memeorandum: Could Obama Be Just Too Awesome? (Frank J. Fleming/Pajamas Media)

1:40 AM ET, March 14, 2009

Top Items:

SteveK / TVNewser:

MSNBC Producers Asked Not To Highlight Cramer/Stewart — A TVNewser tipster tells us MSNBC producers were asked not to incorporate the Jim Cramer/Jon Stewart interview into their shows today. In fact, the only time it came up on MSNBC was during the White House briefing …

Discussion: Salon, FishBowlDC, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story, New York Magazine and Riehl World View

Capital Commerce:

Why Jon Stewart Really Attacked Jim Cramer — There was a lively exchange last night on The Daily Show between Jon Stewart and CNBC's Jim Cramer, in which Stewart hammered Cramer and the network for being subservient to Wall Street and not alerting viewers to the coming meltdown.

Discussion: Eunomia, Portfolio, The Corner, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, The Reaction, American Power, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Political Punch and The Sundries Shack

Megan McArdle:

Cramer v. Stewart — The buzz today is Cramer's appearance on Jon Stewart's show. I've been of two minds about this whole fooforaw, which is why I haven't blogged about it. On the one hand, I am not a fan of financial cable news (Bloomberg usually excepted). I think Jim Cramer should be illegal.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Hypertext, MoJo Blog Posts, Brian Beutler, The Big Picture, Crunchy Con, The League of Ordinary …, Firedoglake, Majikthise and Wonkette

Alessandra Stanley / New York Times:

Economic Meltdown Not a Laughing Matter — It wasn't a “Brawl Street,” or a thrilla in vanilla. It wasn't a “Daily Show” friendly feud or even much of a discussion. Mostly, the much-hyped Thursday night showdown between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer, the mercurial host of “Mad Money” on CNBC, felt like a Senate subcommittee hearing.

Discussion: The New Republic, Matthew Yglesias, The Opinionator, DealBook, Whiskey Fire, New York Magazine, TVNewser, The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice, Freakonomics, The Reaction and BAGnewsNotes

Ryan Powers / Think Progress:

MSNBC producers told ‘not to incorporate’ Cramer's Daily Show interview into their programming. — TVNewser reports that “MSNBC producers were asked not to incorporate the Jim Cramer/Jon Stewart interview into their shows today.” By TVNewser's count, Cramer's Daily Show interview …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Swamp, Los Angeles Times and Hullabaloo

Hilary Potkewitz / Crain's New York Business:
Street.com CEO quits after Cramer's TV flameout

Discussion: Firedoglake and The Raw Story

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
To Catch A Predator — I watched the Daily Show with growing shock last night.

Discussion: TheZoo, Newshoggers.com, Associated Press and The Caucus

Amanda Terkel / Think Progress:
After Being Eviscerated By Jon Stewart, Cramer Skips Morning Show Appearance

Discussion: National Review, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, The Nation, The Raw Story, Majikthise and Runnin' Scared

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
There's nothing unique about Jim Cramer

Discussion: Will Wilkinson, Newshoggers.com, Guardian, Indecision Forever, Swords Crossed, Mondoweiss, Firedoglake, TalkLeft, Greg's Opinion, Your Right Hand Thief and Taylor Marsh

Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:

Obama admin. to end use of term ‘enemy combatant’ — Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition — WASHINGTON - The Obama administration said Friday that it is abandoning one of President George W. Bush's key phrases in the war on terrorism: enemy combatant.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Agence France Presse, Donklephant, Balloon Juice and Don Surber

Washington Post:

Obama Administration Abandons Use of Term ‘Enemy Combatant’ — The Obama Administration today dropped the term “enemy combatant” to describe those held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and increased the legal threshold needed to detain them.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TIME.com and the talking dog

US Department of Justice:

Department of Justice Withdraws “Enemy Combatant” Definition for Guantanamo Detainees — In a filing today with the federal District Court for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice submitted a new standard for the government's authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.

Discussion: The Swamp, The Politico, New York Times, FP Passport, Emptywheel, Hot Air and Think Progress

Lyle Denniston / SCOTUSblog:
U.S. defines its claim to detention power

Discussion: Salon and ACSBlog

Michelle Malkin: Obama to re-brand “enemy combatants”

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ASSERTS BROAD DETENTION AUTHORITY.

