memeorandum: A Long View — GEN. DAVID H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C … (Washington Post)

12:35 PM ET, September 11, 2007

Top Items:

By Bush's Own Standard, Surge Has Failed — Before Gen. David Petraeus' report, and to give it a context of optimism, the president visited Iraq's Anbar province to underscore the success of the surge in making some hitherto anarchic areas less so. More significant, however, was the fact that the president did not visit Baghdad.

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McClatchy Washington Bureau:

What Crocker and Petraeus didn't say — WASHINGTON — The Bush administration's top two officials in Iraq answered questions from Congress for more than six hours on Monday, but their testimony may have been as important for what they didn't say as for what they did.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Wake up America, Shakespeare's Sister, Prairie Weather, unbossed.com and The Gavel

Paul Richter / Los Angeles Times:

Bush policy to bequeath Iraq to successor — The president plans to end his term with a strong U.S. military in the country and leave the issue of exiting to his successor. — WASHINGTON — The talk in Washington on Monday was all about troop reductions, yet it also brought …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, The BRAD BLOG, The Carpetbagger Report, Gateway Pundit, Prairie Weather and Middle Earth Journal

New York Times:

Empty Calories — For months, President Bush has been promising an honest accounting of the situation in Iraq, a fresh look at the war strategy and a new plan for how to extricate the United States from the death spiral of the Iraqi civil war. The nation got none of that yesterday …

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Fred Kaplan / Slate:

The House Tosses Softballs to Gen. Petraeus — SIX HOURS OF LARGELY PREDICTABLE, PRO FORMA TESTIMONY. — Maybe Tuesday will be Congress' good news day. — Monday was mainly a disgrace. Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker made their eagerly awaited appearances …

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Washington Post: A Long View — GEN. DAVID H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C …

Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:
'Six Months' Without End

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Jackie Kucinich / The Hill:

Republicans introduce measure condemning MoveOn ad — House Republican leaders introduced a resolution Monday condemning a full-page newspaper ad from MoveOn.org that criticizes the character of Gen. David Petraeus, the commanding general of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Discussion: Dick Polman's American Debate, Balloon Juice and TPM Election Central

ABCNEWS:

MoveOn.org Ad Takes Aim at Petraeus — Ad From Liberal Activist Group Takes on Petraeus and the GOP Finds a New Talking Point — A newspaper ad from the anti-war group MoveOn.org that attacks Gen. David Petraeus has prompted a Republican outcry in Washington, D.C., as supporters …

Discussion: TigerHawk, Confederate Yankee, NewsBusters.org, The Democratic Daily, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, CNN Political Ticker and michellemalkin.com

Hoystory:
MoveOn's money — You can see a full size PDF of today's MoveOn.org ad …

Discussion: INSTAPUTZ, TBogg and Townhall.com

Ray McGovern / Consortiumnews.com:
'Swear Him In' Provokes Expulsion

Discussion: BuzzFlash.org, CommonDreams.org and truthout

Los Angeles Times:

Clinton to cut ties with fundraiser — The Democrat's presidential campaign is refunding $850,000 linked to Norman Hsu, caught up in allegations of running a Ponzi scheme. — WASHINGTON — Confronted with the possibility that disgraced fundraiser Norman Hsu might be running …

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, PoliPundit.com and Wizbang

Washington Post:
Clinton's Campaign To Return $850,000

Discussion: The Corner, Quad City Times, Wonkette and MSNBC

Michelle Malkin:

9/11: Remembrance and resistance — What do you remember? When I think back to September 11, 2001, the crisp morning before jihadists struck on American soil, I remember transluscent blue skies. Green-gold leaves. And the blush pink cheeks of my then-one-year-old daughter …

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Norman Podhoretz / Opinion Journal:

'America the Ugly' — Six years after 9/11, it's notable how little the politics of the left have changed. — In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on us that took place on this very day six years ago, several younger commentators proclaimed the birth of an entirely new era in American history.

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Rasmussen Reports:

No Home Field Advantage for Romney in Massachusetts — If former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney wins the Republican Presidential nomination, he isn't likely to deliver his home state's Electoral Votes to the GOP. — A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds Romney trailing Democratic …

Discussion: The Caucus, TPM Election Central, The Carpetbagger Report and race42008.com

Virginia Senate / Rasmussen Reports:
Democrat Warner Holds Large Lead Over Davis and Gilmore

Discussion: MyDD, TPM Election Central and Pollster.com

Http / WHAS11 Political Blog:

Beshear Up 19 In Latest Survey USA Poll — Steve Beshear still has a huge lead over Ernie Fletcher in the latest Survey USA/WHAS11 News poll released this morning. — Beshear has a 58%-39% lead over Fletcher, with just 2% undecided in the survey of likely Kentucky voters.

Discussion: BluegrassReport.org

CBS News:

Poll: Giuliani Tumbles, GOP Race Tightens — CBS News Poll: Thompson's Entry Vaults Him To A Close Second Place In Republican Contest — (CBS) Rudy Giuliani, after holding the front-runner spot in the race for the Republican presidential nomination for months, has seen his lead nearly evaporate …

Discussion: MyDD, Right Wing Nut House, race42008.com, Brave New Films blog and Pollster.com

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

Miers, Bolten contempt filings delayed — House Democratic leaders have decided to postpone a vote on a criminal contempt resolution against White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers for several weeks, and possibly longer, according to top lawmakers and aides.

Discussion: Democrats.com

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

THE FIGHT TO FILL JUDICIAL VACANCIES GROWS EVER WEIRDER. — Last week, President Bush nominated two candidates for seats on the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which now is operating with five vacancies on its 15-member bench. The president opted to casually insult Virginia's …

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Strike Three? — A bomb-sniffing dog in Ankara helped Turkish authorities stop a massive terrorist attack on the anniversary of 9/11. A van full of explosives in a parking garage would have devastated the center of the large city, and it would have served as a counterpoint to the messages released by Osama bin Laden in the past week:

Discussion: The Van Der Galiën Gazette