memeorandum

Political Web, page A1 … for 2:05 PM ET, December 19, 2005
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Top Items:

Bulldogpundit / anklebitingpundits.com:
Live Blogging The Bush Presser  —  We "liveblogged" the Bush presser, and you can see our live recap by clicking "Read More".  In general, the message was obvious on both the Patriot Act and the "spying" - It's my job to protect the American people, and I'm using whatever I'm doing to do that.
RELATED ITEMS:
White House:
Press Conference of the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Welcome.  Please be seated.  Thanks.  —  Last night I addressed the nation about our strategy for victory in Iraq, and the historic elections that took place in the country last week.  In a nation that once lived by the whims of a brutal dictator …
CNN:
Bush: U.S. must think, act differently  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush held a year-end news conference in the White House on Monday.  The president followed up on his Sunday night speech on Iraq, addressed the controversy surrounding the Patriot Act and took questions on those and other subjects.
Michelle Malkin:
BUSH TAKES ON THE PRESS  —  ***scroll for reax, waiting for Dem response...***  —  The showdown starts at 10:30am EST in the East Room.  If Bush hits as hard as he did in his Saturday radio address, this should be good.  —  Think he'll call on Helen Thomas?
Lorie Byrd / PoliPundit.com:
Hell Yes, Baby - Santa Has Come Early!
Pajamas Media:
From the Oval Office to the blogs  —  Michelle Malkin liveblogged Bush's prime time speech in the Oval Office last night, and blogs started commenting right after it ended:  —  Instapundit: "[O]ne big thing struck me: In this national televised speech, Bush went out of his way to take responsibility for the war.
RELATED ITEMS:
Gateway Pundit:
After Only 1,000 Days, Bush Takes Credit for Iraq  —  "We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction... Saddam may well hide his most lethal weapons in mosques, schools and hospitals.  If our forces attempt to strike such targets …
Discussion: Ed Driscoll.com
White House:
President's Address to the Nation
Washington Post:
Gonzales Defends Eavesdropping Program  —  Congress 'Authorized' Domestic Surveillance in Iraq War Resolution, Claims Attorney General  —  Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales this morning defended the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping operation, saying it derived its legality …
RELATED ITEMS:
Reuters:
Gonzales: War powers authorized eavesdropping  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's decision to eavesdrop on people within the United States was backed by the U.S. Congress' authorization of military force after the September 11, 2001, attacks, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said on Monday.
John / AMERICAblog:
Did Bush domestic spy program eavesdrop on American journalists?  —  I had an interesting discussion this morning with DC political consultant Marc Laitin.  We both came to the conclusion that it sounds like Bush's super-secret illegal domestic spying program may be targeting US journalists …
RELATED ITEM:
Dr. Walid Phares / Front Page Magazine:
Undermining the War at Home
Discussion: In the Bullpen
William M. Arkin / Early Warning:
9/11 Gone Wild  —  Yesterday's New York Times editorial on National Security Agency spying in the United States refers to "your mail and your e-mail" and "your telephone conversations" being monitored.  —  The connotation of course is that the "you" is some New York Times reading Cappuccino …
RELATED ITEMS:
Contra Costa Times:   Congress demands hearings on secret surveillance in U.S.
Ezra Klein / TAPPED:
ONE QUESTION.  Over at The Washington Post's Early Warning, William Arkin sniffs:
Discussion: Eschaton
David E. Sanger / New York Times:
In Sunday Speech, Bush Is More Humble, but Still Firm  —  WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 - President Bush's speech on Sunday night culminated a weekend in which his administration tried to retake lost ground on two fronts: in Iraq, where Mr. Bush hopes a surprisingly successful election will buy …
RELATED ITEMS:
Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:
President Gives Both Reassurance, Warnings on Iraq  —  'Victory or Defeat' Are Only Options, He Says  —  President Bush last night hailed Thursday's Iraqi elections as a vital step toward stabilizing that nation, but warned that despite the political progress more violence lies ahead …
RELATED ITEMS:
David Finkel / Washington Post:
A Struggle for Peace in a Place Where Fighting Never Ends  —  SANAA, Yemen — Word of the ambush of Sheik Rabea al-Okaimi came by cell phone.  It was Rabea himself calling, late in the afternoon this past Sept. 11, from an isolated part of Yemen called Al Jawf.
RELATED ITEM:
David Finkel / Washington Post:
U.S. Ideals Meet Reality in Yemen
Tom Shales / Washington Post:
From the Oval Office, a Call to See the Light at the End of the Tunnel  —  Determined to sound determined, President Bush addressed the nation on the troublesome subject of Iraq in a 16-minute speech last night from the Oval Office.  Grim-faced, yet with a trace of anxiety in his eyes …
Brad / THE BRAD BLOG:
Florida Gov. Bush Expresses Concern About State Election Systems in Light of Leon County Hack Test  —  Counters Previous Positions by both the Acting Secretary of State and Voting Machine Company Diebold  —  Over the weekend, at least two reports out of mainstream Florida papers …
RELATED ITEM:
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
The new "constitutional" excuse for warrantless eavesdropping on Americans  —  Now that the Administration itself has acknowledged that FISA cannot be used to justify its warrantless eavesdropping on the communications of American citizens (since that law expressly bars exactly that surveillance) …
RELATED ITEM:
Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
Claiming the right to break the law
John McIntyre / realclearpolitics.com:
Have The Democrats Walked Into a Trap......Again?  —  The political pendulum is swinging back towards President Bush.  The President's approval rating has a pattern of dipping when he takes his Crawford vacation every August then bouncing back in September upon his return to Washington.
NewsMax.com:
John McCain: Bush Right to Use NSA  —  Sen. John McCain disappointed Democrats on Capitol Hill on Sunday by defending the Bush administration's decision to use the National Security Agency to monitor a limited number of domestic phone calls in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

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More Items:

Andrew Sullivan / Times of London:
Christmas is safe with the pagans
Von / Obsidian Wings:
Finally.  —  Finally, President Bush gives the speech that I've been awaiting.
Discussion: Ezra Klein and The Poor Man
Michael / Michael Bérubé Online:
They hate our freedoms  —  Over the weekend, Mark Earnest …
Commissar / The Politburo Diktat:
A Map of Kostria-Wingery  —  The kingdoms of KOS-TRIA and WINGER-Y …
Washington Post:
GOP Leaders Agree to $41.6 Billion Spending Cut
David Kaspar / Davids Medienkritik:
Stern: "America is Destroying the West"
New York Times:
Once-Lone Foe of Patriot Act Has Company
neo-neocon:
Harold Bloom, super-literate, vs. and George Bush, semi-literate

Earlier Picks:

US News:
About Those Side Pockets on a Cow
Paul Martin / Washington Times:
Sunnis ready to cooperate with U.S.
Discussion: Let Freedom Ring
Alex Kozinski / Cato Unbound:
CALL ME A PANGLOSSIAN  —  Okay, so call me Panglossian …
Oliver Poole / Telegraph:
Iraqis in former rebel stronghold now cheer American soldiers
Discussion: Captain's Quarters
strategypage.com:
Blame the Americans and Praise the Result
Haaretz:
Sharon aide: PM's condition improved, he looks excellent
Walter Pincus / Washington Post:
Pentagon's Intelligence Authority Widens
 
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