Midday Blog Roundup

MIDDAY ROUNDUP

FROM THE BLOGS:
Obama compares recovery with Jesus – Greg Hengler, Townhall
Maddow & Olbermann skipping Mideast? – M.J. Rosenberg, TPMCafe
Pawlenty threatens to drag out race – kos, Daily Kos
Retail sales drop, surprise the market – Chris in Paris, AMERICAblog
Rubio will run – Erick Erickson, RedState
Democracy and capitalismMegan McArdle
Zionism and diasporismEzra Klein
Who you calling extremist? – Jonathan Chait, The Plank
Bullish on Norm – David Weigel, Washington Independent
They doth protest too much – Steve Benen, Political Animal
An impressive piece of explanationJames Fallows
Have we created more pirates? – Paul, Powerline
Here we go again… – Jonah Goldberg, The Corner
Sebelius lied, unborn babies died – Ken Shepherd, Newsbusters
A defense budget a pirate could love – Conn Carroll, The Foundry

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Obama defends steps to shore up economyThe Hill
U.S. could get shares of GM and ChryslerDetroit Free Press
Goldman using share sale to pay off bailoutNew York Times
Obama refocuses on the economyWashington Post