memeorandum: Thompson on Horseback — It's a shame that Fred Thompson … (Richard Cohen/Washington Post)

2:40 PM ET, July 31, 2007

Top Items:

Public Confidence in Presidential Hopefuls on Key 2008 Election Issues — No candidate has a clear edge on Iraq — PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Panel survey finds each of the five best-known 2008 presidential candidates scoring similarly in ratings of public confidence in their ability …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Wake up America, Pollster.com, Donklephant, The Swamp, eyeon08.com and Mouth of the Potomac

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:

Thompson on Horseback — It's a shame that Fred Thompson is too young to have played Matt Dillon, the no-nonsense marshal of Dodge City in the long-running radio and television series "Gunsmoke." That role on the radio went to William Conrad (later TV's "Cannon") and on television to James Arness.

Discussion: Riehl World View, MSNBC and SayUncle

New York Magazine: Giuliani Backs Hillary — and He Matches

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Approaching Ames — The Ames Straw poll is now just days away.

Discussion: CNN, TIME and Iowa Voice

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
New Polls: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina

Discussion: GregsOpinion.com

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:

Short of Perjury — I find myself in an unaccustomed and unexpected position: defending Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. — Gonzales fans, if there are Gonzales fans left, except for the only fan who counts: Don't take any comfort from my assessment. — In his Senate testimony last week …

Discussion: Power Line, The Carpetbagger Report, The Hill, The Volokh Conspiracy, PrairiePundit, TPMCafe blogs, The Atlantic Online, The Sideshow, Captain's Quarters, The Anonymous Liberal, Opinion Journal, TIME: Swampland and MSNBC

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Snow: Letter on Gonzales Testimony Coming Later

Discussion: Washington Post

CNN: Committee wants details of NSA data-mining

Anchorage Daily News:

Warrant served at Ted Stevens' Girdwood home — FBI, IRS examine residence; remodeling job under scrutiny — Federal law enforcement agents raided U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' Alaska home in Girdwood on Monday, hauling off undisclosed items from inside and taking extensive pictures and video.

Discussion: Sunlight Foundation blogs, TPMmuckraker, Associated Press, Reuters, Don Surber, New York Times, Taegan Goddard's …, DownWithTyranny! and Democratic National Committee

Dan Eggen Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Alaska Senator's Home Is Raided

CNBC.com:

CNBC's Faber: News Corp. to Succeed In Buying Dow Jones — Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will succeed in its months-long effort to acquire Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, CNBC's David Faber reported. — A definitive agreement is expected as early as tonight, Faber said, citing people familiar with the situation.

Discussion: Macsmind

New York Times:

Murdoch Seen to Win Control of Dow Jones — Rupert Murdoch appeared today to have gained enough support from the deeply divided Bancroft family to buy Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, for $5 billion. — Family members and trusts representing about 32 percent …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Moderate Voice and On Deadline

Matt / Think Progress:

Cheney Says He Is A 'Unique Creature,' Refuses To Say He Is Part Of Executive Branch — In June, House investigators revealed that Vice President Dick Cheney had exempted his office from an executive order order designed to safeguard classified national security information by claiming …

Discussion: Iowa Voice, PoliBlog (TM), Truthdig, Connecting.the.Dots, digg and Booman Tribune

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Dick 'Fourth Branch' Cheney strikes again

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister and Crooks and Liars

Guardian:

British army ends Ulster operation — Matthew Weaver and agencies — The British army's longest continuous military operation comes to an end at midnight tonight when responsibility for security in Northern Ireland passes to the police. — Operation Banner lasted 38 years …

Shaun Mullen / The Moderate Voice:
Northern Ireland: End of an Error

Discussion: Maggie's Farm

hughhewitt.townhall.com:

New York Times Pulitzer Prize winner John Burns on Iraq, Iran and how the surge is working. — The Hugh Hewitt Show — HH: Pleased to welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show John Burns of the New York Times. Mr. Burns, welcome, it's been about six months since we spoke, and I gather you're in Baghdad today?

Discussion: Commentary, QandO, PrairiePundit, Macsmind, Taylor Marsh and TIME: Swampland

John Aravosis / AMERICAblog:

BREAKING... Home Depot dumps O'Reilly: "We will not... advertise on the Bill O'Reilly show" — Home Depot seems to have had a change of heart. They're now unequivocally telling their customers that they will not advertise on Bill O'Reilly's show. Oddly, however, they're now also claiming …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh and The Democratic Daily

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Hillary on needle exchange: "As much spine as we possibly can" — There are few differences between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on details of domestic policy, but previously unreported exchanges at recent New York meetings revealed one. Obama favors federal funding …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Associated Press, National Review, Spectator and The Carpetbagger Report

John Tierney / New York Times:

The Whys of Mating: 237 Reasons and Counting — Scholars in antiquity began counting the ways that humans have sex, but they weren't so diligent in cataloging the reasons humans wanted to get into all those positions. Darwin and his successors offered a few explanations of mating strategies …

Discussion: Althouse, In The Pink Texas, Amygdala and Prairie Weather

Michael Yon:

Bread and a Circus, Part I of II — [Note: Before we begin, a huge congratulations to Iraq for winning the Asian Cup in soccer. As an American, I felt a sense of jubilation when Iraq took the title. I have temporarily left Iraq, for my only "break" this year, and am in Singapore.

Discussion: Townhall.com and PrairiePundit

Susan Crabtree / The Hill:

Hearing with DNI chief canceled amid FISA furor — House Democrats canceled Tuesday's planned hearing with Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, prompting a rebuke from Republicans who want Congress to proceed quickly on updating a key surveillance law.

Discussion: ACLU, Threat Level, TalkLeft and Don Surber

Nicholas Wapshott / New York Sun:

Brown Disappoints Critics of Iraq War — Britain's new prime minister, Gordon Brown, has disappointed American and British critics of the war in Iraq by declaring that he believes the West is involved in a "generation-long battle" against radical Islamic terrorism, that he believes …

Discussion: TigerHawk

Lindsay Fortado / Bloomberg:

Kenneth Starr's Law Firm Gives More Money to Clinton — Lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm that's home to Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr and Bush administration official Jay Lefkowitz, have given more to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign than to all of the top Republican candidates combined.

Discussion: New York Times, Wonkette and MSNBC