Discussion: The Washington Independent and Brian Beutler

Terry Frieden / CNN:
U.S. reverses policy, drops ‘enemy combatant’ term

Discussion: DISSENTING JUSTICE, The League of Ordinary … and Jihad Watch

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

McConnell: Coleman fight should go to federal court — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday that he would urge former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) to take his legal battle with Al Franken to federal court, potentially dragging out the Minnesota Senate race for several more months.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, The Plum Line and Minnesota Independent

Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Senate recount trial: Now it's up to the judges

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Caucus, TPMDC and Minnesota Independent

Manu Raju / The Politico:
Coleman v. Franken

Discussion: TIME.com, Associated Press, Capital J | JTA and The Politico

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:

THE WHITE HOUSE'S FAVORITE COLUMNIST. — This is a bit of an inside baseball observation, but it's becoming clear that the columnist with the best access to the White House is, improbably, David Brooks. A month ago, Brooks got the first word on the banking plan and a rare one-on-one interview with Tim Geithner.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

Washington Wire:

McCain Threatens to Oppose Interior Nominee Over Reagan Remark — Stephen Power reports on politics. — Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain today denounced as “highly offensive” remarks about Ronald Reagan made by President Barack Obama's nominee for the number two spot at the Department of the Interior.

Discussion: Brian Beutler, Wonkette, Think Progress, PoliGazette, Washington Monthly, Shakesville, The Impolitic, The Huffington Post, Matthew Yglesias and Democracy in America

Philly.com:
Memo to McCain: There are no saints in America, not even St. Ronnie

Discussion: Associated Press

Michael C. Moynihan / Reason:

Keith Olbermann and the Ring of Assassins! — On last night's episode of Countdown, the always excitable Keith Olbermann led the show with a “bombshell allegation” from investigative reporter Seymour Hersh exposing a “covert executive assassination ring” run out of Dick Cheney's office.

Discussion: Moe Lane and protein wisdom

Mike Allen / The Politico:

White House: Greed will help — The nation's economy used to have too much greed and not enough fear of the future, but now has too much fear and could use a little more “greed” - spending. — Lawrence H. Summers, the White House economic adviser, calls it “the paradox at the heart of the financial crisis. ”

Discussion: New York Times, JustOneMinute, The Swamp, Hullabaloo, The Sundries Shack, Associated Press, Gateway Pundit and Reuters

David Leonhardt / Economix:
Lawrence Summers on the Crisis

Discussion: marbury and The Campaign Spot

Washington Wire:

S.C. Legislature Moves to Override Gov. Sanford on Stimulus Funds — Sara Murray reports on state politics. — Republicans in the South Carolina state Senate are laying the groundwork to accept the stimulus funds Gov. Mark Sanford is likely to reject. — Sanford, a Republican …

Discussion: MyDD, CBS News, Hullabaloo and DownWithTyranny!

Elana Schor / TPMDC:

Eight Dem Senators Defend the Right to Filibuster Climate Change — When President Obama submitted a budget that predicted passage of a revenue-raising climate change bill, hopes rose that Congress could successfully rein in carbon emissions this year. — But a cap-and-trade climate bill …

Discussion: Brian Beutler, MoJo Blog Posts, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, The Impolitic and Time

Frank J. Fleming / Pajamas Media:

Could Obama Be Just Too Awesome? — While the president's brilliant radiance may fill us with boundless ecstasy, it could actually hurt the eyes of those unused to such light. — It's unfashionable right now to worry about things. The dark ages of being ruled by a thuggish tyrant are now behind America.

Discussion: protein wisdom

WRAL-TV:

Wake judge orders home schoolers into public classrooms — RALEIGH, N.C. — A judge in Wake County said three Raleigh children need to switch from home school to public school. Judge Ned Mangum is presiding over divorce proceeding of the children's parents, Thomas and Venessa Mills.

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, GayPatriot and Little Green Footballs

David Brooks / New York Times:

‘No Picnic for Me Either’ — In his education speech this week, Barack Obama retold a by-now familiar story. When he was a boy, his mother would wake him up at 4:30 to tutor him for a few hours before he went off to school. When young Barry complained about getting up so early …

Discussion: The New Republic, NewsBusters.org and Brendan Nyhan

Associated Press:

Man accused of beheading wife arraigned — Muzzammil Hassan stands at his arraignment in Erie County Court in Buffalo, N.Y. (David Duprey, Associated Press / March 13, 2009) — BUFFALO - The founder of a Muslim-American television station pleaded not guilty Friday to beheading his estranged wife.

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Michelle Malkin

Joshua Rhett Miller / Fox News:

What's In a Number? That Depends on How You Define ‘Homeless’ — A well publicized report this week that an estimated 1.5 million American children experienced homelessness in 2005-06 did not use the federal definition of homelessness. Instead, it used a different definition that grossly inflated the actual number.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool