memeorandum: With Rove Absent, Aide Is Grilled by Senate Panel (David Stout/New York Times)

9:20 PM ET, August 2, 2007

Top Items:

A Statement on Scott Thomas Beauchamp — Scott Thomas Beauchamp is a U.S. Army private serving in Iraq. He came to THE NEW REPUBLIC's attention through Elspeth Reeve, a TNR reporter-researcher, whom he later married. Over the course of the war, we have tried to provide our readers with a sense of Iraq as it is seen by the troops.

Dean Barnett / Townhall.com:

Franklin Foer and Co. Keep Digging — At long last, The New Republic's editors have released a statement regarding the Beauchamp affair. It is a maddening piece of work - evasive, misleading, self-pitying and deliberately distortive. By all means, read the whole thing. But do so critically and carefully.

Discussion: The Corner and Washington Monthly

Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:
TNR Claims (Partial) Vindication

Discussion: protein wisdom and Gateway Pundit

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:
TNR's "Investigation" Reveals Beauchamp Was Always a Monster

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister

Associated Press:

Obama says use of nuclear weapons to fight al-Qaida 'not on the table,' — WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama said Thursday he would not use nuclear weapons «in any circumstance. — «I think it would be a profound mistake for us to use nuclear weapons …

Discussion: Say Anything, National Review, Hennessy's View, Don Surber, Open Left, The Glittering Eye, MyDD, Blogs of War, doubleplusundead, Ian Schwartz and Liberal Values

ABCNEWS:

Presidential Race Goes Nuclear — Clinton Implies Obama's Comments Were Careless — Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., sparred over foreign policy as the former first lady implied that the first term senator's comments on the use of nuclear weapons were careless and unpresidential.

Discussion: Open Left, MSNBC, The Atlantic Online and Political Punch

The Politico:

Obama on nukes: policy or character? (Updated) — The latest Obama story, from an interview with The Associated Press, isn't online yet, but get ready: It's an interview* in which Obama initially rules out the use of nuclear weapons entirely, then seems to take it back:

Discussion: Election Central, CNN Political Ticker, Liberal Values, Taylor Marsh, eyeon08.com, The Anonymous Liberal and TalkLeft

Agence France Presse:

Pakistan slams 'ignorant' Obama attack warning — ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan accused Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama of "sheer ignorance" for threatening to launch US military strikes against Al-Qaeda on Pakistani soil. — Obama warned Wednesday that if he is elected president …

Associated Press:

Minn. bridge problems uncovered in 1990 — MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota officials were warned as early as 1990 that the bridge that plummeted into the Mississippi River was "structurally deficient," yet they relied on a strategy of patchwork fixes and stepped-up inspections.

Discussion: Minneapolis Star Tribune, Sister Toldjah, Blue Crab Boulevard, DownWithTyranny!, TwinCities.com and Connecting.the.Dots

Rose Garden / White House:

President Bush Offers Sympathies and Assistance to Minneapolis and Calls on Congress to Act Before Recess — THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I just finished a Cabinet meeting. One of the things we discussed was the terrible situation there in Minneapolis. We talked about the fact …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Carpetbagger Report, Thought Theater, Comments From Left Field, Shakespeare's Sister, Best of Both Worlds and Scared Monkeys

Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
Blame-Game Begins on Infrastructure Spending

Discussion: The Sundries Shack

Jon Krawczynski / Associated Press:
Hopes Dim in Minneapolis for Survivors

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Hullabaloo, Eschaton and Wake up America

CNN:
Bush 'per second' blast on Dem budget

Discussion: The Politico

David Stout / New York Times:

With Rove Absent, Aide Is Grilled by Senate Panel — The Senate Judiciary Committee grilled a young political aide from the White House today about the firings of nine United States attorneys and voiced disdain for a man who was not there: the aide's boss, Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser.

Discussion: The Politico, CNN Political Ticker and Prairie Weather

Ed Henry / CNN:
Rove a no-show at hearing

Discussion: TPMCafe blogs

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Rove Aide Refuses to Answer Questions on U.S. Attorney Firings

Discussion: Think Progress, Firedoglake and Corrente

Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:

Edwards assails rivals over News Corp. — WASHINGTON - John Edwards criticized Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday for taking more than $20,000 in donations from News Corp. officials, arguing that the company's Fox News Channel has a right-wing bias and Democrats should avoid the company.

Discussion: Done With Mirrors and Hot Air

Editor and Publisher:
170 Cancel 'WSJ' Subscriptions — But How Many Will Follow?

Discussion: Liberal Values, QandO, Outside The Beltway and JammieWearingFool

Nick Coleman / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Public anger will follow our sorrow — The cloud of dust above the Mississippi that rose after the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed Wednesday evening has dissipated. But there are other dark clouds still hanging over Minneapolis and Minnesota. — The cloud of dust above the Mississippi …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Pharyngula, The Nation, Donklephant, Fraters Libertas and Mercury Rising

Byron York / National Review Online:

The Vast Left-Wing Establishment — Today more than a thousand Kossacks — adherents of the left-wing website DailyKos — are gathering for their annual convention in Chicago. It's the second YearlyKos, in circumstances far different from the first, held in June 2006 in Las Vegas.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Reason Magazine, Brian Beutler and Rising Hegemon

Daniela Deane / Washington Post:

Out of the Theater, Into the Courtroom — Jhannet Sejas and her boyfriend were celebrating her 19th birthday by taking in a matinee showing of the hit movie "Transformers" at the theater at Ballston Common mall. — Sejas was enjoying the movie so much that she decided to film a short clip …

Discussion: Reason Magazine, Wake up America, Concurring Opinions, SIVACRACY.NET and The Atlantic Online

Associated Press:

Minister In Skirt Charged With Indecent Exposure — Police Say Man Urinated In Front Of Kids, Offered Oral Sex To Cops — JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — A Baptist minister has been charged in Tennessee with indecent exposure and driving under the influence. — Police said 58-year-old Tommy Tester …

Discussion: Riehl World View, Wonkette and Shakespeare's Sister