memeorandum: Obama on mosque: ‘The answer is no regrets’ (David Jackson/USA Today)

8:45 PM ET, August 18, 2010

Top Items:

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Howard Dean: “Mosque” should move — (updated below - Update II) — Certain things are disappointing and surprising even for the most hardened cynics. Hearing Howard Dean — the former liberal standard-bearer — join Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin by saying the following is definitely one of them:

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Truthdig and DISSENTING JUSTICE

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Howard Dean: Mosque ‘an affront’ — Calling for compromise, Dean said on WABC radio today the mosque plan “a real affront to people who lost their lives” and laments Islam's being “in the 12th century” in Iran and some other Muslim countries. — He also says he believes the Cordoba organizers …

Discussion: Daily Kos, TPMDC, Gateway Pundit, Raw Story and The Page

Larry O'Connor / Breitbart.tv:

Howard Dean: Move the Mosque — “This is not about the rights of Muslims to have a worship center...” — This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air and Freedom's Lighthouse

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Pelosi clarifies call for look at funding of anti-mosque critics — Nancy Pelosi kicked off a bit of controversy on the right this morning when the news broke that she had told a local San Francisco radio station that she agreed with those calling for a look at how the groups opposing the “Ground Zero mosque” are being funded.

Discussion: San Francisco Chronicle, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Washington Post, Mediaite, Gothamist, The Hill and HotAirPundit

The Politico:
Pelosi wants ‘transparency’ on mosque

Discussion: YID With LID, The Note, Hot Air, Politics Daily, Betsy's Page, The Hill, Liberal Values, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Alarming News, The Sundries Shack, Ben Smith's Blog and Commentary

Kerry Picket / Washington Times:
AUDIO - Rep. Pelosi calls for investigation of WTC mosque opposition

Discussion: NY Daily News, Michelle Malkin, SFGate, Ace of Spades HQ, American Power, The Politico, Washington Wire, Associated Press, Townhall.com, Ironic Surrealism v3.0, Say Anything, The Powers That Be, Daily Pundit, Power Line, RedState, The Other McCain, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, NewsReal Blog, Big Government, Daily Kos, Gawker, Doug Ross, Weekly Standard, The Hill, Left Coast Rebel, Moonbattery, Wake up America, Breitbart.tv, Moe Lane, Questions and Observations, Moe_Lane's blog, Media Matters for America, Fausta's Blog, Weigel, Big Hollywood, Red Dog Report, Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications, theblogprof, Don Surber, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Coalition to Honor Ground Zero, The Camp Of The Saints, Freedom's Lighthouse, Right Wing News, Big Peace, Sweetness & Light, Cold Fury, JustOneMinute, Right Pundits and GayPatriot, more at Mediagazer »

Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Karl Rove Slams President on 'No, We Can't' and Islamic Center Comments

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Swamp and Political Punch

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Mosque supporters beg George W. Bush to come to Obama's rescue — There's a new argument emerging among supporters of the Ground Zero mosque. Distressed by President Obama's waffling on the issue, they're calling on former President George W. Bush to announce his support for the project …

NBC New York:

Mosque Developer Rejects Meeting With Paterson — The developers of an Islamic cultural center that would include a mosque near Ground Zero have rejected Gov. David Paterson's offer to help them find a different site. — Paterson said today the group is apparently committed to building in the proposed site.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Townhall.com, TPMDC, Weasel Zippers, Moonbattery, Sweetness & Light, The Mahablog and Nice Deb

Michelle Boorstein / Washington Post:

In flap over mosque near Ground Zero, conservative writers gaining influence — Long before President Obama waded into the vociferous debate over a proposal to build a mosque near Ground Zero, a group of conservative writers and bloggers critical of Islam had seized on the issue and helped transform …

Discussion: Jihad Watch, Atlas Shrugs, The Atlantic Online and Commentary

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Our Mosque Madness — Maybe, for Barack Obama, it depends …

