memeorandum: How to Pay for a 21st-Century Military (New York Times)

12:05 AM ET, December 22, 2008

Top Items:

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: Matthew Yglesias, Crooks and Liars, Political Machine, Macsmind, Taylor Marsh, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, TalkLeft, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Don Surber

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

The Right To Dissolve The Constitution — One thing you have to concede to Dick Cheney. He says what he thinks. And so we get this: … The irony seems lost on him. How can the suspension of all laws into the power of the executive branch in wartime be seen as a defense or protection of the Constitution?

Discussion: RedState, Below The Beltway and PoliBlog

Shannen Coffin / The Corner:

Biden Reinforces the Point — Vice President Cheney had a little fun at his successor-to-be's expense today, telling Fox News Sunday that he didn't take Joe Biden's criticism of his tenure too seriously because Joe Biden doesn't know the Constitution from a hole in the ground.

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

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

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 and Weasel Zippers

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

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

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, MyDD and The Raw Story

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

Bob Ostertag / The Huffington Post:

Why Gay Marriage is the Wrong Issue — It's just plain sad what the gay and lesbian movement has come to. November 4 was so extraordinary, so magical. The whole world seemed to come together. Except for gays and lesbians in California. We were supposed to feel crushed over Proposition 8.

Discussion: L.A. Now

Associated Press:

Lawmaker says ‘no’ to Rev. Warren at inauguration — WASHINGTON (AP) — The first openly gay member of Congress said Sunday it was a mistake for President-elect Barack Obama to invite the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. — “Mr. Warren compared same-sex couples to incest.

Discussion: The Politico, Reuters and Truthdig

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

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

Discussion: Firedoglake, Queerty, Little Green Footballs, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, theheretik.us and Informed Comment

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

Discussion: Steve Young on Politics

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

Jennifer Parker / George's Bottom Line:
Exclusive: Obama's Blago Report: Only One Rahm Call to Governor

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

Frank James / The Swamp:
Obama Blago report to clear Rahm

Discussion: JammieWearingFool and Chicago Breaking News

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

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: Macsmind, Right Wing News, American Power, Agence France Presse, Crooks and Liars and Comments from Left Field

Michael Portillo / Times of London:

Britain has lost the stomach for a fight — Last week Gordon Brown announced a date for Britain's withdrawal from Iraq. Most troops will be back in time for a spring general election. The prime minister posed with soldiers and expressed his sorrow over yet more fatal casualties in Afghanistan.

Discussion: Samizdata.net, Jules Crittenden, The Corner, RedState, Cold Fury, Neptunus Lex, Andrew Bolt and SWJ Blog

Mark Halperin / TIME.com:

Obama Release on Middle Class Task Force — OBAMA TRANSITION TEAM ANNOUNCES WHITE HOUSE TASK FORCE ON WORKING FAMILIES — President-elect Obama Taps Vice President-elect Biden to Chair — Washington, DC - Today the Obama Transition team announced the President-elect's intention to form …

Discussion: Think Progress and The Raw Story

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: Gateway Pundit, Liberty Street and The Politico

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

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

Donna St. George / Washington Post:

Squeezed on All Sides, Parents Forgo Day Care — Education, Safety Sacrificed in Fiscal Crunch — In the Prince George's County community of Riverdale Park, town officials have noted a distressing sign of the national economic downturn: more children left home alone to fend for themselves …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!