memeorandum: 9/21: Bloomberg Leads Thompson 50% to 39% (Marist Poll)

9:05 AM ET, September 21, 2009

Top Items:

McChrystal: More Forces or ‘Mission Failure’ — Top U.S. Commander For Afghan War Calls Next 12 Months Decisive — The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them …

Discussion: Mudville Gazette, Don Surber, PoliBlog, Commentary, Jules Crittenden, Below The Beltway, Christian Science Monitor, MoJo Blog Posts, FiveThirtyEight, SWJ Blog, EU Referendum, ATTACKERMAN, Prairie Weather, The Page, Associated Press and Truthdig

New York Times:

General Calls for More U.S. Troops to Avoid Afghan Failure — WASHINGTON — The top military commander in Afghanistan warns in a confidential assessment of the war there that he needs additional troops within the next year or else the conflict “will likely result in failure.”

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, EU Referendum and MyDD

CNN:

Report: General has warning about Afghanistan — WASHINGTON (CNN) — America's top commander in Afghanistan warns that more troops are needed there within the next year or the nearly 8-year-old war “will likely result in failure,” according to a copy of a 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post.

Discussion: Newshoggers.com

Washington Post:

Changes in Afghanistan, Washington May Require Shift in U.S. War Strategy — From his headquarters in Kabul, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal sees one clear path to achieve President Obama's core goal of preventing al-Qaeda from reestablishing havens in Afghanistan: “Success,” he writes in his assessment …

Discussion: TomDispatch, Informed Comment, Newshoggers.com and Firedoglake

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Obama ‘skeptical’ about more troops

Discussion: The Hill, Commentary, The Greenroom and Weekly Standard

Martina Stewart / CNN:
Obama: Afghanistan strategy is still a work in progress

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Pajamas Media and The Atlantic Politics Channel

Big Hollywood:

Pregame Report: The NEA Conference Call — On August 25th 2009, Big Hollywood's Patrick Courrielche broke the story of a conference call he attended with other “rising artist and art community luminaries”: … The email invite came directly from Yosi Sergant, then-Director of Communications …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Strata-Sphere, PoliGazette, Macsmind and Confederate Yankee

Andrew Breitbart / Big Government:

Planting the Seeds: The Politicized Art Behind the ACORN Plan — Everything you needed to know about the unorthodox roll out of the now-notorious ACORN sting videos was hidden in plain sight in my Sept. 7 column, “Katie Couric, Look in the Mirror.” ACORN was not the only target of those videos …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Scott / Power Line:

Sliming James O'Keefe: A case study — James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles are the young activists who have blown the lid off the criminal left-wing enterprise known as ACORN. If they were left-wingers exposing some conservative or religious organization, government-funded or not …

Patterico's Pontifications:
Breitbart Promises New Bombshell from “Left Field”

Discussion: Wizbang, Scared Monkeys, justoneminute.typepad.com, GayPatriot, Daily Pundit, Carol's Closet, Macsmind, Don Surber, Moe Lane and American Power

Mickey Kaus / Kausfiles:
What's Breitbart Got Next?

Discussion: QandO

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Obama open to newspaper bailout bill — The president said he is “happy to look at” bills before Congress that would give struggling news organizations tax breaks if they were to restructure as nonprofit businesses. — “I haven't seen detailed proposals yet, but I'll be happy to look at them …

Discussion: Wizbang, Atlas Shrugs, The Greenroom, RedState, The Political Carnival, Carol's Closet, Whiskey Fire, The Other McCain, Riehl World View and JammieWearingFool

Dave Murray / Toledo Blade:

Newspaper journalism gets words of praise Print media's role vital, Obama says — Saying he is a “big newspaper junkie,” President Obama expressed hope on Friday that newspapers can find their way through the financial crisis most are now mired in. — In an Oval Office interview with editors …

Discussion: Below The Beltway and YID With LID

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:

Obama, in Media Blitz, Snubs ‘Whining’ Fox — President to Hit All Sunday News Talk Shows, Except Network That Skipped His Speech — As President Barack Obama goes on an unprecedented presidential blitz of media appearances, the White House is in a war of words with the network that did not get an interview: Fox.

Discussion: The Politico, Outside The Beltway, About.com US Liberal Politics, Crooks and Liars, Think Progress, Taylor Marsh and Media Matters for America

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Obama's TV Blitz: On The Air, but Off His Game?

Discussion: Commentary

The Huffington Post:
Snubbed By Obama, Fox News's Chris Wallace Calls White House …

Discussion: AMERICAblog News and The Nation

ABCNEWS:

Transcript: President Barack Obama — “This Week” Transcript with President Barack Obama — ABC NEWS, THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. — GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST: Mr. President, thank you very much. — BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, George.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, CBS News, Pajamas Media, The Caucus, NewsBusters.org, Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog! and New York Times

Wall Street Journal:
Obama's Nontax Tax

Discussion: Betsy's Page and YID With LID

Ian Johnston / Telegraph:

Sand artist Kseniya Simonova winner of Ukraine's Got Talent becomes internet hit — Sand artist, Kseniya Simonova, who moved audiences to tears as she won Ukraine's Got Talent, has become an online sensation with more than two million hits. — Miss Simonova, 24, drew a series of pictures …

Discussion: The Confluence, Neptunus Lex, Macsmind, Carol's Closet and Political Byline

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
An amazing political video, nothing to do with Obama, McCain, Clinton or even Biden

Discussion: RedState

Julian Borger / Guardian:

Obama set to slash nuclear arsenal — Pentagon told to map out radical cuts as president prepares to chair UN talks — Barack Obama has demanded the Pentagon conduct a radical review of US nuclear weapons doctrine to prepare the way for deep cuts in the country's arsenal, the Guardian can reveal.

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Macsmind, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View and MyDD

Marist Poll:

9/21: Bloomberg Leads Thompson 50% to 39% — The candidates are now in place for November's race for mayor in New York City, and early numbers show the incumbent, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with 50% of registered voters compared with 39% for his Democratic challenger, New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson.

Discussion: City Room

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Reform or Bust — In the grim period that followed Lehman's failure, it seemed inconceivable that bankers would, just a few months later, be going right back to the practices that brought the world's financial system to the edge of collapse. At the very least, one might have thought …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Doubts Fade and Couric Is Energized — For much of 2008, the TV cognoscenti assumed that Katie Couric would be anywhere but in the “CBS Evening News” anchor chair by now. — But despite some of the lowest ratings in the newscast's history, she says she will remain there until her contract expires in 2011.

Discussion: Michael Calderone's Blog, TVNewser and Romenesko

George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:

Obama on ACORN: 'Not Something I've Followed Closely' Won't Commit to Cut Federal Funds — It was one of the most popular topics among the questions you submitted to me for my interview with President Obama - the controversy involving ACORN. — While the President said that ACORN …