memeorandum: Weapons bound for Syria, Hizbullah (Jerusalem Post)

11:30 AM ET, November 5, 2009

Top Items:

‘We got walloped’ — Two big questions loom in the wake of the 2009 elections. The first is whether Barack Obama learned anything new about American voters. The second is whether American voters will soon learn something new about Obama. — For a president who likes always …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Wake up America, James Pethokoukis, Political Punch, Taylor Marsh, Commentary and The Note

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

Energized G.O.P. Looking to Avoid an Intraparty Feud — WASHINGTON — Republicans emerged from Tuesday's elections energized by victories in Virginia and New Jersey, but their leaders immediately began maneuvering to avoid a prolonged battle with conservative activists over what the party stands for and how to regain power.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, American Power, New York Times, The Caucus, msnbc.com, Blogs and Stories, The Note, MoJo Blog Posts and The Page

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

WEAK KNEES KEEP SHAKING.... In Tuesday's congressional races, voters sent two more House Democrats to Congress, expanding an already-large Democratic majority on the Hill. In 2008, the electorate made a House Democratic majority bigger, and in 2009, Dems went five for five in special elections, making that majority bigger still.

Discussion: New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Los Angeles Times, Prairie Weather and Eschaton

Washington Post:

Democrats debate Obama agenda's impact on Democratic Party — Democrats on Capitol Hill began a nervous debate Wednesday about the course President Obama has set for their party, with some questioning whether they should emphasize job creation over some of the more ambitious items on the president's agenda.

Discussion: McClatchy Washington Bureau, The Politico, Swampland, Suburban Guerrilla, Associated Press and msnbc.com

Larry J. Sabato / Sabato's Crystal Ball:

Sabato's Fun Facts—Election '09 — The following “fun facts” are presented as instant analysis of the November 3 election for the Crystal Ball's readers, straight from the mouth of U.Va. Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato, with the editorial assistance of Isaac Wood:

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Liberal Values and Facing South

CNN:

Gibbs dismisses losses as ‘local elections’ — WASHINGTON (CNN) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed Democratic electoral defeats in New Jersey and Virginia as “two very local elections” that say nothing about President Barack Obama's standing with the American people right now.

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, Townhall.com and Wall Street Journal

Gail Collins / New York Times:
Hark! The Voters Speak!

Discussion: Blue Virginia and JammieWearingFool

Michael Barone / Wall Street Journal:
Tuesday's Biggest Loser: the Union Agenda

Discussion: Commentary and Marathon Pundit

Ruy Teixeira / New York Times:
Relax, Democrats — TO hear Republicans tell it …

Discussion: Democratic Strategist

Jill Lawrence / Politics Daily: Florida, Texas, California? Conservative Activists Mull Their Next Stand

Daniel Libit / The Politico:

Bachmann calls for ‘scare’ tactics — In a conference call Wednesday night with bloggers and activists for the advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) called on protesters to “scare” members of Congress into killing the proposed health care reform bill.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Note, Washington Monthly, Wake up America, Raw Story, TPMDC, AMERICAblog News, George's Bottom Line and Hot Dish Politics

Patricia Murphy / Politics Daily:

Michele Bachmann's Capitol House Call: ‘Get Your Hands Off My Health Care!’ — Rep. Michele Bachmann's message for conservatives traveling to Washington to attend her Capitol Hill House Call event Thursday is simple: “Go into the Capitol and find members of Congress,” she told activists Wednesday night.

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Prescriptions and Indecision Forever

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

House leaders prepare for rare Saturday vote on health-care bill — CBO: GOP measure would cover few uninsured — House leaders put in motion the machinery to hold a rare Saturday vote on the most far-reaching expansion of the health-care system in more than 40 years.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Politico, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Top Stories from CQ, The Hill, Capitol Briefing, Bloomberg, USA Today, QandO, Ruby Slippers, And So it Goes in Shreveport, TalkLeft and American Power

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Michele Bachmann, Tea Partiers Prepare For Last Stand On Health Care

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, First Draft and skippy the bush kangaroo

Susan Ferrechio / Washington Examiner:

CBO: Republican health plan would reduce premiums, cut deficit — The Congressional Budget Office Wednesday night released its cost analysis of the Republican health care plan and found that it would reduce health care premiums and cut the deficit by $68 billion over ten years.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Commentary

Douglas Elmendorf / Director's Blog:
A Preliminary Analysis of a Substitute Amendment to H.R. 3962 …

Discussion: Wake up America, Hot Air, Angry Bear, The New Republic and The Washington Independent

Ezra Klein:
Congressional Budget Office Thrashes Republican Health-Care Plan

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Firedoglake and The Hill

David Herszenhorn / Prescriptions:
Budget Monitor Says G.O.P. Bill Leaves Many Uninsured

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Raw Story and White House.gov Blog Feed

Manu Raju / The Politico:

Lindsey Graham warns GOP against going too far right — The morning after Republicans lost an upstate New York House seat, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned that conservative activists will bring destruction to the Republican Party if they drive out moderate candidates across the country.

