memeorandum: Mission impossible? — This week will see George Bush make his first … (Rupert Cornwell/The Independent)

10:55 AM ET, November 26, 2007

Top Items:

Sen. Trent Lott to resign — NBC News: Minority whip would leave Senate before end of the year — NBC News has learned that Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., the minority whip is in the midst of informing close allies that he plans to resign his senate seat before the end of the year.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Newshoggers, The Opinionator, MyDD, Outside The Beltway, Big Head DC, BitsBlog, Detroit Times, PoliBlog (TM) and TPM Election Central

The Politico:

Top official: Lott to resign — Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) plans to resign his seat by year's end, a senior Republican official told Politico. — The announcement took Capitol Hill by surprise because Lott, the former majority leader, seemed to be relishing his job as minority whip, the second-ranking GOP leadership job.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, UrbanGrounds, Daily Kos, the albany project, Blue Crab Boulevard and Macsmind

Jack Elliott Jr / Associated Press:

Lott to resign by end of year — JACKSON, Miss. - Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, plans to resign his seat by the end of the year, congressional and Bush administration officials said Monday. — Lott, 66, scheduled two news conferences in Pascagoula and Jackson later in the day to reveal his plans.

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Captain's Quarters, Power Line, Pensito Review, Middle Earth Journal, The BRAD BLOG, Reason Magazine, Swing State Project and On Deadline

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

LOTT TO RETIRE BY END OF YEAR — NBC News has learned that Trent Lott's in the midst of informing close allies that he plans to resign his senate seat before the end of the year. It's possible a formal announcement of his plans could take place as early as today.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Think Progress, TownHall Blog, the albany project, Crooks and Liars, The Carpetbagger Report, ePluribus Media Community and Associated Press

Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:

BREAKING: Trent Lott Rumored To Be Resigning — MSNBC is reporting the following: … So, let's see if we have this straight: he's cashing in before the lobbying restriction goes into effect — hello oil, gas, and gambling interests that he was already serving anyway …

Discussion: The Newshoggers and The American Street

The Politico:

Lott announcing resignation — Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is planning on resigning from the Senate this year and may make a formal announcement as soon as today. — If he resigns, Lott would become the sixth Republican senator to announce they were stepping down this election cycle.

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker

Paul Kane / Capitol Briefing:
Lott To Resign By End Of The Year

Discussion: PrairiePundit

Michelle Malkin:
Report: Trent Lott resigning

Discussion: Hot Air, Beltway Blogroll and Daily Pundit

John King / CNN:
Sources: Lott to resign by end of year

Discussion: Senate 2008 Guru

Fred Hiatt / Washington Post:

Calculation and Conviction — Barack Obama suggests that Hillary Clinton is guilty of triangulating, poll-testing and telling the American people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. — Maybe so. But then it's fair to ask: Is Obama telling the American people anything they don't want to hear?

Discussion: Heading Right, TalkLeft and Captain's Quarters

The Politico:
Clinton and Obama switch roles in Iowa

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker

Real Clear Politics:
A Wide Range of Possibilities in the Race for President

Discussion: PrairiePundit and Betsy's Page

Washington Post:
In Iowa, Clinton Intensifies Attacks

Discussion: Pajamas Media, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, PrairiePundit, Associated Press and Political Machine

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:

Rice's Turnabout on Mideast Peace Talks — At President Bush's first National Security Council meeting in January 2001, he announced that he did not want to be drawn into the shattered Middle East peace process, people at the meeting recalled, because he believed that former President Bill Clinton …

Discussion: Commentary, BBC, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Yahoo! News, Israel Matzav, Baltimore Sun and MiamiHerald.com

Rupert Cornwell / The Independent:
Mission impossible? — This week will see George Bush make his first …

Discussion: Guardian, The Osterley Times, The Moderate Voice and Michael Leon

Reuters:
"If Annapolis fails, smash me," souvenir mug says

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Haaretz and Israel Matzav

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Rudy: It's time to unmask Romney — WINDHAM, N.H. — In a big strategic shift, Rudy Giuliani hammered Mitt Romney's record on three fronts, saying it was time to "take the mask off and take a look at what kind of governor he was." — Using some of the toughest language of his campaign …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, PrairiePundit and TIME

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Romney and Giuliani Turn Negative in N.H.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Swamp, MSNBC, New York Times, Political Machine, The Caucus and Political Radar

ABCNEWS:

Bush to Welcome Gore to White House — Former Political Rivals Meet as Nobel Prize Winners are Honored — Forget the Mideast peace talks. A meeting that may require even greater diplomacy will take place Monday in the Oval Office, when President Bush receives America's Nobel Prize winners — including his one-time rival, Al Gore.

Discussion: Pacific Views, ScrappleFace, Firedoglake, Macsmind and Gateway Pundit

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Winter of Our Discontent — "Americans' Economic Pessimism Reaches Record High." That's the headline on a recent Gallup report, which shows a nation deeply unhappy with the state of the economy. Right now, "27% of Americans rate current economic conditions as either 'excellent' or 'good …

Discussion: The American Street, The Impolitic, Norwegianity and Prairie Weather

Sara A. Carter / Washington Times:

Islamists target Arizona base — Fort Huachuca, the nation's largest intelligence-training center, changed security measures in May after being warned that Islamist terrorists, with the aid of Mexican drug cartels, were planning an attack on the facility. — Fort officials changed security measures …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, TownHall Blog, Power Line, Say Anything, PrairiePundit and JammieWearingFool

Kate Phillips / The Caucus:

Oprah Set to Campaign for Obama — DES MOINES — Oprah Winfrey is coming to town for Senator Barack Obama, his campaign announced today, scheduling a three-state tour beginning here on Dec. 8. — Ms. Winfrey, who has been fiercely protective of her extraordinary brand …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com and TPM Election Central

John McCormick / The Swamp:
Oprah to campaign with Obama

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker and The Politico

Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:

Short of Funds, G.O.P. Recruits the Rich to Run — Confronting an enormous fund-raising gap with Democrats, Republican Party officials are aggressively recruiting wealthy candidates who can spend large sums of their own money to finance their Congressional races, party officials say.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, DownWithTyranny!, The Democratic Daily, On Deadline and PAXALLES

Stephen Grey / Times of London:

Flight logs reveal secret rendition — THE secret flight plans of American military planes have revealed for the first time how European countries helped send prisoners, including British citizens, to the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. — Despite widespread criticism of alleged human rights abuses …

Discussion: TPMmuckraker