memeorandum: Senate health bill wouldn't increase insurance costs for most, CBO says (Lori Montgomery/Washington Post)

9:50 AM ET, December 1, 2009

Top Items:

Cheney slams Obama's ‘weakness’ — MCLEAN, Va. — On the eve of the unveiling of the nation's new Afghanistan policy, former Vice President Dick Cheney slammed President Barack Obama for projecting “weakness” to adversaries and warned that more workaday Afghans will side with the Taliban …

Discussion: The Caucus, Commentary, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hotline On Call, Emptywheel, The Hill, ATTACKERMAN, Laura Rozen's Blog, Weekly Standard and Politics Daily

Washington Post:

Obama to send 34,000 troops to Afghanistan — Other nations to be asked for more forces — President Obama will outline Tuesday his intention to send an additional 34,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, according to U.S. officials and diplomatic sources briefed Monday as Obama began informing allies of his plan.

Discussion: New York Times, Politics Daily, McClatchy Washington Bureau, Bloomberg, msnbc.com, The Page and Weekly Standard

Bob Herbert / New York Times:

A Tragic Mistake — “I hate war,” said Dwight Eisenhower, “as only a soldier who has lived it can, as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” — He also said, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft …

Discussion: Firedoglake, DownWithTyranny! and Boston Globe

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Obama keeps his Afghan promise, but Dems crumble

Discussion: Power Line

Michael Moore / Mike's Letter:
An Open Letter to President Obama from Michael Moore

David Rogers / The Politico:
Dems ‘nervous’ about Afghan plan

Discussion: Real Clear Politics

Financial Times:
Afghan pressure mounts on Nato allies

Discussion: Washington Post, Newshoggers.com and Associated Press

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Opts for Limited Surge

Discussion: Washington Wire, Political Punch and The Note

Fred Kaplan / Slate:
My mixed feelings about the war in Afghanistan.

Discussion: Jason Chaffetz, Hot Air, MoJo Blog Posts, The Reaction, Swampland and Washington Monthly

Little Green Footballs:

Why I Parted Ways With The Right — 1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.) — 2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white supremacism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, Lew Rockwell, etc.)

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, The Other McCain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Riehl World View, The Moderate Voice, Pam's House Blend, Israel Matzav, Moonbattery, culturekitchen and Jihad Watch

Jules Crittenden:
Charles Johnson Explains The Crazy Hating

Discussion: The Jawa Report and JammieWearingFool

Seattle Times:

Lakewood police shooting suspect killed by Seattle police officer in South Seattle early this morning — Maurice Clemmons, the suspect wanted in slaying of four Lakewood police officers, was shot and killed in South Seattle early this morning. — Clemmons, who reportedly was armed …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Times of London, KING-TV, Michelle Malkin, CNN, The Stranger … and The Other McCain

CNN:

Suspect in police killings shot dead — Seattle, Washington (CNN) — The suspect in the deaths of four police officers in Lakewood, Washington, had a weapon from one of the slain officers when he was shot and killed Tuesday, police said. — A Seattle officer on routine patrol shot …

Discussion: Hot Air

Andy Barr / The Politico:
The right hammers Huck over shooting

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The Stranger …, The Moderate Voice, Seattle Times, TalkLeft and PERRspectives

ABCNEWS:
Police: ‘Feeling of Relief’ After Alleged Cop Killer Shot

Discussion: Mediaite and Scared Monkeys

Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Old Clemency May Be Issue for Huckabee

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Salon, TPMMuckraker and Hullabaloo

Michael Scherer / Swampland:

Piling On Desirée Rogers—Is The Social Secretary To Blame For Two Ticketless Boobs At The White House? — There is an unwritten rule in Washington: If you want to last, don't stand out. Those who do—think Tom DeLay with his cigars, Jack Abramoff with his restaurant—tend to get clipped before too long.

Discussion: The Note, Washington Post, Moraes on TV, The Politico, Taylor Marsh, American Power, Chicago Sun Times, Obama Foodorama, Agence France Presse, Majikthise and The Daily Beast

Tony Romm / The Hill:

Gibbs: Despite research dispute, ‘climate change is happening’ — The White House on Monday made exceptionally clear that it wants nothing to do with the furor over documents that global warming skeptics say prove the phenomenon is not a threat. — Despite the incident …

Discussion: The Swamp, Gateway Pundit, Another Black Conservative, Pajamas Media, Wellsy's World, Wizbang and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

ABCNEWS:
Breaking: White House Says ‘Era of Blank Check’ Is Over for Afghan President Karzai

Discussion: The Politico, Top of the Ticket, Pajamas Media and Political Punch

Haaretz:

New IDF unit to fight enemies on Facebook, Twitter — The Israel Defense Forces Spokesman's Office is to begin drafting computer experts with an eye toward establishing an Internet and new media department unit, Army Spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu said Monday.

