memeorandum: Election 2010: Colorado Governor (Rasmussen Reports)

10:45 AM ET, June 16, 2010

Top Items:

MSNBC Trashes Obama's Address: Compared To Carter, “I Don't Sense Executive Command” — Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Howard Fineman react to President Obama's Oval Office Address on the oil spill. Here are the highlights of what the trio said: Olbermann: “It was a great speech …

The White House:

Remarks by the President to the Nation on the BP Oil Spill Oval Office — THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. As we speak, our nation faces a multitude of challenges. At home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every American.

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Obama's Oil Spill Speech: Running On Empty — On Twitter, here was my insta-reaction to Obama's oil spill address from the Oval Office: … Unfair? Maybe! I mean, compared to Sarah Palin's (literally) incomprehensible burbling on Bill O'Reilly's show afterward it was a model of straight talk and reassurance.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Grist, A plain blog about politics and Winds of Change.NET

Ezra Klein:

Where have we heard this before? — The elements of Barack Obama's speech tonight that were specifically newsworthy were also broadly-expected: A liability fund that BP will pay into and that a third-party will distribute. A “long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan.” Both ideas sound good.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Reuters, The New Republic and The Reaction

John / Power Line:

Obama's Long Nose — I read President Obama's Oval Office speech at an airport gate rather than seeing it on television, so I might have misjudged its impact. But it struck me as uninspiring at best. Obama has been behind the curve ever since the Deepwater Horizon exploded …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Betsy's Page

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:

The Oval Office Speech, Seen From Beijing — I couldn't see this real-time in China, so I've just now read the speech and watched an online replay. I have deliberately not yet read or listened to any on-line commentary. Thus my untutored reaction from the other side of the world is: Sigh.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Confluence and Politics Daily

Justin Gillis / New York Times:

Estimates of Oil Flow Jump Higher — A government panel on Tuesday released yet another estimate of the amount of oil flowing from BP's damaged well, declaring that as much as 60,000 barrels a day could be spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. — That is roughly 2.5 million gallons of oil a day …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Democracy in America and AMERICAblog News

New York Times:

Obama, in Speech on Spill, Calls on Americans to Reduce Oil Dependence — WASHINGTON — President Obama summoned Americans on Tuesday to a “national mission” to move away from reliance on oil and develop alternative sources of energy, casting the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico …

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, The Politico, OpenSecrets.org, Washington Post, Gothamist, DownWithTyranny!, Right Now, NO QUARTER, Beltway Confidential, The New Republic, The Talking Dog, Outside the Beltway, The Swamp, Theo Spark and The Hill

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Reaction to President Obama's Speech

Discussion: Daily Kos, Mother Jones, Riehl World View, msnbc.com, sisu, The Confluence and AMERICAblog News

Peter Baker / New York Times:
With Call to Arms, Obama Seeks to Shift Arc of Oil Crisis

Discussion: PostPartisan, New York Times, Who Is IOZ?, USA Today, The Corner on National …, Most Recent Home Page Posts … and Prairie Weather

New York Times:
From the Oval Office — Americans have been anxiously waiting …

Discussion: The Glittering Eye

Washington Post:
In address to nation, Obama urges action on clean energy bill

Discussion: Think Progress, The Fix, PostPartisan, The BLT, CNN, Wall Street Journal and Wizbang

Steve / The Left Coaster:
Jumping the Shark — Barack Obama set a challenge for himself tonight.

Discussion: Gallup, The Politico, Firedoglake and CNN

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
Olby, Matthews, Fineman Notice That Obama's Rhetoric Is Kind of Nebulous

Discussion: Commentary, The Camp Of The Saints, Liberty Pundits Blog and Fausta's Blog

The Atlantic Online: Obama Goes Small

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
President Obama's Oval Office Address: First Thoughts

Discussion: Pajamas Media and The Moderate Voice

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Sharron Angle needs time to prepare for media's questions, says senior Republican — The top Senate Republican campaign strategist promised Tuesday that reporters would have “complete access” to Sharron Angle, the GOP nominee in Nevada, “in a few weeks,” but not now.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Townhall.com, Right Now, The Daily Caller, The Fix, The Plum Line and The Corner on National …

Manu Raju / The Politico:
GOP senators wary of Angle's views

Discussion: CNN, The Speakers Lobby, The Atlantic Online, RedState and The Hill

Associated Press:
Nevada candidate Angle left GOP in Reagan years

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Star:

Exclusive: Al Gore Cheats with Larry David's Ex — Al Gore's split from wife Tipper after 40 years of marriage was a shock to everyone who thought theirs was the ideal marriage. Now Star can exclusively reveal that the former Vice President was having an affair with Larry David's ex-wife — for the past two years!