Discussion: Think Progress, The State, Wonk Room, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys, The Reaction, Stop The ACLU, Newshoggers.com and Weasel Zippers

Megan McArdle:
North and South in the Republican Party

Discussion: Watertown Daily Times, The Other McCain, No More Mister Nice Blog and Pajamas Media

RushLimbaugh.com:
Conservatism Didn't Lose in NY-23

Discussion: The Politico, At-Largely, PoliBlog, No More Mister Nice Blog, American Power, The Monkey Cage, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, The Reaction and The New Republic

Jon Henke / The Next Right:
What Did NY-23 Mean? — [Disclosure: I worked with the Doug Hoffman campaign.

Discussion: Daily Kos and American Prospect

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Senate climate bill moving without GOP — Democrats on a key Senate committee bypassed a Republican boycott and this morning approved a sweeping plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions, a move meant to reassure other nations as the world prepares for global warming treaty hearings next month …

Discussion: The Politico

Sunlen Miller / ABCNEWS: Obama Hosts Native American Leaders

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
As Inhofe's Climate Bill Boycott Continues, Kerry, Graham, Lieberman Try End-Around

Discussion: Climate Progress, Think Progress and George's Bottom Line

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:

Tuesday's Suburban Vote Swing — Even a five-point shift would mean big Democratic losses in 2010. — Printer — Friendly — Tuesday's elections should put a scare into red state Democrats—and a few blue state ones, too. — Barack Obama was said to have redrawn the electoral map …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Washington Post, Boston Globe, The Greenroom and YID With LID

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Morning Fix: Courting Sarah Palin

Discussion: Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, Ben Smith's Blog, Firedoglake and Conservatives4Palin.com

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Huckabee, Romney, Palin See Most Republican Support for '12 — Huckabee, Romney viewed as most qualified of possible Republican presidential candidates — PRINCETON, NJ — Looking ahead to the 2012 presidential election, 71% of Republicans say they would seriously consider voting for Mike Huckabee.

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Dish Politics, The Page and Real Clear Politics

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Sen. Snowe: Tuesday's results ‘certainly gives pause on how you approach’ health reform - Yanks are world champs — BIRTHDAYS: Autumn Hanna VandeHei, the hottest and smartest wife-mother-friend (boot tip: Jimmy) ... Sloan Rappaport big 4-0 birthday (hat tip: Margaret and Freddie) …

Discussion: TPMDC, The Plum Line, Washington Post and Swampland

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:

NYC Population By Borough — I forget what I was trying to prove when I started working on this chart yesterday morning, but late yesterday afternoon I realized there was a 90 percent finished visual display of data on my computer so I figured I might as well finish it:

Discussion: Megan McArdle

TMZ.com:

Prejean Sex Tape Triggers Settlement — Carrie Prejean demanded more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant officials — that is, until the lawyer for the Pageant showed Carrie an XXX home video of her handiwork.

Discussion: Liberal Values, Taylor Marsh, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Don Surber, News Hounds, Raw Story, The TrogloPundit, Pam's House Blend, JammieWearingFool, AMERICAblog Gay and American Power

Paul Thompson / Daily Mail:

Michelle Obama to star with Nigella Lawson as she becomes first presidential wife to appear on a reality show — Michelle Obama is to be the first presidential wife to appear on a reality TV series. — The First Lady will make a guest appearance on ‘Iron Chef America’ which features British cook Nigella Lawson as a judge.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool

The Note:

Protesters Arrested at Lieberman's Office — ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports: — It is protest day, for the Left and the Right, on Capitol Hill. — First out of the gate - 8 Protesters backing a universal health care system briefly occupied Sen. Joe Lieberman's office this morning.

Discussion: The Powers That Be and TPM LiveWire

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Administration missteps hamper Mideast efforts — President Obama came into office insisting that his administration would press hard and fast to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But after nine months, analysts and diplomats say, the administration's efforts have faltered in part because of its own missteps.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The Washington Independent and Commentary

David Rogers / The Politico:

Dems want to seize historic moment — Health care is big for House Democrats: big like Social Security in the '30s and civil rights in the '60s, big like the war stories retold now in party caucuses as lawmakers grapple with the floor vote that is just days away.

Discussion: Althouse

Josh Gerstein / Josh Gerstein's Blog:

9/11 families back Graham on military trials — Nearly 150 family members of victims of the September 11 attacks have written to the Senate urging passage of an amendment that would effectively force military trials for 9/11 plotters by barring their prosecution in federal civilian courts.

Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times:

Unhealthy America — The moment of truth for health care is at hand, and the distortion that perhaps gets the most traction is this: … That self-aggrandizing delusion may be the single greatest myth in the health care debate. In fact, America's health care system is worse than Slov—er, oops, more on that later.

Discussion: The Mahablog