memeorandum: Top Iraqis Pull Back From Key U.S. Goal (Joshua Partlow/Washington Post)

2:40 PM ET, October 8, 2007

Top Items:

Bill Sammon / Examiner:

He's back: Sandy Berger now advising Hillary Clinton — WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Sandy Berger, who stole highly classified terrorism documents from the National Archives, destroyed them and lied to investigators, is now an adviser to presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Moonbattery, GINA COBB, Sweetness & Light, Wake up America, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, Redstate, Macsmind, JammieWearingFool, PrairiePundit and Right Voices

Geoff Earle / New York Post:

IT GIRL TO SNIT GIRL — HIGH-RIDING HILLARY RIPS IOWA VOTER — NEW HAMPTON, Iowa - Surging in a new poll, Hillary Rodham Clinton urged small-town Iowa voters not to prejudge her based on what others say - then demonstrated her sharper side by eviscerating a tough questioner in a testy exchange.

Discussion: QandO, Quad City Times, Gateway Pundit, The Politico, skippy the bush kangaroo, The Trail and If I Ran the Zoo

Philip Klein / American Spectator:

Hillary Slaps Iowa Voter — NEW HAMPTON, Iowa — Hillary Clinton is working hard to counter her image as an arrogant Ice Queen. At campaign stops, she laughs at her own jokes and regales the audience with tales of herself as a little girl who stared into the sky with binoculars hoping to catch a glimpse of Sputnik as it passed by.

Discussion: Macsmind, BBC and Reason Magazine

CNN Political Ticker: Clinton campaign downplays Berger's role

Los Angeles Times:
How Clinton has built her lead

Discussion: MSNBC, New York Sun, The Moderate Voice, Des Moines Register, Quad City Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, CNN Political Ticker, Comments from Left Field, The Oxford Medievalist and The Van Der Galiën Gazette

Joshua Partlow / Washington Post:

Top Iraqis Pull Back From Key U.S. Goal — Reconciliation Seen Unattainable Amid Struggle for Power — BAGHDAD — For much of this year, the U.S. military strategy in Iraq has sought to reduce violence so that politicians could bring about national reconciliation, but several top Iraqi leaders …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, MoJoBlog, Comments from Left Field, TIME: Swampland, The Lede, Middle Earth Journal, The Strata-Sphere, DownWithTyranny!, Martini Revolution, Brilliant at Breakfast, D-Day, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Online, The Carpetbagger Report, Open Left, Daily Kos, PrairiePundit and Taylor Marsh

Dick Morris / The Hill:

Hillary Will Trigger Stock Crash — I give political analysis, not financial advice. But sometimes, the two closely merge. So here's what I think: Hillary Clinton will cause the stock market to crash as her likely election as president approaches. — Hillary says she wants to raise the capital gains tax.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and PSoTD

Jed Babbin / Human Events:

Take a Shot at Chris — Unless the Republican candidates prepare for what's coming, the winner of their debate tomorrow will be Hillary Clinton. To prevent that result, the candidates have to do what Republicans' campaign consultants have always prevented: they need to take on the media itself.

Discussion: Redstate

Yeas & Nays:
Kudlow has his eye on Matthews for Tuesday's CNBC debate

Discussion: mediabistro.com and National Review

Amy Schatz / Wall Street Journal:
Thompson Turns to Taxes

Discussion: About.com Conservative …, Des Moines Register, Angry Bear, The Caucus and TIME

Cernig / The Newshoggers:

Gates Vs Cheney Over Iran War — The UK's Daily Telegraph had an interesting report yesterday which said that Bob Gates is the only real barrier within the Bush administration to Cheney's war with Iran. … That last sentence is the scariest thing I've read in weeks.

Discussion: Middle Earth Journal

Telegraph: The man who stands between US and new war

Frank Newport / Gallup Poll:

Republicans Remain Deeply Distrustful of News Media — Democrats much more positive — PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans in America today remain deeply distrustful of the national news media — in sharp contrast to Democrats, who have a great deal more trust in the media's accuracy.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Don Surber, Hot Air, TigerHawk, Balloon Juice, The Swamp, NewsBusters.org, Democracy Project, PrairiePundit and Macsmind

James Carroll / Boston Globe:

A troubling turn in American history — IF COLUMBUS is the beginning of the story, and, say, Lincoln is the middle, what is the end? Each episode of the American narrative surfaced a problem, which prompted attempts to resolve it, which led in turn to a new problem.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Take Our Country Back

Jules Crittenden:
Happy Columbus Day — James Carroll at Boston Globe …

Discussion: American Thinker and Sister Toldjah

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Same Old Party — There have been a number of articles recently that portray President Bush as someone who strayed from the path of true conservatism. Republicans, these articles say, need to return to their roots. — Well, I don't know what true conservatism is, but while doing research …

Discussion: The Mahablog, Norwegianity, Cato-at-liberty, Prairie Weather, The Democratic Daily, If I Ran the Zoo, Bark Bark Woof Woof and All Spin Zone

Sarah Baxter / Times of London:

Al Gore tipped to win Nobel — THE environmental campaigner Al Gore is being tipped as a favourite to win the Nobel peace prize in Oslo this Friday in a controversial move that could place saving the planet above saving people from war and conflict. — Gore, a former American vice-president …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Reason Magazine and EU Referendum

Christina Bellantoni / Washington Times:
True believers refuse to give up on Gore run

Discussion: techPresident, MSNBC and Althouse

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select Their Least Favorite People On The Right (2007 Edition) — Right Wing News emailed more than 225 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a list of whom they considered to be their "Least Favorite People On The Right." Representatives from the following 45 blogs responded...

Discussion: Argghhh!, Liberal Values, Donklephant, Boi From Troy and Betsy's Page

Michael J. Totten:

The Best Police Force in Iraq — RAMADI, IRAQ - In late July when I visited a police station in the town of Mushadah just north of Baghdad I worried that Iraq was doomed to become the next Gaza. As many as half the police officers, according to most of the American Military Police who worked …

Discussion: Kesher Talk, Jules Crittenden and Gateway Pundit

Ron Paul / New Hampshire Union Leader:

Rep. Ron Paul: I advocate the same foreign policy the Founding Fathers would — Any response to this paper's Friday editorial on my foreign policy position must rest on two fundamental assertions: first, that the Founding Fathers were not isolationists; and second, that their political philosophy …

Discussion: MSNBC and The Van Der Galiën Gazette

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Is Rudy the most electable Republican? — Last week Rudy Giuliani said this: "Every poll shows that I would be, by far, the strongest candidate against Hillary Clinton. There hasn't been one taken in the last six or seven months that shows anything other than I'm the Republican that has the best chance to beat her."

Discussion: The Corner, Central Sanity, Beliefnet, Born Again Redneck and Washington Times

The Prowler / American Spectator:

PATRIOTIC GORE — The Democrat Party senior leadership is feeling a Rush. Rush Limbaugh, that is. Late last week, DNC Chair Howard Dean, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, his deputy, Sen. Dick Durbin and Senatorial Committee chair, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi all signed off …

Discussion: Riehl World View, The Radio Equalizer, Hot Air and Instapundit.com