Discussion: TPMCafe and Israel Matzav

Jeffrey Goldberg:
Did Obama Inadvertently Excuse Palestinian Violence?

Discussion: Commentary, The Daily Dish, Israel Matzav, Weekly Standard and TPMCafe

Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Israel: EU stance on Jerusalem harms peace talks

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, Commentary, YID With LID and Israel Matzav

John F. Harris / The Politico:

7 stories Barack Obama doesn't want told — President Pelosi — No figure in Barack Obama's Washington, including Obama, has had more success in advancing his will than the speaker of the House, despite public approval ratings that hover in the range of Dick Cheney's.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Atlantic Politics Channel and CBS News

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
The White House Takes On POLITICO

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, Raw Story and The Politico

Peter Wehner / Commentary:
The Unmasking of Barack Obama

Discussion: Sense of Events, Pundit & Pundette and Israpundit

David Brooks / New York Times:

Clear, Hold and Duct Tape — In late 2006, Gen. David Petraeus and Gen. James F. Amos released a brilliant book with a thrilling title. It was called the “Army/Marine Corps Field Manual 3-24.” In its quiet way, this book helped overturn conventional wisdom on modern warfare and gave leaders …

Discussion: Commentary and Prairie Weather

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

Senate health bill wouldn't increase insurance costs for most, CBO says — Measure wouldn't increase insurance costs for most, CBO says — As the Senate opened debate Monday on a landmark plan to overhaul the nation's health-care system, congressional budget analysts said the measure …

Discussion: Think Progress, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Reuters, New York Times, Guardian and Wall Street Journal

Philip Klein / AmSpecBlog:
CBO: Senate Health Care Bill Would Raise Premiums 10-13 Percent

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Weekly Standard, National Review, Hit & Run and TPMDC

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

This is Great News!!! For Progressives!!! — Chris Bowers is feeling kind of “meh” about the prospect of large-scale Democratic losses in the 2010 midterms: … Chris is one of my favorite bloggers and one of my first reads every morning. In those instances where I disagree with him …

Discussion: MyDD and Open Left

Victor Zapanta / Think Progress:

Washington Times Runs Anti-Obama Birther Ad Featuring Racial Undertones — This latest national edition of the Washington Times features a full-page ad that claims that President Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States. The ad was purchased by the anti-Obama website ProtectOurLiberty.org.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Daily Dish, Little Green Footballs, Gawker, American Power and Pam's House Blend

Wall Street Journal:

Climategate: Follow the Money — Climate change researchers must believe in the reality of global warming just as a priest must believe in the existence of God. — Printer — Friendly — Last year, ExxonMobil donated $7 million to a grab-bag of public policy institutes …

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Sister Toldjah and TBR.cc

Alice Schroeder / Bloomberg:

Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public: Alice Schroeder — Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — “I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit,” said a friend, who told me of swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker who applied to the local police for a permit to buy a pistol.

Discussion: Taibblog and naked capitalism

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:

LaHood Muses About Higher Gasoline Taxes — The federal gasoline tax doesn't bring in enough money to meet the country's transportation spending needs. What's more gasoline taxes are a good way of raising tax revenue—they're economically efficient and environmentally beneficial.

Discussion: Dallas Fort Worth traffic, Streetsblog Capitol Hill and The Hill

Mark Naymik / Metro:

Call & Post called out for cartoon depicting Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima — CLEVELAND, OHIO — A controversial editorial cartoon in the Call & Post, a weekly Cleveland newspaper with a large black readership, has increased the racial and political tensions surrounding Cuyahoga County government reform and one of its key backers.

Discussion: Don Surber

James Estrin / New York Times:

Showcase: Dubai's Improbable Tale — They journeyed to the desert emirate of Dubai by the tens of thousands. Laborers from small towns on the Indian subcontinent and white-collar executives from the capitals of Europe. They came seeking fortune, and they built a modern city unlike …