memeorandum: Chávez reopens oil bids to West as prices plunge (Simon Romero/International Herald Tribune)

11:05 AM ET, January 15, 2009

Top Items:

After Tax Errors Raised, GOP Leaders Defend Treasury Nominee — But Some Call Geithner's Actions Serious Missteps — Was he cheating on his taxes or just sloppy with his finances? Lawmakers vetting the nomination of Timothy F. Geithner to serve as Treasury secretary say they may never be sure.

Discussion: QandO, TPM Election Central, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Kausfiles

New York Times:
More Questions for Mr. Geithner

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Washington Post, TalkLeft and NewsBusters.org

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators target two Obama nominees

Discussion: PoliGazette, Right Wing News and AmSpecBlog

Jeff Gerth / ProPublica:
How Citigroup Unraveled Under Geithner's Watch

Discussion: The Politico, The Huffington Post, The Campaign Spot, Truthdig and Hot Air

Byron York / National Review:
York: Geithner Accepted IMF Reimbursement for Taxes He D...

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Patterico's Pontifications, Commentary, Betsy's Page, The Corner, PostPartisan, Michelle Malkin, Reuters, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, The Politico, Weekly Standard, The Caucus and The New Republic

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Geithner's Skill May Trump Tax Issue

Discussion: MyDD, Los Angeles Times, RedState, Talking Points Memo, The Other McCain and Wall Street Journal

Associated Press:

Israel Shells UN Headquarters In Gaza — GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel shelled the United Nations headquarters in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, engulfing the compound and the main warehouse in fire and destroying thousands of pounds of food and humanitarian supplies intended for Palestinian refugees.

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, The Atlanticist, Outside The Beltway and The Raw Story

New York Times:

Israel Strikes U.N. Complex in Gaza Strip — GAZA — Amid reports that a United Nations building had been hit, Israeli forces shelled areas deep inside Gaza City and edged forward toward the city center Thursday, sending thousands of panicked residents fleeing from their homes, witnesses said.

Discussion: TPMCafe, UN Dispatch and The E&P Pub

BBC:
‘Under fire’ — Many Palestinian civilians are caught up in the fighting in Gaza

Discussion: Elder of Ziyon, Sic Semper Tyrannis, Boing Boing and New York Times

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Obama Charms Even a Night's Grand Ol' Party — At one point during the party, CNBC's Larry Kudlow asked Barack Obama why he had hired several of the liberal guests who appeared on his program but left him Robert Reich. — “So someone will stick up for me on your show,” the president-elect replied.

Discussion: Michael Calderone's Blogs and The E&P Pub

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Playing to the Pundits — If you think the chattering classes were chattering about the Osama tape or the fate of the second $350 billion in bailout money yesterday, let me enlighten you. — It was all about the dinner party. — To wit, which members of the conservative commentariat were invited to dine with Obama?

Discussion: Think Progress, The New Republic and Real Clear Politics

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:

Intelligence Court Rules Wiretapping Program Legal — WASHINGTON — A federal intelligence court, in a rare public opinion, is expected to issue a major ruling validating the power of the president and Congress to wiretap international phone calls and intercept e-mail messages without a court order …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Anonymous Liberal, Wizbang and RIGHTWINGSPARKLE

Simon Romero / International Herald Tribune:

Chávez reopens oil bids to West as prices plunge — CARACAS: President Hugo Chávez, buffeted by falling oil prices that threaten to damage his efforts to establish a Socialist-inspired state, is quietly courting Western oil companies once again.

Discussion: Daniel W. Drezner

Clifford Krauss / New York Times:
Where Is Oil Going Next? — HOUSTON — From the Indian Ocean …

Discussion: Don Surber

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Chavez turns to Western oil companies for bailout

Discussion: BBC, Fausta's Blog, Daimnation! and QandO

Andrew Roberts / Telegraph:

History will show that George W Bush was right — The American lady who called to see if I would appear on her radio programme was specific. “We're setting up a debate,” she said sweetly, “and we want to know from your perspective as a historian whether George W Bush was the worst president …

Discussion: theheretik.us, Sister Toldjah, No More Mister Nice Blog, Samizdata.net, Gateway Pundit, Power Line, Macsmind and protein wisdom

