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7:25 PM ET, December 11, 2008

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Ali Frick / Think Progress:
Malkin: Democrats Will ‘Turn On A Dime’ Against Patrick Fitzgerald  —  This morning on Fox and Friends, right-wing pundit Michelle Malkin took up the conservative mantra of linking President-elect Obama to disgraced governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL).  (In fact, Obama may have “indirectly contributed to the downfall” of Blagojevich.)
RELATED:
Jack Healy / New York Times:
Obama Says He Never Spoke to Governor on Senate Seat  —  President-elect Barack Obama sought on Thursday to separate himself from the political scandal swirling around Governor Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, saying he never talked to the governor about who would replace Mr. Obama in the United States Senate.
The Politico:
Obama to list staff contact with Blago  —  President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday morning that he is “confident” no one representing him took part in any pay-to-play dealings with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich over filling Obama's U.S. Senate seat, and pledged to release details …
Jason Rosenbaum / The Seminal:
BREAKING: Schakowsky Will Run For Senate In Illinois  —  Last night at the Midwest Academy Awards and 35th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, DC, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown introduced Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky by saying, “We may have a special election in Illinois, and if Jan Schakowsky runs, I'll support her.”
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Depends on how you define “contact”; Update: Blago newsletter photo included  —  Barack Obama has gone out of his way to make his incoming administration Clintonesque.  Not only has he built 63% of his transition team from Clinton administration officials, he even picked Hillary Clinton for a Cabinet post.
Rasmussen Reports:
Madigan Is Illinois Democrats' Favorite Now for Senate, Jackson's Support Plummets
New York Times:
Republicans Float Auto Bailout Alternative  —  WASHINGTON — In a last-ditch effort to revive a government rescue for the American auto industry, Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, was trying late Thursday to persuade Senate Democrats to back an alternate plan that would require steep concessions …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Senate Leaders Try to Work Out Compromise on Auto Bill
Discussion: Wonk Room and WattHead
Charles Lane / Washington Post:
The Unreal Bill Ayers  —  Three Decades After the Weather Underground's End, He's Still Justifying Its Means  —  I never thought Barack Obama's acquaintance with former Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers disqualified him for the White House.  And now that Obama has been elected …
Aluf Benn / Haaretz:
Obama's atomic umbrella: U.S. nuclear strike if Iran nukes Israel  —  U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's administration will offer Israel a “nuclear umbrella” against the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran, a well-placed American source said earlier this week.
Wall Street Journal:
Blagojevich's Legal Bills Topped $500,000  —  CHICAGO — The criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich repeatedly refers to his family's financial troubles.  Those problems include more than $500,000 in unpaid legal bills, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion: Law Blog
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Whitewashing Fannie Mae  —  Congress begins its self-absolution campaign.  —  Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform met Tuesday to examine “The Role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the Financial Crisis.”  Alas, Mr. Waxman didn't come to bury Fan and Fred, but to bury the truth.
RELATED:
Rep. Barney Frank / The Huffington Post:
Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again
Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs
Robert Block / The Write Stuff:
NASA has become a transition problem for Obama  —  CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA administrator Mike Griffin is not cooperating with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, is obstructing its efforts to get information and has told its leader that she is “not qualified” to judge his rocket program, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: NO ORDINARY HONEYMOON  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann  —  *** No ordinary honeymoon: While the political world continues to focus on the Blagojevich scandal, which at this point has been only a headache for the incoming Obama administration …
Discussion: Open Left and Democracy in America
Joby Warrick / Washington Post:
Bipartisan Report: Rumsfeld Responsible for Detainee Abuse  —  Senate Committee Finds Officials Made Decisions That Led to Offenses Against Prisoners  —  A bipartisan Senate report released today says that former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top Bush administration officials …
Discussion: theheretik.us and RedState
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
A box unchecked  —  An Ambinder reader notices a gap in the diversity of the otherwise extraordinarily, thoroughly diverse Obama cabinet: Southerners.  —  John Edwards probably would have filled that slot, had he not fallen from grace.  Sam Nunn and Max Cleland have been mentioned, but faded.
