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Republicans In Hollywood: Who Are They Endorsing?

2012-02-13T18:09:53Z

Republicans often decry Hollywood as a liberal town, and it's largely true: tinseltown often champions progressive issues, and give much more generously to Democratic candidates. But that doesn't mean there aren't celebrities who lean to the right, either.

There is a sizable contingent of stars who are registered Republicans and routinely campaign and support the GOP's causes. As President Obama begins to consolidate his entertainment industry support, with a series fundraisers in Hollywood coming up, some Republican celebrities are starting to throw their support to different candidates in the GOP primary.

Here are some of the most famous GOP endorsers; we'll add to the list as it grows.

PHOTOS/VIDEO:

Washington Governor Due To Sign Gay Marriage Legislation Today

2012-02-13T18:07:00Z

Washington is set to become the seventh U.S. state to recognize marriage equality today when Gov. Chris Gregoire signs legislation allowing same-sex couples to wed into law today. (Check back here for more updates)

As Reuters is reporting, Gregoire's signing will take place at a statehouse ceremony in Olympia today at 11:30 a.m. PST. The measure, which won final legislative approval last week, won't take effect until early June.

Gregoire has already tweeted her praise for the approval:

Gregoire publicly supported marriage equality (which she described as "the same right given our heterosexual couples") in early January. "It is time, it is the right thing to do, and I will introduce the bill to make it happen," she said at the time, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Opponents of the Washington measure have vowed to seek its repeal at the polls in November, Reuters notes. However, they cannot begin collecting signatures for a petition to repeal the bill by referendum until it is signed into law.

You can watch the bill signing live here.

PHOTOS: The Various Obama Visits To Annandale, Va.

2012-02-13T17:48:51Z

WASHINGTON -- President Obama visited Northern Virginia Community College in suburban Annandale on Monday morning, unveiling his fiscal 2013 budget proposal before a crowd of students, faculty and community members.

It's not the first time the president has visited the Northern Virginia suburb.

In fact, as Patch reports, when you include presidential appearances in nearby Alexandria and Falls Church, President Obama or first lady Michelle Obama have used the greater Annandale area as an event backdrop at least six times since the president took office in 2009.

From Patch:

The President's local connections to Northern Virginia Community College and Annandale's location certainly don’t hurt. Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill Biden, is an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College. The area’s location just off the Beltway may help, too, providing the president's drivers with easy access into and out of the area (rush hour excluded, of course).

There are, also, important voters to court. Northern Virginia is a must-win area for the president's re-election.

Presidential event planners, take note: There hasn't yet been a photo-op at Honey Pig Gooldaegee Korean Grill. Only then will Obama's love of Annandale be complete.

Click through our slideshow of the various Obama visits to Annandale over the years.

GA-2012 Primary: 43% Gingrich, 29% Romney, 12% Santorum, 6% Paul (Mason-Dixon 2/6-8)

2012-02-13T17:42:49Z

Mason-Dixon / Georgia Newspaper Partnership
2/6-8/12; 625 likely Republican Primary voters, 4% margin of error
Mode: Live telephone interviews
Atlanta Journal-Constitution story

Georgia

2012 President: Republican Primary
43% Gingrich
29% Romney
12% Santorum
6% Paul

Hollywood Gives Big To Ultra-Liberal Super PACs

2012-02-13T17:37:35Z

This story comes courtesy of California Watch.

By Will Evans

Everywhere Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney goes, he is followed by "trackers" with video cameras, hoping to catch him making an embarrassing gaffe.

The effort, run by a super political action committee, is funded in part by wealthy Californians. American Bridge 21st Century pulled in more than $1 million from California donors last year, more than from any other state, according to campaign filings.

American Bridge is a liberal research organization in hot pursuit of what is now known as a "macaca" moment. In 2006, then-Sen. George Allen, R-Va., used the term to refer to an Indian American volunteer tracker for Allen's opponent, contributing to the failure of his re-election campaign.

