memeorandum: Bush Remarks on Signing of FISA Bill (Washington Post)

5:20 PM ET, July 10, 2008

Top Items:

Gramm Stands by Recession Comments — Former senator Phil Gramm — under fire for saying the United States has “become a nation of whiners” — said in an interview today that he meant the nation's leaders were whiners, not its citizens. — But the top adviser to Sen. John McCain repeated …

Discussion: Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Marc Ambinder, Matthew Yglesias, MSNBC, Top of the Ticket, Political Buzz, Think Progress, Political Punch, TIME.com, Blue Girl, Red State and Swampland

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Gramm calls slowdown ‘mental’ — Former Sen. Phil Gramm, a top economic adviser to presumptive GOP nominee John McCain, referred to the economic slowdown as “a mental recession” and called the United States “a nation of whiners.” — The comments, in an interview with The Washington Times …

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

McCain Campaign Initially Stood By Gramm Remarks — The McCain campaign is working hard to distance itself from statements made by economic adviser Phil Gramm describing the current economic downturn as a “mental recession” and saying America had “sort of become a nation of whiners.”

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Obsidian Wings, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The Trail, The Carpetbagger Report, The Jed Report, TPM Election Central and Democratic National Committee

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

McCain forcefully rebukes Gramm — John McCain strongly disavowed the comments today of his campaign co-chair and economic adviser, saying Phil Gramm “does not speak for me — I speak for me.” — “So, I strongly disagree,” McCain told reporters gathered for a press conference that was added …

Discussion: protein wisdom

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Top McCain Surrogates Questioning Obama's American-Ness

Discussion: Eunomia

CNN:
Gramm: ‘What we need is more leadership and less whining’

Discussion: Jonathan Martin's Blogs

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Obama, McCain Skirmish Over Gramm's “Nation Of Whiners” Comment

Discussion: Think Progress, The Carpetbagger Report and Political Machine

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo: CLINGING V. WHINING

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:

Barack's Brilliant Ground Game — For a campaign that says it wants to end the politics of the Bush-Cheney years, the Obama for President effort has cribbed an awful lot from the Bush-Cheney playbooks of 2000 and 2004. — For starters, Barack Obama's manager admitted to the New York Times …

Discussion: The New Republic and Macsmind

Telegraph:

President George Bush: 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter' — George Bush surprised world leaders with a joke about his poor record on the environment as he left the G8 summit in Japan. — The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Samizdata.net

Andrew Grice / The Independent:

Bush to G8: 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter' — After rejecting global climate-change targets, George Bush's parting shot to the G8 summit — President George Bush signed off with a defiant farewell over his refusal to accept global climate change targets at his last G8 summit.

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction, Macsmind, Wizbang, Think Progress, Riehl World View, Brilliant at Breakfast and Firedoglake

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / International Herald Tribune: Testing! Testing! Bush finds, again, that speaking softly isn't enough

Matt / Think Progress:
Bush addresses the Italian prime minister in Spanish: ‘Amigo! Amigo!’

Discussion: New York Times, Matthew Yglesias, The Reaction and Outside The Beltway

Gateway Pundit:
Horray! Bush Gives Global Warming Religionists the Finger

Discussion: Obsidian Wings

John Bresnahan / The Crypt's Blogs:

Pelosi says House Judiciary may hold hearings on Kucinich impeachment resolution — Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said this morning that the House Judiciary Committee may hold hearings on an impeachment resolution offered by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, MSNBC, BuzzFlash.org, American Street and The BRAD BLOG

CNN:

Rove ignores panel's subpoena, refuses to testify — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Karl Rove, President Bush's longtime political guru, refused to obey an order to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday. — Rove's lawyer asserted that Rove was “immune” from the subpoena …

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots

Katie Fretland / The Swamp:
Karl Rove refuses to testify at Judiciary

Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

The Hubris Of Obama? — A few things have unsettled me these past couple of weeks about the Obama campaign. It is not the small adjustments to previously-held positions - FISA, the Second Amendment, Iraq. It's a sense that Obama's ample self-regard is lapsing into hubris.

