memeorandum: Democrats Focused Their Fire on Bush (Eric Pianin/The Fix)

9:30 PM ET, April 26, 2007

Top Items:

Democrats Criticize Iraq in 1st Debate — ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidates criticized President Bush over the Iraq war Thursday night in the first debate of their campaign, and urged him to reconsider his threat to veto legislation to begin withdrawing U.S. troops.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

David Weigel / Reason Magazine:

Getting Pumped for the Mike Gravel Inaugural — The Democrats held their first all-presidential candidate debate tonight in South Carolina. I wasn't there, but an MSNBC web camera was, and it beamed the debate into the comfort of Reason HQ in DC. My impressions: — Joe Biden underperformed.

Discussion: MyDD and The Caucus

Eric Pianin / The Fix:

Democrats Focused Their Fire on Bush — The first Democratic presidential debate was largely a polite affair as the candidates chose to turn their rhetorical fire on President Bush rather than each other. The pointed moments were occasional and usually involved the two longest shots in the field …

Associated Press:
Expectations Game Precedes Debate

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, The Huffington Post, The State, Taegan Goddard's … and thetandd.com

Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Dems walk tightrope in S.C. on guns

Discussion: TIME, First Read and DonkeyRising

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

Timmeh's Tool Time Redux — Everyone has their favorite moment from the Bill Moyers documentary last night, this was mine: … After sitting in the Libby trial with jaw-dropping incredulity as Russert admitted he'd spilled his guts to the FBI when they first contacted him and then later refused …

Discussion: TalkLeft, cab drollery and Taylor Marsh

Brian Montopoli / Public Eye:

Knoller On What Bill Moyers Got Wrong — Last night, PBS aired "Buying The War," "a 90-minute documentary that explores the role of the press in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq." The program, which Tom Shales called "one of the most gripping and important pieces of broadcast journalism so far this year …

Discussion: Unqualified Offerings, WIMN's Voices, The Huffington Post, MaxSpeak, Firedoglake, Washington Post and Romenesko

Digby / Hullabaloo:

Why Didn't They Call Me? — A little highlight from the Moyers show — here's the King of the Kewl Kids going all Sergeant Shultz when asked to explain how he got used and discarded like a wet kleenex by Dick Cheney: … But lest you think that Russert is some sort of prima donna who waits for the phone to ring, he later said:

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Daily Howler, This Modern World and A Tiny Revolution

PBS:
APRIL 25, 2007: "Buying the War"

Discussion: The Huffington Post, WTF Is It Now??, A Tiny Revolution, Big Brass Blog and Rising Hegemon

David Sirota / WorkingForChange: Washington Reporters In Meltdown, Damage-Control Freak Out Mode

Rich Noyes / NewsBusters.org:

CNN's Ware: Troop Pullout Debate Is 'Delusional,' Would Hand Iraq to al Qaeda — Left-wing blogs loved it when CNN's Michael Ware rebuked Senator John McCain a few weeks ago, after McCain suggested he could safely walk through areas of Baghdad. But this morning on CNN …

Discussion: Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Ace of Spades HQ, TAPPED, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Donklephant, Liberty Street, The Right Angle and Confederate Yankee

Joe Lieberman / Washington Post:

One Choice in Iraq — Last week a series of coordinated suicide bombings killed more than 170 people. The victims were not soldiers or government officials but civilians — innocent men, women and children indiscriminately murdered on their way home from work and school.

