memeorandum: U.S. Senate race: Error might mean 171 absentee ballots went uncounted … (Jason Hoppin/TwinCities.com)

1:10 PM ET, December 10, 2008

Top Items:

Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:

Sources Say Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is ‘Senate Candidate #5’ — Feds Plan to Interview Chicago Congressman as Part of Blagojevich Probe — Chicago Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) is the anonymous “Senate Candidate #5” whose emissaries Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich reportedly claimed offered …

Discussion: The Fix, Power Line, Talking Points Memo, Ta-Nehisi Coates, TalkLeft, Scorecard's Blogs, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Raw Story, Marc Ambinder, Political Machine, Gawker, Don Surber, PoliticalBase.com Blog, Sunlight Foundation, Patterico's Pontifications, TPMMuckraker and ArchPundit

The Politico:

In scandal, risks for Obama — At first blush, Barack Obama comes out of the Rod Blagojevich scandal smelling like a rose. The prosecutor at a news conference seemed to give the president-elect a seal of approval, and the Illinois governor himself was caught on tape complaining that Obama was not interested in crooked schemes.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, RedState, The Capitol Fax Blog, New York Times, Hot Air, Progress Illinois, Washington Post, Daily Kos, TPM Election Central, Gateway Pundit, The Caucus and Cold Fury

New York Times:

Obama's Effort on Ethics Bill Had Role in Governor's Fall — In a sequence of events that neatly captures the contradictions of Barack Obama's rise through Illinois politics, a phone call he made three months ago to urge passage of a state ethics bill indirectly contributed to the downfall …

The Trail / Washington Post:

Obama: Blagojevich Should Resign — President-elect Barack Obama believes that Gov. Rod Blagojevich should resign, his advisers said on Wednesday. “The President-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively …

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, TIME.com, Lynn Sweet and The Raw Story

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

Text of Obama's first newspaper interview as president-elect — In his first post-election newspaper interview, President-elect Barack Obama doesn't spill all the beans about his intentions upon taking office on Jan. 20. — But he does reveal some interesting details.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Political Punch and The Campaign Spot

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

THE INEVITABLE PUSH.... It's only been 24 hours, and it's pretty obvious that reports like this one, from the AP's Liz Sidoti, are going to quickly become mind-numbing. … There's just no reason for reporting like this. Is Obama connected to Blagojevich's scandal? No, but the scandal is “threatening to dog him.”

Discussion: The Heretik, Media Matters for America, The Campaign Spot and volokh.powerblogs.com

New York Times:

Calls Mount in Illinois for Governor to Step Aside — CHICAGO — Political leaders in Illinois joined growing calls for the resignation of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich a day after he was arrested and accused of putting President-elect Obama's former United States Senate seat up for sale.

Discussion: A Blog For All

Chicago Sun Times:
Madigan may take him to high court

Discussion: TIME.com, Political Machine, TPM Election Central and Chicago Business

Susan Saulny / New York Times:
Portrait of a Politician: Vengeful and Profane

Discussion: The New Republic, The Politico, CNN, Los Angeles Times, JustOneMinute, Likelihood of Success, The Volokh Conspiracy, protein wisdom, Slate and Connecting.the.Dots

Ryan Keith / State Journal Register:
Impeachment is an option, but it's complicated

Discussion: Chicago Sun Times, Progress Illinois, ArchPundit and Below The Beltway

Michelle Malkin:
Boomerang: The Democrat culture of corruption

Discussion: Right Wing News and New York Times

Mike Allen / The Politico: Swearing in: Barack Hussein Obama

Hilzoy / Obsidian Wings: Blagojevich — Since everyone else has already noted …

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
Analysis: Scandal threatens to dog Obama

Discussion: The Huffington Post, New York Post, Washington Post, Hot Air, The Politico, Jules Crittenden, A Blog For All and Gateway Pundit

Reid Wilson / The Hill:
Clues to identity of candidates #1-6

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Firedoglake, TIME.com, Taylor Marsh, Time, ArchPundit and The Note

Pam Spaulding / Pam's House Blend:

Jon Stewart slays the homophobic Huckabeast without breaking a sweat — UPDATE: Louise did a complete transcript of the segment in this diary - many thanks! — And entertains while doing so. Jon Stewart asked serious questions any hard-hitting progressive journalist or political commentator …

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Washington Monthly and Qnews

Ali Frick / Think Progress:

Stewart Grills Huckabee On Gay Marriage: ‘At What Age Did You Choose Not To Be Gay?’ — For over seven minutes last night, Jon Stewart grilled former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on his opposition to gay marriage. Huckabee is touring the country to promote his new book, “Do The Right Thing.”

Jesse McKinley / New York Times: Gay Marriage Ban Inspires New Wave of Activists

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

$73 an Hour: Adding It Up — Seventy-three dollars an hour. — That figure — repeated on television and in newspapers as the average pay of a Big Three autoworker — has become a big symbol in the fight over what should happen to Detroit. To critics, it is a neat encapsulation …

Discussion: Wonkette, Kevin Drum, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Buck Naked Politics, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, American Prospect, Comments from Left Field, Economist's View and The Corner

Tom Curry / MSNBC:
An all-American auto industry bailout?

Discussion: PoliPundit.com

Wall Street Journal:
The Bailout That Won't — Would you buy a car from Congress?

Discussion: Donklephant, Fraters Libertas and Betsy's Page

Chicago Tribune:

Barack Obama plans to reach out to Muslim world — In exclusive interview, he says he plans to be sworn in like every other president, using his full name: Barack Hussein Obama — Barack Obama says his heart will remain in Chicago, even as he moves to Washington. (Alex Garcia / Tribune / December 9, 2008)

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Townhall.com, Wonkette, The Hill, Soccer Dad, The Swamp, TPM Election Central, TIME.com and Brian Beutler

Agence France Presse:
Obama plans major address in Islamic capital: interview

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Reuters, Associated Press and TPMCafe

Los Angeles Times:
Obama speaks out in his first newspaper interview

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, TIME.com, Boston Globe and George's Bottom Line

Dave Orrick / TwinCities.com:

FBI reviewing allegations involving Norm Coleman ally, source says — Source: Inquiry involves alleged attempt to steer money toward senator — Federal investigators are looking into allegations that a longtime friend and benefactor tried to steer money to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, the Pioneer Press has learned.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, Gawker, Think Progress, NewsBusters.org, Sunlight Foundation, MinnPost and Political Machine

Jason Hoppin / TwinCities.com:
U.S. Senate race: Error might mean 171 absentee ballots went uncounted …

Discussion: TPM Election Central

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:

WSJ: Only Secret Illegal Surveillance Will Provide Accountability — I'd thought that one beneficial result of Barack Obama being elected president was that it might cause conservatives to think twice about their post-9/11 embrace of unlimited executive power.

Joseph E. Stiglitz / Vanity Fair:

Capitalist Fools — Behind the debate over remaking U.S. financial policy will be a debate over who's to blame. It's crucial to get the history right, writes a Nobel-laureate economist, identifying five key mistakes—under Reagan, Clinton, and Bush II—and one national delusion.

Discussion: The Heretik

Bloomberg:

GMAC Hasn't Met Conditions to Convert to Bank Status — A A A — Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — GMAC LLC, the auto and home lender seeking federal aid, hasn't obtained enough capital to become a bank holding company and may abandon the effort, casting new doubt on the firm's ability to survive.