memeorandum: Clinton, Obama offer contrasting visions (Ben Smith/The Politico)

11:00 AM ET, November 11, 2007

Top Items:

Musharraf Releases Highest Ranking Taliban Ever Captured — Parvez Musharraf needs more militants to militate against in order to affirm the presence of his totalitarian military in Pakistan's civilian sphere. As I noted in my article Pakistan, Prince of Denmark, this means that Musharraf …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Middle Earth Journal

Newsweek.com:

While Pakistan Burns — If you think Musharraf's wrong to free jailed Taliban members while he busts dissidents, wait until you hear who's back on the loose. — Pakistani lawyers, human-rights activists and opposition-party members can scarcely ignore the irony of their situation …

Discussion: The American Street and Macsmind

New York Times:

Clinton and Obama Duel Before Iowa Democrats — In back-to-back speeches Saturday before thousands of Iowa Democrats, Senator Barack Obama pointedly suggested that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was running a "poll-driven campaign" out of fear of what Republicans might say about her in a general election.

Discussion: The Swamp, The Politico, CNN Political Ticker and Althouse

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Clinton, Obama offer contrasting visions — Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama offered an arena full of Iowans a sharp choice between her fierce partisanship and his more conciliatory vision, between "turning up the heat on the Republicans" and "a nation healed."

Discussion: The Caucus, Taylor Marsh, CNN Political Ticker and The Swamp

New York Times:

Abdicate and Capitulate — It is extraordinary how President Bush has streamlined the Senate confirmation process. As we have seen most recently with the vote to confirm Michael Mukasey as attorney general, about all that is left of "advice and consent" is the "consent" part.

Discussion: AMERICAblog, Instapundit.com and The Heretik

Frank Rich / New York Times:

The Coup at Home — AS Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrested judges, lawyers and human-rights activists in Pakistan last week, our Senate was busy demonstrating its own civic mettle. Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, liberal Democrats from America's two most highly populated blue states …

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, JammieWearingFool, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Time, All Spin Zone, The Heretik, Balkinization, The Moderate Voice and Prairie Weather

Aaron Bruns / Cameron's Corner:

Another Question Planted by Team Hillary? — From Major Garrett, a Fox News Exclusive: — In a telephone interview with Fox, Geoffrey Mitchell, 32, says he was approached by an operative for the Clinton campaign to ask a planted question about standing up to President Bush on Iraq war funding.

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, Don Surber and JammieWearingFool

Eloise Harper / ABCNEWS:
Another Question Planted by Clinton Campaign

Discussion: The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Middle Earth Journal, Outside The Beltway, NewsBusters.org, Don Surber and The Belmont Club

Major Garrett / Fox News:
Clinton Campaign Accused for the Second Time of Planting a Question …

Discussion: The Stump, Captain's Quarters, Flopping Aces, The Swamp, Wake up America and Blue Crab Boulevard

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute: After The Fall — The latest Hillarity about planted questions …

New York Times:

This Is Your Brain on Politics — This article was written by Marco Iacoboni, Joshua Freedman and Jonas Kaplan of the University of California, Los Angeles, Semel Institute for Neuroscience; Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania …

Discussion: Prairie Weather and TigerHawk

Eduardo Gallardo / Associated Press:

Spanish King Tells Chavez to "Shut Up" … SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - The king of Spain told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to "shut up" Saturday during a heated exchange at a summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. — Chavez, who called President Bush the "devil" …

Discussion: The Van Der Galiën Gazette, BitsBlog, Death, Maggie's Farm, typicallyspanish.com, Blue Crab Boulevard and A NEWT ONE

JMG / Barcepundit:
I'M NOT PRO-MONARCHY in the sense that I don't believe that any office …

Discussion: Time, Venezuela News And Views, typicallyspanish.com, The Moderate Voice, JammieWearingFool, Say Anything, Atlas Shrugs and Hot Air

Danny Hakim / New York Times:

Spitzer Showing Signs of Shift on License Plan — Reeling from relentless criticism of his plan to issue New York driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, Gov. Eliot Spitzer indicated on Friday that he had not ruled out shelving the idea. — The governor's aides have grown increasingly concerned …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard, QandO, BitsBlog and GINA COBB

Gareth Porter / Asia Times:

Spooks refuse to toe Cheney's line on Iran — WASHINGTON - The US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran has been held up for more than a year in an effort to force the intelligence community to remove dissenting judgments on the Iranian nuclear program.

Discussion: MoJoBlog

Patrick French / Daily Mail:

The surprising truth about Rage Boy, America's hated poster-boy of Islamic radicalism — Don't you hate Islamic Rage Boy? 'MoBlows', writing on the Jihad Watch website, certainly does. — "I just want to put my fist down his throat," he says. The 'boy' in question rose to prominence earlier …

Discussion: Six Meat Buffet and Jihad Watch

Eli Kintisch / Science/AAAS:

Giving Climate Change a Kick — CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS—Top climate scientists have cautiously endorsed the need to study schemes to reverse global warming that involve directly tinkering with Earth's climate. Their position on geoengineering, which will likely be controversial …

Discussion: Dot Earth and The Plank

Annie Jacobsen / The Aviation Nation:

Police Report: American Airlines Flight 590 — Sources inside American Airlines tell me that the airline has no intention of settling last week's lawsuit filed in U.S. district court. David Al-Watan, Talal Cholagh, Ali Alzerej, Hassan Alzerej, Hussein Alsalih and Mohammad Al-Saedy are seeking …

Austin Bay Blog:

A conversation in Bagram, Afghanistan — DATELINE: Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan November 9, 2007 — Yesterday in Afghanistan an Air Force lieutenant colonel and I started one of those "well I don't know anybody and I've got to waste some time" chats.

Discussion: TBogg