American Bridge's team of about 16 video trackers follows Romney and his Republican rivals to all their events and will become increasingly active in Senate and House races this year, said spokesman Chris Harris. About 25 researchers comb public statements, business records and campaign contributions, and a communications team works to get the message out "in the political bloodstream," Harris said.

The state’s biggest donor to American Bridge, with a $200,000 contribution, was Anne Earhart, an Orange County environmentalist, philanthropist and heiress to the Getty Oil fortune. Earhart is founder of the Marisla Foundation, which funds environmental causes and gave $15,000 to the Center for Investigative Reporting for environmental reporting in 2006.

Hollywood producer and Democratic megadonor Steve Bing –- known for, among other things, a paternity dispute with actress Elizabeth Hurley – gave $150,000.

Several other big donations came from the San Francisco Bay Area. Susie Buell, co-founder of Esprit clothing company and longtime friend of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave $100,000.

So did David desJardins, a former Google software engineer.

American Bridge is "dedicated to making facts matter" by holding Republicans accountable for what they say, desJardins wrote in an e-mail. He wants American Bridge to catch Romney, for example, appealing to primary voters with more conservative rhetoric than what he would say in the general election.

"I don't care if he takes one position or another, but I don't think he should have his cake and eat it too –- if he wants to tell one group what he stands for, then everyone else should hear the same thing," desJardins wrote.

Paul Zygielbaum, an anti-asbestos advocate and chief operating officer of a glucose monitoring device company, also gave $100,000. Stephen Silberstein, co-founder of a library technology company and former board member of the Sierra Club Foundation, chipped in $100,000 as well.

Several of American Bridge's donors are affiliated with the Democracy Alliance, a network of top-level liberal donors that strategically coordinates giving. The group's chairman, Taco Bell heir Rob McKay, gave $50,000 to American Bridge.

American Bridge works with other super PACs, like the pro-Obama Priorities USA Action, to provide research and video clips that can then be used in attack ads.

"They can spend their resources and their time doing what they do best, and we can focus on what we do best," Harris said.

In October, American Bridge accused Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., of plagiarism after it discovered a personal message on Brown's website matched a speech by former Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Brown's office blamed a staff oversight.

When Romney called his income from speaking fees "not very much," American Bridge raced out with an online video criticizing the comment.

The super PAC also provided research for a Los Angeles Times story on tax breaks for a steel company that Romney invested in when he was with Bain Capital.

The group was formed in 2010 by conservative-turned-liberal operative David Brock, who also founded Media Matters for America.

"After we got our butts kicked in the midterms, David Brock realized something needed to be done," Harris said.

The result is "the next iteration of technology impacting politics," said Barbara O’Connor, professor emeritus and former director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at CSU Sacramento.

"It’s the marrying of the irate grassroots folks who used to dog people and try to get them to say something they'd regret later ... combined with large amounts of money and staff," she said.

But O'Connor said the incessant focus on gaffes has a big downside.

"What it produces is candidates that are a lot more careful, don’t say anything and are vanilla, because they don’t want to be caught in that trap," O'Connor said. "And that makes voters even more unhappy."

Will Evans is an investigative reporter for California Watch and the Center for Investigative Reporting focusing on money and politics. To read more California Watch stories, click here.

Obama Proposal Sets Up Battle With GOP Rivals

2012-02-13T17:21:08Z

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama proposed tax increases on wealthy individuals and some corporations Monday, setting the stage for an ideological battle that won't be resolved until after the November election – if then.

Obama's proposed tax hikes put him at odds with the Republican presidential hopefuls. They have all called for tax packages that would lower taxes but possibly add to the federal deficit.

Obama's 2013 budget proposal calls for a tax reform package that would increase revenue by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Obama says he wants to simplify the tax code, lowering marginal tax rates while eliminating or reducing tax breaks enjoyed by wealthy individuals and U.S.-based multinational corporations.

