memeorandum: Dede's Democratic Preference? (Elizabeth Benjamin/The Daily Politics)

3:10 PM ET, November 1, 2009

Top Items:

A changed race — Owens is best-equipped to represent NNY — Dierdre K. Scozzafava's decision to suspend her campaign for the 23rd Congressional District seat is a shocking development in what had already been an extraordinary race. — In her statement Saturday morning …

Watertown Daily Times:

SCOZZAFAVA THROWS SUPPORT TO OWENS — Scozzafava released the following statement at 2 :06 p.m.: — I want to thank you for your support and friendship. Over the past 24 hours, I have had encouraging words sent to my family and me. Many of you have asked me whom you should support on Tuesday.

Discussion: The Fix, Politics Daily, The Daily Dish, Below The Beltway, Hotline On Call and The Washington Independent

Elizabeth Benjamin / The Daily Politics:

Dede's Democratic Preference? — Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who did not formally endorse either of her rivals when she dropped her bid for former Rep. John McHugh's seat in NY-23 yesterday, apparently has a favorite after all - and it's not Conservative nominee Doug Hoffman.

Discussion: Gates of Vienna, The Washington Independent and TPMDC

Charles Franklin / Pollster.com:

NY23 Siena Poll Again: Some Hope for Each Side — The new Siena College poll of NY-23 has mixed news for both parties now that Scozzafava has suspended her campaign. The key question is how does her vote split between Owens and Hoffman. (And keep in mind she'll still be on the ballot …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and The Daily Dish

Hotline On Call:

Scozzafava for Owens? — Two tidbits from today's papers give us an indication of where Assemb. Dede Scozzafava (R), who left the NY-23 special election yesterday, wants her supporters to go on 11/3. And, not shockingly, it's not accountant Doug Hoffman (C).

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere and Riehl World View

Frank Rich / New York Times:
The G.O.P. Stalinists Invade Upstate New York

Dede for Congress:
A Message from Dede — Dear Friends and Supporters:

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Syracuse Post-Standard, The Strata-Sphere, Macsmind, Swampland, Watertown Daily Times, GayPatriot and Blogcritics

Michelle Malkin:
NYT columnist Frank Rich has the heebie-jeebies

Discussion: The Other McCain

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion: Doug Hoffman Is Scaaary!

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Jarrett: GOP ‘more and more extreme’ — White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Sunday on ABC's “This Week” that the rise of a Conservative Party challenger in a closely watched upstate New York House election shows that the Republican Party leadership is “becoming more and more extreme, and more and more marginalized.”

Discussion: The Swamp, The Moderate Voice, Townhall.com, George's Bottom Line, Michelle Malkin, Gateway Pundit, National Review, The Reaction and CNN

Washington Post:
Republican Scozzafava pulls out of House race in New York

Discussion: The Nation, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Paul Mulshine, PostPartisan, Cato @ Liberty, Connecting.the.Dots, Erick's blog and The Politico

Glenn Harlan Reynolds / Washington Examiner:
It's the follow-through that matters in New York's special race

Discussion: CNN, Commentary and Riehl World View

Little Green Footballs:

Doug Hoffman: The Glenn Beck Candidate — What exactly does Doug Hoffman stand for? And who is he standing with? Would you believe ... Glenn Beck? — At the endorsements page of Doug Hoffman For Congress, we find a link to the “Gold List” at 912candidates.org, consisting of politicians who have …

Discussion: The Washington Independent

Greg Gordon / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

How Goldman secretly bet on the U.S. housing crash — WASHINGTON — In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices …

Discussion: ParaPundit, The Confluence, Newshoggers.com, The Impolitic, naked capitalism and Prairie Weather

Jeff E. Schapiro / Richmond Times-Dispatch:

McDonnell extends advantage in Times-Dispatch poll — Republican Bob McDonnell appears poised to win the governorship and lead a GOP sweep Tuesday, ending nearly a decade of reverses for his party, according to The Richmond Times-Dispatch Poll. — McDonnell is favored by 53 percent …

Discussion: Virginia Politics, Scared Monkeys, Politics Daily, The Hill, TPMDC and Washington Post

Dan Zak / Washington Post:

Obamas give out treats, fruit to White House trick-or-treaters — The first lady was dressed as a leopard, with a smear of eyeliner, fuzzy ears and a spotted orange-and-black top. The president was dressed as a middle-aged dad, with a black cardigan, checkered shirt and sensible brown slacks.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Below The Beltway, Hullabaloo and Althouse

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:

Alan Grayson, the Liberals' Problem Child — WASHINGTON — On paper, Representative Alan Grayson, a freshman Democrat from Florida, seems a bit stiff: degrees from Harvard and Harvard Law; a résumé that includes clerking for the United States Court of Appeals under Judges Antonin Scalia …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Washington Monthly, Suburban Guerrilla, Sweetness & Light and The washington times Blogs

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

Italian Police Release Mafia Hit Video: Double Deja Vu? — The issue in the United States of how bystanders react — or do not react — to a crime that has unfolded before them has now emerged in Italy, on a somewhat smaller scale in an incident that seems right out of The Godfather, The Sopranos or GoodFellas.

Discussion: Hot Air

BBC:

Afghanistan poll in disarray after pull-out — President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential election has announced in Kabul that he is withdrawing from the poll. — “I will not participate in the election,” Dr Abdullah told supporters …

Discussion: Informed Comment, Mudville Gazette, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, The Agonist and Neptunus Lex