memeorandum: Middle East Volcano (Charles Krauthammer/Washington Post)

12:45 PM ET, September 21, 2007

Top Items:

Martin Kady II / The Politico:

Dems end week with another Iraq failure — The Senate will adjourn for the weekend after a long week of tense debate over Iraq in which Democrats failed to move the ball and Republicans decided to stick with the White House in backing an unpopular war. — Yet another Democratic amendment …

Amanda / Think Progress:
Breaking: Levin-Reed amendment fails.

Discussion: TPM Election Central and Open Left

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Sen. Dodd votes 'no' on Senate war bill

Discussion: The Swamp and Chris Dodd National Blog

Naftali Bendavid / The Swamp: Bad week for Dems on the war

Brian Faughnan / Weekly Standard: Reid Needs to Review the Constitution

John M. Donnelly / CQ.com:
Moderates' Hope for Compromise on Iraq Fading as Reid Takes Hard Line

Discussion: Eschaton

Dana Bash / CNN: Reid: Dems will keep pushing to end Iraq war

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

Middle East Volcano — On Sept. 6, something important happened in northern Syria. Problem is, no one knows exactly what. Except for those few who were involved, and they're not saying. — We do know that Israel carried out an airstrike. How do we know it was important?

Discussion: The Newshoggers, New York Times, Telegraph, Wake up America, Crooks and Liars, ArmsControlWonk, Riehl World View, Flopping Aces, Blue Crab Boulevard, Israel Matzav, Soccer Dad, SWJ Blog and The Opinionator

Washington Post:

Israel, U.S. Shared Data On Suspected Nuclear Site — Bush Was Told of North Korean Presence in Syria, Sources Say — Israel's decision to attack Syria on Sept. 6, bombing a suspected nuclear site set up in apparent collaboration with North Korea, came after Israel shared intelligence …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TPMmuckraker, Jules Crittenden, Thomas P.M. Barnett, The Next Hurrah, SyriaComment, Connecting.the.Dots and The Gate

Salon:

Neither - 65% — As always, it is worth underscoring how lopsided American public opinion is on these questions even though there is virtually no significant American politician who was or is willing to criticize Israel's actions in Lebanon, and equally few who were willing to argue that U.S. support for Israel is excessive.

Discussion: TalkLeft, Hullabaloo, Slate and Israel Matzav

Associated Press:
N. Korea, Syria Hold High-Level Talks

Discussion: The American Pundit

Patrick Graham / Macleans.ca:

How George Bush became the new Saddam — COVER STORY: Its strategies shattered, a desperate Washington is reaching out to the late dictator's henchmen. — It was embarrassing putting my flak jacket on backwards and sideways, but in the darkness of the Baghdad airport car park I couldn't see anything.

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, NewsBusters.org, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Firedoglake, On Deadline, Rising Hegemon, JammieWearingFool and Washington Monthly

Michelle Malkin:
Bush Derangement Syndrome alert: Cover art of the week

Discussion: INDCJournal, Balloon Juice and Confederate Yankee

USA Today:
Iraqi alliances spread, U.S. says

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, The Swamp, Gateway Pundit and Outside The Beltway

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:

Senate Approves Resolution Denouncing MoveOn.org Ad — The Senate approved a resolution on Thursday denouncing the liberal antiwar group MoveOn.org over an advertisement that questioned the credibility of Gen. David H. Petraeus, the American commander in Iraq.

Discussion: The Swamp, Horses Mouth, Washington Post, The Hill, MSNBC, PoliBlog (TM), Israpundit and Time

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Health Care Hopes

Discussion: Democratic Strategist and Norwegianity

Donald Lambro / Washington Times:
Hillary's health plan estimates too low, analysts say

Discussion: New York Times, The Corner and TIME

Michael Saul / NY Daily News:

Hillary Clinton: I'm not a lesbian — Hillary Clinton officially declared she's not a lesbian - not that there's anything wrong with that. — During an interview with The Advocate to be published next week, Sean Kennedy, the gay magazine's news and features editor, asked the presidential candidate …

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, Take Our Country Back, MSNBC, Liberty Pundit and Vox Popoli

Rhonda Stewart / The Swamp:

Protesters give McCain best line at NRA gathering — McCain: "We beat you yesterday.... We'll beat you today . . . And we'll beat you tomorrow!" File photo by Chuck Kennedy, McClatcthy/Tribune — by Christi Parsons — Anti-war protesters barged into a speech Sen. John McCain was giving …

Discussion: The Politico and The Atlantic Online

The Atlantic Online:

That MoveOn Ad — I completely agree with the dread DC Establishment that calling General Petraeus "General Betrayus" was dumb. That said, I'm staggered by the amount of emphasis that people inside this town are placing on this. One virtue of having moved to the Beltway is that I can tell you …

Discussion: Eschaton, The Sideshow and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Flip / Suitably Flip:

Hsocking Hsu Secrets Revealed! — If there's one thing that can be said about Clinton financial scandals, it's that they tend to be complex. And thus far, the Norman Hsu debacle is living up to the archetype. — This rabbit hole is proving to be a fair bit deeper than anyone might've guessed and we're about to plumb its depths.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Flopping Aces, Power Line and Liberty Pundit

Alex Spillius / Telegraph:

George Bush the Texan is 'scared of horses' — President Bush may like to be seen as a swaggering tough guy with a penchant for manly outdoor pursuits, but in a new book one of his closest allies has said he is afraid of horses. — Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico …

Discussion: TPM Election Central

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

The Bully Boys Of The Internet — The Dan Rather lawsuit has given more of the TANG story figures a new lease on life, even if animated by the former CBS anchor's strange brand of conspiracy thinking. The woman who had the most responsibility for the airing of the 60 Minutes II segment …

Discussion: The Daily Gut, Power Line, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org and Death

Jennifer C. Kerr / Associated Press:

Do Not Call listings to expire in 2008 — WASHINGTON - The cherished dinner hour void of telemarketers could vanish next year for millions of people when phone numbers begin dropping off the national Do Not Call list. — The Federal Trade Commission, which oversees the list, says there is a simple fix.

Discussion: Betsy's Page and Outside The Beltway

Josh Hirschland / Columbia Spectator:

Student Groups Question Bollinger on Ahmadinejad — Nearly 50 student leaders and a dozen administrators sat down with University President Lee Bollinger for an hour on Thursday for a passionate yet civil discussion to air concerns about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's scheduled speech on campus on Monday.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Commentary, Fausta's blog, Blue Crab Boulevard, Talking Points Memo, The American Pundit and Stop The ACLU

Matthew Barakat / Associated Press:

Giuliani: Balance tax cut with tax cut — RESTON, Va. - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Friday that the alternative minimum tax — which is expected to generate as much as $1 trillion over the next 10 years — could be eliminated by balancing it out with even more tax cuts.

Discussion: AMERICAblog