Obama's plan would allow Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy to expire at the end of the year, and would impose a new rule that people making more than $1 million a year pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes. The "Buffett" rule, named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, would replace the alternative minimum tax, which was originally designed to ensure that wealthy families pay at least some tax.

The AMT, however, was never indexed for inflation, so Congress must adjust it each year to prevent it from hitting millions of middle income families.

"I believe that in our country, everyone must shoulder their fair share – especially those who have benefited the most from our economy," Obama said in his budget message. "In the United States of America, a teacher, a nurse, or a construction worker who earns $50,000 a year should not pay taxes at a higher rate than somebody making $50 million. That is wrong."

Obama's tax proposals have no chance of passing a divided Congress in which most Republicans oppose all tax increases. Obama has included many of them in previous budget proposals, only to have them ignored by Congress.

Instead, Congress appears headed for another year-end showdown over whether to extend tax cuts first enacted under former President George W. Bush.

"The president offered a partisan, election-year budget that ratchets up spending while ignoring the biggest drivers of our debt and calls for massive tax increases on hardworking families and small businesses," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.

The tax cuts, which expire at the end of the year, affect taxpayers at every income level. Obama wants to extend them for individuals making less than $200,000 a year and married couples making less than $250,000. He wants to let the tax cuts expire for those who make more.

Obama's rivals, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, have proposed tax plans that independent experts say would result in lower taxes for corporations and the wealthy.

Romney's tax plan would make permanent all of the Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthy. Romney's plan, however, would reduce revenue by $180 billion in 2015, adding to the federal budget deficit, according to an analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.

Romney's campaign disputes the estimate, saying tax cuts in the plan would help improve the economy, leading to more revenue.

FULL TEXT: Obama's New Budget Proposal

2012-02-13T17:07:14Z

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion spending plan on Monday for 2013 that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade but does little to restrain growth in the government's huge health benefit programs, a major cause of future deficits.

Obama's new budget was immediately attacked by Republicans as a retread of previously rejected ideas. The budget battle is likely to be a major component of the fall election campaign.

The president would achieve $1.5 trillion of the deficit reductions in tax increases on the wealthy and by removing certain corporate tax breaks. Obama rejected GOP charges of class warfare. In his budget message, he said, "This is not about class warfare. This is about the nation's welfare."

Scroll through the 2013 budget proposal below:

budget

How Obama Survived A Brush With Political Disaster

2012-02-13T17:07:05Z

Shortly after four o'clock on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 13, 2011, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner walked down the hallway near his office toward a large conference room facing the building's interior.

Message To Young Conservatives: Pursue Journalism

2012-02-13T17:00:14Z

WASHINGTON -- While Republican candidates score points slamming the media from the stump, prominent conservatives, gathered in Washington D.C. for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, were busy encouraging young attendees to pursue journalism.

Several conservatives, in interviews and on CPAC panels, said that young, right-leaning journalists have the chance to influence the establishment -- or as they say, "liberal" -- media, as well as the ability to launch new sites to broaden the media landscape. They talked about harnessing the potential of the Internet and social media to offer a counter-narrative to the national press, while arguing that the Obama administration and Democratic-aligned organizations aren't being covered aggressively enough. And whether conservatives supported infiltrating the national media or taking a DIY-approach outside the system, there seemed to be a consensus that it's reporting, rather than opining, that will make a difference.

National Review blogger Jim Geraghty, during a Saturday panel, told attendees that with all the tools available for reporting online or starting a blog, it's now a "golden age for conservative journalism." Hot Air's Ed Morrissey, seated next to him, said that conservatives need to increasingly make the transition from commenting "on the news being gathered by other people to gathering the news ourselves" -- even if that means simply picking up the phone to confirm a quote or get a statement. "We need to be used to going out and committing random acts of journalism," Morrissey said.

