memeorandum: Will there be a VA bill by Veterans Day? (Don Surber)

7:50 PM ET, November 1, 2007

Top Items:

President Bush Discusses Global War on Terror — Washington, D.C. — In Focus: Defense — In Focus: National Security — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Ed, thanks. Thanks for the kind introduction. I'm looking forward to working with you for the next 14 months …

Discussion: Redstate, Wake up America, National Review, Gateway Pundit and First Draft

Terence Hunt / Associated Press:

Sen. Kennedy turns against AG nominee — WASHINGTON - President Bush, seeking Thursday to salvage the embattled nomination of Michael Mukasey as attorney general, defended the former judge's refusal to say whether he considers waterboarding as illegal torture. But the nomination suffered another setback in the Senate.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Corner, michellemalkin.com, The Democratic Daily, Macsmind, The Carpetbagger Report and Liberty Street

Amanda / Think Progress:

Bush: 'war on terror' critics are 'disingenuous or naive.' — Today in his speech at the Heritage Foundation, President Bush attacked critics of the term "war on terror," saying that "people who deny we are at war are either being disingenuous or naive." He added, "We are at war …

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister

Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Bush to Democrats: 'We are at war'

Discussion: Assorted Babble, Brilliant at Breakfast and Seeing the Forest

Faiz / Think Progress:
Bush Grasps For Relevancy By Bashing 'MoveOn.org Bloggers …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Shakespeare's Sister, No More Mister Nice Blog and D-Day

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Campaign call reveals Clinton debate concern — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) top advisers, doing damage control after the candidate's debate performance Tuesday, told supporters on a conference call Wednesday that the campaign needed more money to fight back.

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

But They're Unaffiliated, Of Course — Media Matters insists that it has no intention of supporting a candidate, but it's hard to tell that from its content. As Jonah Goldberg noted, the site went into a full-throated defense of Hillary Clinton by attacking Tim Russert for ... well, asking questions about issues:

Discussion: Media Matters for America and Hot Air

Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:

There's A History Here: Russert Blindsided Hillary With Question About Bill's Affair Back In 2000; Hillary Camp Seethed — Since the Dem debate a few days ago a lot of people have understandably been taking shots at Tim Russert for his often small-minded "gotcha" questions and his constant references to Bill Clinton.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Eunomia, The Atlantic Online, Stop The ACLU and Angry Bear

Jonah Goldberg / The Corner:

But Media Matters Doesn't Shill For Hillary — Karl Frisch, Director of Media Relations at Media Matters (aka Brockville) has sent out an email with clips from a whole bunch of sources to back up this note at the top of the email: … So here's the question.

Discussion: The Anchoress

Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:
Clinton's Double Standard

Discussion: The Corner and The Influence Peddler

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:

S.C. Dems reject Colbert candidacy — Stephen Colbert's satirical run for the presidency has run into its first roadblock - his bid to be on the ballot in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary was rejected on Thursday. — The party's executive council voted 14 to 3 …

Discussion: MoJoBlog, The Raw Story, Hot Air, The Rachel Maddow Show, Balloon Juice, The BRAD BLOG and Open Left

CNN Political Ticker:
South Carolina Democrats say no to Colbert

Discussion: The Swamp

Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
Colbert's Presidential Candidacy Seems to End

Discussion: Political Machine and The American Mind

Telegraph:

The most influential US conservatives: 21-40 — As the US prepares for what is arguably the most open presidential election since 1928, the last time there was no incumbent president or vice-president on the ballot, the Daily Telegraph's Washington correspondents compile a list of the 100 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Corner, The Carpetbagger Report, UrbanGrounds and Reason Magazine

Kevin Aylward / The 2007 Weblog Awards:

Finalists Announced — Here is a complete list of the finalists for The 2007 Weblog Awards. Finalists badges (hosted by Imageshack) will be available Thursday. Voting is scheduled to begin Thursday evening (late), but at this point we can't pinpoint the exact time polls will open.

Discussion: CAPITOL WATCH, JammieWearingFool, The Jawa Report, Swords Crossed, The Newshoggers, The Moderate Voice, Captain's Quarters, Balloon Juice, Shakespeare's Sister and Suitably Flip

Robin Wright / Washington Post:

From the Desk of Donald Rumsfeld . . . In Sometimes-Brusque 'Snowflakes,' He Shared Worldview, Shaped Policy — In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to …

Discussion: LeftWord, The Liberal Avenger, The Opinionator, TPMCafe blogs, The Plank, Norwegianity, A Second Hand Conjecture, Think Progress, CBS News, Shakespeare's Sister, The Carpetbagger Report, Cliff Schecter, American Footprints, Wonkette, The Heretik, Armchair Generalist and The Garlic

Juan Cole:

Time to Close the US Embassy — I don't try to start an internet campaign very often, because the blogosphere has its own priorities and logic that are democratic and should not be forced. But here is a plea for everyone in the blogging world to help force congress to save our diplomats.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The Carpetbagger Report, The Atlantic Online, Shakespeare's Sister, Outside The Beltway, UrbanGrounds, D-Day, BBC, Agitprop and Associated Press

Aram Roston / MSNBC:

Blackwater sneak silencers into Iraq? — Security firm under investigation for allegedly sidestepping export controls — A Blackwater employee shows off a silencer-equipped rifle in Iraq in a photo obtained by NBC News. The picture has been digitally altered to protect the identity of the subject.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Murdoc Online, LeftWord and Prairie Weather

Don Surber:

Will there be a VA bill by Veterans Day? — Will Democrats pass a budget before the budget year ends? — The federal budget year began Oct. 1 without a budget. The Democratic Congress has yet to send even one budget bill to the president. — And they wonder why their job approval is 11%.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Assorted Babble, NPR, RushLimbaugh.com, Right Voices and Riehl World View

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Minnesota senator to endorse Rudy — Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) plans to endorse the presidential campaign of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, according to Republican sources. — It's a union of two Brooklyn-native, non-Protestant former mayors. — The endorsement holds clear advantages for each of them.

Discussion: Power Line and TIME