memeorandum: Bleeding Heart Tightwads (Nicholas D. Kristof/New York Times)

6:00 PM ET, December 21, 2008

Top Items:

Bill Sammon / Fox News:

Cheney Mocks Biden, Defends Rumsfeld in ‘FOX News Sunday’ Interview — In one of his last interviews before leaving Washington, D.C., Vice President Cheney, a 40-year veteran of Washington politics, tried to straighten out a few misconceptions about his tenure and the way the executive and legislative branches are supposed to work.

Discussion: Washington Post, Jules Crittenden, Redhot and Riehl World View

Chris Wallace / Fox News:

Transcript: Vice President Cheney on ‘FOX News Sunday’ — WASHINGTON — “FOX NEWS SUNDAY” HOST CHRIS WALLACE: And hello again from FOX News in Washington. In exactly 30 days, President Bush and Vice President Cheney leave office. — Their eight years in the White House have been marked …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, TalkLeft, Washington Monthly, Crooks and Liars, Matthew Yglesias, Below The Beltway, Think Progress and Don Surber

Ryan Powers / Think Progress:

Cheney: I told Leahy to ‘f*ck’ himself because ‘I thought he merited it.’ — This morning on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked Vice President Cheney about his now infamous June 2004 exchange with Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT), when he told Leahy to “f*ck yourself.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, Comments from Left Field, Gateway Pundit, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Cheney and Biden trade shots — Vice President Dick Cheney took some of the toughest political shots yet in the post-election period, using an interview to belittle Vice President-elect Joe Biden's constitutional law acumen and pointedly declined to offer his successor any advice.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Political Machine

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:

Cheney Defends His Tenure, Adminstration's Actions — Vice President Cheney offered an unabashed defense of the Bush administration's claims of broad executive powers today, mocking criticism from Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and saying the president “doesn't have to check with anybody” before launching a nuclear attack.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Stephen Ohlemacher / Associated Press: Cheney says Congress failed struggling automakers

Jen Dimascio / The Politico: Cheney takes a shot at Biden

Brian Knowlton / The Caucus:
Biden and Cheney Clash on Role of No. 2

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, MyDD and The Raw Story

Kevin Freking / Associated Press: Biden to oversee efforts aimed at middle class

Jennifer Parker / ABCNEWS: Biden to Chair White House Task Force on Middle Class

Jennifer Parker / George's Bottom Line:

Exclusive: Obama's Blago Report: Only One Rahm Call to Governor — Sources tell me that the Obama team's review of contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will show that Rahm Emanuel had only one phone conversation with Blagojevich. — The contact, described as a “pro-forma” …

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, MyDD, The Strata-Sphere, TPM Election Central, Gawker, Washington Monthly, Lynn Sweet, Macsmind, TalkLeft, Patterico's Pontifications, Gateway Pundit and Kevin Drum

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Blago-Rahma: Only one call between Blago and Emanuel? — George Stephanopolous reports for ABC that Barack Obama's incoming team will reveal that Rahm Emanuel only had one direct contact with Governor Rod Blagojevich during the latter's attempts to sell the Senate seat, and that the replacement of Obama barely got mentioned.

Discussion: Riehl World View

Willie Brown / San Francisco Chronicle:

Illinois governor seems to be growing stronger — Igot a call from Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich the other day. The first thing I said to him was, “You know, this call is probably being taped.” — Blagojevich said he had read my column in The Chronicle last week, in which I raised questions about the …

Discussion: Don Surber

Frank James / The Swamp:

Obama Blago report to clear Rahm — George Stephanopoulos broke some news today when he reported that his former fellow Clinton White House colleague Rahm Emanuel was cleared by an investigation by Greg Craig, the former Clinton White House lawyer, into contacts the Obama transition team …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool and Chicago Breaking News

Mike Allen / The Politico: 30 days to Inauguration — Obama report absolves Emanuel on Illinois gov contacts

Christina Hoag / Associated Press:

Pastor Rick Warren preaches love for all, defends his invitation to Obama inauguration — LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Under fire for opposing gay marriage, influential evangelical pastor Rick Warren said Saturday that he loves Muslims, people of other religions, Republicans and Democrats, and he also loves “gays and straights.”

Discussion: Associated Press, The Swamp, Good As You, AMERICAblog News and The Raw Story

Raja Abdulrahim / Los Angeles Times:
Pastor Rick Warren addresses Muslim group, emphasizes need to find common ground

Discussion: Queerty, Little Green Footballs and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Juan Cole / Informed Comment:
Rick Warren: “I love Muslims . . . I happen to love Gays and Straights”

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Daily Beast and RedState

Steve Young / The Huffington Post:
Pastor Rick Warren Likens Gays To Pizza

Discussion: Steve Young on Politics

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

Birth Of The Professional Obama Haters — Every President has had his contingent of seemingly professional haters, sometimes stemming from policy but sometimes stemming from the need to market an opposition persona, increase readership or an audience, or rally partisan followers to do battle to halt specific polices.

Discussion: Right Wing News, QandO, Crooks and Liars, American Power, Agence France Presse, afro.com and Comments from Left Field

Frank James / The Swamp:

Bush poured fuel on housing fire: NYT — The Bush Administration once again comes off looking poorly in the latest installment of the New York Times series called “The Reckoning” for pouring fuel on the raging fire that was the housing bubble, then waiting to long to mount a serious and effective effort to put the fire out.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Politico and Matthew Yglesias

R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Bush E-Mails May Be Secret a Bit Longer

Discussion: At-Largely, Gawker, Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune and Associated Press

Lori Monsewicz / Repository:
Pilot in plane crash had connections to White House

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Caroline H. Dworin / New York Times:

Inside a Gritty Brooklyn Factory, Potomac Fever — ON Thursday, Dec. 11, Jim Donnelly got the call at his office on Jay Street in Dumbo for the biggest job he had ever had. Emmett Beliveau, the executive director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, told him that Precise Continental …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Kevin Drum and The Mahablog

Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times:

Bleeding Heart Tightwads — This holiday season is a time to examine who's been naughty and who's been nice, but I'm unhappy with my findings. The problem is this: We liberals are personally stingy. — Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous government spending to help the neediest people at home and abroad.

Discussion: TigerHawk, Don Surber and Cold Fury

Colin McEnroe / To Wit:

Merry Christmas from Wayne LaPierre — So my phone rings today; and after that 1.5-second delay that tells you it"s not a beloved friend, a guy comes on the line and says his name is Chris White from the NRA. Do I want to listen to a message from Wayne LaPierre about “Obama's scheme to ban guns?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias and me