It's not that conservatives don't already have a number of right-leaning media outlets. Anyone strolling through the CPAC exhibition hall in recent days saw booths from several right-of-center magazines (American Spectator, Human Events, American Conservative, Weekly Standard), a couple newspapers (Washington Examiner, Washington Times) and conservative watchdog organizations (Media Research Center/NewsBusters, Accuracy in Media). In addition to free copies of the latest issues, CPAC attendees could also take home bumper stickers at the MRC table that articulated a commonly held view among them: "I Don't Believe The Liberal Media."

But despite those long-running publications and organizations -- along with National Review and newer online outlets, like the Tucker Carlson-led Daily Caller and Andrew Breitbart's "Big" sites -- conservatives still say there's a long way to go in combating the influence of the establishment media, along with convincing young conservatives that there's a viable career path in reporting.

Michael Goldfarb, a Weekly Standard contributing editor and partner at lobbying firm Orion Strategies, told The Huffington Post that "a lot of conservatives, they want to be involved in journalism, but our heroes are all pundits."

"They want to be Rush Limbaugh. They want to be Bill Kristol. They want to be Charles Krauthammer," Goldfarb continued. "The model is not Woodward and Bernstein on our side. So, one of the things we would like to do is become a place where young, aspiring conservative reporters can go, can make a name for themselves, and can make a name for ourselves."

These days, Goldfarb is trying to make a name for the Washington Free Beacon, a week-old conservative news site run by the Center for American Freedom, which he chairs. The Free Beacon is modeled after ThinkProgress, the site run by the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund. (BuzzFeed's Ben Smith recently reported that it's being launched with "several million dollars," but CAF, like CAP, doesn't reveal its donors). Goldfarb and several other CPAC attendees this past week -- and conservatives in recent years -- also suggested looking to the models of The Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo, two news organizations with roots in the liberal blogosphere now producing original reporting daily.

Matthew Continetti, who also cut his teeth at the Weekly Standard, is editor-in-chief of the Free Beacon, which is already getting attention in the conservative media world. During an interview with Goldfarb at CPAC, Mark Hemingway, online editor of the Weekly Standard, swung by and told him that the Free Beacon is "kicking ass." But Goldfarb isn't only looking for validation from conservative journalists; he says that he'd like to see Free Beacon reporters someday getting poached by the likes of the Washington Post or Politico, not unlike how journalists from left-of-center Beltway magazines like the American Prospect and the New Republic have made similar career jumps in the past.

Last Wednesday, the Free Beacon had some luck breaking into the national news cycle after reporting that Obama campaign bundler and former Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) was also a registered lobbyist. Conservative outlets, as well as NBC News, Politico and the Washington Post, picked up the scoop.

"We're going to focus on the administration, on the Democrats, on the progressive movement, on the left, and I think, honestly, that not a lot of people are doing that," Goldfarb said. (He may have some competition: The Daily Caller published the first part of an investigative series on Media Matters on Sunday night, a 2,700-word piece focusing on founder David Brock and the liberal watchdog organization's relationship to the Obama White House and the national news media.)

"We are trying to do objective reporting," Goldfarb said. "We are not objective in what we cover but we are going to be objective in how we cover it. And look, at the end of the day, when you have the facts on your side, sometimes they just can't ignore you anymore."

Some young conservatives may still hope to go the TV talking head or columnist route. One Friday panel, "The Path to Punditry," was packed with eager CPAC attendees. But during a Saturday morning panel, three journalists stressed original reporting to a mostly college-age audience.

"You want to really make sure you come in as a reporter," National Review political reporter Robert Costa said during a panel on breaking into conservative journalism. Costa said he learned a lot about journalism by interning for PBS's Charlie Rose, ABC's George Stephanopoulos, and regional newspapers outside Philadelphia. He also passed along some advice that a National Review editor once gave him: you're not going to be William F. Buckley, the magazine's founder and an icon of the right.

"A lot of people come into conservative journalism thinking they can be George Will or Charles Krauthammer or WFB," Costa said. "That was the best advice to take me down a notch and to say, 'go out into the field, learn, go to Capitol Hill, put your microphone in a Congressman's face and try to get some stories.'"

