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5:35 PM ET, February 17, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
Late Change in Course Hobbled Rollout of Geithner's Bank Plan  —  Just days before Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner was scheduled to lay out his much-anticipated plan to deal with the toxic assets imperiling the financial system, he and his team made a sudden about-face.
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
The Geithner delay  —  The WaPo reports that Tim Geithner realized late in the day that the approaches to financial rescue originally developed by the Obama team weren't workable — hence the vagueness of last week's announcement.  —  In a way, that's encouraging: we were spared Hankie Pankie II.
Discussion: The Daily Dish
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
In a World Not Wholly Cooperative, Obama's Top Economist Makes Do
Discussion: Corrente
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WHY GEITHNER'S PLAN LACKED DETAILS.... Last week, Treasury …
Discussion: TPMDC
Newsdesk / Clout St:
Burris now acknowledges fundraising effort for Blagojevich  —  U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has acknowledged he sought to raise campaign funds for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich at the request of the governor's brother at the same time he was making a pitch to be appointed to the Senate seat previously held by President Barack Obama.
RELATED:
Associated Press:   Burris tried to raise funds for Blagojevich
Newsdesk / Clout St:
Burris unscripted: More details about Blagojevich contacts
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Congress' Approval Rating Jumps to 31%  —  More positive ratings from Democrats largely responsible for increase  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's latest congressional job approval rating, from a Feb. 9-12 poll, shows a sharp 12 percentage-point increase from last month, rising from 19% to 31%.
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
CONGRESS GETS APPROVAL BOOST.... Republicans have spent quite a bit of time lately criticizing Congress.  By now, the arguments are probably familiar: the Democratic leadership hasn't been “bipartisan” enough.  They completed a stimulus package behind closed doors.
Discussion: The Plum Line
Michelle Malkin:
President Obama's 2,000-point tumble  —  On Nov. 4, after Barack Obama clinched the White House, the market closed at 9,625.28.  —  In mid-morning trading today, the day President Obama signs his massive Generational Theft Act into law and a day before he unveils a massive new mortgage entitlement, the Dow dropped to to 7,606.53.
RELATED:
Byron York / www.dcexaminer.com:
For Obama, it's more about showmanship than sunlight  —  After rushing Congress to act, why did he wait for days to sign the “emergency” stimulus bill?  —  Back during the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised something he called “Sunlight Before Signing.”
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Signing Stimulus Bill, Obama Does Not Rule Out Another
Henry J. Pulizzi / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Signs Stimulus Bill
CNN:
Bristol Palin: Abstinence for teens ‘not realistic’  —  (CNN) — In her first interview since giving birth, the teenage daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said having a child is not “glamorous,” and that telling young people to be abstinent is “not realistic at all.”  —  “It's just, like, I'm not living for myself anymore.
Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots
RELATED:
NY Daily News:
Palin's kid: Ma unrealistic on sex
Discussion: Democracy in America
Wall Street Journal:
McCain's Vote Should Trouble Obama  —  By the president's own standard of bipartisanship, he has failed.  —  “John McCain Was Right.”  —  That's one headline we ought to see when President Barack Obama puts his name to the stimulus bill in Denver later today.  But we won't.
Thomas M. Defrank / NY Daily News:
Cheney pushed Bush to grant Libby pardon  —  WASHINGTON - In the waning days of the Bush administration, Vice President Dick Cheney launched a last-ditch campaign to persuade his boss to pardon Lewis (Scooter) Libby - and was furious when President George W. Bush wouldn't budge.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Politico's David Rogers Catches Republicans Lying About High-Speed Rail, Won't Call Them Liars  —  David Rogers has a piece in Politico that offers a nice summary of the recovery plan's actual high-speed rail provisions and the direct role of the White House in securing them:
Alexandra Gutierrez / American Prospect:
THIS BIKE IS NOT A PIPE BOMB.  —  Jeffrey Goldberg wasn't trying hard enough.  Despite stuffing Hezbollah flags into his carry-ons and waving fake boarding passes under the noses of security employees, Goldberg was unable to get TSA sufficiently riled up.  —  His efforts were wasted.
Discussion: ATTACKERMAN
RELATED:
Janet DiGiacomo / CNN:   Band sticker on bike clears airport terminal
Roxana Tiron / The Hill:
Air Force chief to ask Gates for more F-22s  —  The Air Force chief of staff is going to make his case with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the coming weeks for more F-22 Raptor jets.  —  Gen. Norton Schwartz said that the Air Force is looking to buy more than the 183 radar-evading F-22s now ordered …
City Journal:
Green Cities, Brown Suburbs  —  On a pleasant April day in 1844, Henry David Thoreau—the patron saint of American environmentalism—went for a walk along the Concord River in Massachusetts.  With a friend, he built a fire in a pine stump near Fair Haven Pond, apparently to cook a chowder.
Discussion: Philly.com
RELATED:
MSNBC:   EPA to review Bush rule on emissions
Chris Matthews / The Daily Beast:
Stop the Democratic Suicide  —  Blogs and Stories  —  If the Obama administration doesn't start to deal with the populist wave headed for Washington, Republicans will tap a reservoir of resentment that could destroy his presidency.  —  First they came for the bankers.  Then they came for the CEOs.
