Reid breaks with Obama, opposes Ground Zero mosque

... as reported this afternoon by The Hill

Politician who received most campaign contributions from BP? Obama

... as described here by my NewsBusters colleague Noel Sheppard, by way of Politico  ...

50,000 'residual' troops in Iraq -- for how long?

None of the news I've seen so far answers this obvious question. Will 50,000 troops remain in Iraq indefinitely, as in Europe, Japan and South Korea? Or until the first suicide bombing after combat troops are withdrawn?

Update, Sunday March 1 -- all remaining troops to be withdrawn by end of 2011, according to Obama in his remarks at Camp Lejeune on Friday. Why the lack of clarity on this point from media coverage remains a mystery.

How much will market drop after Obama's speech to Congress?

Three hundred points -- or perhaps only 200? Then again, it's slumped so much since Obama was elected -- more than it did in September and October -- that a rebound could be inevitable at some point. Still, how will those already paying most of the taxes respond to Obama's plan to milk them further, and to carbon cap and trade?

Revealing Freudian slip by unhinged lefty Mike Malloy

Listen to it here in audio for NewsBusters post by Karen Hanna about radio host Mike Malloy, a man so fringe he was once fired by Air America Radio. Here's where Malloy trips himself up --

Rush Limbaugh is a bigger threat to this country than Bar-, uh, Osama bin Laden.

Rove giving Bush his due

Great column by Karl Rove in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. After initially describing the sentimental plane ride back to Texas, Rove wrote --

Yet, as Mr. Bush left Washington, in a last angry frenzy his critics again distorted his record, maligned his character and repeated untruths about his years in the Oval Office. Nothing they wrote or said changes the essential facts.

To start with, Mr. Bush was right about Iraq. The world is safer without Saddam Hussein in power. And the former president was right to change strategy and surge more U.S. troops.

A legion of critics (including President Barack Obama) claimed it couldn't work. They were wrong. Iraq is now on the mend, the war is on the path to victory, al Qaeda has been dealt a humiliating defeat, and a democracy in the heart of the Arab world is emerging. The success of Mr. Bush's surge made it possible for President Obama to warn terrorists on Tuesday "you cannot outlast us."

Among the changes to come, via President Obama

Democrats and liberals no longer blithely disparaging prevention of another terrorist attack as a minor achievement. And media reports that our economy has turned the corner cropping up within days.

Details, details

From front-page story in today's Boston Globe under headline, "Treasury pick failed to pay taxes" --

President-elect Barack Obama's pick for Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, failed to pay more than $30,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes over a four-year period, a revelation that could damage his credibility and hurt his chances for an easy confirmation.

Treasurer Geithner, meet Senator Franken. I'm sure you'll have lots to talk about.

Obama's more unhinged supporters, as seen by The Onion

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Obama victory not without silver linings for conservatives

First one that comes to mind -- it kills the hoary myth that conservatives steal elections and undermines what little credibility the claim has for elections in the past.

Secondly, that a man of color named Barack Hussein Obama was elected says something magnificent about America, how this truly is a land of opportunity, a meritocracy where talent and the ability to articulate a vision of hope matter to a great many people.

If I had to pinpoint the main reason McCain lost, it was his hopeless incoherence, especially after the financial panic hit in September and we were hungry for steadiness and clarity. Obama projected both; McCain, neither.

Third silver lining -- many people on the Left would have refused to accept a McCain victory, regardless of whether it was disputed. What followed may well have been '68 redux.

Lastly, I doubt we would have gotten three consecutive terms of Reagan/Bush without the disastrous four years of Carter that preceded them.

McCain vs. Obama, an earlier version ...

The horror ... the horror ...

... By way of the inimitable Sam Ryskind at The Ryskind Notebook.

Maddow glibly disparages countries that prefer McCain

.... as I describe in a blog post today at NewsBusters ...

Silver lining to Powell endorsing Obama?

