memeorandum: Some Explaining to Do — It's time for President Bush … (Dan Froomkin/Washington Post)

1:50 PM ET, March 8, 2007

Top Items:

Buildup in Iraq Needed Into '08, U.S. General Says — The day-to-day commander of American forces in Iraq has recommended that the heightened American troop levels there be maintained through February 2008, military officials said Wednesday. — The White House has never said exactly …

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, Air America Radio, The Moderate Voice, The Impolitic, Hot Air, Norwegianity, Jules Crittenden, On Deadline, Needlenose, Think Progress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Prairie Weather and Decision '08

Washington Post:

As Iraq Exit Plan Arrives, Democrats' Rift Remains — Even in her conservative Kansas district, calls and letters to freshman House Democrat Nancy Boyda show a constituency overwhelmingly ready for U.S. troops to come home from Iraq. — Yet as the House nears a legislative showdown on the war …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Booman Tribune, Blogometer, Redstate, Taylor Marsh, The Caucus, Daily Kos, MyDD, TalkLeft, DownWithTyranny!, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Associated Press

Associated Press:

Democrats Want Iraq Pullout by Fall 2008 — WASHINGTON (AP) — In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the deadline would be added …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

David Espo / Associated Press:

House Democrats to unveil Iraq war plan — WASHINGTON - In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats are advancing legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year. — Democratic officials who described the measure said the timetable …

Discussion: Redstate, Jules Crittenden and TigerHawk

David Espo / Associated Press:
Democrats to propose troop withdrawal from Iraq by fall of 2008

Discussion: Confederate Yankee and The Impolitic

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:

A Verdict on the Wilson Affair — Denis Collins, a Washington journalist on the Scooter Libby jury, described sentiments in the jury room reflecting those in the Senate Democratic cloakroom: "It was said a number of times. . . . Where's Rove? Where are these other guys?"

Discussion: TalkLeft, Firedoglake, Patterico's Pontifications, Captain's Quarters, A Blog For All, Villainous Company, Blue Crab Boulevard, Macsmind, The Strata-Sphere, Wonkette and Wizbang

Washington Post:

Bush Deflects Pressure To Give Libby a Pardon — Clemency Before 2008 Election Could Be Politically Risky — President Bush said yesterday that he is "pretty much going to stay out of" the case of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby until the legal process has run its course, deflecting pressure …

Discussion: The Mahablog, MSNBC, Hullabaloo, No More Mister Nice Blog, Captain's Quarters, Decision '08, Ezra Klein, CorrenteWire, Althouse, First Read, The Heretik, Liberal Values, On Deadline, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and The BLT

Sidney Blumenthal / Salon:
Libby and the White House book club

Discussion: Firedoglake, Middle Earth Journal, The Mahablog and The Agonist

Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:
Some Explaining to Do — It's time for President Bush …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Grasping Reality …

Newsweek:
The Problem With Pardoning Libby

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Rachel Maddow Show, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, New York Times, Neocon Express, Macsmind and New York Post

Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:

(Coming Clean) Sanchez — Dan already linked to the piece earlier, but I think it's worth excerpting the following extended bit from Matt Sanchez's Salon piece, "Porn Free": … Last night, in a comment submitted to an earlier thread here announcing this latest GAY PORN COCK OF LIES! "scandal," I wrote:

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Matt Sanchez / Salon:

Porn free — Left-wing blogs gleefully outed my gay porn past after I criticized antiwar zealots. But the truth has set me free. — Was I totally clueless? When I stepped forward in late 2005 to talk about anti-military attitudes at New York's Columbia University, I knew my past might be put under the microscope.

Discussion: Brilliant at Breakfast

Cpl. Matt Sanchez / Cpl Matt Sanchez:
Salon.com — Was I totally clueless? When I stepped forward …

Discussion: Villainous Company, seejanemom, Fausta's blog and Boi From Troy

Michelle Malkin:
A message for—and from—Matt Sanchez

Discussion: Joe. My. God., JunkYardBlog, The Jawa Report, Hot Air, Gay Patriot, Daily. Gay. News. Towleroad, BLACKFIVE, Ace of Spades HQ, Polimom Says, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Reality Mugged Me and Right Voices

Nico / Think Progress:

CONFIRMED: Top House Spending Official Knew Of Walter Reed Squalor — Congressional Quarterly confirms today that senior House conservatives, including the chairmen of the appropriations and oversight committees, knew about the neglect and deplorable conditions at Walter Reed years before they were exposed by the Washington Post.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, DownWithTyranny!, Balloon Juice, AMERICAblog and Daily Kos

Seth Stern / CQ.com:
Members Were Aware of Lapses at Walter Reed

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:
GETTING PORKED ('07) — The just-released "2007 Pig Book" …

Discussion: The Corner and The Caucus

Bill Carter / New York Times:

Producer for Katie Couric Out at CBS News — The shake-ups at the evening newscasts continued last night. — In the latest disruption, CBS News replaced Rome Hartman, the executive producer of the "Evening News with Katie Couric," with the long-time TV news executive and producer Rick Kaplan …

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, CBS News, Romenesko and Wizbang

Rebecca Dana / Slate:
The Katie Show — DOES COURIC'S ROCKY START AT CBS SPELL TROUBLE FOR HILLARY CLINTON?

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM), culturekitchen and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Dafna Linzer / Washington Post:

Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence — A former Iranian deputy defense minister who once commanded the Revolutionary Guard has left his country and is cooperating with Western intelligence agencies, providing information on Hezbollah and Iran's ties to the organization, according to a senior U.S. official.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, QandO, Right Wing Nut House, Hot Air, The Washington Note, The Belmont Club, Israel Matzav, Prairie Weather, Blue Crab Boulevard, Outside The Beltway, Yourish.com, The Political Pit Bull, Say Anything, Power Line and Riehl World View

Debra Burlingame / Opinion Journal:

Gitmo's Guerrilla Lawyers — How an unscrupulous legal and PR campaign changed the way the world looks at Guantanamo. — He was the first American to die in what some have called "the real war." Johnny "Mike" Spann, the 32-year-old CIA paramilitary commando, was interrogating prisoners …

Discussion: dyn.politico.com and JammieWearingFool

The Politico:

RudyTube 1993: Rudy and Donna — Hard watching now, here's Rudy Giuliani's then-wife Donna Hanover and their kids, starring in David Garth's famous 1993 commercial about the "gentle," family Rudy, the soft side of a tough prosecutor. — Now, 13 years later, Donna's son …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Gawker and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

Mike Lux / The Huffington Post:

The Democratic Divide — In a two-party, winner-take-all system like we have in the United States, major parties always have factions, tensions and fights within them. I'm personally enjoying the open blood-letting by the Republican Party's factions that is happening currently …

Discussion: MyDD, Cliff Schecter and Left in the West

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Three Good Options for The Right — The axiom is as old as human striving: The perfect is the enemy of the good. In politics this means that insisting on perfection in a candidate interferes with selecting a satisfactory one. — Which is why the mood of many of the 6,300 people …

Discussion: Reason Magazine, Betsy's Page, Outside The Beltway and Matthew Yglesias

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

After Libby Trial, New Era for Government and Press — The investigation and trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr., who was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, will have many legacies and lessons — for government officials, for supporters and critics of special prosecutors and for historians of the events leading to the war in Iraq.

Discussion: Washington Post, DownWithTyranny!, Prairie Weather and Wonkette