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2:20 PM ET, January 12, 2009

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
John Cushman / The Caucus:
From the White House Briefing Room, a Swan Song  —  President Bush's last press conference opened with cordial words for the reporters who have covered his remarkable eight years in office.  —  Acknowledging that relations have been strained at times - that some had “misunderestimated me …
RELATED:
CNN:
Bush admits mistakes in his final news conference  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Addressing reporters in his final news conference before leaving office, President Bush admitted Monday to several mistakes during his tenure in office.  —  “Clearly putting a ‘Mission Accomplished’ (banner) on an aircraft carrier was a mistake,” Bush said.
Discussion: The Swamp and The Impolitic
New York Times:
In Final News Conference, Bush Strikes Elegiac Tone
Discussion: TIME.com
Washington Wire:   President Bush: ‘Every Day Has Been Joyous’
CNN:   Bush gives prescription to GOP
Fox News:
Reflective Bush Warns Obama of Attacks Against Nation, Criticism Facing President
Discussion: MoJoBlog
Josh Kraushaar / Scorecard's Blogs:
Portman running to succeed Voinovich  —  Former Republican congressman Rob Portman will announce that he is running for the Senate soon after Ohio Sen. George Voinovich's retirement announcement, according to multiple Republican sources.  —  Portman's official announcement is expected to take place on Wednesday.
RELATED:
Michelle Malkin:
I can't say I'll miss Crybaby George Voinovich
Marc Ambinder:
Voinovich Retires
Discussion: Swampland
Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Who Runs for Senate if Voinovich Retires?
Signorile / The Gist:
RNC Chair Candidate: “Homosexuality is a compulsion that can be contained, repressed or changed.”  —  Yes, that's what Ken Blackwell, the sketchy former Ohio Secretary of State who now has a good shot at running the Republican National Committee, told me a few months back, among some other very interesting and kooky things.
RELATED:
The Directors / RedState:
If Not Ken Blackwell, Keep Mike Duncan  —  RedState endorses Ken Blackwell for Chairman of the Republican National Committee.  —  While RedState's endorsement in the race for Chairman of the Republican National Committee does not set us apart from many of our colleagues in the online right movement, our second choice does.
Mariana Cook / New Yorker:
A COUPLE IN CHICAGO … MICHELLE OBAMA: There is a strong possibility that Barack will pursue a political career, although it's unclear.  There is a little tension with that.  I'm very wary of politics.  I think he's too much of a good guy for the kind of brutality, the skepticism.
Discussion: Wonkette
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Obama climate czar has socialist ties  —  Group sees ‘global governance’ as solution  —  Until last week, Carol M. Browner, President-elect Barack Obama's pick as global warming czar, was listed as one of 14 leaders of a socialist group's Commission for a Sustainable World Society …
Khaled Abu Toameh / Jerusalem Post:
Iran warns Hamas not to accept Egyptian truce proposal  —  Iran is exerting heavy pressure on Hamas not to accept the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire with Israel, an Egyptian government official said on Sunday.  —  The official told The Jerusalem Post by phone that two senior Iranian officials …
RELATED:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Ideas for Obama  —  Last week President-elect Barack Obama was asked to respond to critics who say that his stimulus plan won't do enough to help the economy.  Mr. Obama answered that he wants to hear ideas about “how to spend money efficiently and effectively to jump-start the economy.”
Rachel Abramowitz / Los Angeles Times:
The bleeping Golden Globes  —  Some of the acceptance speeches were saltier than usual this year, thanks to Mickey Rourke, Tina Fey and others.  —  The Golden Globes are supposed to be loose, but so loose that it could spur FCC sanctions?  The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn …
Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Power Line
RELATED:
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
NYT reporter warns of one-term Obama  —  White House reporters for The New York Times predict that the market collapse will force President-elect Barack Obama to abandon for now many of his campaign promises.  —  If his stimulus plan “doesn't work out, he may very well be a one-term president …
Mike Kaszuba / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Franken campaign asks for certificate to take seat  —  In letters to the governor and secretary of state, Democrat Al Franken is asking for an election certificate that would let him take office provisionally in the U.S. Senate.  —  ST. PAUL, Minn. - Democrat Al Franken asked Monday …
RELATED:
Minneapolis Star Tribune:   Coleman is casting wider net for votes
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
House Republicans Invite Obama to Address Them  —  House Republicans have invited President-elect Barack Obama to speak before the entire GOP conference, hoping to set a different tone to the partisan wars of the last two years in which congressional Democrats battled President Bush.
Discussion: TIME.com
Jonathan Weisman / Wall Street Journal:
Obama Plans to Keep Estate Tax  —  Democrats Want to Freeze Levy at Current Levels Instead of Letting It Expire Next Year  —  President-elect Barack Obama and congressional leaders plan to move soon to block the estate tax from disappearing in 2010, suggesting the levy might outlive the …
Bob Owens / Pajamas Media:
Pro-Joe: Plumber's Trip to Israel Scares the Establishment Media  —  After all, some of the best reporting of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War came from a cook.  (Watch Joe's first report here)  —  Pajamas TV is turning Joe the Plumber into a journalist, and the media class doesn't like it one bit.
William Kristol / New York Times:
Continuity We Can Believe In  —  Barack Obama made news Sunday on ABC's “This Week”: The White House dog will likely be a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water dog.  —  I've got to say I'm a little disappointed.  These are nice, friendly, generally obedient breeds (or in the case of the Labradoodle, a crossbreed).
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Gay bishop will open inaugural weekend  —  The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who was elected the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop in 2003, will deliver the invocation for Sunday's kickoff inaugural event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Presidential Inaugural Committee said.
buffalobeast.com:
THE BEAST 50 MOST LOATHSOME PEOPLE IN AMERICA, 2008  —  50. Barack Obama  —  Charges: Beyond a few token acts of bipartisan marketing, Barry's major duty in the Senate was to avoid legislating, so he could pretend Washington-outsider status and nullify attacks on his non-existent policy positions.
Discussion: My Left Wing and TBogg
 
 
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 More Items: 
Gunnar Heinsohn / Wall Street Journal:
Ending the West's Proxy War Against Israel
Discussion: The Corner
Washington Wire:
Inauguration Watch: For Lunch, Think Lincoln
Discussion: TIME.com
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Open Source Textbooks
Discussion: Left in the West
Kevin Hassett / Bloomberg:
Trillion-Dollar Spree Is Road to Ruin, Not Rally: Kevin Hassett
Discussion: Hot Air
Miguel Helft / New York Times:
YouTube Teams With Congress to Show Lawmakers at Work
Discussion: Sunlight Foundation
James Fallows:
Refining the point about GW Bush's final press conference
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
 Earlier Items: 
Barak Ravid / Haaretz:
Barak and Livni disagree with Olmert, want quick end to Gaza fighting
Discussion: Power Line and Commentary
Chicago Tribune:
Blagojevich to swear in Senate, then members start his trial
Discussion: TIME.com and The Capitol Fax Blog
David Carr / New York Times:
Let's Invent an iTunes for News
Kenneth Lovett / NY Daily News:
Caroline Kennedy is ‘impressive’ at Brooklyn pol confab
 

 
From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

 
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