It led at least one lefty radio talk show host to make an unexpected admission about Bush and company's pre-war belief that Iraq possessed WMD, as described here in a blog post I wrote today for NewsBusters.org.

Unhinged radio host Ed Schultz claims Republicans want "civil war"

Over-the-top rhetoric and rage from lefty talker Ed Schultz yesterday in responding to McCain robocalls criticizing Barack Obama's ties to '60s radical William Ayers, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's call to investigate members of Congress who are not "pro-American" and Congressman Robin Hayes saying "liberals hate real Americans." Here's what Schultz had to say, referring to Republicans --

SCHULTZ: They hate Democrats. They hate liberals. They actually, I think they want a civil war. I really do, I think they want a civil war.

Not surprisingly, one of Schultz's listeners challenged him on this within the hour, a man named "Rodney" from Marshall, N.C., who described himself as liberal and an Obama supporter. Schultz, having spent most of yesterday's show condemning what he perceived as "vile" Republican rhetoric, was volcanic in his angry intolerance of the caller's criticism. What follows is a transcript of the exchange --

CALLER: I'm going to have to call you out on what your response was to Congressman (Robin) Hayes, who I do not know. I live in western North Carolina
close to Asheville, I hope to see you next Wednesday night. But we cannot accomplish getting Barack Obama elected in this coming election by stooping to the level of some of the other talk show hosts. And when you came back with your comment concerning Representative Hayes a while ago and making fun of his accent, talking about that you think they want to start a civil war, I think you're taking a chance of alienating a lot of folks that are still on the fence down here in North Carolina and Obama needs North Carolina. We can't stoop to their level.

SCHULTZ: Well, first of all, Rodney, you have your opinion and I have mine. The conservative movement in this country, in my opinion, completely out of material and now in the arena of being vile. For a United States congressman to claim that there actually is a political movement in this country known as liberals that hate real Americans, now Rodney, if you want to let that go, fine.

CALLER: (crosstalk) No, I don't want to let it go, Ed, I did not say that at all. I am a liberal, I am a supporter, but there are a lot of people that are going to respond to your ...

SCHULTZ: Well let 'em freakin' respond to it! Rodney, Rodney, let them respond to it! Let 'em respond to it! Come to the freakin' town hall meeting and respond to it! I'm not apologizing!

CALLER: I'm not, well, I guess ..

SCHULTZ: God! I mean, it amazes me, it absolutely amazes me how many experts there are out there in talk radio! You can't say this because this might happen. You can't say that because that might happen. You can't do any of that because that might happen. You know what something, Rodney? You don't know your ass from third base!

CALLER: Wait a minute now, Ed ...

SCHULTZ: No, no, no, wait a minute, you don't! How do you, what do you know what to talk about?!

CALLER: What do I know what to talk about ...?

SCHULTZ: What do you, how do you know what to talk about?! How do you know what strikes the passion of the people? Have you traveled the country? Have you talked to people in market after market? Have you looked in their eyes and seen the frustration with the conservative movement in this country?

CALLER: OK, but when you start doing things that take away from ...

SCHULTZ: That's your freakin' opinion!

CALLER: Well, and evidently you have a very strong one, but I'm concerned about your ...

SCHULTZ: Well, you shouldn't be concerned about it, Rodney! Why don't you just get off your ass and start working!

CALLER: (crosstalk) ... in North Carolina for the first time in a presidential race, it could be a very important part of this campaign, and the success of this campaign. That's my concern. It's not defending Robin Hayes. It's despicable what he said, I'm embarrassed by it.

SCHULTZ: Well, why didn't you start out with that? But instead it's an attack on me (crosstalk) I mean, you started this, Rodney, I can't deal with you, you don't want a conversation. You don't want a conversation. You want to be put on automatic pilot, so I tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to turn the show over to you for a minute and you'll have the final word.

