memeorandum: Clinton, Bush: Haitian aid well-spent (Mark Silva/The Swamp)

11:10 AM ET, January 17, 2010

Top Items:

Kirk Can't Vote After Tuesday — GOP lawyers say Paul Kirk will no longer be a senator after election day. — Appointed Senator Paul Kirk will lose his vote in the Senate after Tuesday's election in Massachusetts of a new senator and cannot be the 60th vote for Democratic health care legislation, according to Republican attorneys.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, TalkLeft and The Strata-Sphere

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Enthusiasm gap in Massachusetts — HYANNIS, Mass. - As the two candidates running in the special Senate election here barnstormed across the state Saturday, the enthusiasm gap between the two parties was on vivid display. — Democrat Martha Coakley, Massachusetts' attorney general …

Discussion: Public Policy Polling, Boston Globe, Political Punch, The Lonely Conservative, Commentary, Real Clear Politics, The Other McCain, The Strata-Sphere, Althouse, theblogprof, Orange County Register and The Hill

Steve Kornacki:

Latest Coakley Internal: Brown +2 — I've been told reliably that Martha Coakley's internal poll for Friday night showed Republican Scott Brown leading by two points, 47 to 45 percent. Her campaign's three-night average for Friday, Thursday and Wednesday is the same — a 47 to 45 lead for Brown.

Discussion: The Natural Truth, Politics Daily, The Politico, Taegan Goddard's …, The Lonely Conservative and National Review Online

David / Blue Mass. Group:

BMG Exclusive: Scott Brown thought maybe Obama was born out of wedlock — Born out of wedlock? Really?? — Well, yes. During (or maybe shortly after) the 2008 Republican convention, Brown was on a panel discussion (aired on the now-defunct CN8 cable news channel) about Sarah Palin.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, TPMDC, Red Mass Group, The Washington Independent, The Confluence, Taylor Marsh, The Reality-Based Community, DaTechguy's Blog, NO QUARTER, Hullabaloo, The Political Carnival, The New Republic, Talking Points Memo, The Caucus and Boston Globe

Dan Roem / Hotline On Call:

MA SEN Shows Similarities To '09 VA GOV — No matter how you look at it, MA is simply not VA when it comes to politics. But don't tell that to state Sen. Scott Brown (R) and AG Martha Coakley (D), who seem to be mirroring their Old Dominion counterparts in multiple ways.

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Massachusetts Race Tests Staying Power of Democrats

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly, Jules Crittenden, The Politico, The Caucus, The Confluence, RedState, The Corner on National …, Connecting.the.Dots, New York Times, TalkLeft and AMERICAblog News

Jon Keller / Wall Street Journal:
The Backlash Is Coming! The Backlash Is Coming!

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, Hot Air, Boston Globe, neo-neocon, Christian Science Monitor, SCSUScholars and The Moderate Voice

Robert Cruickshank / Firedoglake: MA-Sen: We've Seen This Movie Before

Times of London:

World misled over Himalayan glacier meltdown — A WARNING that climate change will melt most of the Himalayan glaciers by 2035 is likely to be retracted after a series of scientific blunders by the United Nations body that issued it. — Two years ago the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change …

Discussion: TigerHawk, Fausta's Blog, JustOneMinute, Bishop Hill, Weasel Zippers and Biased BBC

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Clinton, Bush: Haitian aid well-spent — Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, a bipartisan team recruited by President Barack Obama to spearhead fundraising for the relief of Haitian earthquake victims, are making the rounds of the Sunday news shows this morning with a public appeal for help.

Discussion: The Politico

Barack Obama / Newsweek:

Why Haiti Matters — In the tragic aftermath of Haiti's 7.0 earthquake, images of the disaster break our hearts and remind us of the fragility of life. What America must do now—and why. — From the magazine issue dated Jan 25, 2010 — In the last week, we have been deeply moved …

Discussion: Fox News, CBS News, Local News and Crooks and Liars

Mark Landler / New York Times:
In Show of Support, Clinton Goes to Haiti

Discussion: The Confluence, CNN and TalkLeft

Frank Rich / New York Times:

The Great Tea Party Rip-Off — Even given the low bar set by America's bogus conversations about race, the short-lived Harry Reid fracas was a most peculiar nonevent. For all the hyperventilation in cable news land, this supposed racial brawl didn't seem to generate any controversy whatsoever in what is known as the real world.

Before It's News:

Joe Lieberman Endorsement Scott Brown Latest Polls Show Widening Lead — Hartford, CT- Joe Lieberman may be close to announcing his suppport for Massachusetts Senate Candidate Scott Brown. Citing the historical Healthcare Reform Bill as the main issue attracting Lieberman to endorse Brown's Campaign.

Discussion: The Hill, Gateway Pundit, RedState and theblogprof

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Krugman, Gruber and non-disclosure issues — In the midst of my lengthy discussion yesterday of Cass Sunstein's proposal to “cognitively inflitrate extremist groups” by employing covert agents and secretly paying so-called “independent” analysts to tout the government line …

Discussion: Firedoglake, New York Times, TalkLeft, naked capitalism, Corrente, Emptywheel, Grasping Reality … and The Sideshow

Richard Johnson / New York Post:

Palin gets 100G for mag cover — Bristol, earned an eye-popping $100,000 for their new In Touch Weekly cover, sources say. For just eight hours' work at her own home, Palin pocketed nearly as much as her $125,000-a-year salary as Alaska governor. It seems her decision to quit her political role is making big financial sense.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Gawker, The Political Carnival and American Power