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- Today marks the sixth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a milestone that has been oddly and conspicuously absent from most major news outlets. Speaking with Charlie Rose last night, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made the claim that "No one was arguing that Saddam Hussein somehow had something to do with 9/11" despite the fact that the administration repeatedly implied the connection was there, both publicly and privately, the most recent example being former Press Secretary Ari Fleischer's remarks that we couldn't "take a chance that Saddam Hussein might not strike again."
- As Ezra points out, the stranglehold the AIG bonus story has had over the news cycle has all but drowned out the small matter of the Fed pumping $1.15 trillion into the economy via bond purchases, a nod towards "quantitative easing" -- that's "printing more money" to you and me -- in order to combat deflation. Yet according to CNBC "financial analyst" and Cornerite Larry Kudlow, the real problem is non-existent inflation! Tell me Larry, what color is the sky in your world?
- Hopefully the AIG distraction is coming to an end, seeing as the House just passed a bill that will tax the bonuses at 90 percent, in the process exposing deep division in the GOP ranks over how to vote. Indeed, as Greg Sargent observes, there's not only division within the GOP caucus, but between the House GOP leadership and the broader conservative media, which has diluted a unified message on an issue that has already revealed some serious chutzpah from prominent Republicans. Meanwhile, Chris Dodd has owned up to helping the Treasury write in the loophole that allowed for the bonuses in the first place, and despite David Axelrod's musings that "People are not sitting around their kitchen tables thinking about AIG" it turns out that nearly 90 percent of Americans surveyed in this Rasmussen poll have been following the story "very closely" or "somewhat closely."
- In a good piece of policy news, the Obama administration has put the kibosh on a proposal to privatize veteran health benefits after a strong appeal from Nancy Pelosi.
- President Obama will appear on the Jay Leno show tonight, after spending two days in the Golden State and touring green manufacturing plants. Jon Wiener takes a brief look at the electoral shifts in affluent Orange County and how it went from Goldwater country to voting Democratic in 2008.
- Recommended read: James Galbraith's "No Return to Normal."
- Remainders: The EFCA fight narrows in on three would-be persuadable Senators; Michael Steele's RNC brings in $5 million for February; Corner-bashing never quite goes out of style; and 13 bailed-out firms have a bit of a tax problem.
--Mori Dinauer
