memeorandum: J.K. Rowling Outs Hogwarts Character (Hillel Italie/Associated Press)

4:35 PM ET, October 20, 2007

Top Items:

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Religious right straw-victors: Romney, Huckabee — by Mark Silva, updated with full results — Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and a late-comer to the anti-abortion cause, claimed a narrow victory today in a straw poll of Christian conservative voters assembled in Washington and collecting votes from members online.

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, The Caucus, Hot Air and The Carpetbagger Report

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Giuliani asks Values Voters to trust him — Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, walking into a political lion's den, told the year's largest gathering of social conservatives that he is "not always the best example of faith" but that their similarities are much greater than their differences.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Swamp, Stop The ACLU, Hot Air, The Carpetbagger Report and alicublog

Steve Benen / Talking Points Memo:

Thompson's fall from grace — There was a time over the summer when Fred Thompson looked like he'd enjoy enormous support from the GOP's religious right base. The Dobson crowd had already ruled out McCain and Giuliani, and skepticism over Romney lingered.

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Romney wins 'Values Voters' straw poll — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney increased his already growing credibility with evangelical Christians on Saturday afternoon with a surprise win in the Family Research Council's "2008 American Values Straw Poll."

Discussion: TIME: Swampland

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:

Poll finds Thompson appeals to churchgoers — Fred Thompson may have failed to impress Beltway insiders when he finally launched his run for the White House last month, but he is winning over a critical segment of the Republican coalition, new polling suggests.

Discussion: Riehl World View, Right Wing News and Say Anything

Michael Luo / New York Times: Giuliani Works to Sway Religious Conservatives

Michael Luo / New York Times:
For 3 Candidates, a Test on Religion

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, The Carpetbagger Report, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, The Politico and The Swamp

Gateway Pundit:

"Crooks & Liars" Discovers Best Way to Defend Rep. Pete Stark — Lie. — Nutrooters Crooks and Liars discovers that if you can't possibly win an argument over the latest disgusting anti-military, anti-Bush remarks by a Democratic politician... Then just lie about it.

Discussion: Don Surber, Buck Naked Politics, The Democratic Daily, The American Street, Big Brass Blog and Crooks and Liars

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Battered Spouses — Yesterday I said I felt a hissy coming …

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, The Mahablog, skippy the bush kangaroo, Open Left, Daily Kos, The Carpetbagger Report, All Spin Zone, Brilliant at Breakfast and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Zachary Coile / San Francisco Chronicle:
Pelosi backs away from Rep. Stark's criticism of Bush

Discussion: Conservative Belle, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Power Line and Weekly Standard

New York Times:

With Democrats Like These ... Every now and then, we are tempted to double-check that the Democrats actually won control of Congress last year. It was particularly hard to tell this week. Democratic leaders were cowed, once again, by propaganda from the White House and failed, once again …

Discussion: Horses Mouth, Wake up America, Norwegianity, Daily Kos, Chris Dodd National Blog, JammieWearingFool, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Prairie Weather, Riehl World View and Neptunus Lex

New York Times:

Wiretapping Compromise Was Months in the Making — Last June, in a phone conversation with Vice President Dick Cheney, John D. Rockefeller IV, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, set down his conditions for revising the law governing the National Security Agency's eavesdropping.

Discussion: Horses Mouth, The Next Hurrah and The American Street

Washington Post:

IEDs Seen As Rising Threat in The U.S. — As Preparedness Is Criticized, Bush Works on a Plan — The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI agree that the homemade explosive devices that have wreaked havoc in Iraq pose a rising threat to the United States.

Discussion: ParaPundit, QandO, The American Street and Cliff Schecter

Josh White / Washington Post:

Ex-Prosecutor Alleges Pentagon Plays Politics — Pressure for 'Sexy' Guantanamo Hearings — Politically motivated officials at the Pentagon have pushed for convictions of high-profile detainees ahead of the 2008 elections, the former lead prosecutor for terrorism trials at Guantanamo Bay said last night …

Discussion: Think Progress, Buck Naked Politics, INTEL DUMP, ePluribus Media Community, The Next Hurrah, TalkLeft, Wonkette and The American Street

Hillel Italie / Associated Press:

J.K. Rowling Outs Hogwarts Character — NEW YORK (AP) - Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night …

Discussion: Brilliant at Breakfast, Pam's House Blend, IMAO and The Republic of T.

Little Green Footballs:

Ahmadinejad: 'I Wanted to Visit Ground Zero to Prevent 9/11 from Becoming Another 'False Idol' Like the Holocaust' — Iranian thug-in-chief Mahmoud Ahmadinejad explains his reasons for wanting to visit Ground Zero, confirming (as if we needed confirmation) that it was the right decision …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com

Erick Erickson / The Truth Laid Bear:

Update: Saturday Morning — And now the real (sorry, Ron) main event: Rudy Giuliani. — Giuliani took the stage to a warm reception of applause, answering the immediate question of whether the FRC crowd might rudely snub him from moment one. Not so: definitely a courteous and even enthusiastic welcome.

Discussion: Power Line, National Review, Redstate and Captain's Quarters

Adam Nossiter / New York Times:

An Improbable Favorite Emerges in Cajun Country — An Oxford-educated son of immigrants from India is virtually certain to become the leading candidate for Louisiana's next governor in Saturday's primary election. It would be an unlikely choice for a state that usually picks its leaders …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Blue Crab Boulevard, On Deadline, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Truthdig

Don Surber:

ABC's Rush report shows why people hate the media — Why the Surber kids were told Daddy is a piano player in a whorehouse — Why do people absolutely detest the media? Is it the laziness? Is it the incompetence? Is it the bias? — This report from the ABC News blog shows all 3 elements.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Little Green Footballs, The Daily Gut, Cold Fury, Outside The Beltway, Washington Times, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Say Anything, Power Line, Confederate Yankee, The American Street, Political Radar, Blue Crab Boulevard and Let Freedom Ring

Neely Tucker / Washington Post:
Limbaugh Spins Reid's Letter Into Charity Gold

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The Corner, NewsBusters.org, Buck Naked Politics, Conservative Belle, Comments from Left Field, A Blog For All, The Moderate Voice and Stop The ACLU

Matthew Felling / CBS News:

A Journalist? Says Who? — I've discussed in this space - though in the light and frothy context of inappropriate photos posted online - how once something is on the Internet, it's in the public domain. — The same goes for legal rulings. — In a fascinating instance …

Discussion: BitsBlog and Concurring Opinions