memeorandum: Best of the Web (James Taranto/Opinion Journal)

2:23 AM ET, July 25, 2007

Top Items:

Gonzo on the Hill: A Comedic Tragedy — Forget about the politicization of the Justice Department. Forget about the falling morale there. Forget about the rise in violent crime in some of our biggest cities. Forget about the events leading up to the U.S. Attorney scandal and the way he has handled the prosecutor purge since.

Discussion: Power Line, Middle Earth Journal, Mad Kane's Political Madness, TBogg, The Heretik and Sadly, No!

David Stout / New York Times:

Gonzales Denies Any Attempt to Pressure Ashcroft — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales denied today that he tried as White House counsel in March 2004 to influence then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was hospitalized and semi-alert after undergoing gall bladder surgery.

Discussion: The Politico, CNN Political Ticker, AMERICAblog, ePluribus Media Community, ABCNEWS, CNN, Comments From Left Field, Shakespeare's Sister, Macsmind and TalkLeft

Washington Post:

Gonzales, Senators Spar on Credibility — Account of Meeting In '04 Is Challenged — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified yesterday that top congressional leaders from both parties agreed in March 2004 to continue a classified surveillance activity that Justice Department officials …

Discussion: Think Progress, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, DownWithTyranny!, Cliff Schecter, New Pairodimes and Brian Beutler

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
Daschle: Gonzales Trying to "Rewrite History" …

Discussion: New Pairodimes and Daily Kos

Think Progress:
Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Gun Toting Liberal™, The Carpetbagger Report, The Anonymous Liberal, Taylor Marsh, Comments From Left Field, The Sideshow and WTF Is It Now??

TPMmuckraker:
Senators Signal Gonzales Perjury Inquiry over Spying Testimony

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Democrats.com

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
Pelosi: I Objected to Spying When Comey Did

Discussion: Think Progress

Spencer Ackerman / TPMmuckraker:
Gonzales: I Only Visited Ashcroft's Hospital Bed Because Congress Wanted It

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Crooks and Liars

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Depends On What The Definition Of Program Is

Discussion: Firedoglake and Norwegianity

Rick Klein / ABCNEWS:

Clinton: Obama 'Irresponsible and Naive' — Democratic Front-Runners Tangle After Monday Night's Debate — Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said today that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, made comments that were "irresponsible and frankly naive" …

Discussion: The Politico, New York Times, The Atlantic Online, Weekly Standard, LiberalOasis, Booman Tribune, The Nation, Taylor Marsh, QandO, Pajamas Media and Liberal Values

Ed Tibbetts / Quad City Times:

Clinton takes Obama to task over statements — TODAY: (Updated 12:25 p.m.) Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton today called rival Barack Obama's statement that he would meet with the leaders of several countries antagonistic to the United States "irresponsible" and "naive."

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, National Review, The Nation, Eschaton, Liberal Values, Comments From Left Field, MSNBC and Political Punch

Tom Raum / Associated Press:
Obama Debate Comments Set Off Firestorm

Discussion: Roger L. Simon

Berny Morson / Rocky Mountain News:

CU regents fire Ward Churchill — BOULDER — The University of Colorado's Board of Regents today fired professor Ward Churchill, 2 1/2 years after his comments about the victims of the 9/11 attacks sparked a firestorm. — The regents, in an 8-1 vote, said Churchill committed academic misconduct.

Discussion: TheDenverChannel.com, michellemalkin.com, Fox News, Denver Post, Slapstick Politics, PirateBallerina, Daily Camera, Associated Press, iowahawk, KUSA-TV, Kesher Talk, Blue Crab Boulevard, QandO and UrbanGrounds

Jeffrey Wolf / KUSA-TV:

Regents vote to fire Churchill — and Nicole Vap , Executive Producer Investigative — BOULDER - The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted to terminate controversial professor Ward Churchill on Tuesday evening. — The Board of Regents passed a motion to accept the recommendation …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Associated Press, PirateBallerina, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Daily Camera, Hot Air, Blogs of War and Althouse

Jgm / The Drunkablog:
Regents Meet, Part 1

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

zombietime:

Topless Protest by Breasts Not Bombs and Code Pink at Hillary Clinton Campaign Launch Party — The Hillary Clinton for President Campaign celebrated the opening of its new San Francisco headquarters with a launch party that coincided with the Democratic presidential debate on July 23, 2007.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, michellemalkin.com, Jules Crittenden and AMERICAN DIGEST

Hindrocket / Power Line: IT'S BAD TO BE CRAZY. ISN'T IT?

Michael J. Totten:

In the Wake of the Surge — BAGHDAD - 82nd Airborne's Lieutenant William H. Lord from Foxborough, Massachusetts, prepared his company for a dismounted foot patrol in the Graya'at neighborhood of Northern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiyah.

Discussion: Instapundit.com, Blue Crab Boulevard, Done With Mirrors, Hot Air and small dead animals

Brian Knowlton / New York Times:

Bush Insists Al Qaeda in Iraq Threatens U.S. — President George W. Bush argued forcefully today that an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq is linked tightly to the central Al Qaeda leadership, and that for American forces to leave Iraq without defeating the terror group would be "dangerous for the world and disastrous for America."

Discussion: Comments From Left Field, Connecting.the.Dots and Cliff Schecter

White House:
President Bush Discusses War on Terror in South Carolina

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Think Progress, On Deadline and First Draft

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Collamore out as Thompson manager — Tom Collamore, the former Altria lobbyist who had been running Fred Thompson's campaign, has resigned and will be replaced by Randy Enwright. Enwright is a Florida political hand with ties to former Gov. Jeb Bush. Also coming on board in a leadership capacity …

Discussion: The Corner, Comments From Left Field, Right Wing Nut House and Hullabaloo

Libby Quaid / Associated Press:
Thompson Shakes Up Staff

Discussion: The Politico, The Atlantic Online and MSNBC

New York Times:

Fourth Democratic Debate — The eight candidates vying to be the Democratic nominee for president in the 2008 elections answered questions submitted by CNN and YouTube users in a debate. Participants: Senator Joseph Biden, Jr. (D-De); Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.); Senator Christopher Dodd …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Liberal Values, Media Blog, CNN and The American Street

The Trail:

Poll: GOP Likes Giuliani's Electability — With many Republicans increasingly pessimistic about holding the White House in 2008, electability has become former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani's most appealing attribute. — A new Washington Post-ABC News poll of the Republican field shows Giuliani …

Discussion: Comments From Left Field

BBC:

Listen to this programme in full — Document uncovers details of a planned coup in the USA in 1933 by right-wing American businessmen — The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve …

Discussion: News Bloggers, The Democratic Daily, ePluribus Media Community and At-Largely