memeorandum: CHANNELING HERBERT HOOVER (David Kurtz/Talking Points Memo)

10:35 AM ET, September 26, 2008

Top Items:

Fate of Bailout Plan Remains Uncertain — WASHINGTON — The day began with an agreement that Washington hoped would end the financial crisis that has gripped the nation. It dissolved into a verbal brawl in the Cabinet Room of the White House, urgent warnings from the president and pleas …

New York Times:

McCain Leaps Into a Thicket — Senator John McCain had intended to ride back into Washington on Thursday as a leader who had put aside presidential politics to help broker a solution to the financial crisis. Instead he found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown …

The Politico:

Wall Street bailout plan breaks down — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson left a late-night session at the Capitol Thursday without a deal on the bailout plan the White House says is needed to prevent economic disaster. — Four of the five parties involved in the deal — House Democrats …

Discussion: Daily Kos, Gristmill, Hullabaloo and AMERICAblog News

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

McCain's Choice — Is there a third way? — The McCain campaign is now trying to broker a deal between House Republicans, Treasury Secretary Paulson, and the Democrats. This will be tough—but it's worth a shot. — If it works, fine. If it fails, McCain will have, I think, three alternative paths:

ABCNEWS:

Deal May Be Dead: Democrats Blaming McCain — Obama, McCain Leave White House Without Deal on $700 Billion Bailout — After days of bipartisan negotiations and meetings today at the White House, the deal to bail out staggered investment banks may be dying amid partisan finger-pointing.

Discussion: The Swamp, The Crypt's Blogs, Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, The Anonymous Liberal, Commentary, Outside The Beltway, Marc Ambinder, Political Radar, Buck Naked Politics, The Other McCain and Jonathan Martin's Blogs

Justin Fox / The Curious Capitalist:
The Republican alternatives to the Paulson bailout

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Newshoggers.com, Econbrowser, Bubble Meter, Economist's View, The Crypt's Blogs and Balloon Juice

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
The Democratic ACORN bailout; Update: Video added

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, The Corner and Flopping Aces

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Obama Team Heads to Debate

Discussion: Political Radar, Washington Post and TIME.com

Marc Ambinder:
What Happened In The Cabinet Room...

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Betsy's Page, Hot Air, The Strata-Sphere and Washington Wire

CNN:
No deal after ‘contentious’ White House meeting

Discussion: MyDD

Associated Press:
Lawmakers: Wall Street rescue accord reached

Discussion: The Corner, Associated Press, Political Punch, The Huffington Post, Marc Ambinder and Political Radar

David Brooks / New York Times:

Thinking About McCain — I've been covering John McCain steadily for a decade. A few years ago, I worked on a book, which I foolishly never completed, on the U.S. Senate with McCain as the central character. So when I step back and think of McCain, even in the heat of this campaign …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Commentary and Eunomia

The New Republic:

Putting Country Last — I don't know John McCain as well as David Brooks does. In fact, I don't know him personally at all. But I covered his 2000 and 2008 primary campaigns, and I spent considerable time interviewing him, including several long interviews I did for a profile in 2006.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Glenn Reynolds / Pajamas Media:

MORE THUGGISHNESS: Obama threatening the licenses of TV stations that run NRA ads. — Haven't we had about enough of this? Related item here. They told me that if George W. Bush were re-elected there would be brazen efforts to suppress free speech on political grounds — and they were right!

Discussion: www.redstate.com, Ben Smith's Blogs, Snowflakes in Hell, Vodkapundit, Lonewacko, Riehl World View and The Other McCain

Gateway Pundit:

Missouri Sheriffs & Top Prosecutors Form Obama “Truth Squads” & Threaten Libel Charges Against Obama Critics — More Hope and Change for Missouri... St. Louis and Missouri Democrat sheriffs and top prosecutors are planning to go after anyone who makes false statements against Obama during his campaign.

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere

David Bernstein / The Volokh Conspiracy:
DOING MY PATRIOTIC DUTY:

Discussion: USS Neverdock

New York Times:

Government Seizes WaMu and Sells Some Assets — Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators on Thursday night, in what is by far the largest bank failure in American history.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, The Curious Capitalist, DealBook, Gawker, Hot Air, All Spin Zone, Bubble Meter, The Edge of the American West, Slog, TIME.com, TPMCafe and Brilliant at Breakfast

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Where Are the Grown-Ups? — Many people on both the right and the left are outraged at the idea of using taxpayer money to bail out America's financial system. They're right to be outraged, but doing nothing isn't a serious option. Right now, players throughout the system are refusing …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Matthew Yglesias

Washington Post:

Palin Accepted $25,000 in Gifts, Alaska Records Show — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has made a crackdown on gift-giving to state officials a centerpiece of her ethics reform agenda, has accepted gifts valued at $25,367 from industry executives, municipalities and a cultural center whose …

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics

Alessandra Stanley / New York Times:
A Question Reprised, but the Words Come None Too Easily for Palin

Discussion: MSNBC

Washington Post:

Away from Wall Street, Economists Question Basis of Paulson's Plan — The Bush administration's pitch for a sweeping bailout of the financial system has centered on two simple premises: that the economy could suffer a crippling downturn if action is not taken very quickly and that this action …

Discussion: Achenblog, Corrente, Paul Krugman and Calculated Risk

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:

CHANNELING HERBERT HOOVER — John Harwood on CNBC: McCain will own any market sell-off today. — Dow dropped 130 points in first two minutes of trading ...

Discussion: Spin Cycle

David Deming / Edmond Sun:

Why Obama will lose — EDMOND — When Benjamin Franklin was dispatched to France as ambassador of the United States in 1776, he won the hearts of the French through his authenticity. Rather than take on an affected and phony continental style, Franklin eschewed the powdered wig …

Discussion: pandagon.net, Confederate Yankee and Stop The ACLU

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

In a Time of Crisis, Is Obama Too Cool? — DUNEDIN, Fla. — Where many politicians would have aspired to show anger, Senator Barack Obama spoke in a soft, even tone as he reached the crescendo of his speech Wednesday about government mismanagement of the economy.

Discussion: MSNBC and Comments from Left Field

Betsy Rothstein / The Hill:

20 Questions: Ron Reagan — As the son of the late President Ronald Reagan, Ron Reagan has one of the most famous names in America. Reagan, a known liberal, recently signed on with Air America for a show that airs from 8 to 9 p.m. EST. He has taken over the slot previously filled by host Rachel Maddow …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Jo Mannies / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Mo voters oppose bailout, but want help for mortgage industry, poll shows — Missouri voters say they oppose a government bailout of major financial institutions, but they support key elements of the plan being hashed out in Washington. — And a majority aren't sure which presidential candidate …

MSNBC:

The ‘lost’ Palin files — When federal judges in San Francisco ruled in 2002 that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools was unconstitutional because it included the phrase “under God,” Sarah Palin was not amused. Palin, who at the time was Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska …

Discussion: USS Neverdock