John Fritze / USA Today:
North Dakota tops analysis of corruption  —  WASHINGTON — Its largest city is legendary for machine-style politics and its elected leaders have been under investigation for years, but by one measure, Illinois is not even close to the nation's most-corrupt state.  —  North Dakota, it turns out, may hold that distinction instead.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Asking questions, and flagging them  —  A couple of analysts whose opinions I respect, including John Cole, criticized my item yesterday on what I see as an abuse of the “flagging” function on Obama's “Open for Questions” site.  —  I wrote about the ability of some readers to take a highly rated …
Kate Pickert / Time:
Glenn Beck  —  Glenn Beck is not known for his compassion.  As host of the third highest rated radio talk show and a new program soon to debut on Fox News, Beck courts controversy regularly.  His caustic and often conservative commentary has offended Mexicans, Jews and Muslims …
SteveK / TVNewser:
Breaking: “Hannity” To Premiere January 12  —  Exclusive: TVNewser has learned Fox News will debut a new program at 9pmET, entitled “Hannity,” featuring Sean Hannity as host.  The program premieres January 12.  —  “Hannity” will include a “Great American Panel” of three nightly in studio guests …
New York Times:
Obama's Health Care Briefing  —  The following is a transcript of Barack Obama's press conference about his health care team and the Blagojevich scandal, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions.  —  Speakers:  —  President-elect Barack Obama  —  Former Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota
Fredric U. Dicker / New York Post:
CAROLINE ‘EQUALS J.LO’: DEM  —  REP. TAKES SWIPE AT CAMELOT CELEB POWER  —  ALBANY - A prominent New York Democratic congressman publicly questioned Caroline Kennedy's credentials to replace Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying she's no more qualified to hold office than Jennifer Lopez.
Andrea James / Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Starbucks won't slug it out in ad wars  —  McDonald's has erected a billboard in sight of Starbucks headquarters declaring, “four bucks is dumb.”  —  If Dunkin' Donuts' taste test commercials were the schoolyard equivalent of blowing spitballs at the coffee giant from afar, then the latest from McDonald's is like pulling a wedgie.
The Daily Beast:
Could Detroit Trigger a New Global Meltdown?  —  Washington's Infamous Sex Blogger Gets Hitched by Jessica Cutler  —  Blogs and Stories  —  If history is any indication, bankruptcy filings by American automakers could have aftershocks around the world.  —  Would the auto industry …
Discussion: Hullabaloo and Firedoglake
Portfolio:
David Plouffe  —  If he were less shy and had a funny accent, David Plouffe would be every bit the household name that James Carville is—perhaps even going on Oprah and taking cameo roles in Hollywood movies.  Plouffe is, after all, “the unsung hero” of the “best political campaign …
Discussion: The New Republic and TIME.com
Wall Street Journal:
The Mattress Stuffers  —  As the financial crisis swept across the nation these past few months, one of the first microtrend groups to emerge is the New Mattress Stuffers — people who have lost their trust in the financial world, and are preparing for the next meltdown.
Discussion: Salon, Political Machine and Gawker
Joe Klein / Time:
The Aimless War: Why Are We in Afghanistan?  —  “Things have gotten a bit hairy,” admitted British Lieut. Colonel Graeme Armour as we sat in a dusty, bunkered NATO fortress just outside the city of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, a deadly piece of turf along Afghanistan's southern border with Pakistan.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Jordan Rau / Los Angeles Times:
State budget gap could reach $41.8 billion by 2010
Discussion: Calitics
Michelle Malkin:
Dingy Harry Reid defends stink bomb
Discussion: Trust, But Verify
Russell Adams / Wall Street Journal:
Newsweek to Cut Staff Through Voluntary Buyouts
Jad Mouawad / New York Times:
Oil Demand Down; 1st Time Since '83
Discussion: Newshoggers.com
Jack Turner / Jack & Jill Politics:
NPR Cancels Only Black-Issues Program, News & Notes
 Earlier Items: 
John Milton Cooper Jr / New York Times:
The Pause That Depresses
Discussion: Balkinization and Media Blog
Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:
Union Linked to Corruption Scandal
Karen Brooks / Dallas Morning News:
Web mistake costly for George W. Bush Library
Discussion: Think Progress and The Raw Story
Audrey McAvoy / Associated Press:
Hawaii man charged with threatening to kill Obama
Discussion: TIME.com
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
A Spy CEO for Obama
Discussion: ATTACKERMAN and Matthew Yglesias