Rasmussen Reports:
57% Favor Immediate Troop Withdrawal or Firm Deadline

Discussion: Eschaton, Riehl World View, Middle Earth Journal and Liberal Values

MSNBC:

Senate OKs Iraq bill with timetable for pullout — President Bush has vowed to veto $124 billion war funding legislation — April 26: NBC's Chip Reid reports on the Iraq war spending bill, which includes a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. — Today show — INTERACTIVE

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, NION, About U.S. Politics, On Deadline, The Carpetbagger Report, The Democratic Daily and Sister Toldjah

Cenk Uygur / The Huffington Post:
The September Compromise

Discussion: News Bloggers Blog and Crooks and Liars

David Espo / Associated Press: Congress Passes Iraq Bill, Veto Awaits

WSJ.com: Washington Wire: White House Warns of 'P.R. Stunt'

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Day By Day: Crossing A Line? — Today's panel of Day by Day uses blackface on Hillary Clinton to make a political point about her pandering to the African-American community by changing the cant and accent of her speech to sound more "black". Rick Moran of Right Wing Nut House criticized Chris Muir …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Heading Right

Michael van der Galien / The Moderate Voice: A Cartoon that Crosses the Line

Rickm / Heading Right:
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE CONTROVERSY WITH THAT COFFEE, ED?

Discussion: bRight & Early

Associated Press:

Iraqi Spokesman Criticizes Senate Vote — BAGHDAD (AP) - An Iraqi government spokesman criticized the U.S. Senate vote to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1. — "We see some negative signs in the decision because it sends wrong signals to some sides that might think of alternatives …

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere and Weasel Zippers

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Senate passes Iraq spending bill; Update: Iraqi spokesman criticizes — Just across on Fox News. On to the White House now for the promised veto, although that won't come until next week. Standby for the roll; it'll probably look almost exactly like this, the roll from the vote a few weeks ago …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Jawa Report, CNN Political Ticker, Flopping Aces, Dependable Renegade, Ace of Spades HQ and Wizbang

Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:

Baghdad's Fissures and Mistrust Keep Political Goals Out of Reach — U.S. military commanders say a key goal of the ongoing security offensive is to buy time for Iraq's leaders to reach political benchmarks that can unite its fractured coalition government and persuade insurgents to stop fighting.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Newshoggers and Needlenose

Dan Froomkin / White House Watch:
Keep Your Eye on the Benchmarks

Discussion: The Agonist, Shakesville, CorrenteWire, The Newshoggers and The Democratic Daily

CBS News:

Tenet: "Slam Dunk" Comment Misused — Ex-CIA Director Explains Phrase He Says Bush Administration Has Dishonorably Clung To — (CBS) Ex-CIA Director George Tenet says the way the Bush administration has used his now famous "slam dunk" comment — which he admits saying in reference to making …

Discussion: Political Animal

Paul Begala / The Huffington Post:

David Broder Is a Gasbag — One of the few regrets I have in life is that I allowed Ann Devroy of the Washington Post to talk me into apologizing for calling David Broder "a gasbag" in 1995. My admiration for Devroy trumped my contempt for Broder. Ann, sadly, is gone, but Broder remains.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, The Newshoggers, Think Progress, Washington Post, AMERICAblog, Jules Crittenden, My Left Wing, The Carpetbagger Report, TalkLeft, Talking Points Memo, Unfogged and Middle Earth Journal

Jihad Unspun:

Islamic State Of Iraq: The Cross Worshippers And Their Henchmen Plans Have Collapsed — The Islamic State of Iraq has issued a statement that speaks to the utter collapse of America's so-called "new security plan" and the upheaval that is taking place in the US Congress over how to extract itself from the Iraqi quagmire.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and Hyscience

Tom Tomorrow / The Huffington Post:

What They Said — I was planning to mark the fourth anniversary of the start of the war by looking back at some of the more remarkable statements pundits made at the time. But I'm a weekly cartoonist, and this month I just had too many other ideas clamoring for my limited space …

Discussion: The Mahablog, Lean Left and The Left End of the Dial v2.0

Bob Geiger:

Senate Passes Emergency Supplemental Bill — Just moments ago, the Senate followed the lead of the House of Representatives by passing the $124 billion supplemental spending bill containing a provision that mandates a withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by this time next year.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, MyDD, Booman Tribune, Captain's Quarters, The Mahablog and Cliff Schecter