memeorandum: Short-Straw Economics — You're a professor of public policy … (New York Times)

12:50 PM ET, July 7, 2008

Top Items:

Jesse Helms, White Racist — This column appeared in The Post Aug. 29, 2001 — one week after Jesse Helms, who died Friday, announced his retirement from the Senate. — (Have an idea for RePosted? Send it to reposted@washingtonpost.com.) — Those who believe that the “liberal press” …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, michellemalkin.com and Jezebel

Marc Thiessen / Washington Post:

The Jesse Helms You Should Remember — With the passing of Sen. Jesse Helms, the media have demonstrated one final time that they never fully understood the power or impact of this great man. Consider, for example, The Post's obituary of Helms; here are some things you would not learn about his life and legacy by reading it:

Discussion: Fact-esque and democracyarsenal.org

William Kristol / New York Times:

So Where's Murphy? — From the gun clubs of Northern Virginia to the sports bars of Capitol Hill — wherever D.C.-area Republicans gather — you hear the question: — “Where's Murphy?” — “Murphy” is Mike Murphy, the 46-year-old G.O.P. strategist who masterminded John McCain's 2000 primary race …

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, Marc Ambinder, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, MSNBC, TownHall Blog, Bark Bark Woof Woof and TBogg

CNN: McCain campaign gets new political director

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Steve Schmidt's first moves as McCain manager bode new discipline, style

Discussion: TownHall Blog, The Fix, The Moderate Voice, TIME.com and PoliGazette

Zogby:

Zogby Poll: Building Mo-bama! Democrat Leads McCain in Electoral College Tally, 273-158... The Democrat also leads 44% to 38% in the nationwide horserace test as Libertarian Bob Barr wins 6% — UTICA, New York - As the race for President passes the Independence Day holiday and heads toward …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Swamp and THE GUN TOTING LIBERAL™

Dean Yates / Reuters:

Iraq says may agree timetable for U.S. withdrawal — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki raised the prospect on Monday of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops as part of negotiations over a new security agreement with Washington.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Don Surber and The Crypt's Blogs

Dr. iRack / abu muqawama:
SOFA Cushions

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and democracyarsenal.org

CBN.com:

Christian Group Launches “Abortion President” Campaign against Barack Obama — Oh my. The fight against Barack Obama on abortion has officially begun. The Christian Defense Coalition, who are known to shock folks from time to time, have come up with a new campaign called: “Barack Obama: The Abortion President”.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, TIME.com, Gateway Pundit and MSNBC

Steven Greenhut / Orange County Register:

An agenda for a ‘politics of aspiration’ — The GOP might want to keep it handy after the coming debacle — Steven Greenhut — Syndicated columnist Bob Novak, writing about the surprising number of conservatives who are backing Democrat Barack Obama rather than Republican John McCain …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Buck Naked Politics, The Strata-Sphere and Reason Magazine

PoliGazette: A Republican Revival — Steven Greenhut argues that it's …

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Behind the Bush Bust — By huge margins, Americans think the economy is in lousy shape — and they blame President Bush. This fact, more than anything else, makes it hard to see how the Democrats can lose this election. — But is the public right to be so disgusted with Mr. Bush's economic leadership?

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Buck Naked Politics and Real Time Economics

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Focus on Economy Poses Problems for Candidates

Discussion: The Caucus, The Carpetbagger Report, MSNBC and TIME.com

2008 Democratic National Convention News:

Democrats Throw Open Doors Of Convention, Obama To Accept Presidential Nomination On Closing Night Of 2008 Democratic National Convention In Front Of A Crowd Of More Than 75,000 — Final Day of Convention Program to Move to Denver's INVESCO Field at Mile High

Discussion: TalkLeft, Sweetness & Light, Group News Blog and DemConWatch

Mary Beth Marklein / USA Today:

Illegal immigrants face threat of no college — Some states are making it harder for illegal immigrants to attend college by denying in-state tuition benefits or banning undocumented students. — In the past two years, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Oklahoma have refused in-state tuition benefits …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Macsmind and JammieWearingFool

Wall Street Journal:

Obama Faces Resistance From Top Supporters of Clinton — Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, faces dissent from dozens of top fund-raisers and other supporters of former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, who are angry over how she was treated during their bruising primary battle …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TIME.com and The Politico

Michelle Malkin:

The “C” in CNN stands for clueless — Take a look at the man on the left in this photo from CPAC 2007: — He is Col. George Everett “Bud” Day, the nation's most highly decorated soldier since General Douglas MacArthur. It was a thrill to meet this genuine American hero in person. — Read:

Discussion: Confederate Yankee, Power Line, pandagon.net, Oliver Willis, Dean's World and Gateway Pundit

Mary Anastasia O'Grady / Wall Street Journal:

FARC's ‘Human Rights’ Friends — As we learn more about the Colombian military's daring hostage rescue last week, one detail stands out: In tricking FARC rebels into putting the hostages aboard a helicopter, undercover special forces simply told the comandantes that the aircraft was being loaned …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, EU Referendum, Stop The ACLU, JammieWearingFool and Don Surber

Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:

Conservatives Ready To Battle McCain on Convention Platform — Conservative activists are preparing to do battle with allies of Sen. John McCain in advance of September's Republican National Convention, hoping to prevent his views on global warming, immigration, stem cell research …

Discussion: Think Progress, TownHall Blog, MSNBC, The Caucus, Hot Air, TPM Election Central, All Spin Zone, marbury, Pirate's Cove, DownWithTyranny!, The Carpetbagger Report, Electoral-vote.com, Political Machine, The Raw Story, Bark Bark Woof Woof, New York Times, TIME.com and Balloon Juice

Ben / Think Progress:

Lieberman: After Iran wipes out Israel and ‘Arab countries’ in the Middle East, 'we're next!' — Lieberman: After Iran wipes out Israel and ‘Arab countries’ in the Middle East, 'we're next!' — Yesterday on ABC's This Week, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I- CT), chief surrogate for Sen. John McCain's …

Discussion: Eschaton

Jonah Goldberg / The Corner:

Unyielding Self-Parody — Mark Morford is rapidly becoming my favorite leftwing columnist because he seems to have no idea how much he fulfills the crudest stereotypes of the left (recall he recently dubbed Barack Obama a lightworker). Now Bush is like an STD rash which, in his over-sharing …

Mike Allen / The Politico:

McCain promises to balance budget — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) plans to promise on Monday that he will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term by curbing wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs, including Social Security, his advisers told Politico.

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

“What do you think playground bullies grow up to be?” “Right-wing Republicans.” — Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich answers a question. — Actually, when I decided I was going to blog this little interview, I planned to feature this line about why our drilling for more oil isn't a good solution to high gas prices:

Discussion: Don Surber