memeorandum: Clinton Aide Sees Problem for Obama (Jeff Zeleny/New York Times)

1:45 PM ET, December 13, 2007

Top Items:

Glenn Thrush / Newsday:

Clinton insiders question top aide's approach — Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton speaks at a "town hall meeting" in San Francisco December 11. (McClatchy-Tribune / December 11, 2007) — DES MOINES - On the eve of the final Iowa debate before the Jan. 3 caucuses …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Taegan Goddard's …, Weekly Standard, Salon, RealClearPolitics, TIME, AMERICAblog, Telegraph Blogs and TPM Election Central

Mevanh / The Page:

Another Political "Sorry" — On tarmac at Reagan Airport en route to debate, Clinton tells rival that negative, personal characterizations are not a part of her campaign. — Disavows comments by big-shot New Hampshire supporter Billy Shaheen. — Obama campaign's Robert Gibbs tells The Page it was "a good exchange."

Discussion: The Fix, The Daily Dish, Boston Globe, michellemalkin.com, AMERICAN DIGEST, Blue Hampshire, Slog, Riehl World View, Salon, Hotline On Call, Oliver Willis and Hot Air

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:

A Dud From Team Clinton — David Axelrod, the seasoned Chicago Democratic operative who is chief strategist for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, was taken by surprise in the last minute of CBS's "Face the Nation" on Dec. 2. Howard Wolfson, Sen. Hillary Clinton's spokesman, accused Obama of running a "slush fund."

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Blue Crab Boulevard, Reason Magazine, Connecting.the.Dots and Real Clear Politics

Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:

In Iowa, a Scrambling Lesson for Clinton — When senior advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton awakened to the fact that they faced a serious problem in Iowa, they knew they needed a summit. For the divided staff, the question was where. — It made sense to fly to Iowa, where support for Clinton …

Discussion: The Caucus, MSNBC, Taylor Marsh, Ben Smith's Blogs and Riehl World View

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

Clinton Aide Sees Problem for Obama — DES MOINES — A top adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Senator Barack Obama's admission of illegal drug use as a young man could threaten his electability and be seized on by Republicans if he won the Democratic presidential nomination.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, The Campaign Spot, USA Today, New York Post, MSNBC, PoliBlog (TM), Bark Bark Woof Woof, Hot Air, The Newshoggers and Ace of Spades HQ

The Corner:
So Not Buying It — In the 1990s, the Clinton's mastered …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and TIME: Swampland

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Clinton: 'Dorothy' — Hillary's mom makes the most political …

Discussion: The Swamp

John Distaso / New Hampshire Union Leader:
John DiStaso's Granite Status: No firewall in NH for Hillary

Discussion: Boston Globe

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:

Democrats Bow to Bush's Demands in House Spending Bill — House Democratic leaders yesterday agreed to meet President Bush's bottom-line spending limit on a sprawling, half-trillion-dollar domestic spending bill, dropping their demands for as much as $22 billion in additional spending …

Discussion: Firedoglake, New York Times, The Newshoggers, Captain's Quarters, Reuters, Buck Naked Politics, The Hill, Dr. Sanity, Right Voices and CNN

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

Judiciary approves contempt resolutions — The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved contempt resolutions against Karl Rove, the former top aide to President Bush, and Joshua Bolten, the current White House chief of staff. The vote was 12-8. — The criminal contempt resolutions now move …

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, The Swamp, Wonkette and Think Progress

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Democrats show Beltway "strength," avoid being depicted as weak

Discussion: Cogitamus, Daily Kos, The Sideshow, macsmind.com/wordpress, Firedoglake, Outside The Beltway, Cliff Schecter, Wizbang, The Heretik, Open Left, Brilliant at Breakfast, New York Times, The Strata-Sphere, The Hill and Weekly Standard

Matthew Yglesias:
Feeling Depressed — New Democratic congress, massively …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Needlenose and Corrente

Russ Vought / RSC Blog:
Reported Omnibus is Way Above President's Level

Discussion: Redstate, Bluey Blog, The Corner and Club for Growth

New York Times: A Shameful Presidential Threat

NY Daily News:

Subpoenas for Al Sharpton's aides — Teams of federal agents swooped down on up to 10 close associates of the Rev. Al Sharpton Wednesday, demanding the flamboyant clergyman's financial records since 2001. — Sharpton's former chief of staff said he was roused at his Harlem home about 6:30 …

Discussion: City Room, Wonkette, Betsy's Page, Oliver Willis, Big Head DC and Spin Cycle

Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:
Al Sharpton Federal Raid Ignites Pre-Holiday Talk Radio

Discussion: New York Post, michellemalkin.com and Pat Dollard

Pat Milton / Associated Press:
Sharpton Denounces Reports of Probe

Discussion: protein wisdom

ArkansasTimes:

Dumond goes viral UPDATE — Mike Huckabee's advocacy of rapist/killer Wayne Dumond's release has hit YouTube in a piece Talking Points Memo terms brutal in the course of looking into its provenance. The mother of Dumond's Missouri murder victim is featured. — An Arkansas Republican, Keith Emis, takes responsibility.

Discussion: The New Republic, Matthew Yglesias, Hot Air and The RBC

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

Mystery: Who's Behind Brutal Web Video Slamming Huckabee Over Paroled Rapist? — Okay, this is interesting. Take a look at this new and absolutely brutal Web video that slams Mike Huckabee over his role (first reported by The Huffington Post) in pushing for serial rapist Wayne Dumond:

Discussion: Democrats.com, Say Anything, Taylor Marsh and Corrente

Gene Lyons / NWAnews.com:
There's more to character than being charming

Discussion: Hullabaloo and BuzzFlash.org

Tapscott's Copy Desk:

A dream comes true: USASpending.gov goes live today — Nearly eight years ago, Bill Beach, director of The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis, and I invited Gary Bass of OMB Watch over for a chat about the possibility of our two organizations collaborating in an effort to put all federal spending on the Internet.

Discussion: Heritage Foundation

Elizabeth Williamson / Washington Post:
OMB Offers an Easy Way to Follow the Money

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Sunlight Foundation, Blue Crab Boulevard and Obama HQ

Scott Shane / New York Times:

C.I.A. Agents Sense Shifting Support for Methods — WASHINGTON — For six years, Central Intelligence Agency officers have worried that someday the tide of post-Sept. 11 opinion would turn, and their harsh treatment of prisoners from Al Qaeda would be subjected to hostile scrutiny and possible criminal prosecution.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, The Daily Dish, Hot Air, Captain's Quarters, Empire Burlesque, Say Anything, Weasel Zippers and The Heretik

Henry Kissinger / Washington Post:

Misreading the Iran Report — The extraordinary spectacle of the president's national security adviser obliged to defend the president's Iran policy against a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) raises two core issues: How are we now to judge the nuclear threat posed by Iran?

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Commentary, NO QUARTER, Jules Crittenden, Power Line, The American Street and Outside The Beltway

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

Romney's (almost) Dean Scream speech — From NBC/NJ's Erin McPike — If anything is certain about the GOP presidential primary, it's that Romney really, really wants to win Iowa. Desperately. — After hitting a post-debate party around Des Moines on Wednesday, he flew to Cedar Rapids …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, TownHall Blog, Taylor Marsh and The Campaign Spot

Time:

Rudy: All Business — Not long after he stepped down as mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani received an intriguing offer. A group of officials from a Florida company called Seisint Inc. asked him to promote a powerful new database technology capable of tracking potential terrorists and other criminals.

Discussion: Washington Monthly