Top Items:
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
As Battlefield Shrinks, Democrats Mute Their Attacks — The first day of confirmation hearings for Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to become the 17th chief justice of the United States proved to be a tepid opening to what once was billed as a battle of monumental proportions between left and right.
RELATED ITEMS:
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
A Day of Firsts, Overshadowed — Yesterday's opening of the John Roberts confirmation hearings was a time for historic firsts. — Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) made 49 first-person references in a 10-minute statement that was, ostensibly, not about himself.
Discussion:
Wonkette, PoliBlog, Don Surber, Betsy's Page, PunditGuy, Roger L. Simon, The American Mind and camedwards.com
Gateway Pundit:
Gaza a Ga-Ga! — PALESTINIANS CELEBRATE JEWISH WITHDRAWAL FROM GAZA, — Palestinian officials struggle to gain control over the chaos in Gaza. — Leader of the Islamic militant group Islamic Jihad, Nafez Azzam, second from right, and other unidentified representatives of his group …
Discussion:
Power Line
RELATED ITEMS:
Chrenkoff:
The last post — Here we go - as foreshadowed a few week ago, it's the time to say good-bye. — I'm not one for making speeches (at least not for myself), so let me just say: thank you. Thank you for all your support and encouragement, for reading and linking to my stuff, and for coming back.
Matt Margolis / Blogs for Bush:
Roberts Hearings: Live Blogging Day 2 — most recent updates on top... UPDATE, 11:24 AM EDT: Housing... Voting rights... Accuses Roberts of "not fully appreciate" the problem of discrimination in our country... Roberts agrees voting is "a fundamental right."
RELATED ITEM:
Ramesh Ponnuru / The Corner on National Review Online:
ASSESSING TEN YEARS — Andrew Ferguson wrote that political power had compromised conservatism's intellectual standards; Powerline criticized him; now Ross Douthat is defending him (with a bit more heat than I've come to expect from Douthat). Being in the middle of a blogfight is probably …
Discussion:
The American Scene
RELATED ITEM:
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
The 20 Most Obnoxious Hurricane Katrina Quotes — "You 60 million losers who voted for this loser open YOUR wallets. This president declared war on the poor long ago, and while some of us cared enough to vote for someone who gave a d@mn, you buried your heads in the sand …
David W. Moore / Gallup:
Katrina third most closely followed news event after 9/11, Iraq War — PRINCETON, NJ — Most Americans were not impressed with the initial response to Hurricane Katrina, but according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey, majorities of Americans now say that the people and officials involved …
RELATED ITEM:
Arthur Chrenkoff / Opinion Journal:
Taking My Leave — A roundup of the past two weeks' good news from Iraq. — It has been almost a year and a half since I first started compiling the often under-reported and overlooked stories of positive developments in Iraq and, later, Afghanistan. Now I must say goodbye.
Media Matters for America:
NYT's Brooks revealed that "from Day One," the Bush White House "decided our public relations is not going to be honest" — why hasn't he written about this? — On the September 11 edition of NBC's syndicated The Chris Matthews Show, New York Times columnist David Brooks revealed that he has learned …
Discussion:
Big Brass Blog, NewsHog, skippy the bush kangaroo, The Liberal Avenger and Brendan Nyhan
Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press:
Bush Takes Responsibility for Blunders — WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday that "I take responsibility" for failures in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and said the disaster raised broader questions about the government's ability to respond to natural disasters as well as terror attacks.
Doug Struck / Washington Post:
45 Bodies Found In La. Hospital — Bush Visits New Orleans and Defends Federal Response; FEMA Chief Quits — NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 12 — The bodies of 45 patients left in a hasty evacuation were recovered from a New Orleans hospital, officials said Monday, as the city braced for the scenes left by the receding waters.
E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
End of the Bush Era — The Bush Era is over. The sooner politicians in both parties realize that, the better for them — and the country. — Recent months, and especially the past two weeks, have brought home to a steadily growing majority of Americans the truth that President Bush's government doesn't work.
George F. Will / Washington Post:
A Poverty of Thought — It took exactly one month — until the president's prime-time news conference of Oct. 11, 2001 — to refute the notion that Sept. 11 "changed everything." When a reporter said, "You haven't called for any sacrifices from the American people," he replied, "Well …
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
George Galloway Is Gruesome, Not Gorgeous — Now, watch me debate him. — My old friend and frequent critic Geoffrey Wheatcroft once tried to define a moment of perfect contentment and came up with the idea of opening a vintage wine while settling down to read an undiscovered work by P.G. Wodehouse.
Andrew North / BBC:
Karzai urges terror fight rethink — Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the US and other international forces need to reconsider their approach to bringing peace to Afghanistan. — Violence largely blamed on the Taleban has claimed at least 1,000 lives this year - the worst toll since 2001.
Discussion:
In the Bullpen
Guardian:
Israeli evades arrest at Heathrow over army war crime allegations — · Retired general tipped off after judge issues warrant — · Ex-commander accused of demolishing Gaza homes — Vikram Dodd and Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv — Scotland Yard was thwarted yesterday …
Jim VandeHei / Washington Post:
Talabani Says Iraqis Could Replace Many U.S. Troops — President's Claim About Major American Withdrawal by Year's End Conflicts With White House Position — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in an interview yesterday that the United States could withdraw as many as 50,000 troops by the end of the year …