memeorandum: Obama scores well for first year on ethics, say watchdog groups (Kevin Bogardus/The Hill)

12:25 PM ET, December 27, 2009

Top Items:

Officials: Only A Failed Detonator Saved Northwest Flight — Screening Machines May Need to Be Replaced; Al Qaeda Aware of ‘Achilles heel’ — Officials now say tragedy was only averted on Northwest flight 253 because a makeshift detonator failed to work properly.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, New York Times, American Power, Telegraph, Riehl World View, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and NY Daily News

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Lieberman: Yemen is 'tomorrow's war' if pre-emptive action not taken — Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) Sunday said that Yemen could be the ground of America's next overseas war if Washington does not take preemptive action to root out al-Qaeda interests there.

Discussion: The Swamp

Jenni Russell / Times of London:

Airline bomber was barred from Britain — David Leppard, Chris Gourlay and Times Online — The son of a prominent Nigerian banker, who allegedly attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight over America, was barred from returning to Britain earlier this year.

Discussion: Associated Press, Taylor Marsh, Pajamas Media, The Daily Dish, JammieWearingFool, Atlas Shrugs, Jules Crittenden and New York Times

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Hoekstra doubles down on criticism of Obama on airline attack — Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said Sunday that it is fair to blame the Obama administration for the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit on Christmas Day. — Hoekstra, the top Republican …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Xmas bomb bid complicates Gitmo plan — “I'd expect Yemen's handling of returned Guantanamo detainees to come under intense U.S. scrutiny,” said Matthew Waxman, a Columbia law professor who was an assistant Defense secretary for detainee affairs under President George W. Bush.

Discussion: Commentary, Outside The Beltway and Matthew Yglesias

ABCNEWS:
Investigators: Northwest Bomb Plot Planned by al Qaeda in Yemen

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Investigators: Terrorist wore suicide underwear made by top AQ bombmaker in Yemen

Discussion: TigerHawk, Power Line, The Moderate Voice, The Corner on National …, AmSpecBlog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and New York Times

New York Times:
Officials Point to Suspect's Claim of Qaeda Ties in Yemen

Associated Press: Airline passengers see tighter security

Mark Steyn / The Corner on National Review Online:
Let's Roll 2 — By: Mark Steyn

Discussion: TigerHawk, Flopping Aces, allAfrica.com, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Times of London, The Moderate Voice, Power Line and Pundit & Pundette

Iran News Now:

Live-blog: Ashura in Iran - December 27, 2009 — This is a live-blog report on clashes occurring in Iran on December 27, during the Shia mourning day of Ashura. As reports come in, they will be placed at the top of this page. To read this in chronological order it must be read from the bottom up.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, BBC, Gateway Pundit, Welcome Back to Pottersville and Taylor Marsh

Howie / The Jawa Report:

This Will Be a Day Long Remembered — The Guardian: … And today, Potfry sends this link to comments appearing on his Youtube account. … Everyone keep the people of Iran in their prayers. Pray the regime in Iran will not do what I fear it may be about to do.

Discussion: Power Line

Aljazeera:
‘Mousavi nephew’ among Iran dead

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, The Majlis, New York Times and Washington Post

Robert Tait / Guardian:
Four ‘shot dead’ in Iran protests

Discussion: American Power, The Daily Dish and NPR Blogs

Associated Press:
Witnesses Report Fierce Clashes at Tehran Protest

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Prairie Weather, Newshoggers.com and The Page

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:

Why The President Went Golfing Today — In his Farenheit 9/11, filmmaker Michael Moore juxtaposes images and words of a terrorist attack in Israel with President Bush's first words about the incident, spoken to a press pool on a golf course, with him leaning casually against a tree.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Redhot, Riehl World View, NewsBusters.org and marbury

Steve Marmel / The Huffington Post:

Vacation's Over, Mr. President — What is wrong with this picture? — It's December 23 - I lug my tired butt to the airport, ready to leave for vacation. Carrying a bottle of very nice wine, I have to leave my place in the security line as I can't bring it as a carry-on, check it in a bag …

Discussion: Outside The Beltway and Political Byline

Lisa Lerer / The Politico:

Dems to W.H.: Drop cap-and-trade — Bruised by the health care debate and worried about what 2010 will bring, moderate Senate Democrats are urging the White House to give up now on any effort to pass a cap-and-trade bill next year. — “I am communicating that in every way I know how,” …

Discussion: Hot Air and Scared Monkeys

Jonathan Martin / Politico Live's Blog:

Napolitano: “The system worked” — DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the thwarting of the attempt to blow up the Amsterdam-Detroit flight this week demonstrated that “the system worked.” — Asked by CNN's Candy Crowley on “State of the Union” how that could be possible …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Page and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:

Obama scores well for first year on ethics, say watchdog groups — President Barack Obama scores well among ethics watchdog groups in his first year in office, though they'd still like to see more from the president. — Obama has wielded the power of the White House to craft an executive order …

Discussion: Liberal Values and The Political Carnival

Ezra Klein:

End the filibuster! An interview with Sen. Tom Harkin — Sen. Tom Harkin has served in the Senate since 1984, and currently chairs the influential Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Before coming to the Senate, he served in the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1984.

Discussion: The Hill, MyDD and Alas, a blog