memeorandum: Obama's Brain Trust (E. J. Dionne Jr/Washington Post)

12:40 PM ET, November 25, 2008

Top Items:

Obama's Brain Trust — President-elect Barack Obama has now made three things clear about his plans to bring the economy back: He wants his actions to be big and bold. He sees economic recovery as intimately linked with economic and social reform. And he is bringing in a gifted brain trust to get the job done.

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Real Clear Politics, marbury, TPM Election Central and Matthew Yglesias

Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times:

Where Was Geithner in Turmoil? — President-elect Barack Obama unveiled on Monday an economic team with deep experience handling economic crises. But does the man at the center of this star-studded cast, Timothy F. Geithner, the nominee for Treasury secretary, have what is needed to take the nation in a new financial direction?

Discussion: The New Republic, The Washington Independent, The Big Picture, naked capitalism and Kevin Drum

Washington Post:
Rubin, Paulson, Geithner a Familiar Trio at Heart of Citigroup Bailout

Discussion: David Corn and TPMCafe

Daniel Stone / Newsweek:
Even Dr. Doom Likes Them — Renowned economic pessimist Nouriel …

Discussion: Real Time Economics

New York Times:
Mr. Obama's Economic Advisers

Discussion: Washington Post, The Sideshow, Wall Street Journal, Open Left and New York Times

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

For Collins, forgiveness may be tough — The tactics used by Democrats to secure at least 58 Senate seats may have damaged their chances of winning vital support from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in key votes in the 111th Congress. — Collins told colleagues at a small Senate prayer breakfast meeting …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, QandO, Betsy's Page, www.redstate.com, Soccer Dad and Don Surber

Martin Kady II / The Politico:
Dems vs. Dems in new Congress

Discussion: Washington Wire and Political Perceptions

David M. Herszenhorn / The Caucus:
Schumer Steps Down From D.S.C.C. Post

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The New Republic, Detroit Free Press, DownWithTyranny!, New York Post and TIME.com

Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:

Politico poll: Chambliss up by three — Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss holds a narrow lead over Democrat Jim Martin in the Dec. 2 Georgia Senate runoff, according to a new Politico/InsiderAdvantage poll. — The poll shows Chambliss leading Martin by three points, 50 to 47 percent, with three percent of respondents undecided.

Discussion: The Fix, The Swamp, Hot Air, The Huffington Post and PoliBlog (TM)

Josh Kraushaar / The Politico: Palin campaigning for Chambliss

Mark Preston / CNN:
Palin to hit campaign trail in Georgia

Discussion: Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis

CNN: Rudy to make campaign cameo in Georgia

Eric Dash / New York Times:

Saving Citi May Create More Fear — One bailout was not enough for Citigroup. And it may not be enough for other big banks. — While Citigroup's second multibillion-dollar rescue from Washington hit Wall Street like a shot of adrenaline on Monday, many analysts worried that the jolt would soon wear off.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Matthew Yglesias, Buck Naked Politics, Wall Street Journal, The Heretik, Below The Beltway, LT Nixon Rants, Patterico's Pontifications, Free exchange and naked capitalism

Deborah Solomon / Wall Street Journal:
New Facility Targets Consumer Lending

Discussion: The Swamp and The Washington Independent

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
For release at 8:15 a.m. EST

Discussion: naked capitalism and Tech Ticker

David Kocieniewski / New York Times:

The Congressman, the Donor and the Tax Break — Representative Charles B. Rangel has helped raise $11 million for a City College of New York school of public service to be named in his honor. In recent months, as questions have emerged about his fund-raising, he has insisted that he has kept …

Discussion: The Swamp, Washington Post, The Crypt's Blogs, Jezebel, Spin Cycle, Pajamas Media, The Plank, Balloon Juice, www.redstate.com, JammieWearingFool and New York Post

Drudge Report:

RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF USA — A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts. — Professor Igor Panarin …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Daily Pundit and Wonkette

Roger Simon / The Politico:

GOP senator: We haven't learned — The Republican U.S. senator sits glumly across the restaurant table. — “I don't think we have learned much from the election in terms of what people want to see,” he says. “We have the same gridlock.” — By the “same gridlock,” he means that party hard-liners …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Incertus, No More Mister Nice Blog, PoliPundit.com, Macsmind, Say Anything, www.redstate.com and CNN

Jose Antonio Vargas / Washington Post:
Republicans Seek to Fix Short-Sitedness

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, www.redstate.com and Reason

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST. — “Isn't it amazing,” asks Krugman, “just how impressive the people being named to key positions in the Obama administration seem? Bye-bye hacks and cronies, hello people who actually know what they're doing. For a bunch of people who were written off …

Discussion: Ross Douthat and The Debatable Land

Eugene Volokh / The Volokh Conspiracy:

More on Hillary Clinton and the Emoluments Clause: — From Prof. Michael Stokes Paulsen, author of Is Lloyd Bentsen Unconstitutional?, 46 Stanford L. Rev. 907 (1994) (some paragraph breaks added, some glitches fixed with Prof. Paulsen's advance permission):

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Balkinization, Donklephant, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, The New Republic, Below The Beltway and Political Machine

Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
The last thing we need is a Clinton in charge of foreign policy.

Discussion: normblog

Wall Street Journal:

Why Don't We Hang Pirates Anymore? — It's a safe bet, dear reader, that the title of this column has caused you to either (a) roll your eyes and wonder, What century do you think we're living in? or (b) scratch your head and ask, Yes, why don't we? Wherever you come down …

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Bob Von Sternberg / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Run-up in ballot challenges cloud Coleman-Franken recount — With 3,000-plus votes disputed, it's hard to know who is really gaining. — The number of ballot challenges in the U.S. Senate recount surged again on Monday, passing 3,000 overall and clouding the question of who's picking up ground in the hotly contested race.

Discussion: The Caucus, Power Line and MSNBC

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
[UPDATED] State Pegs Coleman Lead at 172 Votes; Challenges Increase …

Discussion: Salon, Minnesota Independent, Swampland, Political Machine, TPM Election Central, Democracy in America, Campaign Silo and Majikthise

David Zucchino / Los Angeles Times:

Injured veterans engaged in new combat — In a little-noticed regulation change, the Pentagon's definition of combat-related disabilities is narrowed, costing some wounded veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits. — Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq — by a roadside bomb and a land mine.

Discussion: Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Think Progress and Jules Crittenden

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

For release at 8:15 a.m. EST — The Federal Reserve announced on Tuesday that it will initiate a program to purchase the direct obligations of housing-related government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks—and mortgage-backed securities …

Discussion: The Swamp, TIME.com and Paul Krugman

John B. Taylor / Wall Street Journal:

Why Permanent Tax Cuts Are the Best Stimulus — Short-term fiscal policies fail to promote long-term growth. — The incoming Obama administration and congressional Democrats are now considering a second fiscal stimulus package, estimated at more than $500 billion, to follow the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Hot Air, Economist's View and Greg Mankiw's Blog

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:

Claremont parents clash over kindergarten Thanksgiving costumes — Some say having students dress up as pilgrims and Native Americans is ‘demeaning.’ Their opponents say they are elitists injecting politics into a simple children's celebration. — For decades, Claremont kindergartners …

Discussion: American Power, Don Surber, The Anchoress and INSTAPUTZ