memeorandum: Franken The Likely Winner As Minnesota Recount Heads To Finish Line (Eric Kleefeld/TPM Election Central)

1:15 AM ET, December 19, 2008

Top Items:

Pro-Lifers Rip Rick Warren on Obama Invocation — So let me get straight to the point. — Liberals and gay activists aren't happy with Barack Obama for choosing pro-life and prop 8 supporting pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at Obama's inaugural.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, No More Mister Nice Blog, Donklephant, Washington Monthly, The Impolitic, The Moderate Voice and Balloon Juice

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

Obama On Rick Warren Pick: We Have To Be Able To Agree To Disagree — Obama, at his presser today, defends the decision to choose Rick Warren to deliver the invocation as his inauguration with a restatement of his commitment to gay rights and, more broadly, to the principles of unity that have been a hallmark of his rise to power:

Gregg Levine / Firedoglake:

The Warren Problem: Jane on CNN — Jane addresses the problems with having Pastor Rick Warren give the invocation at Barack Obama's inaugural on CNN at this hour. — Update: Jane spoke with Rick Sanchez who repeatedly asked why “the left” would have a problem with inviting Warren to speak at the presidential inaugural.

Discussion: Fighting Liberals, Pam's House Blend and The Mahatma X Files

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Obama to gay protesters: Rick Warren's my inauguration pastor pick

Discussion: Riehl World View

Satyam Khanna / Think Progress:
Warren insists he's not homophobic: I served 'water and donuts …

Discussion: Political Machine, Shakesville and Democrats.com

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
ACCOUNTABILITY WATCH.... It's not my intention to belabor …

Discussion: The Impolitic

Atrios / Eschaton:
Our Bigoted Media-Industrial Complex

Discussion: First Draft, Left in the West and Taylor Marsh

The Huffington Post:
Obama's Talking Points On Rick Warren

Discussion: Political Punch, Wonkette, RHRealityCheck.org blogs, Swampland, Weekly Standard, About.com US Liberal Politics and Ben Smith's Blogs

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
The Divisiveness Of the Rick Warren Choice

Discussion: Obsidian Wings, Crooks and Liars, Majikthise and Think Progress

Associated Press:
Obama defends choice of pastor for invocation

Discussion: Queerty, Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle, PoliBlog, Associated Press, The Huffington Post, Weekly Standard and TalkLeft

Thom Hartmann / The Huffington Post:
Three Cups of Tea for Rick Warren

Discussion: Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
OBAMA ON RICK WARREN

Discussion: Open Left and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:

Franken The Likely Winner As Minnesota Recount Heads To Finish Line — Late Update: Norm Coleman's apparent lead has been cut to a mere five votes at the close of business today, according to the running vote count from the Star Tribune, down from a 358-vote lead last night.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Politics1, FiveThirtyEight.com, AlterNet.org, The Washington Independent, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, MyDD, The Raw Story and Democracy in America

Pat Doyle / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Minnesota Supreme Court: Count rejected absentee ballots — In a ruling crucial to the disputed U.S. Senate election, the Minnesota Supreme Court Thursday rejected an attempt by incumbent Norm Coleman to block the state Canvassing Board from counting improperly rejected absentee ballots.

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG, Power Line and Hot Air

Michael O'Brien / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:

Minn. High Court Ruling Could Help Coleman — A state Supreme Court ruling, which will likely exclude hundreds of ballots that Al Franken (D) had sought to include in the recount, could help Sen. Norm Coleman (R) in Minnesota's contested Senate race. — The court in part overturned …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
Brett Favre Beats Lizard People

Discussion: Wonkette

Marcia Kramer / WCBS-TV:

Kennedy Takes A Beating From Upstate Media — Reporters Jump All Over Mostly Silent Princess Of Camelot; Mayor Of Syracuse Doesn't Offer Endorsement — Who Should Get Senate Gig? Siena Poll: Cuomo 26, Kennedy 23 — Reporting — Caroline Kennedy took a page from Hillary Clinton's playbook …

Discussion: This ain't Hell …, NewsBusters.org, Runnin' Scared and JammieWearingFool