"You can't just stay in the conservative bubble," Costa added. "If you want to compete with all kind of journalists -- especially the liberal journalists -- you've got to be able to play their game and do things how they do it."

The Daily Caller's Matt Lewis, another panelist, said his model is to be a "21st century Bob Novak" -- a reference to the late columnist and commentator who mixed opinion with original reporting.

Lewis, who won CPAC's "Blogger of the Year" award, stressed that conservative journalists should also be looking critically at the national media, noting that he recently called attention to inaccuracies in a Reuters story -- or "hit job" -- about Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Soon after, Reuters published five corrections.

In an interview, Lewis said that conservative journalists have "all been empowered by the Internet." They can now quickly push back at media reports online and even tweet suggestions or questions to the national reporters producing them.

But Lewis said that conservatives are divided right now over whether to try to influence the establishment media or work outside the system.

"There are some that believe, as I do, that the mainstream media is still dominant, that its not a throwback to a bygone era, that the mainstream media is still powerful and that everyone is better served by having people of diverse political philosophies in the newsroom," he said.

Still, Lewis said, "there's also a compelling argument, which is to say, 'the world has changed.'" For that reason, conservatives may decide that "instead of trying to stand at the gates or tear down the wall, and sort of infiltrate the mainstream media world," they may opt to "build [their] own thing and reinvent it."

Indeed, many conservative bloggers aren't racing to work for Beltway political magazines or news sites. During CPAC, some of them even held their own private "blog bash," according to Yahoo's Chris Moody. The event's organizers honored James O'Keefe, the conservative provocateur whose undercover videos helped take down ACORN and some NPR executives. While accepting the award, O'Keefe said "Fuck the media!"

While some conservatives may embrace O'Keefe's rallying cry, others insist that young journalists shouldn't give up trying to make their way into the newsrooms of legacy news organizations, such as the Washington Post.

"Conservatives need to infiltrate," said Ben Shapiro, an author and editor-at-large of the Breitbart sites. "I'm a big fan of infiltration, and I'm a big fan of conservatives getting into positions where they can wield more power. The fact is the old media still wields a tremendous amount of power."

"The old media," he noted, "is far from dead."

MI-2012 Primary: 39% Santorum, 24% Romney, 12% Paul, 11% Gingrich (PPP 2/10-12)

2012-02-13T16:53:04Z

Public Policy Polling (D)
2/10-12/12; 404 likely Republican primary voters, 4.9% margin of error
Mode: Automated phone
PPP release

Michigan

2012 President: Republican Primary
39% Santorum
24% Romney
12% Paul
11% Gingrich
(chart)

JUNGLE SURVIVAL: Marines Drink Snake Blood, Eat Insects

2012-02-13T16:50:34Z

The photo above isn't a still from an episode of Fear Factor -- it's a U.S. Marine completing jungle survival training at a military base in Thailand.

Around 13,000 personnel from seven countries participated in the program, which included training for killing chickens and eating insects, among other feats.

MSNBC reports that the Marines also learned how to slaughter cobras and were given the option of drinking their blood. In the photos below, U.S. Marines don cobra skins as headbands and rip snake entrails with their teeth.

According to the Daily Mail, the exercises were hosted at a military base in Sattahip, Thailand. Cobra Gold, an annual exercise led by the United States, is the largest of its kind, according to Xinhua News.

The Marines explain the exercises in a press release:

For more than three decades, the United States has participated in the multilateral exercise Cobra Gold, where approximately 20 countries are represented in the month-long training regimen dedicated to strengthening foreign affairs and interoperability.

According to AFP, the exercises will end on February 17.

Will Wind Turbines Get Any Love On Valentine's Day?

2012-02-13T16:39:44Z

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts residents who live near existing or proposed wind energy projects have a chance to respond to a recent report that found no major health risks from wind turbines.

A public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at the Statehouse.

Last month's report from a state-appointed panel of experts found no scientific evidence to suggest that noise or vibrations from turbines are linked to inner ear problems or a variety of other ailments.

