memeorandum: The Downgrade Begins — As the author of a suitably apocalyptic book … (Mark Steyn/National Review)

6:30 PM ET, August 6, 2011

Top Items:

Jamie Klatell / The Hill:

White House: S&P downgrade is why Obama ‘pushed for grand bargain’ — The White House reacted to the Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by calling for more bipartisan compromise to “put our nation on a stronger fiscal footing.” — But the administration didn't miss the chance to say, in essence, “I told you so.”

Discussion: Liberal Values, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Michelle Malkin, CNN, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ThinkProgress and JammieWearingFool

Josh Boak / The Politico:

S&P warns of a second downgrade — One day after lowering the nation's platinum triple-A credit rating, Standard & Poor's analysts warned Saturday that the U.S. government could face a second downgrade if the economy continues to struggle and the government fails to make the cuts outlined in the debt ceiling agreement.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:

Standard & Poor's has been wrong before. But they're right now. — Standard Poor's decision to downgrade the United States has led to a lot of criticism of Standard Poor's. The White House called their performance, which included a miscalculation of about $2 trillion, “amateur hour.”

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Reality-Based Community, Washington Monthly, MarketBeat, The Politico and Wall Street Journal

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Standard and Poors versus Mitch McConnell

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Jared Bernstein and Free exchange

Kevinliptak / CNN:
TRENDING: GOP candidates slam Obama after downgrade

Discussion: zerohedge.com/fullrss2.xml, Firedoglake, CBS News, The Politico, AMERICAN FUTURE, Towleroad News #gay, The Hill, Felix Salmon and Daily Kos

Paul Krugman:
S&P and the USA — OK, so Standard and Poors has gone ahead …

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
S&P credit rating analysis values spending cuts more than tax revenue

Discussion: The Hill and Politics

Robert Reich:
Why S&P Has No Business Downgrading the U.S.

Discussion: naked capitalism, The Greenroom, Outside the Beltway, neo-neocon, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller and Daniel W. Drezner

BBC:
US loses AAA credit rating after S&P downgrade

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Exile On Wall Street, Mother Jones, International Liberty, Hullabaloo and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:
S.& P. Downgrades Debt Rating of U.S. for the First Time

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Lede, Swampland, msnbc.com, Gawker, UrbanGrounds, The Baseline Scenario, Washington Monthly, NewsBusters.org blogs, Washington Post, Mogulite, standardandpoors.com, Hullabaloo, New York Magazine, Online NewsHour, DealBook and Reuters

Mark Steyn / National Review:
The Downgrade Begins — As the author of a suitably apocalyptic book …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Pajamas Media, And So it Goes in Shreveport and FrumForum

New York Times:

Copter Downed by Taliban Fire; Elite U.S. Unit Among Dead — KABUL, Afghanistan — In the deadliest day for American forces in the nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan, insurgents shot down a Chinook transport helicopter on Saturday, killing 30 Americans, including some Navy Seal commandos …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, BBC, Patterico's Pontifications, Hot Air, Iowa Caucuses, The Gateway Pundit, Truthdig, Politics, emptywheel, New York Magazine, americanthinker.com, The Agonist and Gothamist

Associated Press:

Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan Kills Members of SEAL Team 6 — WASHINGTON — The Associated Press has learned that more than 20 Navy SEALs from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden were among those lost in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. — The operators from SEAL Team Six were flown …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Power Line, Wizbang, Doug Ross, Weasel Zippers, Telegraph, Runnin' Scared, Moonbattery and Fox News Insider

Kevin Sieff / Washington Post:
NATO copter downed; Navy SEALs among the 30 U.S. dead

Discussion: Guardian, Outside the Beltway, LewRockwell.com Blog and The Moderate Voice

Solomon Moore / Associated Press:
31 Americans, 7 Afghans killed in helicopter crash

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Wizbang, Sense of Events, Weasel Zippers and Scared Monkeys

