memeorandum: Big 'negatives' knocked her off Kerry's list (Kenneth R. Bazinet/NY Daily News)

9:50 AM ET, March 15, 2007

Top Items:

9/11 Mastermind Confesses in Guantanamo — WASHINGTON — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to that attack and a string of others during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a transcript released Wednesday by the Pentagon.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Outside The Beltway, The American Street, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, GINA COBB, The Impolitic, The Mahablog, Counterterrorism Blog, PoliBlog (TM), Bring it On!, Rising Hegemon and Intrepid Liberal Journal

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Suspected Leader of Attacks on 9/11 Is Said to Confess — Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, long said to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, confessed to them at a military hearing held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Saturday, according to a transcript released by the Pentagon yesterday.

Discussion: Firedoglake, the talking dog, democracyarsenal.org, Brilliant at Breakfast, Gothamist, NPR Topics and TalkLeft

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

KSM confesses to Gitmo tribunal: I planned 9/11 "from A to Z"; Update: Full transcript added; Update: KSM confesses to Daniel Pearl's murder — And much, much more. … The Beeb says he also admitted to plots against Big Ben and Heathrow. — Looking for the transcript. Standby.

Discussion: Fox News, Captain's Quarters, Pajamas Media, Stop The ACLU, Hang Right Politics and Little Green Footballs

The Smoking Gun: Bin Laden Deputy In Gitmo Confession

NEWS.com.au:
9/11 planner admits Bali bombing

Discussion: The Road to Surfdom and Jihad Watch

Jules Crittenden: "We Are Jackals Fighting In The Nights"

The Blotter: Confessions of a Terrorist: I'm Guilty of 3,000+ Murders

Fred W. Baker III / DefenseLINK: Al Qaeda Operative Admits to Masterminding 9/11 Attacks

New York Times:

Clinton Sees Some Troops Staying in Iraq if She Is Elected — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton foresees a "remaining military as well as political mission" in Iraq, and says that if elected president, she would keep a reduced but significant military force there to fight Al Qaeda …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Gateway Pundit, The Democratic Daily, The Agonist, Matthew Yglesias, Dean's World, MyDD, the albany project, Outside The Beltway, Riehl World View, Confederate Yankee, TalkLeft, Roger L. Simon and Political Radar

Glenn Thrush / Newsday:

Clinton, Obama skirt queries on gays in the military — WASHINGTON — If gays and lesbians were looking for a champion to dispute Gen. Peter Pace's claim that homosexuality is immoral, they might have expected Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama to leap forward. — Not quite.

Discussion: Pam's House Blend, The Caucus, Shakespeare's Sister, HorsesAss.Org and Washington Post

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Bush Criticizes Handling of Prosecutors' Dismissals — President Bush said Wednesday that he had confidence in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, but that he was "frankly not happy about" the way Mr. Gonzales had handled the dismissal of federal prosecutors, a move that has led …

Discussion: Think Progress, Real Cities, TPMmuckraker, USA Today, MyDD, The Carpetbagger Report, Gateway Pundit, JoeTrippi.com and Washington Post

Real Cities:
Justice Dept. distances White House from firings of U.S. attorneys

Discussion: The Impolitic, Talking Points Memo and War and Piece

William Finn Bennett / North County Times: Issa: 'Congress was lied to'

New York Times:
Gonzales's Critics See Lasting, Improper Ties to White House

Discussion: All Spin Zone, MyDD and Chicago Tribune

Donald Lambro / Washington Times:

Waning momentum — It is the subject of increasing backroom discussion among Democratic officials and strategists on Capitol Hill and the party's rank-and-file forces at the grass roots. The "it" is Sen. Hillary Clinton's questionable electability and whether Democrats will end …

Discussion: PSoTD

William Greider / The Nation:

Senator Inevitable — Considering the formidable advantages Hillary Clinton has assembled for 2008, why should anyone feel sorry for her? Because the Senator is in a trap, and many of her assets have swiftly turned into liabilities. This predicament is largely of her own making but also of changed circumstances she did not foresee.

Discussion: Redstate

Washington Post:

Dozens in GOP Turn Against Bush's Prized 'No Child' Act — More than 50 GOP members of the House and Senate — including the House's second-ranking Republican — will introduce legislation today that could severely undercut President Bush's signature domestic achievement, the No Child Left Behind Act …

Discussion: MaxSpeak

Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
YET MORE NCLB....There's just no getting away from NCLB.

Discussion: Eduwonk.com and The Quick and the Ed

Jonathan E. Kaplan / The Hill:

Emanuel tells freshmen to avoid Stephen Colbert — Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the Democratic Caucus chairman, has told new Democratic members of Congress to steer clear of Stephen Colbert, or at least his satirical Comedy Central program, "The Colbert Report."

Discussion: The Swamp, My Left Wing and Wizbang

Zogby:

Zogby Poll: Voters Believe Media Bias is Very Real — Institute for Politics, Democracy, and the Internet/Zogby Poll shows American voters are skeptical political motivation may be behind blogs run by mainstream news organizations — The vast majority of American voters believe media bias …

Discussion: WILLisms.com, QandO, The Belmont Club, NewsBusters.org, Blue Crab Boulevard and Riehl World View

New York Times:

General Pace and Gay Soldiers — There's a good reason that military officers avoid commenting on politics, society and public policy. The results are usually bad. — Consider the offensive comments that Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made this week about gay people.

brownback.senate.gov:
Brownback Sends Letter in Support of General Pace

Discussion: Redstate and Daily. Gay. News. Towleroad

Peter Szekely / Reuters:

House overturns Bush order on papers secrecy — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brushing aside a veto threat, the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to overturn a 2001 order by President George W. Bush that lets former presidents keep their papers secret indefinitely.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Bring it On!

Matt Apuzzo / The Huffington Post:
HUFFINGTON POST WIRES

Discussion: Think Progress and TalkLeft

Katherine Kersten / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The real target of the 6 imams' 'discrimination' suit — The "flying imams' " federal lawsuit, filed this week in Minneapolis, has made headlines around the country. The imams are demanding unspecified damages from US Airways and the Metropolitan Airports Commission, both with deep pockets.

Discussion: QandO, Power Line, Sister Toldjah and Blue Crab Boulevard

Jay Rosen / Wired News:

Citizen Journalism Wants You! — Welcome to Assignment Zero. It's pro-am journalism in the open style made possible by the web. This is a collaboration among NewAssignment.Net, Wired and those who choose to participate. — I hope you will. Because we're trying to figure something out here.

Discussion: BuzzMachine and PressThink

New York Times:

Democrats' Measure for Iraq Pullout in 2008 Nears Senate Vote; White House Threatens Veto — In the face of determined opposition from the Bush administration, the Senate on Wednesday began an impassioned debate over an exit strategy from Iraq, headed toward a vote on a Democratic resolution aimed …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Washington Post:
Democrats' Resolution on Iraq Reaches Senate Floor

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Russ Buettner / New York Times:

Hugo Chávez Is Tied to Giuliani Firm — Rudolph W. Giuliani's law firm has lobbied for years on behalf of an oil company controlled by the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, a strident critic of President Bush and American-style capitalism. — Bracewell & Giuliani …

Discussion: NY Daily News, The Gun Toting Liberal ™, PoliBlog (TM), Shakespeare's Sister and Daily Kos