Senate Democrats fail to block filibuster over judicial nominee
Washington (CNN) - Invoking a rarely used filibuster, Republican senators scored a major tactical and political victory Thursday, blocking a final floor vote for a controversial judicial nominee. California law professor Goodwin Liu has been tapped to serve on the U-S Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco.
A cloture maneuver to end weeks of delays over the nomination failed when Democrats could not secure the necessary 60 votes
to end debate and move ahead with an up-or-down vote.
Liu was the first of President Obama's judicial picks to be successfully filibustered. Republicans complained he was inexperienced
and a partisan ideologue. Democrats countered he was a thoughtful mainstream candidate well qualified to serve.
Obama announces 'new chapter in American diplomacy'
Washington (CNN) – The United States will support efforts for reform across the Middle East and North Africa, including "transitions toward democracy," President Barack Obama said Thursday
In a speech at the U.S. State Department laying out his policies toward the region, the president said he is marking "a new chapter in American diplomacy."
FULL STORY
Biden hits the road to fundraise
(CNN) – Vice President Joe Biden is hitting the fundraising circuit this week.
The vice president will be the main attraction at an event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Thursday afternoon. According to a source with knowledge of the event, tickets for the gathering at the Mansion on 5th Avenue range from $10,000 to the legal maximum limit of $35,800 that an individual can contribute for both the primary and the general election.
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Romney stepping up South Carolina presence
(CNN) – He hasn't been spotted in South Carolina since the fall of 2010, but Mitt Romney, the presumptive frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, is making his campaign debut in the pivotal early primary state this weekend.
The former Massachusetts governor will hold an event in the Columbia area on Saturday to discuss the economy with small business owners, a Romney aide told CNN.
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Obama 'thanks' Romney (again) for his role in passing health care reform
(CNN) - President Obama again praised a potential 2012 presidential rival Wednesday night, though his kind words likely went unappreciated by their intended target.
"Yes, we passed health care with an assist from a former Massachusetts governor," Obama said at a Democratic National Committee fundraising event in Boston.
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Live blog of Obama’s Middle East address
Washington (CNN) - In the wake of the Arab Spring protests across the Middle East and North Africa, President Barack Obama will pledge U.S. economic assistance to Egypt and Tunisia on Thursday in a speech highlighting his administration's revised policies toward the changing region.
1:23 p.m. ET - @clancycnn: It was an important speech. Pivotal? I'm afraid not. Arab/Muslim world will wait and watch - for what actions the U.S. takes.
1:15 p.m. ET - @clancycnn: Several have pointed out Obama said vote for a Palestinian state was "symbolic" and wouldn't create a state. But its a legal move.
1:11 p.m. ET - @arwacnn: #syria activists tell me not happy w/#obama speech, wanted 2 hear him say #assad has lost legitimacy 2 lead & step down #CNNTV #MEspeech
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TIME: 'I can win,' Pawlenty says
It was after 8 p.m. at the public library in the quiet town of Adel, Iowa, and staffers were folding up the metal chairs. Tim Pawlenty's question-and-answer session had wrapped up some 30 minutes earlier, but a handful of voters were still here, and therefore so was Pawlenty, tall and lean in his dark suit, staying as always until no one was left to talk with him. When the polls show you in the low single digits, you make time for everyone.
Presently, one middle-aged man in a blazer was telling Pawlenty why Republicans need a tough-talking presidential candidate like Donald Trump. "We need to be bold," he implored. Conservatives were going to be attacked in 2012, and they had to be willing to fight back hard. Was Pawlenty up to it?
FULL STORY FROM TIME
Huntsman to make New Hampshire debut
(CNN) – Jon Huntsman, the former U.S. Ambassador to China regarded by some Republicans as a potential white knight who could rescue an otherwise uninspiring 2012 field, is officially dipping his toe in the presidential campaign waters Thursday, set to begin a five-day venture consisting of old-fashioned retail politics in the key primary state of New Hampshire.
Huntsman - the onetime governor of Utah who recently returned from his post in China after he was tapped for the job by President Obama in 2009 - has scheduled 11 events in as many towns during his five-day swing, including appearances at several house parties, a VFW hall, gun shops and general stores, and a local library. The most high profile event will come Saturday when Huntsman delivers the commencement address at Southern New Hampshire University.
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Democrats highlight Gingrich controversy to GOP stance on Medicare
Washington (CNN) - It seems the Democratic National Committee isn't worried about Newt Gingrich's warning.
In apologizing for his critical comments of House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's Medicare plan, the former House Speaker and GOP presidential candidate is warning Democrats not to use his controversial comments from Sunday's "Meet the Press" in any commercials.
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Cheney book cover unveiled
(CNN) – We still don't know what Dick Cheney's memoir will reveal, but now we know what it will look like.
Threshold Editions, an imprint of mega publishing house Simon & Schuster, unveiled the cover of the former vice president's upcoming memoir Wednesday, portraying a pensive-looking Cheney from what appears to be his days in the White House.
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