memeorandum: Congress Approval Rises Slightly to 24% (Lydia Saad/Gallup Poll)

7:05 PM ET, September 20, 2007

Top Items:

Reso Condemning MoveOn Passes Overwhelmingly, With Lots Of Dems — The GOP-introduced resolution condemning MoveOn just passed by a huge margin, 72-25. Roughly half the Democrats in the Senate supported it. — A couple of the more interesting votes: Jim Webb, who just yesterday was a Netroots hero …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Daily Kos, commonsense.ourfuture.org, Taylor Marsh, WorkingForChange, Wake up America and Open Left

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

25 Senate Democrats Support "Betray Us", Including Hillary — The Senate passed the Jon Cornyn amendment condemning the MoveOn.org ad that called General David Petraeus a liar and potential traitor, 72-25. All 25 Senators who voted in support of these smears against an American military commander …

Discussion: Capitol Briefing, Weekly Standard, The Huffington Post, The Swamp, Think Progress, Mitt Romney For President News, Infidels Are Cool, Done With Mirrors, Blue Crab Boulevard and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Michael Kinsley / Time:

How Dare You! — Goodness gracious. oh, my paws and whiskers. Some of the meanest, most ornery hombres around are suddenly feeling faint. Notorious tough guys are swooning with the vapors. The biggest beasts in the barnyard are all aflutter over something they read in the New York Times.

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister, Stop The ACLU, NewsBusters.org and Middle Earth Journal

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Obama opts out — The empty, symbolic fight over the MoveOn ad also appears to be testing something that was, from the beginning, a central question in the primary: Do Democrats want somebody who will be above partisan fighting (Obama), or do they want a partisan fighter (Clinton)?

Discussion: The Huffington Post, QandO, Open Left, The Carpetbagger Report and MyDD

Paul Begala / The Huffington Post:

Democrats Should Attack Bush, Not MoveOn — Before a single Democrat condemns MoveOn's ad, they should insist that George W. Bush and the Republican Party repudiate the anti-military smears on war heroes that have been the hallmark of Mr. Bush's political career.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and bustardblog

Todd Beeton / MyDD:
Senate Votes To...Condemn An Ad?

Discussion: MSNBC, Hot Air, TPM Election Central, Stop The ACLU and QandO

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Obama Misses Vote On MoveOn — Right After Voting On Boxer Measure

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Corner, MSNBC, The Politico, Big Lizards, DownWithTyranny!, Redstate, Open Left, Hang Right Politics and The American Mind

Byron York / The Corner:
Senate Condemns MoveOn Ad, Cont'd

Discussion: The Oxford Medievalist, NewsBusters.org and Neptunus Lex

Byron York / The Corner:
Senate Condemns MoveOn Ad, Still More

Discussion: A Tiny Revolution and Open Left

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Bush vs MoveOn

Discussion: TPM Election Central, Hot Air, Wake up America and CNN Political Ticker

Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Obama walks on anti-MoveOn.org Senate vote

Discussion: The Politico

Drudge Report:

AHMADINEJAD SAYS HE WILL NOT PUSH TO VISIT GROUND ZERO; 'AMAZED' GESTURE WOULD INSULT AMERICANS — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will not press his plan — just denied by New York City Police for security reasons — to visit Ground Zero in New York City, he tells 60 MINUTES' Scott Pelley …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, Reason Magazine, JammieWearingFool and The American Pundit

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Audio: Ahmadinejad should be "physically restrained" from going to Ground Zero, says McCain; Update: Ahmadinejad backs down? — He's half-joking but it may come to that. Against all odds, this thing looks like it's going to happen. The word today from the relevant powers …

Discussion: The Blotter, ABC 7 Eyewitness News, Classical Values, The Corner, Weekly Standard, Cox & Forkum, Scared Monkeys and The American Pundit

Nick Brunetti-Lihach / NonParty Politics:
Liberal Bloggers Defend Ahmadinejad Visit To Ground Zero

Discussion: CNN, MSNBC, The Carpetbagger Report, Gateway Pundit, The Anonymous Liberal and Sister Toldjah

Matt Stoller / Open Left:

Wes Clark Interview, Part One: The Petraeus Ad — If anyone can recommend an audio hosting service, please email me at stoller at gmail.com so I can post the audio file of the interview. — I just did an interview with Wes Clark, and there's a bunch of newsworthy stuff in there …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Interesting Times and skippy the bush kangaroo

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

Hey All You Anti-War Crazies.... Just shut up already, and let the Senate deal with it: … Or not. You can sign the MoveOn petition: … Hagel, by the way, voted to condemn MoveOn. — I guess that's his right. He's a Senator, after all. — Update: Hello!

Michael Roston / Huffington Post:

Bush Claims He "Got A B In Econ 101" — In a Thursday morning morning press conference at the White House, the President engaged in a little bit of grade inflation about his academic record. — "You need to talk to economists," he answered when asked if there was a risk of recession in the US economy.

Discussion: Think Progress, Shakespeare's Sister and rubber hose

Lydia Saad / Gallup Poll:

Congress Approval Rises Slightly to 24% — Gain almost entirely due to improved ratings from Republicans — PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's 2007 polling from January through August chronicled a nearly relentless decline in public approval of the job Congress is doing.

Discussion: TPM Election Central, Talking Points Memo, Don Surber, Open Left, The Swamp, The American Pundit, Pollster.com and Total Information Awareness

The Big Trunk / Power Line:

Columbia's disgrace — There is a suicidal mania that grips elite opinion in the United States. It is exemplified nowhere better than in our elite educational institutions. Today, for example, Columbia University has issued the following statement to its alumni:

Salon:
GG to ML … GG to ML … ML to GG (re: arming Iran)

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Celeste Katz / NY Daily News:

Top Hillary Clinton backer rips Rudy Giuliani's personal life — Hillary Clinton has avoided taking potshots at Rudy Giuliani's personal life - but one of her top boosters last night showed no such restraint. — Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack went off on Rudy Giuliani's family foibles …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Bookworm Room, Roger L. Simon and TIME

White House:

Press Conference by the President — THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In just 10 days the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as S-CHIP, is set to expire. This important program helps children whose families cannot afford private health insurance, but do not qualify for Medicaid to get coverage they need.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Caucus, First Draft, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Wake up America and The Carpetbagger Report

Horses Mouth:

Okay, this is a fun postcript to the whole battle over John Bohner's "small price" remark, which this blog first reported on a couple of weeks ago. — Boehner has finally responded personally on television for the first time to all the criticism of his remark, a sign that the beating he's taking …

Discussion: Think Progress

Pam / Pam's House Blend:

Progressive blogosphere MIA on Jena 6 — [My god. The depth of ignorance and denial over the lack of progressive blogging on this story is displayed in full flower at Chris's diary at DKos, where he cross posted — and some of the excuses are mind-boggling.]

Discussion: CNN, Booman Tribune, Instapundit.com, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, Off the Kuff, TVNewser, Wampum, Facing South and Comments From Left Field

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

Grand jury targets ex-DeLay adviser — A federal grand jury has subpoenaed payroll records from the House for Ed Buckham, former chief of staff to ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). — The subpoena, issued by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., is the first formal notification …

Discussion: TPMmuckraker

Jeffrey Rosen / New York Times:

The Dissenter — The last Supreme Court term, which ended in June, was the stormiest in recent memory, with more 5-to-4 decisions split along ideological lines than at any time in the court's history. In a series of controversial cases about abortion, racial integration in schools …

Discussion: Law Blog, The Atlantic Online and Redstate