memeorandum: IRAN'S PLANS: STICKS & CARROTS (Amir Taheri/New York Post)

10:05 AM ET, January 24, 2007

Top Items:

Sen. Webb's Democratic Response to the SoTU: The war's costs to our nation have been staggering — Jim Webb of Virginia was selected to give the Democratic response to Bush's SoTU, and boy, did they make the right choice. Webb hit all the right notes, his points impressive and unassailable.

Discussion: MyDD, The Anonymous Liberal, Eschaton, The Sideshow, Jesus' General, Shakespeare's Sister, DownWithTyranny! and Gun Toting Liberal ™

Think Progress:

Embargoed: State of the Union Text — We'll start respecting White House embargoes when they start telling the truth. — Embargoed Until Delivery of the State of the Union Address at 9:01 PM EST — January 23, 2007 — STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS — As Prepared For Delivery

Discussion: The Mahablog, The Moderate Voice, TAPPED, QandO, The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Gun Toting Liberal ™, CorrenteWire and Angry Bear

White House:

President Bush Delivers State of the Union Address — Washington, D.C. — State of the Union 2007 — State of the Union 2007 Policy Initiatives — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. And tonight, I have a high privilege and distinct honor of my own — as the first President to begin …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Blogs for Bush, Pacific Views, Chicago Boyz, Eclectics Anonymous, Don Surber, Bill Hobbs, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Daily Pundit, On Deadline and Stop The ACLU

Drudge Report:

EXCLUSIVE: FULL STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH — Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: — This rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour - when decisions are hard and courage is tested.

Discussion: Publius Pundit, The Reaction, Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, The Political Pit Bull, Sister Toldjah, Elocutio, A Blog For All, Althouse and The Jawa Report

Hindrocket / Power Line:
A RETURN TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Discussion: Hot Air, Captain's Quarters, VodkaPundit, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Sadly, No!

speaker.gov:
Pelosi and Reid: We Should Work Together to Take America in a New Direction

Discussion: The RBC

Washington Post:

Bush Urges Congress, Nation To Give His Iraq Plan a Chance — Domestically, He Makes Overtures To Democrats — President Bush implored lawmakers and the nation last night to give him one more chance to win the war in Iraq and avoid the "nightmare scenario" of defeat while presenting …

Discussion: USA Today, New York Times, Redstate, the talking dog and The Democratic Daily

Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:

Webb Offers Blunt Challenge to Bush — Va. Senator Urges Change in Direction for Economy, Iraq War — Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) delivered a blistering eight-minute response to President Bush's State of the Union address last night, promising an aggressive challenge to Bush's Iraq …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, The Democratic Daily and Unqualified Offerings

Jonathan Alter / Newsweek:

A Powerful Response — Jim Webb tore up his party's playbook—and helped point the Democrats in a new direction. — Something unprecedented happened tonight, beyond the doorkeeper announcing, "Madame Speaker." For the first time ever, the response to the State of the Union Message overshadowed the president's big speech.

Drudge Report:
Democratic Response of Senator Jim Webb To the President's State …

Discussion: Riehl World View, Obsidian Wings, Instapundit.com, Brilliant at Breakfast, An Army Lawyer, Don Surber, The American Mind, The Political Pit Bull, Gateway Pundit, BlondeSense and Washington Post

New York Times:

The State of the Union — The White House spin ahead of George W. Bush's seventh State of the Union address was that the president would make a bipartisan call to revive his domestic agenda with "bold and innovative concepts." The problem with that was obvious last night — in six years …

Discussion: Washington Post, Brilliant at Breakfast, Prairie Weather and PoliBlog (TM)

New York Times:

President Bush's State of the Union Address — Following is a transcript of President Bush's State of the Union address as recorded by The New York Times, with audio excerpts and analysis by The Times's David E. Sanger, plus links to related articles and Web sites. — The New Congress

Discussion: Althouse, Matthew Yglesias, MaxSpeak and Obsidian Wings

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
President's Portrayal of 'The Enemy' Often Flawed

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

New York Times:
Bush Insists U.S. Must Not Fail in Iraq

Discussion: Washington Post and CNN Political Ticker

Amir Taheri / New York Post:

IRAN'S PLANS: STICKS & CARROTS — CONFRONTATION or accommodation? As the U.N. Security Council's latest deadline for the Islamic Republic draws closer, that perennial question of Iranian politics is back at the center of debate in Tehran. — The confrontationists, led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad …

Discussion: The Corner

Ynetnews:
Iran: Israel, US will soon die

Discussion: Hot Air, Clayton Cramer's BLOG, Blogs of War and The Strata-Sphere

Benny Morris / New York Sun:
The Second Holocaust

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money and Matthew Yglesias

Michael Isikoff / Newsweek:

'Scapegoat:' Scooter's Stunning Defense — A bombshell detonates on day one of the Libby perjury trial, as Cheney's longtime aide points the finger at Karl Rove — Libby leaving the courthouse Tuesday afternoon. — A WEB EXCLUSIVE — It was the last thing the White House needed …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Slate, The Nation, TalkLeft, JustOneMinute, Brilliant at Breakfast, Althouse and The RBC

Neil A. Lewis / New York Times:
Libby Defense Portrays Client as a Scapegoat

Discussion: Washington Post, TBogg and Attytood

Joel Topcik / Broadcasting & Cable:

Watching the SOTU Speech on ABC — Did they really need to drag World News anchor Charles Gibson all the way down from New York just to do a stand-up intro with the Capitol dome over his shoulder? George Stephanopoulos and Martha Raddatz were in separate locations, so it wasn't as though he was joining them in the studio.

Discussion: Reason Magazine and Classical Values

Forbes:

The Web Celeb 25 — THE FACE OF FAME IS CHANGING. The ranks of the world's celebrities used to be dominated by millionaire actors, athletes and musicians, but the Internet has leveled the playing field. A kid with a video camera has access to as large an audience as the biggest Hollywood star.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Power Line

Opinion Journal:

Health and Taxes — The Bush proposal opens a debate for 2008. — Now we're getting somewhere. The U.S. has long needed a debate over health care and tax subsidies, and President Bush got ready to rumble last night with his proposal to make insurance more affordable for most Americans.

Discussion: Dean's World, Grasping Reality … and Greg Mankiw's Blog

Steven Pearlstein / Washington Post:
Bipartisan Cooperation on Health Care Is Dead on Arrival

Discussion: Cato Unbound and EconLog

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

General Says New Strategy in Iraq Can Work Over Time — Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, President Bush's new choice as the top commander in Iraq, told senators on Tuesday that the new military strategy to secure Baghdad can work, and that he had asked that the additional troops the administration promised …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and The Moderate Voice

John Holusha / New York Times:
Petraeus Calls Iraq Situation 'Dire'

Discussion: INTEL DUMP and Washington Post

Con Coughlin / Telegraph:

N Korea helping Iran with nuclear testing — North Korea is helping Iran to prepare an underground nuclear test similar to the one Pyongyang carried out last year. — Under the terms of a new understanding between the two countries, the North Koreans have agreed to share all the data …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Blue Crab Boulevard

Washington Wire:

From the President, a Two-Letter Jab at the Democrats — President Bush departed from the prepared text of his State of the Union address to graciously congratulate Nancy Pelosi on her history-making selection as the first female Speaker of the House. Then he departed from the prepared text …

Discussion: MSNBC, Washington Post, Liberal Values, Kansas City Star, The Carpetbagger Report, Outside The Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Agonist, Blue Crab Boulevard, Angry Bear, The Reaction and Bark Bark Woof Woof

Eugene Volokh / Opinion Journal:

The Lonely Optician — Does your love life comply with state regulations? You may be surprised. — Say you live in Washington state, and you find yourself getting to know and becoming attracted to your dental hygienist—or for that matter your optician (that's the person who fits your eyeglasses …

Discussion: protein wisdom

Yale Daily News:

Letter to the editor — Univ. can and should honor those who serve in military — To the Editor: — What is Yale doing to recognize those from Yale — graduates, staff, faculty — who have served in combat in the Persian Gulf or in Afghanistan or the other troubled areas of the world …