The Huffington Post:
Laurie David: Al Gore Affair Story Is ‘Completely Untrue’

Discussion: Gothamist, Telegraph, Maggie Haberman's Blog and PopEater

Carol D. Leonnig / Washington Post:

8 House members investigated over fundraisers held near financial reform vote — The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating eight lawmakers who held fundraisers within 48 hours of a major House vote on a Wall Street reform bill or received substantial donations from business people …

Discussion: Townhall.com

Janet Daley / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:

British media fall out of love with Obama — The BBC reports of Barack Obama's speech last night are about as derisive as it would be possible to be about someone you were describing only a few months ago as the incarnation of Hope and Optimism. Yes indeed, the romance is over.

Discussion: Telegraph

Jason Groves / Daily Mail:

Nightmare vision for Europe as EU chief warns ‘democracy could disappear’ in Greece, Spain and Portugal — Democracy could ‘collapse’ in Greece, Spain and Portugal unless urgent action is taken to tackle the debt crisis, the head of the European Commission has warned.

Discussion: EconLog and Pajamas Media

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Dems flirt with backing Crist — The emergence of a politically unknown billionaire self-funder in the Florida Senate race is prompting top Democrats in the state to say publicly what some have been whispering for weeks: If Jeff Greene, who got rich betting on the collapse of the housing market …

Discussion: The Buzz

Catalina Camia / USA Today:

Poll: Enthusiasm dips for Democratic voters — USA TODAY's Susan Page mentioned findings from a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll in today's analysis of President Obama's Oval Office address, including a widening “enthusiasm gap” between Democrats and Republicans looking at the November elections.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and The Political Carnival

KOMO News:

Seattle officer punches girl in face during jaywalking stop — SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating what they call an assault of an officer in South Seattle. — However, a police officer is seen punching a 17-year-old girl in the face during the incident captured by a video camera on Monday.

Discussion: CitizenTube and The Agitator

Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:

Housing starts drop to five-month low in May — (Reuters) - Housing starts fell more than expected in May to their lowest level in five months, a government report showed on Wednesday, as a popular homebuyer tax credit that had buoyed construction activity over the past two months expired.

Discussion: The Other McCain

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:

New York Senate Approves No-Fault Divorce — ALBANY — The State Senate on Tuesday, clearing aside decades of opposition, put New York on a course to adopt no-fault divorce — the last state to do so. It approved legislation that would permit couples to separate by mutual consent …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Maggie Haberman's Blog, Room for Debate, The Awl, City Room and New York Magazine

Arizona Republic:

Arizonans should watch closely — The same complaint echoes through California and Arizona: Elected officials are too partisan, too ideologically rigid and not pragmatic enough. — Last week, California voters approved a radical solution. Proposition 14 amends the state constitution to create an “open primary” system.

Discussion: leagle.com, WBRZ-TV, Columbian and The Moderate Voice

The Right Scoop:

More straight talk from Chris Christie - The day of reckoning is here — Dude, this guy needs no explanation because he does it so well himself. I'll be honest, I can't get enough of Christie. I need this guy to be president right freaking now!!!! It's painful to hear such great words coming …

Discussion: Instapundit and TigerHawk

Eli / Firedoglake:

When Mama Grizzlies Rebut — Wow. Sarah Palin was on Bill O'Reilly to comment on Obama's address tonight, and it's every bit as crazy-stupid as you'd expect - even BillO seemed amazed by her performance. Just so you know what to expect, this post is kind of a belated DVR-aided liveblog of her appearance …

Donald J. Boudreaux / PittsburghLIVE.com:

Puzzling complexity — Imagine a jigsaw puzzle of 1 billion pieces. They are scattered randomly across a pasture that is 1 million miles square. If someone assigns you the task of finding all these pieces, how would you do so? — One option is to search for each of these billion pieces by yourself.