memeorandum: Bush Stays Out of Fight, Opts for Lighter Fare (Peter Baker/Washington Post)

8:20 PM ET, February 14, 2007

Top Items:

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

House Democrats' New Strategy: Force Slow End to War — Led by Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and supported by several well-funded anti-war groups, the coalition's goal is to limit or sharply reduce the number of U.S. troops available for the Iraq conflict, rather than to openly cut off funding for the war itself.

Bryan / Hot Air:

Murtha and the Democrats: A new low — Disgusting. … If they do what they're apparently planning to do, "slow bleed" will be a very apt description. Those doing the bleeding, slowly, will be US troops. … This is the strategy of a corrupt, dishonorable man. Yes, I realize I'm talking about a former Marine.

Discussion: BLACKFIVE, Ace of Spades HQ, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, IMAO and Ed Driscoll.com

Matt Stoller / MyDD:

Grace Time is Over — It's pretty obvious at this point that the Democratic leadership isn't serious about ending the war in Iraq. They won't defund the war, and keep repeating the meme that cutting off funding for the war means cutting off funding for the troops. — It's time for the blogs to stop giving them a pass.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Redstate, The Impolitic and The American Mind

Alexander Mooney / CNN Political Ticker: Eleven House Republicans break ranks

White House:

Press Conference by the President — THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming in on an icy day. I have just finished a conversation with General David Petraeus. He gave me his first briefing from Iraq. He talked about the Baghdad security plan. It's the plan that I described to the nation last January …

Discussion: Boston Globe, THE CUNNING REALIST, The Carpetbagger Report, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, Big Brass Blog, Liberty Street, First Draft and My Left Wing

Mark Memmott / On Deadline:
Bush: 'Preposterous' to suggest intelligence on Iran is wrong

Discussion: The Raw Story, Washington Times, White House, NewsHog, Michelle Malkin, The Impolitic, Pajamas Media and CorrenteWire

Baltimore Sun:

America's view of Republicans crumbles in Iraq — According to the latest Gallup survey, Republican self-identification has declined nationally and in almost every American state. Why? The short answer is that President Bush's war of choice in Iraq has destroyed the partisan brand Republicans spent the past four decades building.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Eschaton, Sadly, No!, The Carpetbagger Report, Middle Earth Journal, The Democratic Daily, INSTAPUTZ, Liberal Values and Faithful Progressive

Steve Kornacki / New York Observer:

Why Al Gore Won't Let the Rumors Die — It's too much to say that Al Gore has decided to run for President in 2008. — But it does seem that he wants to preserve the option. — Certainly, the recent buzz about a possible Gore campaign in 2008 doesn't seem to be spontaneously generated.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Blue State, The Carpetbagger Report and Liberal Values

Betsy Rothstein / The Hill:

Rep. Ellison calls the cops to snuff Tancredo's cigar — Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran. But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn't believe it's Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office.

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister, The Caucus, CNN Political Ticker, Hot Air, TPMCafe blogs, Wonkette, The Bullwinkle Blog, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Blue Crab Boulevard, Redstate, "7.62mm Justice" ™, theneweditor.com, Wizbang and Daily Pundit

littlegreenfootballs.com:

Question: — I applaud your efforts to introduce Muslims to the west in a comedic manner. I truly believe that we need to use humor to diffuse the pervasive negative image we face in the media. — I find, however, that in many chat rooms Muslims are up in arms over little aspects …

Discussion: The Jawa Report

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:

Bush: Who Cares if Iran Ordered EFP Attacks? — The Iran innuendo continues. In his press conference today, President Bush said that the U.S. knows "with certainty" that the EFPs coming in from Iran for attacks on U.S. forces originate with the Qods Forces — a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Discussion: Associated Press, NewsHog, Talking Points Memo, Donklephant, The Anonymous Liberal and Political Animal

Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:

U.S. Says Powerful Iraqi Cleric Is Living in Iran — The powerful Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has left Iraq and has been living in Iran for the past several weeks, senior Bush administration officials said Tuesday. — With fresh American forces arriving in Baghdad as part of the White House plan …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, INTEL DUMP, Ace of Spades HQ, Hot Air, Right Wing Nut House, The Corner, alphabet city and Brilliant at Breakfast

Juan / Informed Comment:
On the Mystery of Muqtada al-Sadr's Disappearance

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Political Animal, The Heretik and Outside The Beltway

driftglass:

I'm Spartacus. — Shakespeare's Sister has announced that she is bowing out of the Edwards campaign. — Needless to say this is a very sad and sobering development. — And needless to say that she is doing it with orders of magnitude more grace and élan than either …

Discussion: TPMCafe blogs, Lean Left, QandO, Balloon Juice, Shakespeare's Sister, Opinion L.A., The Mahablog, Althouse, PSoTD, The Huffington Post, The Navel of the Internet and The Impolitic

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

Hillary Clinton: "If the administration believes that any, any use of force against Iran is necessary, the president must come to Congress to seek that authority. — Hillary Clinton demands that President Bush go through Congress if he plans to take any military action against Iran. — Download (456) |

Discussion: The Huffington Post, MyDD, Matthew Yglesias and The Agonist

Amy Schatz / Wall Street Journal:

Candidates Find A New Stump In the Blogosphere — Nearly a year before the first caucuses and primaries take place, the 2008 presidential campaign advertising war is under way online. — Candidates of both parties are already buying space on search engines, blogs and other Internet sites popular …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Gun Toting Liberal ™, DonkeyRising, Outside The Beltway and Liberal Values

Dan Nowicki / Arizona Republic:

Recall drive targets McCain over Iraq — A new recall drive targets Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a top contender for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. — Organizers oppose McCain's continued support of the unpopular Iraq war and consider him complicit in what they perceive as the erosion …

Discussion: Liberal Values and skippy the bush kangaroo

Deseret News:

6 minutes of horror … In just six minutes, 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic left a tragic path of destruction that forever changed the lives of dozens of people. — "His intent was to shoot as many people as he possibly could," said Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank.