memeorandum: Hughes to exit State Department (CNN Political Ticker)

10:30 AM ET, October 31, 2007

Top Items:

Obama, Edwards attack; Clinton bombs debate — PHILADELPHIA - - We now know something that we did not know before: When Hillary Clinton has a bad night, she really has a bad night. — In a debate against six Democratic opponents at Drexel University here Tuesday, Clinton gave the worst performance of her entire campaign.

Discussion: New York Times, Spin Cycle, QandO, MSNBC, CNN Political Ticker, Real Clear Politics and The Caucus

New York Times:

A Pitched Debate: Clinton Hears It From Her Rivals — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York came under withering attack from the rest of the Democratic presidential field last night in a pitched two-hour debate that her opponents used to challenge her candor and electability and to portray …

Discussion: The Swamp, CNN Political Ticker, michellemalkin.com, New York Post, The Atlantic Online, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Sharoncobb, No More Mister Nice Blog, Brilliant at Breakfast, Brains and Eggs, The American Street, Spin Cycle, Boston Globe, Hot Air and Corrente

Washington Post:

Clinton's Foes Go on the Attack — Front-Runner Is Target in Season's Liveliest Democratic Debate — With just over two months until the first primary contest, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's Democratic rivals aggressively challenged their party's front-runner here Tuesday night …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The BLT, The Caucus, Norwegianity, CNN, BitsBlog, Althouse, The Moderate Voice and Tennessee Guerilla Women

New York Times:

The Democratic Debate on MSNBC — The following is a transcript of the Democratic Presidential debate in Philadelphia, as provided by Federal News Service. — PARTICIPANTS: — FORMER SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC) — SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL) — MODERATORS: — MR. WILLIAMS: Senator Obama, we'll begin with you.

Discussion: The Corner, TalkLeft and The Carpetbagger Report

Bryan / Hot Air:

Video: Hillary Clinton flip flops around Eliot Spitzer's licenses-for-illegals plan Updates and additions — Let's call this Exhibit A in the case against Hillary Clinton for president. In the following clip we see her radicalism, her shrillness, her inability to finesse a tough question, and her condescension to her opponents.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Washington Monthly, Captain's Quarters, Macsmind, State of the Day, snapped shot, Suitably Flip, michellemalkin.com, Washington Times and New York Times

Scarecrow / Firedoglake:
Going Negative on Clinton Is A Mistake

Discussion: PSoTD

ABCNEWS:
THE NOTE: Clinton Stumble Provides Dems an Opening

Discussion: MSNBC and Political Radar

Nedra Pickler / Associated Press: Clinton gets no love in Democrats debate

Geoff Earle / New York Post:
HILL TRIPS OVER SPITZ DEBATE

Discussion: Political Machine and JammieWearingFool

Adam Nagourney / The Caucus:
Debate Preview: All Eyes on Obama

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, MSNBC, Agence France Presse, MyDD, The Huffington Post, All Spin Zone, Taylor Marsh, Slog, TalkLeft and Hot Air

Jeffrey Mize / Columbian:

Police report sheds new light on Curtis encounter — State Rep. Richard Curtis, R-La Center, admitted to having sex with a man he met at an adult video store in Spokane last week, according to a police report released Tuesday afternoon. — The police report offers a damning and far different version …

Discussion: HorsesAss.Org and Cliff Schecter

Rob Kauder / KXLY-TV:

Cross-dressing state lawmaker blackmailed following late night tryst — SPOKANE — State Representative Richard Curtis says he's not gay, but police reports and court records indicate the Republican lawmaker from southwestern Washington dressed up in women's lingerie and met a Medical Lake man …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Chuck Adkins, The Carpetbagger Report, Pam's House Blend, Pandagon, Slog, Jules Crittenden, AMERICAblog, The Democratic Daily, Big Head DC, HorsesAss.Org, Middle Earth Journal and TBogg

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

NGRs = Not Gay Republicans — Unsolicited advice from TPM to closeted Republican politicians: if you offer to pay a guy $1000 to have sex with you, don't try to wriggle out of paying the thousand dollars. — More advice: if you get into a payment dispute with the guy you paid to have sex with you …

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Jay Rockefeller channels Dick Cheney's fear-mongering to urge telecom amnesty — Leading telecom advocate Fred Hiatt this morning turned over his Washington Post Op-Ed page today to leading telecom advocate Jay Rockefeller, the Democratic Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman …

Discussion: TalkLeft and The Sideshow

John D. Rockefeller IV / Washington Post:
Partners In the War On Terror

Discussion: Balkinization

Opinion Journal:
Surveillance Sanity — Companies that help protect the U.S …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and Democracy Project

Matt / Think Progress:

BREAKING: Karen Hughes resigns. — Karen Hughes, one of President Bush's longest-serving advisers, is stepping down from her position at the State Department as Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Before taking the job at State, Hughes was a Counselor to the President …

CNN Political Ticker:
Hughes to exit State Department

Discussion: The Swamp

Scott Shane / New York Times:

Mukasey Calls Harsh Interrogation 'Repugnant' — In an effort to quell growing doubts in the Senate about his nomination as attorney general, Michael B. Mukasey declared Tuesday that waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques "seem over the line or, on a personal basis …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Obsidian Wings and On Deadline

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Leahy to White House: Thanks for Nothing

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Kiko's House and The Moderate Voice

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Mukasey Losing Democrats' Backing

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, the talking dog, Chuck Adkins, The Atlantic Online, The Reaction, Obama HQ, Macsmind, BLACKFIVE, The RBC and Prairie Weather

Associated Press:

Tax law: Are you eating those pumpkins? — DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Department of Revenue is taxing jack-o'-lanterns this Halloween. The new department policy was implemented after officials decided that pumpkins are used primarily for Halloween decorations, not food, and should be taxed …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, michellemalkin.com, Blue Crab Boulevard and PSoTD

Guardian:

Post-Islamism — The future of Islamic reform lies with post-Islamism - a recognition that politics rather than religion provides for welfare in this life. — There is universal consensus that Muslim dictatorships, supported by the west, are the root of evil.

The Fix:

UFOs and Alien Life — In the weird last minutes of the debate (the period, by the way, when The Fix made it onto the basketball court in high school) Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) gave us a highlight. — Asked about the statement by actress Shirley MacLaine that Kucinich had seen a UFO at her house, Kucinich said that he had.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, RealClearPolitics, MSNBC, Associated Press and Right Voices

Jane Novak / Weekly Standard:

Yemen's Truce with al Qaeda — Who will be the next victims? — THE AMERICAN ATTEMPTS to rehabilitate the Yemeni regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh have not succeeded. Yemeni authorities recently pardoned Jamal Al-Badawi, convicted mastermind of the 2000 USS Cole bombing.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Six Meat Buffet