memeorandum: Commentary: Theaters of the absurd (Arnaud De Borchgrave/UPI)

5:25 PM ET, February 10, 2007

Top Items:

Sen. Obama launches White House run — SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Democrat Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) announced Saturday that he is running for the White House in 2008, evoking Abraham Lincoln's ability to unite a nation and promising to lead a new generation to "transform this nation."

Discussion: Donklephant, PoliPundit.com and The Politico

Washington Post:

Obama Formally Launches Presidential Bid — Illinois Sen. Barack Obama formally launched his candidacy for the White House here this morning, invoking memories of Abraham Lincoln and challenging a new generation of Americans to help bridge political divisions and transform the nation.

Discussion: Centerfield and Althouse

Chicago Tribune:

Obama: I'm running for president — SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Sen. Barack Obama formally entered the 2008 race for the presidency today, contending he has the experience to know that "Washington must change" and billing himself as the leader who will bring a new generational attitude to address the nation's challenges.

Discussion: Redstate

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Obama Makes It Official — He only has two years of national office under his belt, and has not even faced a credible opponent. He has few legislative accomplishments for his resumé, and no executive experience at all. For the Democratic Party in 2008, that apparently makes Barack Obama …

Discussion: Hot Air and the david all group

Jonathan Schwarz / A Tiny Revolution:

New York Times Reveals "Reporter" Michael Gordon Actually Voice-Activated Tape Recorder — NEW YORK—New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller today announced that the paper's longtime staff writer Michael Gordon is not an actual person, but rather a voice-activated tape recorder.

Discussion: The Sideshow

Greg Mitchell / Editor and Publisher:

'NYT' Reporter Who Got Iraqi WMDs Wrong Now Highlights Iran Claims — NEW YORK Saturday's New York Times features an article, posted at the top of its Web site late Friday, that suggests very strongly that Iran is supplying the "deadliest weapon aimed at American troops" in Iraq.

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM)

Jim Henley / Unqualified Offerings:

Don't Trust - Verify II — The Administration is making specific testable claims about Iranian arming of Iraqi militias. Congress needs to announce that, as part of its constitutional authority to declare, or not declare, war, it will audit those claims independently.

Discussion: Dean's World, Outside The Beltway and Prairie Weather

Dafna Linzer / Washington Post:
Al-Qaeda Suspects Color White House Debate Over Iran

Discussion: AMERICAblog, The Moderate Voice, NewsHog and A Tiny Revolution

Glenn Greenwald / Unclaimed Territory:
The NY Times returns to pre-Iraq-war "journalism"

Discussion: The Impolitic, State of the Day and Middle Earth Journal

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Deadliest Bomb in Iraq Is Made by Iran, U.S. Says

Discussion: Unqualified Offerings, Power Line, Booman Tribune, Jules Crittenden, Captain's Quarters, Ezra Klein, Once Upon a Time, Larisa Alexandrovna's …, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Carpetbagger Report and Bill's Bites

Nico / Think Progress:
Evidence Grows That White House Planned To Release Cooked Intel On Iran

Discussion: New York Times and jg-tc.com

Ewen MacAskill / Guardian:

Target Iran: US able to strike in the spring — Despite denials, Pentagon plans for possible attack on nuclear sites are well advanced — US preparations for an air strike against Iran are at an advanced stage, in spite of repeated public denials by the Bush administration, according to informed sources in Washington.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CANNONFIRE, The American Street, The Impolitic, Brilliant at Breakfast, Crooks and Liars, Op For and Larisa Alexandrovna's …

City Journal:

Facing the Islamist Menace — Mark Steyn's new book is a welcome wake-up call. — In the prologue to his new book, America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, Mark Steyn sarcastically alludes to two people whom, in different ways, I know well. The first is novelist Martin Amis …

Discussion: The Heretik

neo-neocon:

Getting Feith: Emily Litella, ace reporter for the WaPo, says "never mind" — Last night I was in the middle of preparing a piece about the Washington Post article that described the Pentagon's sharp criticism of Douglas Feith for giving too much credence to some faulty prewar intelligence reports …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, JustOneMinute, PostWatch and Don Surber

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:

Obama formally kicks off presidential campaign — About a month ago, we talked about Barack Obama creating a presidential exploratory committee, and today, Obama made it official, giving a strong speech in front of what appeared to be thousands of very cold supporters in Springfield, Ill.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Personal Democracy Forum blogs, Political Radar, The Swamp and Upper Left

Arnaud De Borchgrave / UPI:

Commentary: Theaters of the absurd — Iran's man at the United Nations since 2002, Javad Zarif, spoke with Washington think tankers and pundits for two hours. It was a virtuoso diplomatic performance, albeit off the record, and by satellite (as he is not allowed to travel beyond a 25-mile radius …

Discussion: Donklephant

Carol Giacomo / Reuters:
Poll shows Arabs dislike Bush

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM), protein wisdom and WTF Is It Now??

Real Cities:

Democratic voters growing impatient with Congress — CHICAGO - In Washington, Democrats are blaming Republicans for the Senate's failure so far to vote on a resolution opposing a troop increase in Iraq. — But in the heartland, some voters say such excuses no longer are good enough.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, The Mahablog, The Impolitic, The Heretik, The Glittering Eye, Upper Left and Oliver Willis

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Congress Finds Ways to Avoid Lobbyist Limits — The 110th Congress opened with the passage of sweeping new rules intended to curb the influence of lobbyists by prohibiting them from treating lawmakers to meals, trips, stadium box seats or the discounted use of private jets.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Prairie Weather

Matt Stoller / MyDD:

When Petty Reporters Get Mad — Looks like the blogs are going to be busy this cycle rebutting smears against our candidates. This latest is penned by Mike Allen. … How suspicious! The answer, as both Brad Delong and The Poorman note, is that Swahili and Arabic are extremely similar languages …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Political Animal, Seeing the Forest, All Spin Zone, Grasping Reality …, Roger Ailes, Matthew Yglesias, Jay Reding.com, Taylor Marsh, The Poor Man Institute and Discourse.net

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

Has Rudy Giuliani gotten incoherent about abortion? — Here's a NYT piece about how Rudy Giuliani is reframing his stance on abortion to appeal to conservatives. It contains a quote that I found puzzling: … How is "strict construction" supposed to protect liberty …

Discussion: Instapundit.com, News Hounds and Daily Pundit

Ray Rivera / New York Times:
Giuliani Shifts Abortion Speech Gently to Right

Discussion: The Daily Dish and The Heretik

Spiegel Online:

Life Insurance for Palestinian Suicide Bombers — An important bank in the Arab world offers accounts paying a type of life insurance to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. But now it could soon face a lawsuit from American lawyers representing the victims.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Secular Blasphemy