memeorandum: Video: C-SPAN caller blasts media; Update: New Astroturfing signs for Obamabots (Ed Morrissey/Hot Air)

4:35 PM ET, August 9, 2009

Top Items:

George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:

Gingrich defends Palin's ‘death panels’ — Newt Gingrich and Howard Dean went at it on health care this morning on This Week. Especially over Sarah Palin's claim that Obama's health care plan will create “death panels” that would encourage euthanasia. — “Communal standards historically …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Moderate Voice, Daily Dose, TaylorMarsh.com, Below The Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, PoliBlog, Stop The ACLU and Newshoggers.com

Frank Rich / New York Times:

Is Obama Punking Us? — “AUGUST is a challenging time to be president,” said Andrew Card, the former Bush White House chief of staff, as he offered unsolicited advice to his successors in a television interview last week. “I think you have to expect the unexpected.” — He should know.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, No More Mister Nice Blog, Lance Mannion, Prairie Weather, Blogs of War, Cup O' Joe and The Political Carnival

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Video: C-SPAN caller blasts media; Update: New Astroturfing signs for Obamabots — I'd say this explains the eruption of anger at town-hall meetings fairly clearly. “Leah” from New Hampshire says she “just wants to clarify a few things about these manufactured angered crowds,” …

Discussion: Dr. Melissa Clouthier, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and NewsBusters.org

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:

Harry Reid Will Only Do Town Halls By Telephone, Media Mum — The most powerful man in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), announced on Friday that as a result of recent protests at town hall meetings he won't hold any such political gatherings during this month's Congressional recess.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, protein wisdom, Examiner, Mercury News, JammieWearingFool, Diggers Realm and Pajamas Media

Lisa Mascaro / Las Vegas Sun:

Reid plans town hall meeting over telephone — WASHINGTON — A day after holding up a square of Astroturf to denounce the orchestrated attacks on Democratic town hall meetings on health care, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office said he would be talking with his Nevada constituents this month over the phone lines.

msnbc.com:

Aug. 9: James Jones, Michael Bloomberg, Cory Booker, roundtable — MR. DAVID GREGORY: This Sunday, the happy homecoming. — MS. LAURA LING: When we walked in through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton. — MR. GREGORY: Now the backstory.

Discussion: PoliBlog

Henry A. Kissinger / Washington Post:
The Policy Fallout From Bill Clinton's Trip to North Korea

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and FP Passport

Gregory Clark / Washington Post:

Tax and Spend, or Face The Consequences — At some point, the Great Recession will end. Newsweek even says it's already over. Whenever it happens, we will see that the downturn was but a minor blip in the long story of the economy. — In the next chapter, abundance beckons — for some.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, The Confluence, Matthew Yglesias, MoJo Blog Posts, Redhot and Economist's View

Ezra Klein:

Is There a Deal to be Made on Health Care? An Interview WIth Sen. Lindsey Graham. — Earlier this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham was the sole Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote in favor of Sonia Sotomayor. A few days later, he co-signed an op-ed in The Washington Post …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Daily Kos, Corrente and The Glittering Eye

Los Angeles Times:

Criminal investigation into CIA treatment of detainees expected — Insiders say Atty. Gen. Eric Holder is close to naming a prosecutor to look into reports of excessive waterboarding and other unauthorized methods. Convictions could be hard to get. — Reporting from Washington …

Discussion: ATTACKERMAN, Matthew Yglesias, Zandar Versus The Stupid, JustOneMinute, The Swamp, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Political Carnival, Macsmind, Don Surber, Washington Monthly, Atlas Shrugs, Emptywheel, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, MyDD, Patterico's Pontifications and NPR Blogs

Bruce Kesler / Maggie's Farm:

OzyBama Will Meet The Same Fate — Democrats are complaining loudly that the American people are stupid and should shut up about President Obama's health care program, cap-and-tax program, spend us into deeper deficits program, tax away our incentives program, apologize to our enemies program …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs and Riehl World View

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Drug Industry to Run Ads Favoring White House Plan — WASHINGTON — The drug industry has authorized its lobbyists to spend as much as $150 million on television commercials supporting President Obama's health care overhaul, beginning over the August Congressional recess, people briefed on the plans said Saturday.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Dennis the Peasant, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Corrente and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

Haaretz:

Fatah: We'll sacrifice victims until Jerusalem is ours — The status of Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state is a red line that no Palestinian leader is permitted to cross, President Mahmoud Abbas' ruling Fatah faction declared in the West Bank on Saturday.

Discussion: The Other McCain, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Jihad Watch