CALLER: OK. Well then I'll say, I'll probably speak to you on Wednesday night in Ashville (N.C., where Schultz will moderate town hall forum) and in the meantime, I hope that everybody will take a deep breath, walk slowly, drink plenty of ice water and be careful when they're responding to a negative comment so that we don't do more damage than we do good. We've got a chance to win North Carolina for Obama. There are a lot of conservatives, evangelicals, Southern Baptists, Democrats in this state that for the first time are ready to vote for a Democrat and give Obama a chance to win North Carolina. And I want us all to be careful that we don't ruin it by responding to one person's very stupid comments, of Rep. Hayes who I don't know ...

SCHULTZ: Now Rodney, now I've given you a minute, I've given you a minute. Now is it OK if I talk now?

CALLER: Yeah, Ed.

SCHULTZ: OK, goodbye. We're right back on the Ed Schultz show (cut to commercials).

What's most amusing about the bellicose Schultz is that he petulantly walked off the set of Fox News on Friday morning. Why? Because, as he described it on Monday's show, "I don't want to be interrupted." Kinda like Schultz did repeatedly with a caller possessing the gall to criticize "Big Ed."

Biden acknowledges post-Democratic convention doubts about Obama

... As described by Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter on Ed Schultz's radio show today, with Alter telling Schultz about interviewing Biden on Friday, the day after Biden's vice presidential debate with Sarah Palin --

"One thing that he talked about that was quite interesting to me was Obama's role during the bailout and he said, you know, he talked about this conference call with Warren Buffett and Paul Volcker and Obama's other economic advisers, Bob Rubin, and how much, as he described it, he said Obama was in friggin' command! You know, he was really exercised about how good and how sophisticated Obama was in his handling of that crisis and how much, you know, he seemed like a president on those conference calls. He said he called him later and said, you know, you sold me, sucker! You know, which is kind of the way Joe Biden talks. Now that was interesting because it was a little bit of a reflection that, I think, Biden, not just because he ran against Obama, but because, you know, he's so much more junior, had some questions over the course of 2008 about whether Obama was really ready and had the capacity to be a great president. And those questions have been resolved in Joe Biden's mind."

Resolved in Biden's mind during the financial crisis -- which began fully a month after the Democratic convention. With Biden harboring doubts about Obama in the interim.

Obama to appear on season premiere of "Saturday Night Live"

... as reported by People magazine, which is touting this as an exclusive --

"Michael Phelps isn't the only person hoping to make waves on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live this weekend. He will be joined by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who'll be jetting in from New Hampshire, PEOPLE has learned, but whose role in the show is like many of the voters he covets: undecided.

"The details of the sketch are still being worked out," an Obama campaign spokesperson tells PEOPLE. ..."

Obama and Biden voted $223 million for Bridge to Nowhere instead of Katrina rebuilding

One devoutly hopes the McCain-Palin campaign harps on this incessantly.

From an op-ed column by US Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C., in today's Wall Street Journal --

"... Mrs. Palin also killed the infamous Bridge to Nowhere in her own state. Yes, she once supported the project: But after witnessing the problems created by earmarks for her state and for the nation's budget, she did what others like me have done: She changed her position and saved taxpayers millions. Even the Alaska Democratic Party credits her with killing the bridge.

"When the Senate had its chance to stop the Bridge to Nowhere and transfer the money to Katrina rebuilding, Messrs. Obama and Biden voted for the $223 million earmark, (emphasis added) siding with the old boys' club in the Senate. And to date, they still have not publicly renounced their support for the infamous earmark."

"Rev. Wright Done Me Wrong," church employee alleges

Bombshell story in today's New York Post about Jeremiah Wright allegedly involved in affair with woman 30 years younger.

That would be Obama who's doing this

Laugh-out loud funny gaffe by Barack Obama on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" this morning --

Obama -- "You're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith and you're absolutely right that that has not come ..."

Stephanopoulos -- "Christian faith."

Obama -- "... my, my Christian faith ..."