Robert Creamer / The Huffington Post:
The One Big Thing George W. Bush Did Right

Discussion: The Progressive Revolution

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Biden Outlines Plans to Do More With Less Power — WASHINGTON — He was in the Senate for 36 years and visited the White House under seven presidents. But Joseph R. Biden Jr. has never seen the inside of the vice president's office in the West Wing. “I never thought a lot about the vice presidency …

Discussion: The Caucus, Think Progress, The Note, TIME.com, Lost in Transition, Taegan Goddard's … and Prairie Weather

Bob Woodward / Washington Post:

10 Take Aways From the Bush Years — There's actually a lot that President-elect Barack Obama can learn from the troubled presidency of George W. Bush. Over the past eight years, I have interviewed President Bush for nearly 11 hours, spent hundreds of hours with his administration's key players …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and TIME.com

Wall Street Journal:

Bush and the Libby Pardon — As the curtain closes on the presidency of George W. Bush, the one loose end dangling is the pardon of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. In 2007 Mr. Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was convicted for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Discussion: protein wisdom and The Opinionator

Wall Street Journal:

Even Businessmen Deserve a Lawyer — How Eric Holder enabled federal prosecutors to bully defendants. — The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Eric Holder's nomination for attorney general has failed to focus on the threat to constitutional rights posed by what is known as the “Holder Memorandum.”

Discussion: Washington Post

Evan Perez / Wall Street Journal:
Holder Vows to Restore Credibility

Discussion: CBS News, The BLT, Washington Post, Associated Press, New York Times, The Note and TIME.com

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:
Parties Brace for a Fight on Justice Dept. Choice

Discussion: Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, MoJoBlog, Spin Cycle, MSNBC, The Caucus, New York Times, Time, Democracy in America and TIME.com

Isabel Kershner / New York Times:

War on Hamas Saps Palestinian Leaders — JERUSALEM — Israel hoped that the war in Gaza would not only cripple Hamas, but eventually strengthen its secular rival, the Palestinian Authority, and even allow it to claw its way back into Gaza. — But with each day, the authority, its leader …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Jeffrey Goldberg, Yourish.com, rubber hose, Newshoggers.com, Jules Crittenden, Commentary and Firedoglake

Eli Lake / Washington Times:

EXCLUSIVE: Panetta faces rendition queries — Panel eyes CIA pick's role in shaping policy during the Clinton era — President-elect Barack Obama's choice for CIA director, Leon Panetta, served as White House chief of staff during the time the Clinton administration accelerated a practice …

Discussion: ATTACKERMAN, AmSpecBlog, The Washington Independent and The Campaign Spot

Richard L. Connor / CQ Politics:

History May See Lincoln-Like Greatness in George W. Bush — It's easy to make comparisons between President-elect Barack Obama and former President Abraham Lincoln. We have the Illinois connections and then the hovering, dark clouds of war, a nation divided and in crisis, and other similarities that provide a historic link.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Talking Points Memo

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Democrats Finishing Up Stimulus Proposal — President-Elect Is Expected to Tout Plan Tomorrow — Congressional Democrats are putting the final touches on an economic stimulus package worth almost $850 billion, hoping to have the details ready in time for President-elect Barack Obama …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, LiberalOasis, The Politico, MSNBC, USA Today, Marginal Revolution, Wonk Room and AMERICAblog News

Brad Stone / New York Times:

Apple's Chief Takes a Medical Leave — Casting a pall over one of the world's most closely watched companies, Steven P. Jobs, chief executive of Apple, said on Wednesday that he was taking a leave of absence because of health concerns. — Mr. Jobs wrote in a letter to Apple employees …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, Blogs and Stories, Silicon Alley Insider, Washington Post, USA Today, VentureBeat and The Moderate Voice

Joel Mowbray / Fox News:

U.N. Agency That Runs School Hit in Gaza Employed Hamas and Islamic Jihad Members — The United Nations agency that administers a school in Gaza where dozens of civilians were killed by Israeli mortar fire last week has admitted to employing terrorists to work at its Palestinian schools in the past …

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air, Israel Matzav, protein wisdom, Infidel Bloggers Alliance and Israellycool

Michael Stokes Paulsen / Wall Street Journal:

The Minnesota Recount Was Unconstitutional — There's still plenty of time for the state to get it right. — You would think people would learn. The recount in the contest between Norm Coleman and Al Franken for a seat in the U.S. Senate isn't just embarrassing. It is unconstitutional.

Discussion: Betsy's Page and AmSpecBlog