memeorandum: A Man Who Loved People, the Gritty Nature of Life and All of the Human Comedy (Juan Williams/FOX Forum)

2:25 PM ET, July 13, 2008

Top Items:

U.S., Iraq Scale Down Negotiations Over Forces — Long-Term Agreement Will Fall to Next President — U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have abandoned efforts to conclude a comprehensive agreement governing the long-term status of U.S troops in Iraq before the end of the Bush presidency …

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Matthew Yglesias, abu muqawama, Washington Monthly, Blue Girl, Red State, Sic Semper Tyrannis 2008 and The Jed Report

Marie Colvin / Times of London:

Nouri al-Maliki ready to oust US from Iraq green zone — The green zone of Baghdad, a highly fortified slice of American suburbia on the banks of the Tigris river, may soon be handed over to Iraqi control if the increasingly assertive government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, gets its way.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, the talking dog, NION and Newshoggers.com

Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
U.S. Considers Increasing Pace of Iraq Pullout

Discussion: www.redstate.com, TalkLeft, Commentary and QandO

New York Post:

EGO-BAMA, SWALLOW SOME OF THAT PRIDE — In his pre-campaign book, “The Audacity of Hope,” Barack Obama proclaims, “I find comfort in the fact that the longer I'm in politics the less nourishing popularity becomes, that a striving for rank and fame seems to betray a poverty of ambition …

Discussion: protein wisdom and Sister Toldjah

Frank Rich / New York Times:

The Real-Life ‘24’ of Summer 2008 — WE know what a criminal White House looks like from “The Final Days,” Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's classic account of Richard Nixon's unraveling. The cauldron of lies, paranoia and illegal surveillance boiled over, until it was finally every man …

Discussion: the talking dog, Matthew Yglesias, Prairie Weather, Eunomia and Crooks and Liars

Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:

MAKING IT — How Chicago shaped Obama. — Barack Obama on the South Side during his first campaign, for the State Senate. An outsider in Chicago's system, he was meticulous about constructing his own political identity and coalition. Photograph by Marc PoKempner.

Discussion: The New Republic and Ben Smith's Blogs

The Big Trunk / Power Line:

THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF BARACK OBAMA — Jonah Goldberg devotes a good column to the thesis that Barack Obama believes in nothing more than he believes in himself. He collects quotes that illustrate Obama's adolescent grandiosity, a grandiosity that was visibly on display in his handling of his treatment of Jeremiah Wright.

N. Gregory Mankiw / New York Times:

What if the Candidates Pandered to Economists? — IN the months to come, John McCain and Barack Obama will be vying for the support of various voting blocs. It is safe to say, however, that one group won't get much attention: economists. — The American Economic Association represents …

Discussion: Marginal Revolution, The Glittering Eye, EconLog, PrestoPundit, naked capitalism and The Volokh Conspiracy

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

No Ice Cream, Senator? — Barack Obama may make it to the Rose Garden, but he'll still be an orchid. For all his attempts to act like a sturdy American perennial, he's a genuine hothouse flower, and everything he is and does is cultivated. — He has been trying of late to show off his dad cred …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, pandagon.net and American Spectator

Juan Williams / FOX Forum:

A Man Who Loved People, the Gritty Nature of Life and All of the Human Comedy — NPR Senior Correspondent/FOX News Political Contributor — Tony Snow and I traveled parallel paths through Washington. We are a year apart in age -Tony is a year younger at 53 -and both loved politics and debate.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Volokh Conspiracy and NewsBusters.org

Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Dick Cheney: Tony Snow ‘the best’

Discussion: TIME.com

Times of London:

US Treasury rescue for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — Treasury secretary looks at $15 billion cash injection for crisis-hit mortgage lenders — US TREASURY secretary Hank Paulson is working on plans to inject up to $15 billion (£7.5 billion) of capital into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac …

Discussion: BloggingStocks, Emptywheel, Calculated Risk, Scripting News, naked capitalism and Balloon Juice

Washington Post:
Freddie Mac's Next Hurdle: Raise Cash

Discussion: The Seminal

Satyam / Think Progress:

George Will Sticks Up For Gramm: Americans Are ‘The Cry Babies Of The Western World’ — Last week, Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) economic adviser Phil Gramm sparked controversy by stating that the U.S. is in a “mental recession” created by a “nation of whiners.”

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Times of London:

Stephen Payne: a hotshot lobbyist who can get you into White House — A lobbyist offered access to Dick Cheney and other US leaders in return for a donation to the Bush library — The images on the tiny screen of Stephen Payne's personal organiser told a clear story: this was a man with connections at the highest level.

Discussion: The Swamp and War and Piece

Faiz / Think Progress:
Bush Homeland Security Aide Caught On Tape Offering High-Level Access …

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics, Times of London, The Carpetbagger Report, Booman Tribune, Obsidian Wings, The Moderate Voice, I Am TRex and Docudharma

Daniel Foggo / Times of London:
President George W Bush lobbyist in ‘cash for access’ row

Discussion: Hot Air, Shakesville, Emptywheel and Majikthise

CNSNews:

Global Warming Led to ‘Black Hawk Down,’ Congressman Says — On the Spot (CNSNews.com) - A top Democrat told high school students gathered at the U.S. Capitol Thursday that climate change caused Hurricane Katrina and the conflict in Darfur, which led to the “black hawk down” battle between U.S. troops and Somali rebels.

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, The Powers That Be, Gateway Pundit, Macsmind, TigerHawk, Moonbattery, Right Wing News and American Thinker

Jeffry Scott / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

McKinney wins Green Party nomination — CHICAGO — Former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney reassumed the national political stage Saturday, winning the presidential nomination of the Green Party of the United States at the party's national convention here.

Discussion: The Field on the Narcosphere, Political Punch and JammieWearingFool

CNN:
McKinney is Green Party presidential nominee

Discussion: Blogs of War, Wake up America and Tammy Bruce

Los Angeles Times:

Obama, McCain agree on many once-divisive issues — Their similar stances on immigration, nuclear weapons, global warming and stem-cell research are evidence of a centrist shift in the political landscape. — WASHINGTON — For Amy Rick, the 2008 presidential election is a win-win situation.

Discussion: BAGnewsNotes, Liberal Values, The Carpetbagger Report, New York Times, American Power, The RBC and TIME.com

John Andrew Prime / ShreveportTimes:

Brolin, fellow film figures arrested in bar brawl — Actor Josh Brolin, in Shreveport starring in director-producer Oliver Stone's “W.,” was arrested early today during a bar fight at a downtown Shreveport nightspot. Click on thelinks at right to see police desk report and booking computer entry.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Us Weekly and Gateway Pundit

Thers / Firedoglake:

OBAMA ROCKED BY SCANDAL: Is Presidential Bid Over? — I know we're not supposed to directly quote AP stories without paying them serious cash, but this story is so important and has such major ramifications for this election — which will of course decide the leader of the free world …

Discussion: NO QUARTER, Associated Press, Chicago Sun Times, Balloon Juice and Corrente