The Hollywood Liberal

The Clinton plaque is returning, for now, to the Ronald Reagan Building
Twelve years ago, the U.S. Agency for International Development turned its lobby in the Ronald Reagan Building into a shrine to then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Its centerpiece was an 800-pound bronze plaque, 6 feet wide by about 9 feet high, bolted to a marble wall.

The Fix: The unpredictable Michael Steele
1. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele’s announcement Monday that he will seek a second term as chairman of the committee stunned the political world and left strategists scrambling to assess the impact he could have on the contest.

Mandatory health insurance now law’s central villain
With a court ruling in Virginia this week that the government cannot require Americans to buy health insurance, President Obama has landed in the position of defender-in-chief of an idea he once opposed.

Federal Eye: Google, GPO stirke an e-book deal
Looking for new titles to stock your mobile reading device? How about a copy of the 2011 federal budget? Or a history of the space race?

Uncertain Mandate on Health Care

World Needs American Leadership
Thomas Friedman, New York Times
Former President José María Figueres of Costa Rica has a saying I like: “There is no Planet B” — so we’d better make Plan A work to preserve a stable environment. I feel the same way about America these days. There is no America B, so we’d better make this one work a lot better than we’ve been doing, and not only for our sake. When Britain went into decline as the globe’s stabilizing power, America was right there, ready to pick up the role. Even with all our imperfections and mistakes, the world has…

It’s Time to Recalibrate Hopes for Obama
Michael Tomasky, The Guardian
Turn autoplay offTurn autoplay onPlease activate cookies in order to turn autoplay offIf the liberal renaissance is only a dream, modest advances against hostile forces can make Obama's presidency a successLiberal activists in America are not, to put it charitably, thrilled with the tax deal Barack Obama has worked out with the Republicans, which will extend the Bush-era lower rates for high earners for another two years. Aside from the substantive disagreements, one senses in the subtext of the commentaries two chief frustrations.First, the suspicion that Obama is a weak negotiator who…

Holder, Sebelius Trot Out Auto-Insurance Canard
Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
You have to feel for the editors of the Washington Post.  The day after a federal judge rules ObamaCare’s mandate unconstitutional, they get an opportunity to let the woman who runs it and the man who directed its defense publish an essay rebutting the critics dancing on the mandate’s grave.  Once the editors receive it, though, they see that the argument relies on a canard that has been thoroughly debunked for months — and renders the entire exercise useless.  Do the editors kill the celebrity column, or run with it and hope no one notices?Guess:Everyone…

Senators Fight Over Flight Routes