But the report has drawn criticism from groups that have called for a moratorium on construction of land-based wind turbines in residential areas. They say the panel relied on existing data and did not interview Massachusetts residents who live near turbines and report health issues.

Public meetings will also be scheduled this month on Cape Cod and in the Berkshires.

Interim Police Chief Named After Racism Allegations In East Haven Town

2012-02-13T16:29:06Z

EAST HAVEN, Conn. -- The mayor of a town embroiled by allegations of Latino bias by police on Monday announced the appointment of an interim police chief to lead a department tainted by charges of false arrests and other forms of harassment.

Mayor Joseph Maturo said Brent Larrabee is "exactly the kind of leader" needed in East Haven, an Italian-American bastion that has experienced an influx of South American immigrants in recent years.

"He brings a career of policing experience working to provide community oriented, progressive public safety practices in diverse communities," the mayor said.

Two weeks ago, Maturo announced the retirement of the previous police Chief Leonard Gallo. He had been suspended as police chief in April 2010 after the FBI launched the criminal investigation but was reinstated in November after the mayor, a friend, was elected. That decision has been questioned by officials including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Gallo announced his retirement days after the FBI arrested four police officers on charges they violated Latinos' rights through false arrests and unnecessary searches. The officers, who are on paid administrative leave, have pleaded not guilty.

East Haven's Police Commission, an advisory body that oversees the police department, voted unanimously to recommend that the 64-year-old Gallo be fired and not be allowed to retire and cash in on a retirement package estimated at more than $100,000. Among their accusations, commissioners said Gallo failed to provide leadership as demonstrated in the arrests.

Maturo ignored the advice. In accepting Gallo's retirement, the mayor said he acted selflessly and praised him for performing admirably.

On Monday, Maturo said in the statement announcing Larrabee's appointment that he "brings a career of experience for community-oriented and progressive public safety practices in diverse communities."

Larrabee, who has served as police chief in Stamford and Framingham, Mass., said he looks forward to working with Maturo, police officers, community leaders and neighborhood groups "to strengthen confidence in policing and bring a standard of excellence to East Haven."

He is scheduled to be sworn in on Tuesday. It wasn't clear how long Larrabee will serve on an interim basis. The mayor's office didn't immediately return a call seeking that information.

Syria Crisis: Turkey Inches, Somewhat Reluctantly, To The Forefront

2012-02-13T16:27:27Z

WASHINGTON -- When Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, arrived in Washington late last week, he came with a clear and direct message about the deteriorating situation in Syria.

"We have to focus on how to make humanitarian access possible for the Syrian people," he said at one of a series of public events and private meetings with journalists he held on Friday. "What we need today is to send a strong message to the Syrian people that they are not alone, to the Syrian regime that they cannot use these measures forever, to international community that we have solidarity with the Syrian people."

As a major Middle Eastern power that shares its longest -- and now increasingly porous -- border with Syria, Turkey has the most to lose from seeing the Syrian crisis unfold unabated. There are already thousands of Syrian refugees in Turkey, many of them military defectors, and willingly or not, Turkey has become a base for the nascent Free Syrian Army.

On Monday, Davutoglu will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where he is expected to discuss possible next steps in mitigating the Syrian crisis. With a possible United Nations resolution blocked by Russia and China, Clinton and others have said they hope that some sort of international body could be formed to expedite assistance to the Syrian opposition.

Most analysts expect that the Americans will seek to put the Turks at the forefront, at least rhetorically, of any plans that emerge in the coming days, a process that has already seen Vice President Joe Biden laud Turkey for being "a real leader" on the issue.

But, as Davutoglu indicated in his appearances last week, any course of action -- especially one that might lead to increased regional strife or even military intervention -- comes with a strong dose of discomfort or even disappointment.

After all, Turkey has long prided itself on being a regional peacemaker and a beneficent bridge between East and West. Just last year, it described its regional foreign policy as "zero problems with neighbors" -- a project that included a determined, and briefly flourishing, effort to open trade and diplomatic relations with the Assad regime.

