Today’s edition of quick hits.<\/p>\n
* Guess which annual blog awards are now accepting nominations<\/a>?<\/p>\n * A whole lot of people spent a whole lot of time trying to track down a picture of George W. Bush and Jack Abramoff together. One finally came out<\/a>. As CREW put it, “The White House did not want anyone to see this photo. So, that begs the question: What else are they hiding?”<\/p>\n * Remember some of those far-right judicial nominations that have been driving me batty for the last couple of years? Many of them withdrew from consideration<\/a> today. (thanks to Curmudgeon for the tip)<\/p>\n * Jobs created in the first six years of Reagan’s presidency: 9.5 million. Jobs created in the first six years of Clinton’s presidency: 17.6 million. Jobs created in the first six years of Bush’s presidency: 3.7 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n * Bush may support a troop escalation in Iraq, but don’t expect<\/a> Tony Blair to go along with a “surge” in British troops.<\/p>\n * I’m pleased to report that Sen. Tim Johnson’s (D-S.D.) condition has been upgraded<\/a> from “critical” to “fair,” nearly four weeks after he suffered a brain hemorrhage and underwent surgery, his press secretary said today.<\/p>\n * I regret that I’ve fallen terribly behind in covering Joe Klein’s latest controversy. Here’s a summary: Klein, for Time’s new “Swampland” blog, wrote his very first blog post<\/a>. It was dumb<\/a>. So Klein wrote another<\/a>. It was dumb<\/a>, too. Let’s just say Klein’s blogging career is off to a shaky start<\/a>. * In case you get the email that’s going around comparing a blizzard in North Dakota to Hurricane Katrina, please know that it’s total nonsense<\/a>.<\/p>\n * I think reporters on the Hill were a little too<\/i> interested<\/a> in People magazine running a picture of Barack Obama without his shirt on. The WaPo’s Dana Milbank compared him to “Burt Lancaster in ‘From Here to Eternity.'”<\/p>\n * The iPhone is pretty cool looking<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n* I also regret that I haven’t had the chance to review Schwarzenegger’s statewide healthcare policy in any real detail, though I’m delighted to have a Republican governor of the nation’s largest state endorsing the principle of universal coverage. As for the plan’s merit, Kevin<\/a> and Ezra<\/a> have a few thoughts.<\/p>\n