Martha Raddatz / ABCNEWS:
31 Americans Killed Including 25 SEALs in Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan

Discussion: The Long War Journal, Online NewsHour, American Forces Press Service and Gawker

CNN:
U.S. official: About two dozen U.S. deaths in Afghan copter crash

Discussion: The Raw Story, Michelle Malkin, Associated Press, Weasel Zippers, Firedoglake, Runnin' Scared and neo-neocon

Reuters:

China tells U.S. “good old days” of borrowing are over — (Reuters) - China bluntly criticized the United States on Saturday one day after the superpower's credit rating was downgraded, saying the “good old days” of borrowing were over. — Standard & Poor's cut the U.S. long-term credit rating …

Discussion: Sydney Morning Herald, Questions and Observations, americanthinker.com, The Moderate Voice, The Political Carnival and The Lonely Conservative

Xinhua News Agency:

After historic downgrade, U.S. must address its chronic debt problems — The days when the debt-ridden Uncle Sam could leisurely squander unlimited overseas borrowing appeared to be numbered as its triple A-credit rating was slashed by Standard & Poor's (S&P) for the first time on Friday.

Discussion: BBC, Guardian and Samizdata.net

David Barboza / New York Times:
China Tells U.S. It Must ‘Cure Its Addiction to Debt’

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Balkinization, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and China Digital Times

CNN:
Questions abound after agency downgrades U.S. credit rating

Discussion: Poynter and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Kasie Hunt / The Politico:

Perry prays for the U.S. — HOUSTON — Texas Gov. Rick Perry prayed with more than 20,000 worshipers at an all-day Christian gathering here — and while he talked about God, not the Oval Office, he repeatedly hit on the themes that would drive his potential presidential campaign.

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, The Note, JammieWearingFool and Towleroad News #gay

Manny Fernandez / New York Times:

Perry Leads Prayer Rally for ‘Nation in Crisis’ — HOUSTON — Standing on a stage surrounded by thousands of fellow Christians on Saturday morning, Gov. Rick Perry called on Jesus to bless and guide the nation's military and political leaders and “those who cannot see the light in the midst of all the darkness.”

Discussion: Gawker and Towleroad News #gay

Michael O'Brien / Ballot Box:
Perry's prayer gathering sets stage for national attention

Discussion: CNN and The Note

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Mystery Mitt Romney donor comes forward — The anonymous donor behind the headline-making $1 million contribution to a pro-Mitt Romney super PAC is a former Bain Capital official with long ties to the candidate, who's asking the outside group to amend its filings, POLITICO has learned.

Discussion: The Raw Story, msnbc.com and TPMDC

Alexander Bolton / Ballot Box:

Mystery Romney supporter reveals himself after calls for investigation — Edward Conrad, a former executive at Bain Capital, has revealed himself as the mystery donor who gave a $1 million corporate contribution to a special political action committee supporting Mitt Romney.

Discussion: The Political Carnival

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

The Tea Party, Take Two — In the four months since I began writing an Op-Ed column, the thing that has most surprised me is how darned liberal I sound sometimes. I know that seems like a strange thing to say, so let me explain. — Growing up in heavily Democratic Providence, R.I. …

Discussion: Power Line, Riehl World View, NewsBusters.org blogs, PERRspectives, JammieWearingFool, The Daily Caller and Daily Kos

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org blogs:

Former Obama Economic Adviser on Downgrade: We're ‘Pretty Darn F—ked’ — Christina Romer, the former chair of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers on Friday offered a rather strong opinion concerning the announcement by Standard & Poor's that the credit rating agency downgraded America's debt to AA+.

Discussion: Breitbart.tv, The Gateway Pundit and The Lonely Conservative

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

Widener Law School goes Soviet, demands law professor undergo psychiatric evaluation — Lawrence Connell is a tenured law professor at Widener Law School in Delaware. I have noted in prior posts that Connell was accused of a wide range of racist and sexist conduct directed at students …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy and Althouse