Today In The Washington Examiner March 11, 2011

David Freddoso - Walker wins the First Battle of Wisconsin



So Gov. Scott Walker, R, has won the First Battle of Wisconsin -- but will he win the war? It remains to be seen what the next battle will be. There will be attempts to force recall elections -- first of several senators, then next year possibly of Walker himself -- but there is still potential for a government shutdown showdown this spring if the fleeing senators stay on the lam.






Timothy P. Carney - A no-fly zone in Libya would mean war in Libya


Gates apparently doesn't harbor the same illusion Kerry does - that we can flex military muscle in Libya but keep our hands clean. It's like the old saying that you can't be a little bit pregnant. Gates knows a third war in the Muslim would be tough for our military, tough for our budget and tough for the American people to bear.






Byron York - GOP: Full speed ahead on defunding NPR


If NPR board members hope Schiller's firing will change the dynamics on Capitol Hill, they're likely mistaken. Republicans have wanted to defund NPR for many years -- long before the arrival and departure of Vivian Schiller. It is unrealistic to believe that one firing, even at the highest level, would change a view Republicans have held for so long.






Hayley Peterson - Obama weighing military options for Libya


Just two years ago, Obama campaigned on a military doctrine that would call the United States into action out of "moral obligation," on top of national security interests. His decisions in the Middle East are the first test of how he would apply that doctrine.






Susan Ferrechio - Senate rejects budget plans 9 days before deadline


Senate Republicans and Democrats Wednesday rejected dueling proposals to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year, sending both parties back to the negotiating table with only a week left to work out a compromise. The Senate voted 56-44, mostly along party lines, to defeat a Republican proposal to fund the final 28 weeks of the fiscal year, cutting $57 billion along the way. Lawmakers then voted 58 to 42 to kill a Democratic spending measure that cut only $4.7 billion.






Michael Barone - David Broder, dean of political reporters, dies at 81


In a profession increasingly accused of bias, Broder remained a pillar of objectivity and fairness. He covered Republicans and Democrats alike with a sympathetic understanding of their objectives combined with a stern disapproval of shoddy tactics. Over his long career, he saw journalism shift from smoke-filled newsrooms with reporters banging out stories on standard typewriters to makeshift holding rooms filled with journalists lightly clicking their BlackBerries. He did not seek to be known as the dean of political reporters, but for four decades his example of hard work and intellectual integrity exerted a continuous and exacting discipline on political journalism and American politics.