memeorandum: Bush boom bah (Paul Krugman)

11:20 AM ET, December 14, 2007

Top Items:

S.C. poll: Huckabee bolts to top of GOP; Obama cuts into Clinton lead — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee surged to the top among Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina, while Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead over Sen. Barack Obama among Democrats narrowed since July in that state, according to a new poll.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, TPM Election Central, Outside The Beltway, Comments from Left Field, Reason Magazine, PoliBlog (TM) and Riehl World View

Sarah Liebowitz / Concord Monitor:

Obama edges Clinton in poll — Romney well ahead in 'Monitor' survey — December 14. — Barack Obama has come from behind to turn the Democratic presidential race in New Hampshire into a toss-up, according to a new Monitor opinion poll. The results - which show Obama with a one-point edge …

Discussion: MSNBC, Taegan Goddard's …, TPM Election Central, Pollster.com and Blue Hampshire

Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:

The Pulpit and the Potemkin Village — Would Reagan survive in today's GOP? And is Mrs. Clinton in for a fall this winter? — What is happening in Iowa is no longer boring but big, and may prove huge. — The Republican race looks—at the moment—to be determined primarily by one thing, the question of religious faith.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The American Scene, Eunomia, Political Machine, No More Mister Nice Blog and Fred File

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

An Overdose of Public Piety — Mitt Romney declares, "Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone." Barack Obama opens his speech at his South Carolina Oprah rally with "Giving all praise and honor to God. Look at the day that the Lord has made."

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, Captain's Quarters, Weekly Standard, The Corner, QandO, race42008.com, Below The Beltway and Eunomia

Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Winfrey put Obama's name in a favorable spotlight

Discussion: Pew Research Center, CNN and CNN Political Ticker

Sean Lengell / Washington Times:

Senate passes energy bill without oil tax increase — Senate Democrats yesterday bowed to Republicans and stripped a proposed tax increase for oil companies from a broad energy bill, clearing the way for passage of the measure that includes the first increase in vehicle gas-mileage standards in 32 years.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and The Glittering Eye

Al Kamen / Washington Post:
Instead of Plum Appointments, Maybe a Lump of Coal

Discussion: New York Times and AMERICAblog

E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Plan B For Pelosi And Reid

Discussion: Bark Bark Woof Woof

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Harry Reid's FISA games

Discussion: Firedoglake and Open Left

William Teach / Pirate's Cove:
TB Friday Featuring The Surrender Monkey: Toga, Toga, Toga

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Betsy's Page, Blue Crab Boulevard, New York Times and Power Line

CNN Political Ticker:

Veteran GOP strategist signs on with Huckabee — WASHINGTON (CNN) — A veteran Republican strategist considered by many the architect of Ronald Reagan's 1984 landslide election victory is set to take the helm of Mike Huckabee's surging presidential bid, CNN has learned.

Discussion: Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The New Republic and Boston Globe

Houston Chronicle:

Paul foots bill for Huckabee critics' trips — LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Two former Republican legislators from Mike Huckabee 's home state are in Iowa this week criticizing Huckabee's record on immigration and taxes on trips paid for by Ron Paul, one of Huckabee's Republican presidential rivals.

Discussion: CBS News, RIGHTWINGSPARKLE, Below The Beltway, The Corner and The Campaign Spot

Stuart Rothenberg / Real Clear Politics:
Is Huckabee the None of the Above Candidate?

Discussion: Eunomia

Rich Lowry / National Review:

Huckacide — Editor's note: This column is available exclusively through King Features Syndicate. For permission to reprint or excerpt this copyrighted material, please contact: kfsreprint@hearstsc.com, or phone 800-708-7311, ext 246). — The ghost of Howard Dean haunts the pundit class.

Discussion: The New Republic, Hot Air, Balloon Juice, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Riehl World View

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Apologies From the Heart (of Darkness?)

Discussion: Horses Mouth, MSNBC, NY Daily News, The Swamp and Taylor Marsh

Stephen Grey / The Blotter:

Exclusive: Eyewitness Account of Huge Taliban Defeat — Afghanistan's government flag was raised Wednesday on what had been one of the biggest strongholds of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and a leading world center of heroin production. — The town of about 45,000 people was secured …

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, The Strata-Sphere, USS Neverdock and Instapundit.com

Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:
Hundreds of Taliban Killed By Salmonella And Combined Arms, But Mostly Combined Arms

Discussion: The Newshoggers and The Corner

David Hazinski / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Unfettered 'citizen journalism' too risky — You're beginning to get a lot more news ... from you. — It ranges from the CNN YouTube debates to political blogs to cellphone video of that sniper who opened fire at an Omaha Mall. These are all examples of so called "citizen journalism," …

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Rove, Bolten Found in Contempt of Congress — Senate Committee Cites Top Bush Advisers in Probe of U.S. Attorney Firings — A Senate panel found former presidential adviser Karl Rove and current White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten in contempt of Congress yesterday for refusing …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Comments from Left Field, Crooks and Liars and Shakespeare's Sister

Eugene Robinson / Washington Post:

Code Huckabee — Is the thought of Mike Huckabee as president just vaguely scary? Or have we learned enough about the man that we should be hair-on-fire alarmed at the prospect, still pretty remote, that he could actually win? — True, none of his opponents for the Republican nomination inspires much confidence.

Discussion: TownHall Blog and Connecting.the.Dots

Paul Krugman:

Bush boom bah — You know you're a serious wonk when you wait eagerly each year for the arrival of the CBO's "Historical Effective Federal Tax Rates." But it's much more than a tax report — it's the single best estimate we have of trends in income and income inequality. The tables (Excel file) are here.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

Reuters:

Vuitton-clad Venezuela minister spouts socialism — CARACAS (Reuters) - A video of a Gucci- and Louis Vuitton-clad politician attacking capitalism then struggling to explain how his luxurious clothes square with his socialist beliefs has become an instant YouTube hit in Venezuela.

Discussion: Dr. Sanity, Say Anything, Fausta's blog and Blue Crab Boulevard

From The Blotter / The Blotter:

Al Qaeda Releases New Recording — From The Blotter: — A new al Qaeda communique featuring Al-Qaeda's number-two man was released on the internet Friday morning. — References to last month's peace conference in Annapolis indicate the recording is recent.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Weekly Standard and Atlas Shrugs

The Huffington Post:

Protecting Hillary: Bill Clinton Severs Business Ties With Billionaire Buddy Burkle — Bill Clinton has severed business ties with Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle, fearful that their deals could erupt into bad publicity damaging his wife's presidential bid, according to sources who know both men.