Discussion: Commentary, Bare Naked Islam's Weblog, Mediaite, NewsBusters.org, The Huffington Post, DailyHowler.com, The Daily Caller, Roger Ailes, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wake up America and Prairie Weather

Ayaan Hirsi Ali / Wall Street Journal:
How to Win the Clash of Civilizations

Discussion: Commentary and Hyscience

Fox News:

Decision Not to Rebuild Church Destroyed on 9/11 Surprises Greek Orthodox Leaders — (Herman Krieger/Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America) — Greek Orthodox leaders trying to rebuild the only church destroyed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks expressed shock this week after learning …

Discussion: Bare Naked Islam's Weblog, TalkLeft, Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Jawa Report, Cold Fury, Nice Deb, The Powers That Be and The Right Scoop

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Obama: Social Security ‘is not in crisis’ — President Obama said Social Security is not in crisis and only modest changes are needed to keep it solvent. — The president acknowledged at a small town hall gathering in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday that the pension fund “has to be tweaked …

Discussion: Firedoglake, theblogprof, Say Anything, Weasel Zippers and The Huffington Post

Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Obama Campaigns for Democrats in Swing States

Discussion: The Politico

Jared A. Favole / Wall Street Journal:
Obama, in Ohio, Seeks to Reassure Voters

Discussion: National Review and Truthdig

WorldNetDaily:

WND dumps Ann Coulter from Miami due to Homoconflict — Farah cites her speech to ‘gay’ event as reason — WASHINGTON - Conservative superstar Ann Coulter today was dropped as a keynote speaker for WND's “Taking America Back National Conference” next month because of her plan to address an event titled …

Discussion: Think Progress, Weigel, The Daily Caller, Right Wing Nut House, Mediaite, GayPatriot, AmSpecBlog, Outside the Beltway, YID With LID, Raw Story, Shakesville, TBogg, Little Green Footballs, Taylor Marsh, NewsReal Blog, Advocate and Ben Smith's Blog

Jacob Weisberg / Slate:

Did Sarah Palin really say that? … - Bogus Trends: Kiddie Porn, Sextortion, and Chinese Hymenoplasty- The Incredible Jazz Photography of Herman Leonard- Was Hurricane Katrina Good for the Environment? - A Wonderful, Enigmatic Poem About a Badger- Puny, Decadent …

Discussion: Politics Daily

Michael Memoli / The Swamp:
Palin battles with women's group

Discussion: CNN and Feministing

Las Vegas Review-Journal:

JOHN L. SMITH: Angle's soft-lens tactics do little to obscure past pronouncements — Maybe the showdown between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and firebrand Republican Sharron Angle was inevitable. — You would certainly think so after reading the angry letter Angle wrote to Reid on Nov. 20 …

Discussion: Salon, TPMDC, The New Republic and Talking Points Memo

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Tea Party Choice Scrambles in Taking On Reid in Nevada

Discussion: Wonkette, Daniel W. Drezner, The Caucus, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Page, Indecision Forever and Ballot Box

New York Times:
Interview With Sharron Angle

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Quinnipiac University:

‘Insiders’ Back On Top In Florida Primaries, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Mccollum, Meek Lead, But Races Are Volatile — Two so-called “insiders” in Florida, Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum and Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, have come from behind to overtake so-called …

Discussion: sunshinestatenews.com, The Fix, Swing State Project, RedState, The Eye, Ballot Box, Orlando Sentinel, The Page, Post on Politics and CNN

Michael Beckel / OpenSecrets.org:
Aviation Corporation, Previously Maxed-Out Donors Spend Big …

Discussion: The Washington Independent

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
White House: Obama has ‘fully embraced Kendrick Meek’ in Florida Senate race

Discussion: The Politico

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

Proud to Support More Women Leaders on the 90th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage — Today marks the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment which granted American women the right to vote. Words cannot express the depth of gratitude we owe to those brave feminist foremothers …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Post, Gawker, Washington Wire, Big Government, Truthdig and Post on Politics

Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Palin backs another seven candidates; hits Rep. Etheridge for ‘turning violent’

Discussion: Wonkette

Corinna Jessen / Spiegel Online:

Tensions Rise in Greece as Austerity Measures Backfire — The austerity measures that were supposed to fix Greece's problems are dragging down the country's economy. Stores are closing, tax revenues are falling and unemployment has hit an unbelievable 70 percent in some places.