Discussion: TalkLeft, Althouse and Commentary

Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:

OBAMA'S KIDS....Andrew Sullivan goes ballistic about the Obama family interview with Access Hollywood: … I gather that a fair number of people feel the same way, and even Obama himself now says he wouldn't do it again. Am I living in a bubble when I say that I'm just flabbergasted by this reaction?

Discussion: Corrente

Dan Balz / The Trail:

Obama's Accidental Sister Souljah Moment — Barack Obama leads a charmed life. He finally had his Sister Souljah moment and didn't even have to show up. Jesse Jackson did it for him solo. — Sixteen years ago, Bill Clinton used a Jackson-sponsored forum to rebuke the rap singer …

Discussion: Ta-Nehisi Coates

Charles Hurt / New York Post:
JESSE'S A ‘NUT’ JOB

Discussion: The Corner, Extreme Mortman, The New Republic and Associated Press

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Jesse Jackson Apologizes for Remarks on Obama

Discussion: The Politico, The Strata-Sphere and The Moderate Voice

Dan Sweeney / The Huffington Post:
What Jesse Jackson Said Was A-OK

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Alternate Brain

The Politico:

Dems searching their souls on drilling — In the stages of grief, denial gives way to anger and then to bargaining. — It may be an apt metaphor this week, as Democrats' long-held opposition to expanded offshore oil drilling succumbs to the political realities of $4-per-gallon gasoline.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Opinionator, Right Wing News, MoJoBlog, Hot Air and Think Progress

Jared Allen / The Hill:
Pelosi: Drilling in protected areas ‘a hoax’

Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Obama's Ideology Proving Difficult to Pinpoint

Discussion: New York Times, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, American Power, Liberal Values, Macsmind and Commentary

The Lede:

In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many — Updated, 9:33 a.m., Agence France-Presse has retracted the image as “apparently digitally altered.” — As news spread across the world of Iran's provocative missile tests, so did an image of four missiles heading skyward in unison.

Discussion: Washington Post, Gateway Pundit, Kamangir, Little Green Footballs, Hot Air, Washington Wire, Defense Tech, Bob Cesca's Goddamn …, EU Referendum, Augean Stables, Newshoggers.com, War and Piece, Sweetness & Light, ArmsControlWonk, Boing Boing and The Strata-Sphere

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

Clinton and Obama do joint fundraiser but he forgets the fund part — The unity thing is proving something of a stubborn problem for the no longer officially dueling camps of Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. There've been reports in recent days of some die-hard Clinton supporters …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Opinion L.A., Political Radar, Wake up America, Guardian, New York Post, The Corner, NY Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Redstate, The Swamp and Sweetness & Light

Katie Fretland / The Swamp:
Clinton offering debt reduction t-shirts

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Times, Hotline On Call and Newsweek Blogs

Susan Page / USA Today:

This year, 6 types of voters will decide the presidential election — All voters are not created equal. — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll by only single digits among registered voters, 48%-42%, at the edge of the survey's margin of error.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Pollster.com, Althouse and QandO

Frank James / The Swamp: Obama may get voter-turnout boost: poll

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Survival of the Sudsiest — Perhaps, like many sensible citizens, you read Investor's Business Daily for its sturdy common sense in defending free markets and other rational arrangements. If so, you too may have been startled recently by an astonishing statement on that newspaper's front page.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Fausta's blog and StephenBainbridge.com

Rasmussen Reports:

Election 2008: North Dakota Presidential Election — North Dakota: McCain and Obama Tied — North Dakota is as safe a Republican state as any in Presidential elections. George W. Bush carried the state by twenty-seven points in Election 2004 and twenty-eight points four years earlier.

Discussion: TPM Election Central

Eric Stirgus / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

‘Men At Work’ signs to disappear in Atlanta — In the battle of the sexes, women's magazine editor Cynthia Good said this was a skirmish she had to fight. — [Post comments below.] — Across Atlanta they stood, orange signs with black letters that read “Men At Work” or “Men Working Ahead.”

Discussion: Moonbattery