Top Items:
New York Times:
Republicans Testing Ways to Blunt Leak Charges — WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 - With a decision expected this week on possible indictments in the C.I.A. leak case, allies of the White House suggested Sunday that they intended to pursue a strategy of attacking any criminal charges as a disagreement …
Discussion:
The Peking Duck, ACSBlog, the talking dog, AMERICAblog, Think Progress, TalkLeft, »«TBogg»«, Taegan Goddard's … and World O'Crap
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Washington Post:
Inquiry as Exacting As Special Counsel Is — A Tough Investigation Is Also Praised as Nonpartisan — CHICAGO, Oct. 23 — Patrick J. Fitzgerald's final witness was behind bars, refusing to testify, and no one was budging. Hunting for room to maneuver, the special counsel talked with one side, then the other.
Discussion:
Eschaton, firedoglake, The Next Hurrah, Daily Kos, The Agonist, Needlenose, The Left Coaster and Crooks and Liars
Michelle Malkin:
SEN. HUTCHISON'S BLUNDER — The Left had a field day over Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's remarks on NBC's Meet the Press this morning in which she downplayed possible perjury and obstruction of justice indictments this week in the Rove/Plame/Miller/Libby/God-knows-who- else leak case.
John Fund / Opinion Journal:
What Went Wrong — Lessons the White House should learn from the Miers debacle. — President Bush has returned from a weekend in Camp David, where much of the discussion centered on the beleaguered nomination of Harriet Miers. While the president is determined to press forward, the prognosis he received was grim.
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum / Washington Post:
Letters Show Frist Notified Of Stocks in 'Blind' Trusts — Documents Contradict Comments on Holdings — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) was given considerable information about his stake in his family's hospital company, according to records that are at odds with his past statements …
Bradley Graham / Washington Post:
Enemy Body Counts Revived — U.S. Is Citing Tolls to Show Success in Iraq — Eager to demonstrate success in Iraq, the U.S. military has abandoned its previous refusal to publicize enemy body counts and now cites such numbers periodically to show the impact of some counterinsurgency operations.
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New Yorker:
The Republican Rift — This week in the magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg writes about Brent Scowcroft, the national-security adviser under President George H. W. Bush—and the former President's best friend—who has been at odds with the current Administration. Here, with Amy Davidson …
Discussion:
The Left Coaster
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David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Bush Choice Gets Criticisms Rare for Nominees to Court — WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 - On Oct. 22, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon nominated to the Supreme Court a corporate lawyer and former bar association president with no judicial experience. On Dec. 6, his choice, Lewis F. Powell Jr., was confirmed with fanfare by a vote of 89 to 1.
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Thomas M. DeFrank / NY Daily News:
Bushies feeling the boss' wrath — Prez's anger growing in hard times - pals — WASHINGTON - Facing the darkest days of his presidency, President Bush is frustrated, sometimes angry and even bitter, his associates say. — With a seemingly uncontrollable insurgency in Iraq …
Ian / The Political Teen:
Howard Dean: Bush Basher and Hypocrite (VIDEO) — DNC Chairman Howard Dean appeared on This Week to discuss the Harriet Miers nomation, Iraq, a recent speech, and the Plame "leak" scandal. — Notes: — Stephanopoulos shows two opinions on leaving Iraq: (1) Feingold says we should pull out by Dec. 2006.
Discussion:
Oblogatory Anecdotes
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David Adesnik / OxBlog:
WHAT DEMOCRATS BELIEVE: Earlier this week I participated in a sort of focus group for Democratic activists designed to clarify the party's core beliefs. Not that I am a Democratic activist, but I took part because the participants in the focus group consisted specifically of moderate/DLC types committed …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
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Lebanon.Profile / Lebanese Political Journal:
The Battle Over Syria - Don't Forget about Justice in Lebanon — Syria has launched an interesting ploy in response to the Mehlis Report. American blogger Joshua Landis is offering the Syrian regime assistance in promoting their rhetoric. — What maks their stance so offensive to me is that they entirely neglect Lebanon.
Gateway Pundit:
All Quiet from The Quagmire — Listen carefully! Do you hear that? — ** crickets chirping ** — This past week we heard no comforting words of "occupation" from Cindy Sheehan (although she is planning more civil disobedience and Thanksgiving turkey in Crawford, Texas!) …
Discussion:
The Peking Duck
Time:
Searching for Saviors in Strange Places — Could Ahmad Chalabi end up running Iraq? — You remember Ahmad Chalabi. He was once the Bush Administration's favorite Iraqi exile. His group, the Iraqi National Congress, provided all sorts of wondrous reports about Saddam Hussein's weapons …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Billmon:
Fitzgerald's New Boss — Josh Marshall wonders what it might mean for the special prosecutor's investigation now that U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty has been nominated for the number-two job at the Justice Department. I suspect the short answer is: nothing good.
Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times:
'Mao': The Real Mao — If Chairman Mao had been truly prescient, he would have located a little girl in Sichuan Province named Jung Chang and "mie jiuzu"- killed her and wiped out all her relatives to the ninth degree. — But instead that girl grew up, moved to Britain and has now written …
