memeorandum: In Massachusetts, Anxiety for Favored Democrats (Abby Goodnough/New York Times)

11:35 AM ET, January 8, 2010

Top Items:

In Massachusetts, Anxiety for Favored Democrats — BOSTON — Martha M. Coakley, the Democrat running for Senator Edward M. Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts, had seemed so certain of winning the special election on Jan. 19 that she barely campaigned last month. — But the dynamic has changed in recent days.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Ben Smith's Blog, No More Mister Nice Blog, msnbc.com, Jules Crittenden, sisu, Riehl World View, Commentary, The Page and Prairie Weather

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Palin rebuffs CPAC, Keene — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Pain is turning down an invitation to speak at one high-profile conservative gathering while accepting another. — Palin is declining an invitation to address the Conservative Political Action Conference next month because, a source said …

Discussion: CNN, GOP 12, Hotline On Call, Outside The Beltway, Coop's Corner, The Lonely Conservative, Conservatives4Palin.com, Riehl World View, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Ben Smith's Blog, New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Page, Hot Air and Gateway Pundit

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Sarah Palin and the first 2012 Republican proving ground — 1. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin's decision to attend — and speak at — the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans in April transforms that event into the first legitimate cattle-call of the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Mediaite and Boston Globe

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Two swipes at CPAC — Two stories today on Palin's decision …

Discussion: AmSpecBlog

Hotline On Call:
GOP Insiders Sour On Palin

Discussion: Another Black Conservative, FiveThirtyEight, DaTechguy's Blog, Real Clear Politics, JammieWearingFool, Donklephant and GOP 12

James A. Barnes / National Journal Online: Romney Takes The Inside Rail

George Stephanopoulos / George's Bottom Line:

Rudy Giuliani Assails Obama Administration's National Security Decisions — President Obama yesterday took personal responsibility for failures in the Christmas day terror plot, but Rudy Giuliani still isn't convinced. — I spoke to the former mayor of New York City this morning on GMA …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Washington Independent, Lawyers, Guns and Money, ABCNEWS and Eschaton

Eric Zimmermann / The Hill: Giuliani says Obama ‘turned the corner’ on terror

Rachel Slajda / TPM LiveWire:
Mr. 9/11 Gets Amnesia: 'We Had No Domestic Attacks Under Bush …

Discussion: Think Progress, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Wonkette, The Reaction, Washington Monthly, Media Matters for America and American Prospect

David S. Broder / Washington Post:
Failed Christmas bomb plot will likely alter Obama's agenda

Discussion: The Note, Associated Press, The Politico, Commentary and Bob Cesca's Awesome Blog!

ABCNEWS:
Alleged Underwear Bomber Due in Detroit Court

Discussion: Politics Daily

New York Times:

U.S. Job Losses in December Dim Hopes for Quick Upswing — The United States economy lost more jobs than expected in December, tempering hopes for a swift and sustained recovery from the Great Recession. — The Labor Department said on Friday that the economy shed another 85,000 jobs last month …

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Monthly, Associated Press, Matthew Yglesias, Economix, Financial Times, The Page and Scared Monkeys

Christina Romer / White House.gov Blog Feed:
On the December Jobs Numbers

Discussion: The Hill

Daniel Indiviglio / The Atlantic Business Channel:
National Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 10.0% in December

Discussion: Townhall.com, The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Huffington Post, AmSpecBlog and The Daily Dish

Christopher S. Rugaber / Associated Press:
Economy loses 85K jobs, unemployment rate steady

Discussion: Associated Press, Economix, Calculated Risk, Politics Daily, Daily Kos and RedState

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Steele comments have GOP aides pleading, ‘Get him to stop’ — Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele, under fire this week for a string of controversial statements he has made while promoting his new book, has so angered the party's congressional leaders that their aides …

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Hotline On Call, The Caucus, Politics Daily, Washington Times, Yahoo! News, Raw Story, Crooks and Liars and Weasel Zippers

Matt Corley / Think Progress:
After Declaring ‘I Want The Gig,’ Steele Claims He Didn't ‘Seek’ RNC Chairmanship

Discussion: Washington Monthly, AmSpecBlog and Right Pundits

Leah Farrall / All Things Counter Terrorism:

Can we stop the hysteria about AQAP please? — Greetings everyone. Allthingsct is officially back on deck for 2010. — Tonight's cynical Friday task is some myth busting in relation to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, especially since the Xmas Day plots have spawned a good deal …

Discussion: Waq al-Waq, The Washington Independent, ATTACKERMAN and The Majlis

Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:
Yemen's internal divide complicates U.S. efforts against al-Qaeda, analysts say

Discussion: The Majlis, The Page and New York Times

D.B. Grady / The Atlantic Politics Channel:

Why Heads Should Roll — How courageous is Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, the father of terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab? If, as it is argued, the Islamic world sees the War on Terror as a War on Islam, it must have been quite intimidating to walk into the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria.