Much of that is now in tatters as the region seems increasingly on the verge of division along old Cold War lines and sectarian ones -- Syria's allies in Iran, Lebanon and Iraq are Shia, while Turkey and the Arab League leaders are Sunni. Davutoglu said on Friday that Turkey has repeatedly sought to avoid such a fragmentation, but analysts say that, by taking stronger actions against Assad's regime, the country risks firmly implanting itself on one side of the growing divide.

"I think ambivalence is the right way to put it," said Bulent Aliriza, the director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, of Turkey's reluctant entrance into the Syria fray. "Even if, subjectively, Turkey rejects that split and doesn't want to be defined as the Sunni part of a Western-led conflict, nonetheless, objectively, it is in danger of being seen as such by the Shia bloc."

In his meeting with reporters on Friday, Davutoglu showed signs of diverging with some of outsiders' most ambitious plans for Syria. He shrugged off questions about arming the opposition, and reiterated that Turkey was not yet prepared to support a role for NATO.

"There should not be something like the Libyan case," he said, referring to last year's full-scale military intervention in which Western air power was utilized to end the reign of Muammar Gaddafi. "We don't want anything based on a military presence or a clash," he added.

And in one important break from the stated goals of the Americans, Davutoglu even signaled that Turkey might be satisfied with a resolution to the crisis that does not involve the complete dismantling of the Assad regime, even though Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already called for the president to step down.

"We will have a strategy for the future: a new Syria, a free Syria," Davutoglu said. "This is our strategic objective. We are not there to talk about regime change, but that the Syrian people should decide for themselves, not Bashar Assad on his own."

Indeed, people close to Davutoglu say that even as he prepared to propose a new international body to take steps in Syria, he agonized over the exact language used to describe it -- "friends" or a "coalition" or a "contact group" each bringing with it different levels of implied action or force.

"I think the Turks are petrified about this turning into something much bigger than it already is," said Joshua Walker, a Turkey expert at the German Marshall Fund. "They're worried that Syria is the igniting flame for something growing along sectarian lines. If Syria goes down the same path, this can ignite nasty things in Lebanon, nasty things in Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia -- it's a regional problem that makes it so dangerous for Turkey."

Walker also pointed out that Turkey faces domestic limitations to its role in Syria as well, because much of the country would be opposed to wider intervention.

"Turkey is in this very weird situation where Davutoglu has a political incentive to take the lead on Syria, but among the general public there is a very isolationist impulse," he said. "Davutoglu is trying to find a way where he can do something, but he finds himself in a corner because the population won't let Turkey go too far. The idea of having a staging area for troops in Turkey? That's just not going to happen."

Asked on Friday by The Huffington Post if Turkey was worried that some actions against Assad might serve to inflame regional tensions, Davutoglu demurred.

"In this type of crisis situation, in order to manage the crisis, it's better not to say what cannot be done," he said. "It's important to focus on what can be done, in this moment."

But he also acknowledged at another point that he was "afraid of sectarian war" breaking out -- both within Syria and across the region. And he added that should the crisis escalate, by any means, one outcome is certain for Turkey: "We will pay the price."

Joe Scarborough Gets New Gig

2012-02-13T16:23:40Z

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough now has a blog on Politico .

Scarborough, a guest columist for the website and "Morning Joe" co-host, debuted the blog shortly after midnight on Monday. "Like Navin R. Johnson seeing his name in the phone book for the first time, I feel like this is the lucky break I've been waiting for all my life," he wrote. (Navin R. Johnson is Steve Martin's character in "The Jerk," by the way.)

He gave a glimpse of what readers can expect -- serious stuff with a helping of humor. He promised to write about "what's really happening behind the scenes in Congress, the White House and in the media world" in addition to "stories of European futbol matches that end in 0-0 ties, underground bands for whom neither you nor your friends have ever heard, and inspiring stories regaling the glories of my time in Congress 47 years ago."