memeorandum: The president strikes the right balance (Paul Mirengoff/News Bloggers Blog)

10:55 PM ET, March 23, 2007

Top Items:

President Bush Discusses Iraq War Emergency Supplemental — THE PRESIDENT: Today I'm joined here at the White House by veterans, family members of people serving in combat, family members of those who have sacrificed. I am honored that they have joined me here today.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Taylor Marsh, Sister Toldjah, Power Line, Blogs for Bush, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, alphabet city and First Draft

CNN:

House passes spending bill with Iraq deadline … WASHINGTON (CNN) — The House of Representatives on Friday voted 218-212 to approve a spending bill that includes a firm deadline — August 31, 2008 — for combat troops to leave Iraq. — President Bush, who already has said he would veto the bill …

Discussion: Democratic Underground, The Moderate Voice, Liberal Values, QandO, Macsmind, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, The Reaction and Left in the West

Anne Flaherty / Associated Press:

House OKs Timetable for Troops in Iraq — WASHINGTON (AP) - A sharply divided House voted Friday to order President Bush to bring combat troops home from Iraq next year, a victory for Democrats in an epic war-powers struggle and Congress' boldest challenge yet to the administration's policy.

Discussion: Don Surber, Austin Bay Blog, Facing South, Taylor Marsh, Roger L. Simon, Wake up America, Wizbang, PoliPundit.com and Clayton Cramer's BLOG

William Branigin / Washington Post:

House OKs Timetable for Troops in Iraq — $124B Emergency Bill Sets Binding Benchmarks for Progress in Iraq — The House of Representatives today passed a $124 billion emergency spending bill that sets binding benchmarks for progress in Iraq, establishes tough readiness standards …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Booman Tribune, Obsidian Wings, INTEL DUMP, TalkLeft, The Strata-Sphere and Reason Magazine

MSNBC:

House approves 2008 deadline for war pullout — Bush calls it 'political theater' and vows to veto bill — WASHINGTON - A sharply divided House voted Friday to order President Bush to bring combat troops home from Iraq next year, but the president reiterated his vow to veto the bill …

Discussion: Oliver Willis and Hoffmania!

Anne Flaherty / Associated Press:

House Dems more confident on Iraq vote — WASHINGTON - House Democrats are increasingly confident they have the votes to pass legislation designed to force an end to the war in Iraq next year. — Several party members dropped their opposition to the bill following days of wrangling within a deeply divided caucus.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Donklephant, Skeptical Brotha, Little Green Footballs and TIME: Swampland

New York Times:
House Narrowly Backs Iraq Timetable

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Firedoglake and My Left Wing

John W. Dean / FindLaw's Writ:

New Developments in the U.S. Attorney Controversy: — Why Bush Refuses to Allow Karl Rove and Harriet Miers to Testify Before Congress, and What Role New White House Counsel Fred Fielding May Play — At the outset of this column — which discusses Bush's new White House Counsel …

Discussion: Firedoglake, DownWithTyranny!, CorrenteWire, The Impolitic and At-Largely

Beth Nolan / Washington Post:

Executive Overreach — The White House Is Taking Privilege Too Far — The Framers of our Constitution envisioned that in the exercise of their authorities, the two political branches would assert their prerogatives against each other. A process of negotiation and accommodation between the branches is what one would expect.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Power Line, The Impolitic and ACSBlog

Joe Conason / Salon:
Rove, proven liar

Discussion: Think Progress, White House, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, White House Watch and The Carpetbagger Report

Digby / Hullabaloo:
All Scandals Are Not Created Equal

Discussion: Grasping Reality … and Talking Points Memo

Paul Mirengoff / News Bloggers Blog: The president strikes the right balance

MSNBC:

Documents: Gonzales OK'd firing attorneys — Attorney general had been said not to have been closely involved — Politicians in both major parties have called for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation amid the furor over the firings of U.S. attorneys.

Discussion: The Next Hurrah, The Daily Background, Macsmind, At-Largely, Hoffmania! and The Hill

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker: Gonzales Aide to Senate Staff: Nothing to See Here

Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:

White House Spokesman to Undergo Surgery — WASHINGTON (AP) - Presidential spokesman Tony Snow is undergoing surgery Monday to remove a growth in his lower abdomen, a procedure he said was being done "out of an aggressive sense of caution" because he had colon cancer two years ago.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Captain's Quarters, shotinthedark.info/wp …, The Corner, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Wonkette

Real Cities:

Justice's new U.S. attorneys have partisan records — WASHINGTON - Under President Bush, the Justice Department has backed tougher state voter identification laws and steered U.S. attorneys toward investigating voter fraud _ policies that critics say have been intended to suppress Democratic votes.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and DownWithTyranny!

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Unnecessary Scandal

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, TPMCafe blogs, Captain's Quarters, The Strata-Sphere and Sadly, No!

Pew Research Center:

Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007 — Political Landscape More Favorable To Democrats — Summary of Findings — View the complete report in pdf format — Increased public support for the social safety net, signs of growing public concern about income inequality …

Discussion: Pollster, MyDD, The Carpetbagger Report, DownWithTyranny!, Just a Bump in the Beltway and Middle Earth Journal

Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
THE MYTH OF THE PERMANENT MAJORITY....The Pew survey I linked …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and All Spin Zone

MSNBC:

U.K. says 15 soldiers detained by Iranian navy — Ministry summons Iranian ambassador, seeks immediate return of troops — The HMS Cornwall on patrol in the North Arabian Gulf earlier this month. — NBC VIDEO — March 23: Fifteen British sailors have been detained by Iranian vessels.

Discussion: The Washington Note, The Reaction, alphabet city and NewsHog

Robert Barr / Associated Press:
Iran nabs British sailors in Iraq waters

Discussion: Guardian, Sky News, New York Times, The Jawa Report, Counterterrorism Blog, The Strata-Sphere, GINA COBB, Scotsman, NO QUARTER, Gateway Pundit, Atlas Shrugs, Riehl World View, Jules Crittenden, TigerHawk and Blue Crab Boulevard

Mary Katharine Ham / Townhall.com:

HamNation: Better Living Through Lefty Activism — Today, an instructional video on how to love the earth the lefty way. You know, through high-volume carbon offsets and killing polar bears. And, what with Gore in town refusing to take any binding Earth-saving pledges, it's a good week for this lesson.

Discussion: Op For, protein wisdom and Right Wing News

Rasmussen Reports:

Thompson Tied with Clinton, Trails Obama — Fred Thompson, a movie star turned U.S. Senator turned TV star, has been publicly considering entering the 2008 Presidential Sweepstakes to fill what some see as a void in the Republican Primary field. — The first Rasmussen Reports national …

Discussion: Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Reason Magazine and Taegan Goddard's …

Peter Beinart / Time:

Why the Dems Should Go for It — Since the Democrats won control of Congress last fall, they've been besieged with warnings against acting too aggressively on Iraq. Such "moves carry clear risks for a party that suffered politically for pushing to end an unpopular war in Vietnam," suggested the Washington Post in January.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, The Corner, Multi Medium and TAPPED