memeorandum: Sweeping Pardons ‘Unnecessary’ (Evan Perez/Wall Street Journal)

6:15 PM ET, November 25, 2008

Top Items:

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Exceptional news: John Brennan won't be CIA Director or DNI — (updated below - Update II) — This is really exceptional news on multiple levels — the best political news I've heard since the election: … Brennan's self-defense here is quite disingenuous.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TalkLeft, The Anonymous Liberal, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL and Spin Cycle

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

BRENNAN WITHDRAWS NAME FOR TOP SPY — From NBC's Robert Windrem — In a letter to President-elect Obama, John Brennan has asked that his name be withdrawn from consideration as CIA director. … Brennan was thought to be the leading candidate for the job.

Discussion: TIME.com, Think Progress, ATTACKERMAN and The Washington Independent

Associated Press:

Brennan out of running for top intel post — WASHINGTON: John Brennan, President-elect Barack Obama's top adviser on intelligence, took his name out of the running Tuesday for any intelligence position in the new administration. — Brennan wrote in a Nov. 25 letter to Obama that he did not want to be a distraction.

Discussion: MoJoBlog, The Field on the Narcosphere, Weekly Standard, unbossed.com, Democracy in America, McClatchy Washington Bureau and Reuters

Scott Horton / Harper's:
John Brennan for CIA? Think Again

Discussion: The Daily Dish and The Heretik

Stephen Soldz / Psyche, Science, and Society:
Open Letter to President-Elect Obama: Break With the Dark Side.

Discussion: ATTACKERMAN and NION

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Gates agrees to stay on under Obama — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has agreed to stay on under President-elect Obama, according to officials in both parties. Obama plans to announce a national-security team early next week that includes Gates at the Pentagon and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton …

Discussion: Reuters, TIME.com, LT Nixon Rants, Wonkette and Gothamist

Huma Khan / Political Punch:

Gates a ‘Done Deal’ — Martha Raddatz and Jake Tapper Report: — Sources tell ABC News that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be staying on in the top Pentagon job, for at least the first year of the Obama administration. “It is a done deal,” a source close to the process tells ABC News.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Think Progress, Defense Tech and Salon

Nitya / Political Radar:
Gates Cabinet Appointment ‘A Done Deal’

Discussion: The Washington Independent

Ed Kilgore / Democratic Strategist:
Gates and Obama's “Bipartisanship” Problem

Discussion: Open Left, Asia Times, The New Republic, TPM Election Central and Daily Kos

Peter Orszag / Director's Blog:

Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes: A final blog entry — Today President-elect Obama announced his intention to nominate me as director of the Office of Management and Budget. I am therefore resigning as director of CBO and this will be my final blog entry. — I have absolutely loved my time at CBO.

Discussion: Real Time Economics and Lost in Transition

Daniel Stone / Newsweek:

Even Dr. Doom Likes Them — Renowned economic pessimist Nouriel Roubini approves of Obama's picks, but they face grave challenges ahead. — President-elect Barack Obama's administration's reaction to the current economy would have to be, in his words, “swift and bold.”

Discussion: New York Times, Salon, DownWithTyranny!, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, Real Time Economics, Guardian, The Reaction and Wall Street Journal

CNN:

Obama says he'll go through budget ‘line by line’ — (CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama pledged Tuesday to go through the federal budget “page by page, line by line” to eliminate excessive spending and get the economy back on track. — “If we are going to make the investments we need …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Below The Beltway, Flopping Aces and Ben Smith's Blogs

Corey Boles / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Sets Budget Plan

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Washington Wire

Frank James / The Swamp:
Obama: No business as usual on spending

Discussion: New York Times and The Politico

Mark Preston / CNN:

Palin to hit campaign trail in Georgia — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will make multiple campaign appearances on behalf of Sen. Saxby Chambliss next week in Georgia, serving as the political closer for the GOP senator who is battling to win a second term.

