memeorandum: Analysis: Obama talks tough on terror (Nedra Pickler/Associated Press)

4:35 PM ET, August 1, 2007

Top Items:

Obama might send troops into Pakistan — WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would possibly send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists, an attempt to show strength when his chief rival has described his foreign policy skills as naive.

Obama'08:

Remarks of Senator Obama: The War We Need to Win — Thank you Lee, for hosting me here at the Wilson Center, and for your leadership of both the 9/11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group. You have been a steady voice of reason in an unsteady time. — Let me also say that my thoughts …

Discussion: The Corner, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly, AMERICAblog, Weekly Standard, rubber hose, democracyarsenal.org, Open Left, Flopping Aces, TIME: Swampland and National Review

ABCNEWS:

Obama to Deliver Bold Speech About War on Terror — Presidential Candidate to Push Aggressive Stance Toward Pakistan — In a strikingly bold speech about terrorism scheduled for this morning, Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Sen. Barack Obama will call not only for a withdrawal …

Discussion: Spectator, TalkLeft, D-Day, QandO, CNN Political Ticker, Right Wing Nut House, Don Surber, Wake up America, The Carpetbagger Report, Oliver Willis and Taylor Marsh

Michelle Malkin:

Barack Obama: Macho man — Scroll down for updates...Via Obama's website, here are the full prepared remarks of his Macho Speech...you'll be able to watch the speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center here. — Looks like the laughingstock Democrat presidential candidates have been eating their Wheaties.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Sister Toldjah, MyDD, TBogg, The Democratic Daily, Volunteer Opinion Journal, Iowa Voice, JammieWearingFool and Babalu Blog

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Obama's speech: No mention of "war on terror" — Barack Obama was among those raising his hands in a recent debate to indicate that he believes there is a "war on terror," but his speech today — and read the whole thing — marks a really sharp departure from policies past …

Discussion: democracyarsenal.org, The Atlantic Online and Air America Radio

Stephen Collinson / Agence France Presse:
Obama issues Pakistan terror warning

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Associated Press:

Sunni Arab bloc quits Iraqi government — BAGHDAD - Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political bloc announced its withdrawal from the government Wednesday, undermining Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts to seek reconciliation among the country's rival factions.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, democracyarsenal.org, Middle Earth Journal, Brian Beutler and On Deadline

New York Times:
Violence Rages in Iraq as Sunni Bloc Leaves Cabinet

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Abu Aardvark:
Sunni bloc withdrawal

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly, The Carpetbagger Report and Shakespeare's Sister

Andrew Roth / Club for Growth:

1,028 Economists Oppose Protectionist Policies — In 1930, Congress passed and President Hoover signed into law the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. At the time, this protectionist measure was vigorously opposed by 1,028 of the nation's top economists. They rightly predicted the tariffs would devastate the economy.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, MaxSpeak and Grasping Reality …

Peter S. Goodman / Washington Post:
This Time, Bill to Raise Yuan Might Pass

Discussion: Marginal Revolution, Redstate and EconLog

Wall Street Journal:

Murdoch Wins His Bid for Dow Jones — Bancroft Family Agrees — To $5 Billion Offer — After Deal on Fees — A New Owner for Journal — A century of Bancroft-family ownership at Dow Jones & Co. is over. — Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. sealed a $5 billion agreement to purchase …

Discussion: Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, Booman Tribune, New York Magazine, The Democratic Daily, paidContent.org, mediabistro.com, TVNewser and Outside The Beltway

L. Gordon Crovitz / Opinion Journal:
A Report to Our Readers — The same standards of accuracy …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard

Mark Thoma / Economist's View:

Robert Samuelson's Three Beliefs — Someone said that Robert Samuelson thinks three things are true, deficits are bad, there's a demographic crisis coming, and both parties share the blame for any problem. Based upon these beliefs, he's been writing the same column in one form or another for many years.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Brendan Nyhan and EconLog

Robert J. Samuelson / Washington Post:
Making the Think Tanks Think — Just in case you haven't noticed …

Discussion: Cato-at-liberty, Bluey Blog and Blue Crab Boulevard

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Spectators At The Genocide — The UN will finally intervene in Darfur, thanks to a unanimous Security Council vote last night, but it will have a restricted mandate that will essentially do nothing. Up to 26,000 troops, primarily African, will deploy to Sudan over the next several months under …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Heading Right and PrairiePundit

Colum Lynch / Washington Post:
U.N. Authorizes 26,000 Peacekeeping Troops for Darfur

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and The Debate Link

Marc Santora / New York Times:

Giuliani Seeks to Transform U.S. Health Care Coverage — Rudolph W. Giuliani on Tuesday called for transforming the way health care coverage is provided in the United States, advocating a voluntary move from the current employer-based system to one that would grant substantial tax benefits to people who buy their own insurance.

Discussion: The Hill, The Carpetbagger Report, TIME, DownWithTyranny!, Donklephant, Left in the West, MSNBC, Liberal Values and Redstate

Washington Post:

U.S. Attorney Became Target After Rebuffing Justice Dept. — The night before the government secured a guilty plea from the manufacturer of the addictive painkiller OxyContin, a senior Justice Department official called the U.S. attorney handling the case and, at the behest of an executive for the drugmaker …

Discussion: At-Largely, Debsweb, D-Day, TPMmuckraker, The Carpetbagger Report, PoliBlog (TM) and Attytood

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Mayor Takes the Subway — by Way of S.U.V. — He is public transportation's loudest cheerleader, boasting that he takes the subway "virtually every day." He has told residents who complain about overcrowded trains to "get real" and he constantly encourages New Yorkers to follow his environmentally friendly example.

Discussion: MSNBC, New York Magazine, Hot Air and Gawker

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

Gordon Brown for president — Effective today, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is the leader of the free world and the voice of hope and change that offers the first true answer of freedom to the heinous crimes of Sept. 11, 2001. — In his brilliant and comprehensive comments at Camp David …

Discussion: The Newshoggers

Michelle Malkin:

South Korean Christian hostage crisis: Rescue attempt reported... "The operation has started"...Refuted? Update: Reuters withdraws rescue report Update: More conflicting reports Update: 1:30pm Eastern...The final deadline? — Here's the latest video report of a reported rescue operation …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, NewsBusters.org, OneFreeKorea, A Blog For All, Macsmind, PrairiePundit, Hot Air, INSTAPUTZ and The Jawa Report

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:

The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department Knew — On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing to examine what senior Defense Department officials knew …

Discussion: The Gavel, Firedoglake, The Raw Story, TalkLeft, TIME, D-Day, Blue Crab Boulevard and Danger Room

Zogby:

UPI/Zogby Poll: 54% Lack Confidence in Bush's Ability As Commander in Chief — Survey shows just 3% of Americans approve of how Congress is handling the war in Iraq; 24% say the same for the President — A majority of American adults (54%) lack confidence in President Bush's ability …

Discussion: Thought Theater and Wake up America