Esnr / CBS News:
CIA, Counterterrorism Execs Managed Bomb Crisis from Afar

Discussion: THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Betsy's Page and Weasel Zippers

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
CBS: Panetta didn't interrupt his vacation either after Flight 253 plot

Discussion: CBS News and The Strata-Sphere

Robert Costa / The Corner on National Review Online:

Palin Scoops Politico — By: Robert Costa — Did Politico's Mike Allen read Going Rogue? If he did, he'd know that his scoop on Sarah Palin is actually quite old. Here's how Allen opens his story on Politico's homepage: … O, please. Palin detailed all of this months ago on page 289 of her book:

Discussion: The Daily Dish and Top of the Ticket

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Palin aide warned of ‘epic debacle’ — Sarah Palin's charming opening debate line for now-Vice President Joe Biden — “Hey, can I call you Joe?” — was scripted after she repeatedly referred to him as “O'Biden” in preparation sessions, former McCain campaign senior adviser Steve Schmidt told “60 Minutes.”

Discussion: DaTechguy's Blog, Outside The Beltway, Conservatives4Palin.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Atlantic Politics Channel

BBC:

Portugal backs gay marriage — Portugal's parliament has passed a law to legalise same-sex marriage, but rejected proposals to allow homosexual couples to adopt. — The bill was approved with the support of the governing Socialist Party and other parties further to the left.

David Kocieniewski / New York Times:
New Jersey Senate Defeats Gay Marriage Bill

Discussion: The Corner on National …, LGBT POV, Politics Daily and Associated Press

The Star-Ledger Continuous / New Jersey Online:
N.J. Senate rejects bill legalizing gay marriage

Discussion: Think Progress, The Awl, The Reaction, Gothamist, Box Turtle Bulletin, JammieWearingFool, TPM LiveWire, skippy the bush kangaroo, The Corner on National … and Pam's House Blend

Roger Lowenstein / New York Times:

Walk Away From Your Mortgage! — John Courson, president and C.E.O. of the Mortgage Bankers Association, recently told The Wall Street Journal that homeowners who default on their mortgages should think about the “message” they will send to “their family and their kids and their friends.”

Discussion: Felix Salmon, The Business Insider, Grasping Reality …, Financial Times, Calculated Risk and The Awl

Brian Ross / ABCNEWS:

Shock: Obama Forced to ‘Order’ Follow-Ups of Terrorist Tips — President Pledges ‘Accountability’ But No One Fired for Systemic Intel Failures — In a revealing admission, President Barack Obama said today he was directing U.S. intelligence agencies to begin to do something many had assumed …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Times and Washington Post

The White House:

Remarks by the President on Strengthening Intelligence and Aviation Security State Dining Room — THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. The immediate reviews that I ordered after the failed Christmas terrorist attack are now complete. I was just briefed on the findings and recommendations …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Political Punch, Washington Monthly, The Foundry, RealClearWorld, CFR.org, democracyarsenal.org, Washington Post, White House.gov Blog Feed, FrumForum, Mudville Gazette, The Daily Dish, FP Passport and AMERICAblog News

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Obama: ‘We Are at War’ — President Obama on Thursday ordered …

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, New York Times, JustOneMinute, The Hill, CNN, Political Byline, The Swamp, The Politico, Washington Post, The Moderate Voice and NO QUARTER

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Messiah Complex — Every age produces its own sort of fables, and our age seems to have produced The White Messiah fable. — This is the oft-repeated story about a manly young adventurer who goes into the wilderness in search of thrills and profit. But, once there …

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Golnaz Esfandiari / Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

Iran State TV Suggests Neda's Iconic Death Was ‘Faked’ — Iranian state television has made a documentary about the death of Neda Agha Soltan, a young Iranian woman who was shot dead during the June postelection protests in Tehran, suggesting she was an agent of the United States and Britain who staged her own death.

Discussion: Enduring America, The Moderate Voice, Perfunction, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Hit & Run and FP Passport

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

CBO estimates $390 billion budget deficit for first quarter of FY 2010 — The Congressional Budget Office late Thursday released a report estimating that the federal budget deficit was $390 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010. — During the same quarter in 2009 …

Discussion: The Page

Aaron Blake / The Hill:

Club for Growth will oppose Sen. Bennett's reelection in 2010 — In an unusual move, the Club for Growth announced Friday that it will oppose Sen. Robert Bennett's (R-Utah) reelection, without specifying a candidate it might support. — A series of candidates are looking to upend Bennett …

Discussion: The Washington Independent

Big Journalism:

As Climategate Becomes Pressgate, Questions for the Media — Trillions of dollars are at stake in the man-made global warming debate. The Climategate scandal - where leaked emails and computer programs involve dozens of prominent scientists worldwide - has almost everything …