memeorandum: Conservative icon Jesse Helms dead at 86 (WRAL-TV)

12:40 PM ET, July 4, 2008

Top Items:

Rove's Third Term — Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn't scream. Hillary Clinton didn't say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn't impugn John McCain's military service.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, The Sideshow and Brilliant at Breakfast

New York Times:

New and Not Improved — Senator Barack Obama stirred his legions of supporters, and raised our hopes, promising to change the old order of things. He spoke with passion about breaking out of the partisan mold of bickering and catering to special pleaders, promised to end President Bush's abuses …

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics, The Strata-Sphere, NewsBusters.org, American Spectator, Connecting.the.Dots, TigerHawk, Hot Air, BuzzMachine, Commentary, Viking Pundit, The Peking Duck and NO QUARTER

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

A Man of Seasonal Principles — You'll notice Barack Obama is now wearing a flag pin. Again. During the primary campaign, he refused to, explaining that he'd worn one after Sept. 11 but then stopped because it “became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism.”

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Matthew Yglesias, NewsBusters.org, TalkLeft, TPM Election Central, Soccer Dad and Los Angeles Times

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Obama May Consider Slowing Iraq Withdrawal

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Neptunus Lex, Guardian, Talking Points Memo, democracyarsenal.org, GOP.com, TIME.com and Liberal Values

CNN:

Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican who became an icon to conservatives, died Friday at the age of 86, a senior congressional source said. — The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank …

Discussion: Think Progress, The Foundry, Sister Toldjah, Blogs of War, AMERICAblog News and JammieWearingFool

WRAL-TV:

Conservative icon Jesse Helms dead at 86 — RALEIGH, N.C. — Jesse Helms, the firebrand U.S. senator whose outspoken, conservative views polarized North Carolina and U.S. voters for decades, died at 1:15 a.m. Friday in Raleigh, according to John Dodd, president of the Jesse Helms Center.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and Althouse

WTVD-TV:

Former Senator Jesse Helms dead at 86 — RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) — Former five-term Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms has died at 86. — Helms was born in Monroe, NC where his father, called “Big Jesse,” served as chief of police. Jesse and Dot Helms are the parents of three children …

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Group News Blog and TIME.com

Associated Press:

Former Republican N.C. Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86 — RALEIGH, N.C. - Former Sen. Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the occasional fellow Republican during 30 conservative years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July.

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

Jesse Helms passes away — Jesse Helms, an Old South icon who mixed racial politics with an unwavering dedication to a robust American military and foreign policy, died early this morning in his native North Carolina. — Helms, 86, had been in faltering health in recent years.

Discussion: The Swamp

MSNBC: Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

PLEASE, PLEASE, REPORTERS WITH BRAINS — I spent most of today in bed with some kind of nasty cold. So I only caught up on any news this evening. And I must confess to being little short of astounded by the avalanche of press BS I'm reading on Barack Obama's position on Iraq.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, NY Daily News, The Carpetbagger Report, Marc Ambinder, Matthew Yglesias, Democrats.com and Washington Monthly

Natalie Gewargis / Political Punch:
Obama's Iraq Quagmire

Discussion: iowahawk, Commentary, TPM Election Central, TIME.com, Hot Air, Guardian, Redstate, Pajamas Media, NewsBusters.org, The Caucus, Stop The ACLU, Top of the Ticket and Wake up America

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

The Economy? Words Fail Me. — Think you're worried about the economy? Phillip Swagel is a wreck. — The assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy, Swagel came out for his monthly economic briefing yesterday, 90 minutes after the Labor Department reported that the country …

Discussion: Angry Bear and Calculated Risk

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:

White House says ruling could free detainees in US — WASHINGTON - The White House said Thursday that dangerous detainees at Guantanamo Bay could end up walking Main Street U.S.A. as a result of last month's Supreme Court ruling about detainees' legal rights.

Discussion: New York Times, PBD, William K. Wolfrum, AMERICAblog News and The Progress Report

Bob / BobKrumm.com:

How did you spend Independence Day? — BAGHDAD - How are you spending your 4th of July holiday? While most Americans probably slept, 1,215 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines raised their right hands and committed to a combined 5,500 years of additional service during the largest reenlistment ceremony …

Discussion: Wake up America, The Corner, Gateway Pundit and Chicago Boyz

Gerard Baker / Times of London:

Barack Obama's policy switches are giving the Left whiplash — The Democratic nominee's policy pivots are causing anguish among liberals. He is no fool — Change, it turns out, wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Having campaigned for the past year as the agent of transformation …

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics and JammieWearingFool

Sarah Wheaton / The Caucus:

Obama Responds to FISA Protest on His Web Site — After a protest group gained prominence on Senator Barack Obama's own campaign Web site, the candidate has written a response to those who object to his support for the current compromise legislation in the Senate on immunity for telecoms.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Liminal states, TIME.com, The Huffington Post, The Trail, Shakesville, my.barackobama.com and The Political Carnival

Glenn Greenwald / UT Documents:
Obama's new statement on FISA

Discussion: Firedoglake, TalkLeft, American Street, Open Left, The Anonymous Liberal, New Mexico Independent, Newshoggers.com, Wake up America, Booman Tribune and Daily Kos

Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:

Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion — WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says “mental distress” should not qualify as a justification for late-term abortions, a key distinction not embraced by many supporters of abortion rights.