memeorandum: The Pottery Barn Deception (Cernig/The Newshoggers)

8:10 PM ET, May 24, 2007

Top Items:

POLL SHOWS OPPOSITION TO IRAQ WAR AT ALL TIME HIGH — Americans now view the war in Iraq more negatively than at any time since the war began, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. — Six in 10 Americans say the United States should have stayed out of Iraq and more than three …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Sirotablog, DownWithTyranny!, Prairie Weather, Taylor Marsh and Pollster.com

CBS News:

CBS Poll: 76% Say War's Going Badly — Record Number In CBS/NYT Survey Say Getting Involved In Iraq Was A Mistake — (CBS) As President Bush and Congress hammer out an Iraq war funding bill, a CBS News/New York Times poll shows the number of Americans who say the war is going badly has reached a new high …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Taegan Goddard's …, The Democratic Daily and TalkLeft

Greg Sargent / Election Central:

Dem Leadership: If We'd Confronted Bush On Iraq, White House Would Have Criticized Us — With the House set to vote on the no-timelines Iraq War funding bill later today, The New York Times provides a glimpse into the thinking among top Dems that led to the current proposal: … Oooooooooooooo, scary!

Discussion: First Draft, The Carpetbagger Report, Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Matt Stoller / MyDD:

The Capitulation Bill: "Obviously it's a good move" — The crazy thing about the fight is that Democratic insiders are convinced that capitulation is the right strategy. They actually believe that this will put pressure on the Republicans in the fall, and that standing up to Bush is a bad idea.

Discussion: The Politico, The Hill, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Huffington Post, Interesting Times, Taylor Marsh, Whiskey Fire, Shakesville, Balloon Juice and Left in the West

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

News Analysis: On War Funds, Democrats Saw No Option but to Cede Ground to Bush — Congressional contortions over the Iraq spending bill could end up with most House Democrats momentarily occupying the position they were so desperate to vacate: the minority.

Discussion: MyDD, JustOneMinute, The Politico, Shakesville, Jules Crittenden and MSNBC

Susan Ferrechio / CQ.com:

Democrats Set Stage for Next War Debate — Before deciding to blink in the long standoff over war spending and troop withdrawal, House Democrats convinced themselves President Bush is scoring only a short-term victory. — The House is expected to send to the Senate late Thursday …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Left in the West, AMERICAblog and TalkLeft

Faiz / Think Progress:
Feingold: 'This Is No Time To Back Off'

Discussion: Firedoglake and BobGeiger.com

Sara Just / Political Radar:

Bush In Line of Fire — ABC's Ann Compton reports: An outdoor news conference in perfect spring weather, with birds chirping loudly in the magnolia trees, is not without its hazards. — As President Bush took a question Thursday in the White House Rose Garden about scandals involving his Attorney General …

Discussion: On Deadline, Hotline On Call, mediabistro.com, MSNBC and The Impolitic

Think Progress:

Sen. Whitehouse: Gonzales May Be Guilty Of Obstruction Of Justice — The Senate's no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will be held in mid-June, Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) announced today.

Discussion: Shakesville, PERRspectives Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, Capitol Briefing, Salon, The Blue State and Faithful Progressive

Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Senate Sets Mid-June Vote on Gonzales

Discussion: bustardblog and Think Progress

CNN:
Bush warns heavy Iraq fighting ahead

Discussion: CBS News, ImmigrationProf Blog and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Today's Must Read

Discussion: Slate, Firedoglake, Comments From Left Field and Norwegianity

Rose Garden / White House:

Press Conference by the President — THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Thank you, all. Good morning. — Today, Congress will vote on legislation that provides our troops with the funds they need. It makes clear that our Iraqi partners must demonstrate progress on security and reconciliation.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, The Carpetbagger Report, Eschaton, First Draft, CFR.org, Wizbang and Truthdig

Huffington Post:
President To Reporter: "They Are A Threat To Your Children, David"

Discussion: First Draft

Rick Perlstein / Campaign for America's Future blogs:
Our president's press conference

Discussion: Hullabaloo, HorsesAss.Org and INSTAPUTZ

Dale Franks / QandO:

QUESTIONS FOR OUR LIBERAL FRIENDS — Bruce is a big boy, and certainly doesn't need me to help him out, but let's talk about Iraq for a moment. Because I have questions for people like Oliver Willis to which I'm curious to hear the answers. And I'm not asking in a snarky way. I'm honestly interested.

Discussion: Riehl World View, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and The Glittering Eye

Oliver Willis:
AN ANSWER TO OUR CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS

Discussion: The Impolitic, JustOneMinute and Shakesville

Cernig / The Newshoggers:
The Pottery Barn Deception

Discussion: Associated Press

Steve Clemons / The Washington Note:

Cheney Attempting to Constrain Bush's Choices on Iran Conflict: Staff Engaged in Insubordination Against President Bush — There is a race currently underway between different flanks of the administration to determine the future course of US-Iran policy. — On one flank are the diplomats …

Discussion: Guardian, The Huffington Post, Reuters, The Newshoggers, The Next Hurrah, CANNONFIRE, Confederate Yankee, Hot Air, Booman Tribune and Middle Earth Journal

The Smoking Gun:

Torture, Al-Qaeda Style — Drawings, tools seized from Iraq safe house in U.S. military raid — In a recent raid on an al-Qaeda safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like "blowtorch to the skin" and "eye removal."

Discussion: The Jawa Report, No More Mister Nice Blog, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Iowa Voice and Hot Air

George F. Will / Washington Post:

A Bill That Earned Its Doubters — Compromise is incessantly praised, and it has produced the proposed immigration legislation. But compromise is the mother of complexity, which, regarding immigration, virtually guarantees — as the public understands — weak enforcement and noncompliance.

Discussion: Donklephant, Hot Air, The Jawa Report, Maggie's Farm and National Review

Opinion Journal:
Immigration and Welfare — Most of them will pay at least as much as they collect.

Discussion: Washington Times, ImmigrationProf Blog and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

Mark Halperin / Time:

Has Fred Thompson Found His Role? — As former Republican Senator Fred Thompson ponders a late entry into the 2008 presidential race, the actor's biggest advantage just might be that people feel they already know exactly what he would be like as Commander in Chief.

Discussion: Bob Krumm

Frank Newport / Gallup Poll:
Despite Campaign, Familiarity With Candidates Has Not Changed Substantially

Discussion: Outside The Beltway

Howard Fineman / Newsweek:

Fineman: McCain and the upside of anger — McCain's outbursts are the understandable byproduct of a candidate whose courage is constantly tested by bad luck. — The nasty words are flying between the camps. By now, political junkies know how it escalated.

Discussion: Ezra Klein, The Atlantic Online, Outside The Beltway and The Gun Toting Liberal™

Susan Bell / Scotsman:

Raid on spy's home 'reveals details of Chirac's secret £30m bank account' — LONG-STANDING rumours that the former French president Jacques Chirac holds a secret multi-million-euro bank account in Japan appear to have been confirmed by files seized from the home of a senior spy.

Discussion: Betsy's Page and The Moderate Voice