memeorandum: Obama Is Losing Independent Voters (Wall Street Journal)

10:30 PM ET, November 14, 2009

Top Items:

How low will he go? Obama gives Japan's Emperor Akihito a wow bow (Updated with video, pic) — (UPDATES: 12:22 p.m. A brief news video has been added below, showing the greeting in this photograph. Contrary to some claims, the video shows no reciprocal bow by the emperor, who traditionally bows to no one.

Scott / Power Line:

Why is this man bowing? — We criticized Barack Obama when he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. Americans do not bow to royalty. When the royal is the ruling tyrant of a despotic regime, the wrong is compounded. Obama's bowing to the King was deeply offensive.

Discussion: American Thinker, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Maggie's Farm, Gateway Pundit, Althouse, Macsmind, Newshoggers.com, Jules Crittenden, Viking Pundit, Sadly, No! and The Swamp

Donald Douglas / American Power:

Bowing Before Monarchs and Tyrants: Obama ‘Restores’ America's World Standing With His Head Down - UPDATE: REAGAN DIDN'T BOW!! — The headline up top is borrowed from Power Line, “Why is This Man Bowing?” (via Memeorandum): … More Video: Infidels Are Cool. — Also blogging:

Discussion: Israel Matzav and protein wisdom

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Obamateurism of the Day — Here's a rare Saturday OOTD for Hot Air readers, but this one can't wait for Monday. Andrew Malcolm reports on Barack Obama's latest breach of protocol, this time with Emperor Akihito of Japan … Seven months ago, the White House insisted that Obama didn't bow …

Discussion: Pajamas Media

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Flashback: NYT blasts Clinton for ... almost bowing to Akihito — Both Allahpundit and I referenced this blast from the past at the time Barack Obama bowed to Abdullah earlier this year. It's worth posting again, not just because Obama pulled another boneheaded protocol violation and bowed to an emperor …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Meredith Jessup / Townhall.com: This Is Getting Embarrassing...

Danielle Demetriou / Telegraph:
Barack Obama bows and talks of green tea icecream as he pushes US ties in Asia

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Michiko Kakutani / New York Times:

Memoir Is Palin's Payback to McCain Campaign — “Going Rogue,” the title of Sarah Palin's erratic new memoir, comes from a phrase used by a disgruntled McCain aide to describe her going off-message during the campaign: among other things, for breaking with the campaign over its media strategy …

Discussion: Power Line

Kate Snow / ABCNEWS:

Track Palin to Mom: 'Don't Let the Jerks Get You Down!' — Sarah Palin Book Says Soldier Son Tried to Talk Her Out of Quitting as Alaska Governor — Before Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska, her soldier son Track tried to talk her out of it, she reveals in her new memoir “Going Rogue.”

Discussion: Pam's House Blend and Texas for Sarah Palin

Andy Barr / The Politico:
Palin's five book tour goals

Discussion: Politics Daily

Peter Hamby / CNN:
McCain received signed copy of ‘Going Rogue’

Discussion: The Hill

The Huffington Post:
Sarah Palin “Going Rogue”: Takes Aim At McCain Campaign, Steve Schmidt

Discussion: The Swamp, Sister Toldjah, Conservatives4Palin.com, The Huffington Post, Liberal Values, Riehl World View, GOP 12, The Politico and Wall Street Journal

Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:

Palin Calls Decision To Try 9/11 Defendants In Federal Court ‘Atrocious,’ Wants To 'Hang ‘Em High’ — Yesterday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the five individuals accused of conspiring to commit the 9/11 attacks — including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — will be prosecuted in U.S. federal court.

Discussion: ATTACKERMAN, TalkLeft and Guardian

Wall Street Journal:
KSM Hits Manhattan—Again

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, The Moderate Voice, At-Largely, RedState, New York Times, Stop The ACLU and AmSpecBlog

Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
For Holder, much wrestling over decision

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Politics Daily, Stop The ACLU and Betsy's Page

New York Times:
9/11 Trial Poses Unparalleled Legal Obstacles for Both Sides

Discussion: The Caucus, POWIP and the talking dog

Jon Meacham / Newsweek:

Why Palin Matters to Obama—And to You — From the magazine issue dated Nov 23, 2009 — Richard Nixon sensed trouble. seated in the cow palace in San Francisco at the GOP convention in 1964, he listened as Barry Goldwater said: “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty—is—no— vice.”

Discussion: CBS News, Hot Air and Mediaite

Robert Pear / New York Times:

In House Record, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists' — WASHINGTON — In the official record of the historic House debate on overhauling health care, the speeches of many lawmakers echo with similarities. Often, that was no accident. — Statements by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community

David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:

Glenn Beck gets to ask dumb white-guy questions to a room full of black conservatives — It is hard to explain to white people like Glenn Beck why their “innocent” questions about race actually just reveal their ignorance and their false assumptions about people of other races and the nature of race relations.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:

CMS: House health bill will hike costs $289B — The House-approved healthcare overhaul would raise the costs of healthcare by $289 billion over the next 10 years, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan, independent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Discussion: YID With LID and Weasel Zippers

Wall Street Journal:

Obama Is Losing Independent Voters — A number of recent polls show the president would be wise to shift right. — Printer — Friendly — The announcement a week ago of 10.2% unemployment is a significant political event for President Barack Obama.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Dan_Perrin's blog, Shot in the Dark, The Confluence and Commentary

Chicago Breaking News:

Town welcomes idea of Gitmo detainees' arrival — Rosie Rojas, from Fulton, serves up a coffee refill to Dave, left, and Kay Lawton of Thomson, at the Sunrise Restaurant in Thomson. The restaurant adjoins a motel only a few hundred yards from the exterior wall of the Thomson Correctional Center.

Discussion: Political Punch, TalkLeft, Los Angeles Times and democracyarsenal.org