memeorandum: George Bush, Mr. Relevant (Ed Morrissey/Captain's Quarters)

11:35 AM ET, December 13, 2007

Top Items:

Glenn Thrush / Newsday:

Clinton insiders question top aide's approach — Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton speaks at a "town hall meeting" in San Francisco December 11. (McClatchy-Tribune / December 11, 2007) — DES MOINES - On the eve of the final Iowa debate before the Jan. 3 caucuses …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Salon, Taegan Goddard's …, TIME, RealClearPolitics, Telegraph Blogs, AMERICAblog and TPM Election Central

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:

A Dud From Team Clinton — David Axelrod, the seasoned Chicago Democratic operative who is chief strategist for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, was taken by surprise in the last minute of CBS's "Face the Nation" on Dec. 2. Howard Wolfson, Sen. Hillary Clinton's spokesman, accused Obama of running a "slush fund."

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Connecting.the.Dots, The Raw Story, Reason Magazine and Real Clear Politics

Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:

In Iowa, a Scrambling Lesson for Clinton — When senior advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton awakened to the fact that they faced a serious problem in Iowa, they knew they needed a summit. For the divided staff, the question was where. — It made sense to fly to Iowa, where support for Clinton …

Discussion: MSNBC

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

Clinton Aide Sees Problem for Obama — DES MOINES — A top adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Senator Barack Obama's admission of illegal drug use as a young man could threaten his electability and be seized on by Republicans if he won the Democratic presidential nomination.

Discussion: Firedoglake, michellemalkin.com, USA Today, MSNBC, New York Post, PoliBlog (TM), Ace of Spades HQ, The Newshoggers, Hot Air and Riehl World View

Adam Nagourney / The Caucus:
Clinton's Caucus Crunch

Discussion: The New Republic and Ben Smith's Blogs

John Distaso / New Hampshire Union Leader:
John DiStaso's Granite Status: No firewall in NH for Hillary

Discussion: Boston Globe

The Corner:
So Not Buying It — In the 1990s, the Clinton's mastered …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and TIME: Swampland

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:

Democrats Bow to Bush's Demands in House Spending Bill — House Democratic leaders yesterday agreed to meet President Bush's bottom-line spending limit on a sprawling, half-trillion-dollar domestic spending bill, dropping their demands for as much as $22 billion in additional spending …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, The Hill, Dr. Sanity, Right Voices and New York Times

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

Judiciary approves contempt resolutions — The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved contempt resolutions against Karl Rove, the former top aide to President Bush, and Joshua Bolten, the current White House chief of staff. The vote was 12-8. — The criminal contempt resolutions now move …

Discussion: Think Progress

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Democrats show Beltway "strength," avoid being depicted as weak — (updated below) — In the world of the Beltway pundit, Bush Dog Representative, and Democratic strategist, this is how Democrats prove how "strong" and tough they are and avoid being demonized as "weak" and "soft"; this is all just from today:

Discussion: The Sideshow, CNN, Cliff Schecter, Wizbang, New York Times, Outside The Beltway, The Strata-Sphere and Brilliant at Breakfast

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
George Bush, Mr. Relevant

Discussion: macsmind.com/wordpress

Matthew Yglesias:
Feeling Depressed — New Democratic congress, massively …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Needlenose

NY Daily News:

Subpoenas for Al Sharpton's aides — Teams of federal agents swooped down on up to 10 close associates of the Rev. Al Sharpton Wednesday, demanding the flamboyant clergyman's financial records since 2001. — Sharpton's former chief of staff said he was roused at his Harlem home about 6:30 …

Discussion: New York Post, michellemalkin.com, NYT, Betsy's Page, Big Head DC, Spin Cycle and Attytood

Dean Barnett / Weekly Standard:

Fred Wins, Iowa Loses — Why Carolyn Washburn should keep her day job. — HERE WE WERE on Wednesday, a nation of political junkies gathered around our televisions to watch the candidates debate each other one last time, and we had as a moderator one Carolyn Washburn, the editor of the Des Moines Register.

Michelle Malkin:
Digging deeper: The enviro-nitwit-ization of the GOP

Discussion: Power Line, Dick Polman's American Debate and PoliPundit.com

CNN:
CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL

Discussion: New York Times, Los Angeles Times and TIME: Swampland

Henry Kissinger / Washington Post:

Misreading the Iran Report — The extraordinary spectacle of the president's national security adviser obliged to defend the president's Iran policy against a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) raises two core issues: How are we now to judge the nuclear threat posed by Iran?

Discussion: Power Line, Commentary, The American Street, Jules Crittenden and Outside The Beltway

Russ Vought / RSC Blog:

Reported Omnibus is Way Above President's Level — By now many of you have probably read numerous stories describing the latest Democrat omnibus package. As reported, it would result in a topline discretionary level of $936.5 billion—$3.7 billion above the President's request.

Discussion: The Corner and Club for Growth

CNN:

Muslim helps Jews attacked on New York subway — NEW YORK (CNN) — A Muslim man jumped to the aid of three Jewish subway riders after they were attacked by a group of young people who objected to one of the Jews saying "Happy Hanukkah," a spokeswoman for the three said Wednesday.

Discussion: L.A. Times, Unqualified Offerings, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL and The Debate Link

Washington Post:

Democrats Blaming Each Other For Failures — When Democrats took control of Congress in January, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) pledged to jointly push an ambitious agenda to counter 12 years of Republican control.

Discussion: Pat Dollard, Wake up America, The Carpetbagger Report and Booman Tribune

Quinnipiac University News and Events:

December 13, 2007 - Clinton Up, But Giuliani Slips In New Jersey Primaries, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Want A Tough Stand On Illegal Immigrants — New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has increased her Democratic presidential primary lead in New Jersey while former …

Discussion: MSNBC, race42008.com, TPM Election Central and The Politico

Marc Ambinder:

Minutemen Bash Founder Over Huckabee Endorsement — Jim Gilchrist likes Mike Huckabee, but the organization he founded sent a "special message" to members blasting Huckabee. The headline: "Real Minutemen Do Not Endorse Huckabee." — Here's the full text:

Discussion: Hot Air and Say Anything