memeorandum: GIULIANI'S BENCH, PART TWO (Deacon/Power Line)

8:50 PM ET, July 17, 2007

Top Items:

Brian Ross Reports / The Blotter:

Experts: Unclassified Report 'Pure Pablum,' Hides Truth — Brian Ross Reports: — Intelligence analysts and the former White House counterterror official describe as "pure pablum" the unclassified version of the National Intelligence Estimate released today on terror threats to the United States.

Discussion: New York Sun, Washington Monthly, Associated Press, bustardblog, The Carpetbagger Report, Macsmind, Riehl World View, Gateway Pundit and Little Green Footballs

Walter Pincus / Washington Post:

Intelligence Report Warns of al-Qaeda's Capabilities — Worldwide counterterror efforts have restrained Osama bin Laden's network from again attacking the United States, but al-Qaeda's capabilities to mount such an attack have been "protected or regenerated" partly by securing a safe haven …

Discussion: Salon, At-Largely and Prairie Weather

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:

The NIE and Iraq: What's Missing from this Picture? — Tons of intelligence reports exist about the windfall that the Iraq war has given to global Salafist jihad. The National Intelligence Council in 2005, for instance, called Iraq the new "breeding ground" for "professionalized" terror.

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Garlic and Prairie Weather

John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Senate GOP resurgent on Iraq

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Washington Post:
Exit Strategies

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Talking Points Memo, Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, Weekly Standard, Needlenose, IraqSlogger.com, Norwegianity, The Atlantic Online and TIME: Swampland

David Stout / New York Times: Report Cites Continued Qaeda Threat

Ed Henry / CNN: The bottom line on threat reports: Is America safer?

Joan Walsh / Salon:

The Salon Interview: Elizabeth Edwards — On her confrontation with Ann Coulter, why she backs gay marriage — and why Edwards is a better choice for women than Hillary Clinton. — Elizabeth Edwards listens to her husband speak at a campaign event in Concord, N.H., April 2, 2007.

Discussion: TIME: Swampland, New York Times, Althouse, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Brian Beutler, Political Radar, National Review and Brilliant at Breakfast

Salon:

The Salon Interview: Elizabeth Edwards — So in January 2009, what's the first thing John Edwards does to make life different for poor people in America? — Well, a lot of it is a legislative agenda that needs to pass, but some of it he can do right away.

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, TIME: Swampland, Ian Schwartz, UrbanGrounds, The Atlantic Online and TalkLeft

Bill Richardson / MSNBC:
Edwards agrees to smaller three-way debate

Discussion: Riehl World View and TIME

Klaus Marre / The Hill:

Wamp: Thompson is close to joining '08 race — Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) said Monday that he expects former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) to soon join the race for the White House. — "My view is that he'll enter the race at some point just in the coming days," said Wamp, a key supporter of Thompson.

Discussion: The Crone Speaks, California Conservative and Hot Air

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:

AP Poll: GOP pick is 'none of the above' — WASHINGTON - And the leading Republican presidential candidate is ... none of the above. — The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that nearly a quarter of Republicans are unwilling to back top-tier hopefuls Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson …

Discussion: MyDD, Dick Polman's American Debate, theneweditor.com, The Carpetbagger Report, All Spin Zone, CNN Political Ticker, Open Left, Donklephant, Vox Popoli, New Pairodimes, The Gun Toting Liberal™, The American Mind, The Right's Field, DownWithTyranny! and Democrats.com

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
Thompson announcement in Sept.?

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

CNN: McCain, Edwards slip in New Hampshire

Matt / Think Progress:

Novak: Women's 'venom' toward Bush is 'so vicious.' — Appearing on Hugh Hewitt's radio show yesterday, conservative pundit Robert Novak claimed that "women, particularly," are making our current political discourse more "vicious":

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Carpetbagger Report, Shakesville, Feministing, Kindly Póg Mo Thóin and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

hughhewitt.townhall.com:
Robert Novak on 50 years as the Prince of Darkness.

Discussion: Pandagon

Washington Times:

Bush office is anti-Muslim, group says — A Muslim civil rights group today blamed Bush administration policies for promoting "Islamophobia" and said the "war on terror" won't stop terrorists. — "The new perception is that the United States has entered a war with Islam itself," …

Discussion: Don Surber, Riehl World View, Power Line, Jihad Watch, Hot Air, Stop The ACLU and Little Green Footballs

Brian Ross Reports / The Blotter:

FBI: Iraqis Being Smuggled Across the Rio Grande — Brian Ross Reports: — The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, La Shawn Barber's Corner, View From a Height and Hot Air

James Thorner / St. Petersburg Times:

Cigarmakers in a panic … Eric Newman punches the numbers on his calculator and gapes at the results one more time. — It's no mathematical error: The federal government has proposed raising taxes on premium cigars, the kind Newman's family has been rolling for decades in Ybor City, by as much as 20,000 percent.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway and Wizbang

Matt / Think Progress:

Blogosphere Responds To O'Reilly's Baseless Attacks On The Netroots — Last night on The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly dedicated a segment to disingenuously attacking the upcoming YearlyKos convention, its namesake DailyKos, and one of the event's sponsors, JetBlue.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, News Bloggers, FRAMESHOP, Booman Tribune, The Carpetbagger Report, Riehl World View and Shakesville

Arnold Kling / TCS Daily:

Myths and Realities of the George Bush Presidency … Near the end of his shows, humorist Mort Sahl used to ask, "Is there anyone I haven't offended yet?" These days, I find myself asking the same question about President Bush. Economic libertarians gripe about high government spending.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The American Mind and EconLog

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

The Politico sewer — The Politico today is prominently touting on its front page another vapid, petty, and inane "news story" — the type of story which has, in just a few short months, become its hallmark: … Impressively, they followed up their Romney scoop with a hard-hitting …

Discussion: MSNBC, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic Online, Outside The Beltway, The Reaction, Sister Toldjah, The Iconic Midwest, The Carpetbagger Report, The Garlic, Wonkette, Boston Globe, DownWithTyranny!, The Bilerico Project, Taylor Marsh and Attytood

Mike Allen / The Politico:

A look inside the war rooms on the war — Leaders are instructing Democratic lawmakers to blitz their states with anti-Bush messages as the Senate gears up for an all-night debate on Iraq withdrawal, according to an internal memo provided to The Politico by a Democratic official.

Discussion: Redstate and Associated Press