Discussion: Obsidian Wings, The Moderate Voice, Clusterstock, The Impolitic and Economist's View

Russell Goldman / ABCNEWS:

Islamic Center Backers Won't Rule Out Taking Funds from Saudi Arabia, Iran — ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Developers in Talks With NY Gov. Paterson — The developers behind the Islamic center planned for a site near Ground Zero won't rule out accepting financing from the Mideast …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Infidels Are Cool, Tammy Bruce, Viking Pundit and Keep America Safe

Igor / Think Progress:

9/11 family member Ted Olson breaks from the GOP on NYC mosque: Obama ‘was right about this.’ — This afternoon, Ted Olson — whose wife died in the September 11th attacks — distanced himself from other conservatives and told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell that he did not oppose the building of a mosque near ground zero.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Igor / Wonk Room:
Ted Olson On Mosque: ‘I Think Probably The President Was Right About This’

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Think Progress and The Politico

Fhardingj / CNN:

TRENDING: DGA calls for Fox News to run disclaimer — The Democratic Governors Association has written a letter to Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. — (CNN) - With the knowledge that Fox News' parent company recently cut a $1 million check to the Republican Governors Association …

Discussion: New York Times, Ben Smith's Blog, Raw Story, Macsmind and THEROOT.COM, more at Mediagazer »

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
The cash question: Murdoch, Fox and the GOP

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, Politics Daily, NewsBusters.org and Donklephant, more at Mediagazer »

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Some Republican figures urge candidates not to focus on NYC mosque issue — As Republican candidates across the country seize on the proposed construction of a mosque near New York's Ground Zero as a campaign issue, some influential figures in the GOP are growing concerned that it could backfire.

Discussion: National Review, Commentary, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, Blogcritics, PostPartisan and Outside the Beltway

Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:
Grow a Pair, Democrats

Discussion: National Review, Red Dog Report and Commentary

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:

U.S. role at heart of housing debate — Top Obama administration officials opened a conference on the future of housing by making clear Tuesday they are considering a limited range of options that would reduce but not eliminate the government's role as a provider of funding for home loans.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Foundry, Grist, Hit & Run, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and TPMDC

The Huffington Post:
Famed Investor Bill Gross Calls For Massive Taxpayer-Backed …

Discussion: Newshoggers.com and Paul Krugman

Matt Bai / New York Times:

Political Times: Obama Is Boxed In by a Big Legislative Agenda — Democrats in Washington are divided and somewhat puzzled over President Obama's fading popularity. They reject, of course, the Republican view that the president is basically a closet socialist whose disdain for free enterprise has alienated voters.

Discussion: The New Republic, Washington Monthly, MyDD, Firedoglake, New York Times and Eschaton

Carla Hall / Los Angeles Times:

It's unanimous, president's visit leaves L.A. boiling — President Obama's Monday evening ride from the Beverly Hilton to Hancock Park caused havoc as roads across the city were closed. Tuesday, he wisely chose to helicopter back to the airport. — A Marine helicopter carrying White …

Discussion: Mediaite and JammieWearingFool

WXII-TV:

Furious Parent Blasts Senator Over Health Care — Sen. Kay Hagan's ‘Conversations With Kay’ Turns Into Health Care Debate — KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — “Conversations with Kay” quickly turned into “Confrontation With Kay” when Sen. Kay Hagan visited the Kernersville Senior Enrichment Center.

Discussion: JOSHUAPUNDIT, Riehl World View and AmSpecBlog