Discussion: The Politico, The Opinionator, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Donklephant, PoliBlog (TM) and Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
GA-Senate: Tight as a Tick

Discussion: Minneapolis Star Tribune, Daily Kos and The Raw Story

Frank James / The Swamp:
Palin Georgia-bound for Chambliss

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, The Politico and PoliBlog (TM)

New York Post:

WE HEAR . . . WE HEAR — THAT although we didn't think it would be pos sible to silence Ann Coulter, the leggy reaction- ary broke her jaw and the mouth that roared has been wired shut . . . THAT the Tel Aviv Hilton was abuzz Saturday with the arrival of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Jezebel, American Street, The Washington Independent and Political Machine

Ari Melber / The Politico:

Learning from President Bush's mistakes — Many Washington Republicans and Democrats agree on one maxim for President-elect Barack Obama: This is no time to look back at the past administration's rocky record on executive power and the rule of law. — Republicans caution against protracted, “partisan” investigations.

Discussion: Open Left and unbossed.com

Evan Perez / Wall Street Journal:
Sweeping Pardons ‘Unnecessary’

Discussion: Washington Wire, Times of London, TPMMuckraker, American Prospect and Think Progress

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Bush Issues 14 Pardons and Commutes 2 Sentences

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Law Blog, The Swamp, The Reaction and The Washington Independent

Melinda Henneberger / Slate:

Obama's threat to Catholic hospitals and their very serious counterthreat. — When I saw the Catholic bishops had declared war on President-elect Obama at their semiannual meeting in Baltimore two weeks ago, my first reaction was pique: Gosh, guys, it isn't even parade day yet, and here you are, all dressed up and ready to rain on it.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Townhall.com, StephenBainbridge.com and Vox Popoli

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

Where Was Geithner in Turmoil? — President-elect Barack Obama unveiled on Monday an economic team with deep experience handling economic crises. But does the man at the center of this star-studded cast, Timothy F. Geithner, the nominee for Treasury secretary, have what is needed to take the nation in a new financial direction?

Discussion: The Washington Independent, Washington Post, naked capitalism, Portfolio, The New Republic, The Heretik, BuzzMachine, The Big Picture, NewsBusters.org and Kevin Drum

Chris Isidore / CNNMoney.com:
Fed bets $800 billion on consumers

Discussion: Donklephant

Wall Street Journal:

Why Don't We Hang Pirates Anymore? — It's a safe bet, dear reader, that the title of this column has caused you to either (a) roll your eyes and wonder, What century do you think we're living in? or (b) scratch your head and ask, Yes, why don't we? Wherever you come down …

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Betsy's Page

Galrahn / Information Dissemination:
Are Pirates the Problem, or the Solution?

Discussion: War Is Boring

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

DISGUSTING WHINING — You've probably noticed Mark Halperin's claim that the level of pro-Obama bias in the election coverage this year was so bad it was “disgusting.” I'll leave it to others to analyze what “disgusting” means when deployed by someone who takes his journalistic cues from Matt Drudge.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, TalkLeft and Political Machine

John McCain / Nielsen Wire:

How Obama's Local Buys Added Up — Nielsen's final look at ad buys by the 2008 Presidential candidates proved one famous mantra: politics really are local. — President-elect Barack Obama placed 155% more spot TV ads than John McCain during the general election season (6/08 to 11/08) …

Discussion: The Swamp, The Fix, Outside The Beltway and Boston Globe

David Zucchino / Los Angeles Times:

Injured veterans engaged in new combat — In a little-noticed regulation change, the Pentagon's definition of combat-related disabilities is narrowed, costing some wounded veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits. — Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq — by a roadside bomb and a land mine.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, Washington Post, BLACKFIVE, The Impolitic, Think Progress, Jules Crittenden and Whiskey Fire

Martin Kady II / The Politico:

Dems vs. Dems in new Congress — Forget the Republican filibuster and the race to 60. The real fight in the next Congress is Democrats vs. themselves. — With nearly complete control of Washington for the first time in three decades, Democrats are entering a treacherous power zone …

Discussion: Detroit Free Press, Hot Air, Shopfloor, Riehl World View, Political Perceptions, Washington Wire and Don Surber

Erika Lovley / The Politico:

Scientists urge caution on global warming — Climate change skeptics on Capitol Hill are quietly watching a growing accumulation of global cooling science and other findings that could signal that the science behind global warming may still be too shaky to warrant cap-and-trade legislation.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Hot Air and Wonk Room

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:

Claremont parents clash over kindergarten Thanksgiving costumes — Some say having students dress up as pilgrims and Native Americans is ‘demeaning.’ Their opponents say they are elitists injecting politics into a simple children's celebration. — For decades, Claremont kindergartners …