FRIDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Pakistan: “A trio of suicide attackers, including a rare female bomber, set off two blasts outside a police station in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar on Friday, killing 11 people in the latest bloodshed in an unrelenting wave of terror plaguing the country.”
* The CBO numbers on the House health care reform bill look good, but keep in mind, it’s pretty preliminary, and today’s reporting is outdated. We’ll know more when there’s a final House bill.
* Is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) working the inside game for a public option?
* Despite reports to the contrary this week, Reid will not invite Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) to closed-door negotiating sessions on shaping the Senate’s health care reform bill.
* Another possible compromise on the public option is in the mix, this time in the House.
* Is the AMA’s unexpected support for reform about to take another unexpected turn?
* The bizarre right-wing accusations against the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) have apparently produced at least one death threat.
* The pro-SAFRA YouTube video, with a takeoff on Beyonce’s ubiquitous “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).” Informative or cringe-inducing? Or both?
* Rachel Maddow vs. Americans for Prosperity’s Tim Phillips. Go watch.
* Glenn Beck’s Mao hysteria actually came up during today’s briefing with the White House press corps. (Why those guys follow Beck’s lead remains a mystery to me.)
* Anita Dunn responds to Beck’s tantrum.
* On a related note, during his tirade, Beck probably should have skipped that Hitler reference.
* Another Bush administration official is heads to jail.
* The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has a bad week.
* House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has spent over $10,000 for the services of professional speaking coaches? Doesn’t that sound a little high?
* Remember when House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he hadn’t heard from a single American outside of Congress or the White House who supports a public option? I don’t imagine he’ll be saying that again.
* Best comment I’ve seen today on the “balloon boy” coverage: “[W]hether or not the drama was staged, it certainly served as a perfect metaphor for cable news: America spent hours riveted by a powerful and gripping story that turned out to be totally meaningless, and will have no significant impact on anybody’s lives going forward.”
* Good news: John McCain will not be on a Sunday show this weekend. Bad news: he’ll be on Jay Leno tonight instead.
* President Obama was asked by 9-year-old Tyren Scott yesterday, “Why do people hate you?” I found the president’s answer pretty compelling.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
