memeorandum: Register exclusive: Iowa Poll shows Obama approval rating below 50 percent (Thomas Beaumont/Des Moines Register)

11:20 AM ET, November 22, 2009

Top Items:

Why was it so hard for Dems even to start health care debate? — The extraordinary thing about the dramatic events surrounding the health care bill in the Senate is that there was any drama at all. Lawmakers were simply voting to begin debate on the Democratic version of health care reform.

Discussion: PoliBlog, Commentary, GayPatriot, Stop The ACLU, Pundit & Pundette, The Hill and Hot Air

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Sweeteners for the South — Staffers on Capitol Hill were calling it the Louisiana Purchase. — On the eve of Saturday's showdown in the Senate over health-care reform, Democratic leaders still hadn't secured the support of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of the 60 votes needed to keep the legislation alive.

Discussion: Politics Daily, Mediaite and NewsBusters.org

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Landrieu To Reid: No Triggers, No Bill—Negotiating Compromise With Schumer — After announcing her intent to support a health care debate this afternoon, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told reporters she thinks Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will soon have to choose between a triggered public option and no health care bill.

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Senator Cements Role at Heart of Health Debate

Discussion: MyDD, Firedoglake and Prairie Weather

The Hill:
Reid pulls together Senate Dems to take huge step on health reform

Discussion: MyDD

David Espo / Associated Press:
Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle

Discussion: The Foundry, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and Think Progress

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Democrats hold line, but cracks show

Discussion: Another Black Conservative, The Swamp and TPMDC

Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
It Sounds Like Reid Is Planning To Sell Out The Public Option

Discussion: The Confluence, The Mahablog and The Political Carnival

J. Taylor Rushing / The Hill:
McConnell: Dems have health bill votes, but Republicans won't give up fight

Discussion: The Hill and MyDD

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

In the trenches on climate change, hostility among foes — Stolen e-mails reveal venomous feelings toward skeptics — Electronic files that were stolen from a prominent climate research center and made public last week provide a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes battle to shape the public perception of global warming.

Discussion: JustOneMinute and Mudville Gazette

Keith Johnson / Wall Street Journal:

Hacked Emails Show Climate Science Ridden with Rancor — The picture that emerges of prominent climate-change scientists from the more than 3,000 documents and emails accessed by hackers and put on the Internet this week is one of professional backbiting and questionable scientific practices.

David Stringer / Associated Press:
Hackers leak e-mails, stoke climate debate

Discussion: Tom Nelson and Andrew Bolt

John / Power Line:
When In Doubt, Delete — One of the hacked East Anglia emails …

Discussion: The Corner on National …

Glenn Beck:

Glenn Beck reveals the Plan — What an amazing few days on the road this has been. Your spirits have been high, your faith strong and your spine unbendable. I ended my multiday book tour at The Villages with what had been billed as a rally but could be better described as a candid citizen-to-citizen chat.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Reaction, The Politico, Liberal Values, Rumproast, Another Black Conservative, PoliBlog, Mediaite and Little Green Footballs

Brian Stelter / New York Times:
Glenn Beck Stakes Out Activist Role in Politics

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Outside The Beltway, New Yorker, St. Petersburg Times, Prairie Weather, Gawker, Politics Daily and The Politico

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Glenn Beck: “I am developing a 100 year plan”

Discussion: Think Progress, Stop The ACLU and Rumproast

Matt Taibbi / Taibblog:

Sarah Palin, WWE Star … A woman reads Sarah Palin's book while waiting in line for an autograph in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 18 (Bill Pugliano/Getty) — The really beautiful thing about the culture war, from an entertainment standpoint, is that it is fundamentally irresolvable.

Discussion: The Daily Dish

Frank Rich / New York Times:

The Pit Bull in the China Shop — AT last the American right and left have one issue they unequivocally agree on: You don't actually have to read Sarah Palin's book to have an opinion about it. Last Sunday Liz Cheney praised “Going Rogue” as “well-written” on Fox News even though …

Discussion: And So it Goes in Shreveport and Mediaite

Richard W. Stevenson / New York Times: Republicans Eye the Tiger of Populism

Thomas Beaumont / Des Moines Register:

Register exclusive: Iowa Poll shows Obama approval rating below 50 percent — Fewer than half of Iowans approve of President Barack Obama's performance in office a year after he carried the state in the 2008 election, according to The Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll.

Discussion: Public Policy Polling, Taegan Goddard's …, Politics Daily and msnbc.com

Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:

Cafe Press Bans All 'Pray For Obama: Psalm 109:8′ Merchandise — This week, both the websites of CafePress.com and Zazzle.com decided to stop selling merchandise that featured the latest right-wing craze: the slogan “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8.” However, Cafe Press then changed …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Dexter Filkins / New York Times:

As Afghans Resist Taliban, U.S. Spurs Rise of Militias — ACHIN, Afghanistan — American and Afghan officials have begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias that have independently taken up arms against insurgents in several parts of Afghanistan, prompting hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the Taliban.

Discussion: Power Line, Commentary and Swampland

Mark Schone / ABCNEWS:

Defense Attorney: Hasan Is Paralyzed From the Chest Down — Galligan Wants Military Justice System to Move More Slowly, Says Accused Fort Hood Shooter is in Severe Pain — Major Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 in the Fort Hood shooting spree, is paralyzed from the chest down and is not a flight risk …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and TalkLeft

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Visceral Has Its Value — It's easy to dismiss Sarah Palin. — She's back on the trail, with the tumbling hair and tumbling thoughts. The queen of the scenic strip mall known as Wasilla now reigns over thrilled subjects thronging to a politically strategic swath of American strip malls.

Discussion: Don Surber and Prairie Weather

Fox News:

‘Factor’ Debut, Part 2: Sarah Palin Discusses Obama, Iran, Afghanistan — This is a RUSH transcript from “The O'Reilly Factor,” November 20, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. — Watch “The O'Reilly Factor” weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET!

Discussion: News Hounds, NewsReal Blog, Lawyers, Guns and Money, MoJo Blog Posts, American Power and The Huffington Post