Rod Watson / Buffalo News:
Kennedy is listening to wrong folks

Discussion: MyDD and Taylor Marsh

Wayne Barrett / Runnin' Scared:
Why Bloomie is Campaigning for Caroline Kennedy

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, GothamSchools, Democrat And Chronicle and The Crypt's Blogs

David M. Halbfinger / City Room:
A Kennedy-Sharpton Meet-Up at Sylvia's

Discussion: Gothamist and Hotline On Call

Rob Stein / Washington Post:

New Rule Protects Health-Care Workers' ‘Right of Conscience’ — The Bush administration today issued a sweeping new regulation that protects a broad range of health-care workers — from doctors to janitors — who refuse to participate in providing services that they believe violate their personal, moral or religious beliefs.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, RHRealityCheck.org blogs, Feministe, Amygdala, Liberal Values, ACSBlog, Shakesville, Daily Kos and The Corner

David Stout / New York Times: Medical ‘Conscience Rule’ Is Issued

United States Department of Health and Human Services:
HHS Issues Final Regulation to Protect Health Care Providers from Discrimination

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Jesse J. Holland / Associated Press:

AP source: Rep. Hilda Solis is Obama's labor pick — WASHINGTON (AP) — A labor official says Rep. Hilda Solis of California will be nominated as labor secretary by President-elect Barack Obama. — The Democratic congresswoman was just elected to her fifth term representing heavily Hispanic portions …

Discussion: TPM Election Central, Progress Illinois, Wonk Room, Washington Monthly, Democracy in America, American Prospect, The New Republic, OpenMarket.org, Associated Press, MoJoBlog, America's Voice Blog, The Washington Independent, Open Left, Climate Progress and Broadband Politics

Harold Meyerson / American Prospect:
HILDA SOLIS IS GREAT.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, MyDD, Matthew Yglesias, AmSpecBlog, The New Republic, Clive Crook and The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Joe Weisenthal / clusterstock.alleyinsider.com:

Brilliant: Credit Suisse To Pay Top Execs With Illiquid Mortgage Securities — We're shocked that nobody has suggested this before, but on its face this looks like a great idea... Credit Suisse announced today that bonuses for its top executives would be made in illiquid, mortgage-backed securities.

Discussion: Megan McArdle

A.C. Thompson / The Nation:

Katrina's Hidden Race War … The way Donnell Herrington tells it, there was no warning. One second he was trudging through the heat. The next he was lying prostrate on the pavement, his life spilling out of a hole in his throat, his body racked with pain, his vision blurred and distorted.

Discussion: Brilliant at Breakfast

ScienceInsider:

Sources: John Holdren to be Nominated as Obama's Science Adviser — Strong indications are that President-elect Barack Obama has picked physicist John Holdren to be the president's science adviser. — A top adviser to the Obama campaign and international expert on energy and climate …

Discussion: Climate Progress, Washington Post, Get Energy Smart!, Reason, Open Left, Discover Magazine and Chronicle of Higher Education

Michael Lind / Salon:

The economic Civil War — The South's attempt to kill the North's auto industry is the latest battle in an ongoing conflict. It's time for a Third Reconstruction to put an end to it. — It is just as well that Barack Obama is emulating Abraham Lincoln by traveling to his inauguration in Washington by train.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, The Other McCain and The Corner

Pamela Hess / Associated Press:

Report raps ex-White House pair on Iraq claims — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - Former White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales misled Congress when he claimed the CIA in 2002 approved information that ended up in the 2003 State of the Union speech …

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:

Another Change You Won't See From Obama — From the time Sen. Barack Obama announced his candidacy, I wrote and wrote about his record on criminal justice issues, particularly with respect to our drug laws. I didn't like what I learned and said so repeatedly.

Discussion: Liberal Values and Newshoggers.com

White House:

President Bush Addresses the American Enterprise Institute — Washington, D.C. — In Focus: Health Care — In Focus: Economy — MR. DeMUTH: Mr. President, what's on your mind this morning? — THE PRESIDENT: First, thanking you for being the leader that you've been, and thanking AEI for generating good thought.

Discussion: New York Times, Althouse and The Corner