On last night’s Countdown, Keith Olbermann ran a segment attempting to debunk the story that the White House had threatened Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) with the closure of Offut Air Force Base in order to secure his vote on healthcare reform. The White House and Ben Nelson categorically deny the charge. Who’s right, and who’s wrong? Plus, Mediaite has exclusive reaction from Lewis and Goldfarb:

Congressman Earl Blumenauer‘s timeline detailing how the end-of-life provisions he added to the health care bill became — with the powerful helping hand of Sarah Palin– is fascinating in a number of regards, but specifically because Palin is once again about to be handed a very large microphone. Is the MSM prepared to vet the next vicious news cycle?

It’s not really a secret around here that I am a big fan of New York Times op-ed columnist and author Gail Collins. Collins, whose witty and sharp columns often add a measure of levity to the Times op-ed pages — particularly during last year’s sometimes fraught campaign season — has brought those same talents [...]