has struck an alliance with Monster.com on forming a series of online recruitment services and co-branded job sites across the publisher’s 70 newspapers. The deal comes over six months after Chicago-based Sun-Times joined the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium, which includes access to Yahoo’s Hot Jobs site. More recently, newspapers and online recruiters have seen help wanted ads decline precipitously as the economy worsens and unemployment ticks higher. The deal could help Sun-Times generate some more incremental revenue and attract more readers to its classifieds.

Executives Replaced at Borders as Sales Fall
The book retailer said that George L. Jones would be succeeded by Ron Marshall, a private equity executive with experience turning around ailing companies.

iTunes Rumored to be Dropping DRM; Jacking Up Pop Music Prices (Mashable)
On the eve of Macworld, one hot rumor making the rounds is that Apple is set to announce a deal with three of the major record labels to make all tracks on iTunes DRM-free. In exchange, the service would introduce more variable pricing on music, with current hit songs carrying a higher price than older and less popular music. According to CNET, the move would include both music added to iTunes going forward as well as tracks already on the service, from labels Sony BMG, Warner Music, Universal, and EMI (who already has DRM-free tracks on iTunes). While DRM has long been a hot button issue, one has to wonder if the trade-off of higher prices will be worth it to the majority of users.

Inside Radio Survey: Most think their job is safe.
After a series of cutbacks at some of the biggest broadcast groups, many believe downsizing will continue this year. Half of the respondents to our survey expect more cuts at their cluster. Yet 56% think their job won’t be affected.

Televisa-Univision Court Clash Could Alter Landscape of Spanish-Language TV
A civil trial will pit two titans — Grupo Televisa and Univision Communications Inc. — against each other. At stake is the future of the widely popular telenovelas, a steamy mix of sex, romance and family intrigue that has made the Spanish-language shows among the most popular and profitable in the U.S.

TLC Reality Series to Follow NASCAR Wives
TLC has ordered a docusoap series titled NASCAR Wives, starring women with surnames familiar to racing fans. TLC will air an hour of the series as a special Jan. 24 with a lead-in from the network’s most-watched annual event, the Miss America pageant.
Just what we need are more vapid women on reality TV.

Google Continues to Expand Lead in Search Race
Google continues to widen the gap between it and all other competitors in the search race, while rival Microsoft has actually lost search users over the past year despite paying people to use its services, according to the latest figures issued by Nielsen Online.

Berlin Philharmonic offers digital concerts
BERLIN – Fans of Germany’s renowned Berlin Philharmonic can now follow the orchestra’s performances from anywhere in the world through a new “digital concert hall” accessible via the Internet.
Why can’t we see plays in the same way?  Pop concerts?  Music festivals?

Cuba allows access to Hemingway papers
Cuba on Monday began accepting requests for electronic access to more than 3,000 documents from Ernest Hemingway’s home on the island, including the unpublished epilogue of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and coded messages the author sent when using his yacht to hunt for German submarines during World War II.

Lionsgate to Acquire TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com
In a surprise move, Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. agreed Monday to buy TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com for $255 million, torpedoing a deal announced just over two weeks ago with media entrepreneur Allen Shapiro and a private equity unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

DreamWorks, SoBe, Intel, NBC Plan 3-D Super Bowl Ad
Commercial Break Will Feature Lizards, ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ Trailer

JP Morgan Sees Long-Term Dominance For Performance-based Ads; Online Video Loses Luster (Paid Content)
It’s not surprising that during a downturn, the clear metrics and ROI offered by performance based ads are looking more attractive. But in his wide-ranging ‘09 outlook, JP Morgan analyst Imran Khan expects marketers to treasure performance-based ads even when the larger economy begins to grow again. So the market share gains that performance ads have achieved over the CPM-based model look pretty durable and mean continued struggles for display ads. The report … predicts that the mostly performance-based U.S. search ad market will rise 10 percent in 2009 to nearly $16 billion. In contrast, display ads, which includes both performance and branded advertising, will grow only 6.3 percent to $8.4 billion this year.

Front-Page NYT Ads Cost $75,000 on Weekdays
The New York Times is shopping ad space on its once sacred front page for $75,000 on weekdays and $100,000 on Sundays, according to several ad buyers who asked to remain unnamed. The paper is limiting the front page to big advertisers willing to spend more on top of their existing budgets.

Better Late Than Never: Ad Agencies Try To Create Online Marketplaces (Paid Content)
After witnessing ad networks and exchanges capture more revenue from major marketers these last few years, traditional media agencies are starting to play catch up. Interpublic Group’s buying and planning shop Mediabrands is working on a digital marketplace tool for clients that will include behavioral targeting. IPG’s major ad holding company rivals are not far behind either, WSJ says, noting that WPP Group, Publicis Groupe and Havas are also trying to come up with similar programs.

Ohio company chosen for Ala. broadband project
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama officials have selected a Cincinnati company for a $1.7 million two-year contract to make Internet broadband service available in all areas of the southern state.

Best Buy offers used iPhones at lower price
ATLANTA (Reuters) – Retailer Best Buy Co, seeking new ways to appeal to cost-conscious shoppers, said on Tuesday it is selling refurbished versions of Apple Inc’s iPhone 3G at its stores that are priced about $50 less than new iPhones.