memeorandum: NBC's Slide to Troubled Nightly Punch Line (Tim Arango/New York Times)

4:10 PM 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: QandO, Ben Smith's Blog, Clusterstock, Hot Air, neo-neocon, The Strata-Sphere and TalkLeft

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Charlie Cook: Brown now favored — Hours before President Barack Obama's appearance with the Democratic candidate in the Massachusetts Senate race, political handicapper Charlie Cook sent an unusual weekend update to his Cook Political Report subscribers saying that Scott Brown, the Republican, is now a slight favorite.

Discussion: Clusterstock, Ben Smith's Blog, Pajamas Media and NewsBusters.org

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

What we're seeing in Massachusetts: week 2 — Here's what we saw on day 1 of our Massachusetts poll: —The electorate is becoming more Democratic. Last weekend we found it at Obama +16 and now we see it at Obama +20. So all the efforts to get the party base more engaged in the election are paying off.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Plum Line and Riehl World View

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: Liberal Values and RedState

Felicia Sonmez / Hotline On Call:

Brown Rallies A Revitalized GOP — WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA — State Sen. Scott Brown (R) brought his surging campaign to this western MA town this a.m., rallying a crowd of GOPers more energized than many in attendance could remember. — Standing on a platform in front of the truck …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog and Blue Mass. Group

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Lieberman has no plans to endorse in Mass. Senate race — Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has no plans to make an endorsement in Massachusetts's special election on Tuesday. — A spokesman for the senator shot down rumors that Lieberman would weigh in on the closely-watched special election …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Gateway Pundit and theblogprof

Jessica Van Sack / Boston Herald:

Coakley awaits Obama assist in faltering campaign — Frank: ‘Obama is not Martha Coakley in drag.’ — + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio — Crowds snaked for blocks down Huntington Avenue this afternoon as supporters waited for the arrival of President Barack Obama …

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Will Obama Repudiate Smear Campaign? — Silence is complicity. — So the Massachusetts Democratic Party is alleging, in a mailer, that “1,736 women were raped in Massachusetts in 2008. Scott Brown wants hospitals to turn them all away.” — This is as ridiculous as it is offensive.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Caller, The Confluence and The Plum Line

Washington Wire:
Bay State Homestretch: What to Watch for on Election Day

Discussion: Raw Story and CBS News

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. Kirk: New Mass. senator will be sworn in ‘as quickly as possible’

Discussion: National Review

Christina Lamb / Times of London:
Voters desert President Barack Obama in Ted Kennedy seat

Discussion: Washington Post, Real Clear Politics, DaTechguy's Blog and New York Times

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Brown Campaign Now Says “He Doesn't Believe” …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wonkette, Mudville Gazette, Washington Monthly and Blue Mass. Group

Steve Kornacki:
Latest Coakley Internal: Brown +2

Discussion: Politics Daily, Pollster.com All Content, DaTechguy's Blog, Hot Air, AmSpecBlog, The Strata-Sphere, American Conservative …, The Politico, National Review Online, Taegan Goddard's …, The Lonely Conservative, Hotline On Call and The Nose On Your Face

Jules Crittenden:
Political Prescience Hurtfully Poo-Poo'd

Discussion: sisu, Hot Air, Orange County Register, neo-neocon and Riehl World View

Michael Graham / The Natural Truth:
Brown Supporters: The Most Motivated Voters Ever?

Discussion: Power Line, DaTechguy's Blog, The Lonely Conservative and Gateway Pundit

Joan Vennochi / Boston Globe:
Blame Beacon Hill

Discussion: PostPartisan

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Enthusiasm gap in Massachusetts

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, Real Clear Politics, The Caucus, The Confluence, Commentary, Political Punch, Taylor Marsh, TPMDC, Althouse, The Other McCain, The Hill, theblogprof and NO QUARTER

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Over the top in Mass. — Via Sargent, an extremely sweeping charge …

Discussion: neo-neocon, Liberal Values, The Daily Caller, Riehl World View, No Sheeples Here, The Moderate Voice, Gateway Pundit, The Corner on National … and Hot Air

Gabriel Sherman / New York Magazine:

New York Times Ready to Charge Online Readers — New York Times Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. appears close to announcing that the paper will begin charging for access to its website, according to people familiar with internal deliberations. After a year of sometimes fraught debate inside the paper …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Moderate Voice, Silicon Alley Insider, Althouse, Outside The Beltway, Mashable!, Pressing Issues and Joe. My. God.

Washington Post:

Poll shows growing disappointment, polarization over Obama's performance — A year into his presidency, President Obama faces a polarized nation and souring public assessments of his efforts to change Washington, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Pollster.com All Content and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Bridget Johnson / The Hill:
Bush, Clinton dismiss political statements stemming from quake

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and theblogprof

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
President Obama at One Year: Lower Ratings, Higher Doubts

Discussion: Washington Monthly

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: Tim Blair, Hot Air, Fausta's Blog, TigerHawk, JustOneMinute, Neptunus Lex, Bishop Hill, Weasel Zippers and Biased BBC

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.

Discussion: The Mahablog, Prairie Weather, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly and Liberal Values

Howard Fineman / Newsweek:
Roger Ailes is the real head of the GOP.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

Paul Krugman:

Brown, Coakley, And the Outrage Gap — About Paul Krugman — Paul Krugman is an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times. — Comments of the Moment

Discussion: JammieWearingFool

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: The Hill, Fox News, CBS News, The Big Picture and Local News