Rush Limbaugh says Kennedy won’t live to see health care reform

Sunday talk show lineup for March 8

Face the Nation: Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, House Min. Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Michael Fletcher & Kathleen Parker

Fox News Sunday: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) & DNC Chair/Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA)

Meet The Press: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) & Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), then a roundtable with Erin Burnett, Mort Zuckerman, Newt Gingrich & Liaquat Ahamed

This Week: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) & President of the US Chamber of Commerce Thomas Donahue, followed by a roundtable featuring E.J. Dionne, George Will, David Brooks & Cokie Roberts

Ted Kennedy addresses health care summit

Specter to face primary challenge

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) will face a primary challenge in his bid for reelection in 2010. Pat Toomey, the head of the Club for Growth, will launch a second consecutive bid to remove Specter in the Pennsylvania GOP senate primary. Toomey originally stated that he would not challenge Specter, but reconsidered after Republicans became angry with Specter’s support of the economic stimulus package.

Gupta withdraws as surgeon general nominee

CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta has informed President Obama that he no longer wants to be nominated for the position of surgeon general. While no public reason for the withdrawal was offered, it has been reported that Gupta was concerned about the massive paycut he would be taking for the position. Dr. Gupta has a lucrative medical practice and contract with CNN and would have had to give up both in order to become surgeon general.

Dow Jones drops 4% for second time in week

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell another 281.40 points today, a total of 4.09%. This is the second time in a week that the Dow has dropped 4%.

Barbara Bush has open heart surgery

Barbara Bush, the former first lady of the United States, underwent open heart surgery earlier today. The surgery was scheduled last week after Mrs. Bush experienced shortness of breath.

British PM Brown address joint session of Congress

Coleman likely to lose court battle, proposes re-vote

In a last-ditch effort to salvage his chances of winning reelection to the Senate, Republican Norm Coleman is now proposing that there be a re-vote for the Minnesota Senate race between himself and Democrat Al Franken, who is likely to be the next senator from Minnesota.

Coleman’s lawyers are now arguing in court that the disputed votes are too difficult to decipher and that in order to fix the problem the entire state of Minnesota should hold a re-vote. However, Coleman’s campaign was the one that initiated court proceedings and after numerous rulings went against him, he and his campaign are attempting to frame the results as “uncertain” and cast as much doubt on their legitimacy as possible. In response, Franken’s attorney noted that Minnesota law does not allow re-votes.

Dow continues freefall; loses 4.24% today

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 299 points in trading today, the equivalent of 4.24%, and fell below 7,000 points for the first time since 1997. Today’s loss was spurned by a deepening lack of investor confidence as well as dismal unemployment numbers and AIG, who reported the worst quarterly loss in history. In less than a year, the Dow has lost almost 50% of its value.

Obama to name Sebelius HHS secretary tomorrow

President Obama will name Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) the next secretary of health and human services tomorrow.

Sebelius’ nomination is being met with some resistance by the Catholic right while elements of the Catholic left are pushing back hard. The two groups are using Sebelius as a battlefield over abortion rights and it is not expected to hurt Sebelius in the confirmation process. Already, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), who is a social conservative, has announced his full support of Governor Sebelius’ nomination.

In naming Sebelius, President Obama deals a major blow to Democrats’ chances of picking up the Senate seat being vacated by Brownback, who is running for governor in 2010. The DSCC and the NRSC quietly believed that if Sebelius ran for the seat, she would easily win. Now the DSCC is scrambling to find a new candidate to run for the seat in 2010.