Discussion: The New Republic, Eunomia and Open Left
Jim McElhatton / Washington Times:
EXCLUSIVE: Postmaster got $800,000 in pay, perks  —  Raise came amid calls for cuts in delivery  —  Postmaster General John E. Potter recently warned that economic times are so dire that the U.S. Postal Service may end mail delivery one day a week and freeze executive salaries.
Jeff Bercovici / Portfolio:
Barbara Walters: Only the Morning Shows Will Last  —  “When I die and my obituary is written, it's going to say ‘She asked people what kind of a tree they wanted to be.’”  —  That's Barbara Walters, discussing “The Art of the Interview” this morning with 60 Minutes's Steve Kroft …
Discussion: Gawker
Wall Street Journal:
Geert Wilders Is a Test for Western Civilization  —  If Rushdie should be defended, why not the Dutch pol?  —  Twenty years ago, Andres Serrano put a plastic crucifix in a glass of urine, photographed it and called it art.  Conservatives in particular weren't pleased: not with Mr. Serrano …
Discussion: Jihad Watch and Atlas Shrugs
Anne Gearan / Associated Press:
Officials: Obama approves more U.S. troops for Afghanistan  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - Defense and congressional officials say President Barack Obama has approved an increase in U.S. forces for the flagging war in Afghanistan.
Discussion: Real Clear Politics and Reuters
Edward L. Glaeser / Economix:
If You Got Money, It's Time to Spend Some  —  Edward L. Glaeser is an economics professor at Harvard.  —  In the last eight years, Americans have spent an extraordinary amount of money and borrowed a lot to make that spending possible.  Total outstanding consumer credit was $1.7 trillion in 2000; the current figure is $2.6 trillion.
Discussion: Townhall.com and The Daily Dish
US News:
Exclusive: Pat Robertson Says Obama ‘Showing Partisanship,’ Denounces Rush Limbaugh's ‘I Hope He Fails’ Remark  —  Interviewing Christian Broadcasting Network founder Pat Robertson recently for a forthcoming piece on the possibility of a Fairness Doctrine revival, I threw in a couple questions about President Obama.
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
RNC Goes On Air in NY-20 Special  —  The Republican National Committee is going up on television with ads in support of New York state Assemblyman Jim Tedisco in his special election bid in the state's 20th district, an early sign that newly elected chairman Michael Steele plans to wade …
Discussion: Townhall.com
David Frum / NewMajority.Com Scroll:
MORMONS FOR PRESIDENT?  —  If the polls are to be believed, Mormons rank among America's most disliked religious denominations.  Despite this animus, Mormons have achieved considerable success.  Fourteen Mormons serve in the current Congress, including the Senate Majority leader.
Anne Bayefsky / The Corner:
A Foreign Policy of Obsequiousness  —  Yesterday in Geneva, President Obama unveiled the new look of America's foreign policy — obsequiousness.  It was Day One for his emissaries to the U.N. planning committee of the Durban II conference.  This is the racist “anti-racism” bash to be held in Geneva in April.
Discussion: Townhall.com and TigerHawk
Howard Dean / The Huffington Post:
The Far Right's All Out Offensive Against Medical Research  —  Opponents of fixing our broken health care system are at it again, attempting to use their same old scare tactics and falsehoods to kill a common-sense health care provision is the economic recovery package.
David Abel / Boston Globe:
2 Romney estates hit the market  —  The ski home that Mitt and Ann Romney own in Deer Valley overlooks a reservoir and mountains.  The Romneys own four mansions across the country.  —  The “cabin” in Deer Valley, Utah, which overlooks a reservoir and mountains, comes fully furnished …
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
STILL SPIRALING  —  Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ) was on Hardball last night and put on a dizzying display as he tried to blame George Soros and Chuck Schumer for the economic collapse:
 
 
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 More Items: 
Jessica Levin / Media Matters for America:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Discussion: Seeing the Forest and MyDD
Washington Post:
Good News for Fans of the Status Quo
CNN:
Ex-Border Patrol agents released early from prison
Time:
Daily Kos: State of the Nation
Discussion: Political Machine
Zachary Roth / TPMMuckraker:
Hiatt, Will, On Global Warming Misinformation: Talk To The Hand
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
THE HARD CASES  —  Will Obama institute a new kind …
Discussion: The Daily Dish and MoJo Blog Posts
Moe Lane / Moe_Lane's blog:
‘Commemorative Obama coins’ not as advertised.
 Earlier Items: 
Warriorjason / THE VOICE OF WARRIORS:
CBS News fooled by Faux military equipment in Pakistan
Damon W. Root / New York Post:
COLLEGE CHEATS  —  COLUMBIA BLIGHTED OWN HOOD
Catherine Reagor / Arizona Republic:
Growth pattern crippled Phoenix
Discussion: Washington Monthly
CNN:
Police: TV station founder beheaded wife
Discussion: Shakesville and Feministing