memeorandum: Bush Taps New 'War Czar' (ABCNEWS)

10:10 PM ET, May 15, 2007

Top Items:

Jerry Falwell dies at age 73 — One of the nation's most notorious TV preachers, Jerry Falwell, died today in Lynchburg, Va. … More soon. — Update: I have to admit, writing about Falwell's death poses an awkward challenge for me. When I worked at Americans United for Separation …

Discussion: The Reaction, The Huffington Post, DownWithTyranny!, The Caucus, Sadly, No!, Think Progress, Eschaton, Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice, Mercury Rising and No More Mister Nice Blog

Sue Lindsey / Associated Press:

Television evangelist Falwell dies at 73 — LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University.

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, Captain's Quarters, Democratic Underground …, Ankle Biting Pundits, The Newshoggers, Gateway Pundit, Comments From Left Field, Macsmind and BlueOregon

MSNBC:

Falwell in 'gravely serious' condition — Evangelical leader was found in his university office — LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell — founder of the Moral Majority and the face of the religious right in the 1980s — was in "gravely serious" condition Tuesday after being found unconscious …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, David E's Fablog, Central Sanity, Think Progress, TAPPED, The Moderate Voice, Big Brass Blog, Blah3 and The Democratic Daily

CNN:

Rev. Jerry Falwell dead at 73 … (CNN) — Evangelist Jerry Falwell died Tuesday after he was found unresponsive in his office, an official at Liberty University told CNN. — Falwell, 73, was rushed to a Lynchburg, Virginia, hospital, where he was given CPR.

Discussion: Blog of the Moderate Left, The World Wide Rant, Central Sanity and The Talent Show

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Breaking: Jerry Falwell in "gravely serious" condition after being found unconscious; Update: Falwell dies, says AP; Update: Falwell's in hell, says Phelps — Just across on Fox. No details yet, but the death wishes should be flowing like wine soon on nutroots blogs. Keep an eye out, and stand by.

Discussion: Confederate Yankee, AMERICAblog, TMZ.com, Blue Crab Boulevard and Gay Orbit

Matt Stearns / Real Cities:
Rev. Jerry Falwell dies

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

Digby / Hullabaloo:
"He Thought It Would Be Dramatic"

Discussion: Campaign for America's …, Big Brass Blog and Wonkette

Peter Applebome / New York Times:
Jerry Falwell, Leading Religious Conservative, Dies at 73

Discussion: Althouse and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Washington Post:
Falwell's Sudden Death Jolts GOP Candidates

Discussion: Latest Politics, MSNBC and Sister Toldjah

David Stout / New York Times:

Gonzales Pressed Ailing Ashcroft on Spy Plan, Aide Says — On the night of March 10, 2004, a high-ranking Justice Department official rushed to a Washington hospital to prevent two White House aides from taking advantage of the critically ill Attorney General, John Ashcroft, the official testified today.

Discussion: News Bloggers Blog, WSJ.com, WorkingForChange, The Moderate Voice and TIME: Swampland

Think Progress:

Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, 5/15/07, Senate Judiciary Committee — COMEY: In the early part of 2004, the Department of Justice was engaged — the Office of Legal Counsel, under my supervision — in a reevaluation both factually and legally of a particular classified program.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, Unqualified Offerings, Obsidian Wings and War and Piece

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Comey Details White House Attempt to Force Approval of Secret Program — In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey detailed the desperate late night efforts by then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and White House chief …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Balkinization, Salon, Think Progress, CANNONFIRE, The Carpetbagger Report, The Anonymous Liberal, Talking Points Memo, MotherJones.com, NION, Norwegianity, War and Piece, The Volokh Conspiracy and Washington Monthly

Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
Who Will Play Gonzales and Card and Addington in the Hollywood Movie …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy and Power Line

William Branigin / Washington Post:
White House Pushed Ashcroft on Wiretappings

Discussion: TalkLeft

Faiz / Think Progress:
Gonzales Throws McNulty Under The Bus

Discussion: Blah3 and WTF Is It Now??

Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press:
Gonzales: Deputy was pointman on firings

Discussion: Firedoglake, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, The Carpetbagger Report, Washington Post, The Garlic and PoliBlog (TM)

ABCNEWS:

Bush Taps New 'War Czar' — ABC News Learns Pentagon Official Selected to Oversee Iraq, Afghanistan Wars — After a frustrating search for a new "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ABC News has learned that President Bush has chosen the Pentagon's director of operations, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, for the role.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Captain's Quarters, Comments From Left Field, World-O-Crap, The Impolitic, The Talent Show, The Carpetbagger Report, Middle Earth Journal, Blah3 and Daily Kos

Atrios / Eschaton:

And We Have a War Czar — Because giving someone the title "czar" always ensures they'll solve the problem. — There will eventually be confirmation hearings. There will be pressure on Democrats to confirm him. Then Tony Snow and the president will say the Democrats have no right …

Discussion: Needlenose, Democrats.com, Taylor Marsh, Angry Bear and The Mahablog

Steve Soto / The Left Coaster:
Bush's "War Czar" Advocated Troop Drawdown - Why Was He Selected?

Discussion: MSNBC, The Next Hurrah and MotherJones.com

Nico / Think Progress:
New 'War Czar' Advocated Troop Withdrawals To 'Undercut Perception Of Occupation'

Discussion: Danger Room and Hot Air

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Video: MSNBC quotes WhiteHouse.org on Falwell's political influence — Yeah, WhiteHouse.org. The most infamous, relentlessly anti-Bush parody site on the 'Net. — You can imagine how it played out. Producer to intern: "We need a fawning description of him from the White House website …

Discussion: ProfessorBainbridge.com ® and National Review

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
MSNBC punks itself!

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Lizstephans / Breitbart.tv:

Exclusive: Thompson Responds to Michael Moore Challenge — Breitbart.tv Exclusive: The confrontation over Cuba continues. Michael Moore has challenged Fred Thompson to a health care debate. At issue — Moore's trip to Cuba and Thompson's criticism of that trip.

Discussion: Hot Air, Redstate, Captain's Quarters, The Impolitic, democracyarsenal.org and Heading Right

The Atlantic Online:

Yes, Hypocrisy Matters — It's no surprise to see that James Kirchick, assistant to New Republic editor in chief Martin Peretz, shares his patron's passion for the cause of keeping Paul Wolfowitz in office at the World Bank. Kirchick says Wolfowitz's critics are making baseless charges …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns and Money and Mercury Rising

ABCNEWS:
Wolfowitz Out? — White House Opens Door for Wolfowitz Ouster

Discussion: Guardian, PoliBlog (TM) and Crooks and Liars

Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:
Bank's Report Says Wolfowitz Violated Ethics

Discussion: Washington Post, Opinions You Should Have, AMERICAblog and Wonkette

Max Boot / Opinion Journal:

Surging Ahead in Iraq — The new strategy can work. But Washington has to give it time. — There is a serious and widening disconnect between the timetables that commanders are using to guide their actions in Iraq and those being demanded by politicians in Washington.

Discussion: The News Blog, The Mahablog and Betsy's Page

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Clinton to vote for Iraq pullout — Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines emails: — "Senator Clinton will vote for cloture on both the Feingold-Reid and Reed-Levin Amendments, to send the President a clear message that it is time to change course, redeploy our troops out of Iraq, and end this war as soon as possible."

Discussion: Daily Kos, AMERICAblog and TalkLeft

Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:

Bloomberg poised for third-party campaign — New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is prepared to spend an unprecedented $1 billion of his own $5.5 billion personal fortune for a third-party presidential campaign, personal friends of the mayor tell The Washington Times.