memeorandum: Gonzales Accepts Resignation of Top Aide (Associated Press)

5:20 PM ET, March 13, 2007

Top Items:

Gonzales Accepts Resignation of Top Aide — WASHINGTON — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales abruptly canceled travel plans Tuesday amid growing calls for his ouster over the firings of eight federal prosecutors during a White House-directed housecleaning of U.S. attorneys.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, Think Progress, Redstate, Attytood, Is That Legal?, Wonkette, TBogg and Macsmind

Crew / Citizens Blogging for Responsibility …:

BREAKING: CREW wants Special Prosecutor to investigate potential criminal violations in U.S. Attorney firings — CREW wants the immediate appointment of a Special Prosecutor to investigate potential criminal violations related to the recent dismissals of eight U.S. Attorneys.

Discussion: Washington Post, Think Progress, Seeing the Forest, DownWithTyranny!, Wonkette, JustOneMinute and The Carpetbagger Report

CNN:

Gonzales: 'Mistakes were made' in U.S. attorneys' firings … WASHINGTON (CNN) — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that "mistakes were made" regarding the firing of eight U.S. attorneys and he accepts responsibility for the ordeal. — "My pledge to the American people is to find out what went wrong here," he said.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Booman Tribune, The Moderate Voice and Wonkette

Amanda / Think Progress:

Gonzales Lied Under Oath, Said All Bush-Appointed Attorneys Would Be 'Senate-Confirmed' — A little-noticed provision slipped into the Patriot Act in 2005 allows the President to appoint "interim" U.S. attorneys for an indefinite period of time, without Senate confirmation.

Discussion: TAPPED, TPMmuckraker, The Carpetbagger Report and Daily Kos

David Bowermaster / Seattle Times:

McKay "stunned" by report on Bush — Former U.S. Attorney John McKay said Monday night he was "stunned" to hear President Bush told Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last October that Bush had received complaints about U.S. attorneys who were not energetically investigating voter-fraud cases.

Discussion: Political Animal, TPMmuckraker and Comments From Left Field

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Today's Must Read

Discussion: Firedoglake, New York Times, Booman Tribune, The Huffington Post, The Daily Dish, TalkLeft, The Carpetbagger Report, Brilliant at Breakfast, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, Shakespeare's Sister and Left in the West

MSNBC:
Gonzales acknowledges mistakes in firings

Discussion: AMERICAblog, Bring it On!, War and Piece and Shakespeare's Sister

Jay Carney / time-blog.com:
Where Credit Is Due — Twelve days ago, after David Iglesias …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, The Mahablog and The Carpetbagger Report

Washington Post:
Firings Had Genesis in White House

TRex / Firedoglake:
That's All, Folks!

Discussion: TalkLeft

Associated Press:
White House mulled firing all prosecutors

Discussion: Washington Post, MyDD and The Democratic Daily

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker: What Rove Knew — One point that needs to be made about the flurry …

Washington Post:

The Pelosi Plan for Iraq — THE RESTRICTIONS on Iraq war funding drawn up by the House Democratic leadership are exquisitely tailored to bring together the party's leftist and centrist wings. For the Out of Iraq Caucus, which demands that Congress force a withdrawal of all U.S. troops …

Discussion: Austin Bay Blog, Captain's Quarters, The Influence Peddler, Jules Crittenden, Los Angeles Times, Don Surber, Argghhh!, Confederate Yankee, The Glittering Eye, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Strata-Sphere, TigerHawk, The Sideshow and The American Mind

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Pelosi hears boos at AIPAC — Members of the main pro-Israel lobbying group offered scattered boos to a statement by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that the Iraq war has been a failure on several scores. — The boos, mixed with some polite applause, stood in stark contrast …

Discussion: New York Times, American Prospect, Hang Right Politics and Power Line

Aamer Madhani / Chicago Tribune:

Don't drop `don't ask, don't tell,' Pace says — Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday that he supports the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving in the military because homosexual acts "are immoral," akin to a member of the armed forces conducting …

Discussion: At-Largely and Donklephant

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
Republican Rebukes Pace, but Defense Secretary Defends 'Don't Ask' Policy

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Robert Mackey / The Lede:
Top General Opposes Openly Gay Troops

Discussion: TAPPED, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and Shakespeare's Sister

Associated Press:
Gen. Pace calls homosexuality immoral

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Pam's House Blend, QandO, Argghhh!, Outside The Beltway, Democratic Underground, Taylor Marsh, AMERICAblog and Riehl World View

Mark Green / The Politico:

Air America's Invitation — Tweaking the Fox News Channel, the president of liberal Air America Radio this morning sent a letter to the chairmen of four state Republican parties, offering to host and broadcast the state parties' upcoming presidential debates.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Think Progress

The Blotter:

Exclusive: Curveball, the Defector Whose Lies Led to War — Brian Ross and Rhonda Schwartz Report: — The Iraqi defector known as Curveball, whose fabricated stories of "mobile biological weapons labs" helped lead the U.S. to war four years ago, is still being protected by the German intelligence service …

Discussion: Political Animal, Think Progress and The Daily Dish

Rasmussen Reports:

MN Senate Poll: Coleman 46% Franken 36% — Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman (R) knows he is high on the Democrats' wish list this cycle and the first Rasmussen Reports Senate poll for Election 2008 shows the incumbent starting off below the 50% level of support.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Minnesota Campaign Report and Daily Kos

Jonah Goldberg / Los Angeles Times:

Unity is overrated — Calls to 'put politics aside' really mean 'stop disagreeing with me and shut up.' — BECAUSE WE'RE AT the start of the electoral roller coaster, the part where the car slowly chugs upward, building anticipation for the gut-wrenching plunges and loop-the-loops ahead …

Discussion: Polimom Says

Daniel Terdiman / CNET News.com:

Dan Rather: Journalism has 'lost its guts' — AUSTIN, TEXAS—To longtime CBS broadcaster Dan Rather, American journalism in recent years "has in some ways lost its guts." — During his hour-long keynote address at South by Southwest Interactive, Rather opined at length on the state of his profession …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Blogs for Bush and The Democratic Daily

John Tierney / New York Times:

What's So Funny? Well, Maybe Nothing — So there are these two muffins baking in an oven. One of them yells, "Wow, it's hot in here!" — And the other muffin replies: "Holy cow! A talking muffin!" — Did that alleged joke make you laugh? I would guess (and hope) not.

Discussion: Balkinization