memeorandum: Obama's Drug Confessional (Craig Crawford/Craig Crawford's Trail Mix)

2:15 PM ET, December 15, 2007

Top Items:

Bill Clinton, on 'Charlie Rose' Show, Suggests Obama Not Ready — And Would Be a 'Miracle' If Hillary Won Iowa — NEW YORK In a surprisingly frank interview with Charlie Rose on his PBS show late Friday night, former President Bill Clinton declared that his wife was not only far better prepared …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Hot Air, Open Left, PSoTD, The Belmont Club, TPM Election Central, Pressing Matters and Boston Globe

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Time to Move On...From Hillary — And from the Clintons' brand of politics. — The defining moment of the Democratic presidential campaign so far came during the Des Moines Register debate, December 13, at 2:10 P.M. Central time. … As are we all. What we are not looking forward …

Discussion: Power Line

Marc Ambinder:

Bill Clinton ... Well, He Just Puts Everything On The Table. Read It. — In a hard-changing interview with Charlie Rose tonight, Bill Clinton said Americans who are prepared to choose someone with less experience, are prepared to "roll the dice" about the future of America. "It's less predictable, isn't it?

Discussion: TalkLeft, Riehl World View, Instapundit.com, Political Punch and The Trail

Charlie Rose / Real Clear Politics:

Interview With Bill Clinton — Charlie Rose: I am pleased to have President Clinton back at this table. Welcome. — Bill Clinton: Thank you, Charlie. — Charlie Rose: Nice to see you. — Bill Clinton: Good to be back. — Charlie Rose: Tell me about Giving. What have you learned about it?

Discussion: TIME, Taylor Marsh and Don Surber

Dan / Charlie Rose Redirect:

An hour with former President Bill Clinton about his book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. — I am not sure we all watched the same show. I saw an hour long conversation with Bill Clinton covering a wide array of topics. And, of course, he is going to talk about Hillary.

Discussion: State of the Day

Washington Post:

Clinton Library Got Funds From Abroad — Bill Clinton's presidential library raised more than 10 percent of the cost of its $165 million facility from foreign sources, with the most generous overseas donation coming from Saudi Arabia, according to interviews yesterday.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, The Strata-Sphere, Daily Pundit and Publius Pundit

Los Angeles Times: Air of inevitability escaping Clinton

Washington Post:
So Many Candidates, So Little Time Left

Discussion: The Caucus and New York Times

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Campaigns Woo 3 Iowans for Paper's Endorsement

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, The Politico, Washington Times, The New Republic and Riehl World View

Mary Beth Schneider / Indianapolis Star:

Congresswoman Julia Carson dies — U.S. Rep. Julia Carson died at home this morning following a battle with lung cancer. She was 69. — Carson's death comes just weeks after she announced the cancer, which she had beaten before, was back with "terminal vengeance."

Discussion: MyDD and Blue Indiana

CNN Political Ticker:
Congresswoman dies following lung cancer battle

Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs

Tom Davies / Associated Press:
Rep. Julia Carson dies at 69

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Shakespeare's Sister

Mitt Romney For President News:

Judge Robert Bork Endorses Governor Mitt Romney — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — CONTACT: Romney Press Shop (857) 288-6390 — Boston, MA - Today, noted conservative jurist Judge Robert Bork endorsed Governor Mitt Romney for President of the United States. — Joining Romney for President …

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Captain's Quarters, Power Line, Gateway Pundit and race42008.com

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Fading Romney targets Huckabee — CARROLL, Iowa — Seemingly resigned to his new role as an Iowa underdog, Mitt Romney said Friday that he would use the remaining three weeks before the caucuses to draw bright-line differences with Mike Huckabee. — But he also acknowledged …

Discussion: The Corner, New York Times, TIME: Swampland and Washington Post

Greg Krikorian / Los Angeles Times:

Plot posed a real, immediate threat, experts say — The case illustrates how quickly authorities must be prepared to move once they learn of terrorists' plans. — It was not the most spectacular domestic terrorism plot since the Sept. 11 attacks, and certainly not the best-known.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Scott Glover / Los Angeles Times:
2 plead guilty in plot to attack Southland sites

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Power Line and Publius Endures

Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:

Judge urged not to ask about CIA tapes — WASHINGTON - The Bush administration told a federal judge it was not obligated to preserve videotapes of CIA interrogations of suspected terrorists and urged the court not to look into the tapes' destruction. — In court documents filed Friday night …

New York Times:
Delay Is Sought by Justice Dept. on C.I.A. Inquiry

Discussion: Mercury Rising

KNTV-TV:

Schwarzenegger Will 'Declare Fiscal Emergency' In Weeks — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday he will declare a "fiscal emergency" in January to give him and the Legislature more power to deal with the state's growing deficit. — Schwarzenegger made the announcement Friday after meeting …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, The American Street and LewRockwell.com Blog

Michael B. Marois / Bloomberg:
Schwarzenegger to Declare Fiscal Emergency Over Gap

Discussion: Mercury Rising

Gail Collins / New York Times:

Barack's Blast From the Past — There are lots of different ways for a presidential candidate to deal with the question of drug use. You can admit it, deny it or say you didn't inhale. That last one, I think we can agree, is a choice we won't be seeing again any time real soon.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Craig Crawford / Craig Crawford's Trail Mix:
Obama's Drug Confessional

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report

Benjamin Schwarz / The Atlantic Online:

His Second Act — Frank Sinatra, the greatest vocalist in the history of American music, elevated popular song to an art. He was a dominant power in the entertainment industries—radio, records, movies, gambling—and a symbol of the Mafia's reach into American public life.

Charlie Savage / Boston Globe:

Control sought on military lawyers — Bush wants power over promotions — WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is pushing to take control of the promotions of military lawyers, escalating a conflict over the independence of uniformed attorneys who have repeatedly raised objections …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Carpetbagger Report and The Mahablog

Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:

MAGISTRATE JUDGE FINDS FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHT NOT TO ENTER ENCRYPTION PASSPHRASE: Imagine the government seizes a suspect's hard drive and finds encrypted files inside. Can the government force the suspect to enter in his encryption passphrase so the government can view the decrypted files?

Discussion: Discourse.net and Daily Pundit