memeorandum: As Iraq Exit Plan Arrives, Democrats' Rift Remains (Washington Post)

1:00 PM ET, March 8, 2007

Top Items:

A Verdict on the Wilson Affair — Denis Collins, a Washington journalist on the Scooter Libby jury, described sentiments in the jury room reflecting those in the Senate Democratic cloakroom: "It was said a number of times. . . . Where's Rove? Where are these other guys?"

Discussion: TalkLeft, Firedoglake, Patterico's Pontifications, A Blog For All, Villainous Company, Blue Crab Boulevard, Macsmind, Wonkette and The Strata-Sphere

Washington Post:

Bush Deflects Pressure To Give Libby a Pardon — Clemency Before 2008 Election Could Be Politically Risky — President Bush said yesterday that he is "pretty much going to stay out of" the case of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby until the legal process has run its course, deflecting pressure …

Discussion: The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Captain's Quarters, Decision '08, CorrenteWire, Althouse, Liberal Values, The Heretik, First Read, On Deadline, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and The BLT

Sidney Blumenthal / Salon:
Libby and the White House book club

Discussion: Firedoglake, Middle Earth Journal, The Mahablog and The Agonist

Newsweek:
The Problem With Pardoning Libby

Discussion: The Raw Story, New York Times, The Rachel Maddow Show, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Huffington Post, New York Post, Neocon Express and Macsmind

MSNBC:
Juror calls on Bush to pardon Libby

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Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:
Some Explaining to Do — It's time for President Bush …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Grasping Reality …

Washington Post:

As Iraq Exit Plan Arrives, Democrats' Rift Remains — Even in her conservative Kansas district, calls and letters to freshman House Democrat Nancy Boyda show a constituency overwhelmingly ready for U.S. troops to come home from Iraq. — Yet as the House nears a legislative showdown on the war …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Booman Tribune, Taylor Marsh, The Caucus, DownWithTyranny!, MyDD, Daily Kos, TalkLeft, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Associated Press

David Espo / Associated Press:

House Democrats to unveil Iraq war plan — WASHINGTON - In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats are advancing legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year. — Democratic officials who described the measure said the timetable …

Discussion: Redstate, Jules Crittenden and TigerHawk

David Espo / Associated Press:
Democrats to propose troop withdrawal from Iraq by fall of 2008

Discussion: The Impolitic

Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:

GETTING PORKED ('07) — The just-released "2007 Pig Book" from the group Citizens Against Government Waste should be a bit embarrassing (it definitely would be, in a sane world) to congress members loudly bemoaning the treatment of troops at Walter Reed. — While un-armored Iraq …

Discussion: The Corner and The Caucus

Nico / Think Progress:

CONFIRMED: Top House Spending Official Knew Of Walter Reed Squalor — Congressional Quarterly confirms today that senior House conservatives, including the chairmen of the appropriations and oversight committees, knew about the neglect and deplorable conditions at Walter Reed years before they were exposed by the Washington Post.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Daily Kos

Seth Stern / CQ.com:

Members Were Aware of Lapses at Walter Reed — Senior Republicans who knew about problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while their party controlled Congress insist they did all they could to prod the Pentagon to fix them. — But C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., former chairman …

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

New York Label May Not Fit All in Giuliani Run — When Republicans say they are skeptical that Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, can survive their party's presidential nominating process, they usually point to his record of support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.

Discussion: The Right's Field, eyeon08.com, First Read and Gallup Poll

George F. Will / Washington Post:
Three Good Options for The Right

Discussion: Reason Magazine, Betsy's Page and Matthew Yglesias

Ian Bishop / New York Post: RUDY HAS HILL'S NUMBER

Cpl. Matt Sanchez / Cpl Matt Sanchez:

Salon.com — Was I totally clueless? When I stepped forward to talk about an anti-military bias at Columbia of course I knew my life would come under some scrutiny. We hear it everyday, with the universality of the internet, it's impossible to have privacy.

Discussion: Villainous Company, seejanemom, Fausta's blog, Reality Mugged Me and Boi From Troy

Matt Sanchez / Salon:

Porn free — Left-wing blogs gleefully outed my gay porn past after I criticized antiwar zealots. But the truth has set me free. — Was I totally clueless? When I stepped forward in late 2005 to talk about anti-military attitudes at New York's Columbia University, I knew my past might be put under the microscope.

Discussion: protein wisdom and Brilliant at Breakfast

Michelle Malkin:
A message for—and from—Matt Sanchez

Discussion: Joe. My. God., JunkYardBlog, Gay Patriot, Hot Air, Daily. Gay. News. Towleroad, BLACKFIVE, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Ace of Spades HQ, Polimom Says and Right Voices

New York Times:

Buildup in Iraq Needed Into '08, U.S. General Says — The day-to-day commander of American forces in Iraq has recommended that the heightened American troop levels there be maintained through February 2008, military officials said Wednesday. — The White House has never said exactly …

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, The Moderate Voice, Air America Radio, Hot Air, The Impolitic, On Deadline, Norwegianity, Jules Crittenden, Needlenose, Think Progress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Prairie Weather, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Decision '08

New York Times:

The Gonzales Eight — Americans often suspect that their political leaders are arrogant and out of touch. But even then it is nearly impossible to fathom what self-delusion could have convinced Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico that he had a right to call a federal prosecutor at home …

Discussion: Don Surber, Seattle Times and Washington Post

David Johnston / New York Times:
Inquiry Into Ouster of U.S. Attorneys Moves Toward Subpoenas at Justice Department

Discussion: The Democratic Daily

Dafna Linzer / Washington Post:

Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence — A former Iranian deputy defense minister who once commanded the Revolutionary Guard has left his country and is cooperating with Western intelligence agencies, providing information on Hezbollah and Iran's ties to the organization, according to a senior U.S. official.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, QandO, Right Wing Nut House, Hot Air, The Belmont Club, Israel Matzav, Yourish.com, Blue Crab Boulevard, Outside The Beltway, The Washington Note, The Political Pit Bull, Say Anything, Power Line and Riehl World View

Bill Carter / New York Times:

Producer for Katie Couric Out at CBS News — The shake-ups at the evening newscasts continued last night. — In the latest disruption, CBS News replaced Rome Hartman, the executive producer of the "Evening News with Katie Couric," with the long-time TV news executive and producer Rick Kaplan …

Discussion: CBS News, Wizbang and Romenesko

Rebecca Dana / Slate:
The Katie Show — DOES COURIC'S ROCKY START AT CBS SPELL TROUBLE FOR HILLARY CLINTON?

Discussion: culturekitchen and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Jim Henley / Unqualified Offerings:

There's Your Trouble, the Continuing Series — I'll try to play the "Look Through Your March 2003 Archives" game this weekend. Meantime, Gene Healy shows that, as I'd have suspected, he has nothing much to be ashamed of on that score himself. He also links to a Glenn Reynolds auto-retrospective that includes the sentence:

Discussion: Gene Healy, Crooked Timber, Outside The Beltway, Seeing the Forest, Eschaton and Lawyers, Guns and Money