memeorandum: George W. Bush makes surprise visit to U.S. troops (Andrew Malcolm/Top of the Ticket)

12:55 PM ET, August 12, 2010

Top Items:

Dem group launches ‘F*ck Tea’ campaign — Last summer, Democrats argued that the Tea Party movement was the astroturf creation of corporate groups. Now that the grassroots conservative resurgence has emerged as a clear force on the right, the left is making a different case: That tea parties are simply the enemy.

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, Gateway Pundit, Riehl World View, The Mahablog, Gawker, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wake up America and JammieWearingFool

Wall Street Journal:

Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer — Pessimism Rises on Economy and War; Bad Reviews for Both Democrats and GOP — Americans are growing more pessimistic about the economy and the war in Afghanistan, and are losing faith that Democrats have better solutions than Republicans, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Discussion: The Caucus, Think Progress, msnbc.com, Washington Wire, Commentary, Another Black Conservative, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, The Washington Independent, Pundit & Pundette, Politics Daily, Gallup, FrumForum, Pollster.com All Content and The Page

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Public favors Tea Party over top Dems — The American public has a more positive view of the Tea Party movement than both leaders of the majority party in Congress, according to a poll released Wednesday. — An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 30 percent view the grassroots conservative groups …

Discussion: The Politico, NRSC, Weasel Zippers and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Appears to Shift at Accelerated Pace — In April, 2009, when we last took a survey of gay marriage polls, we found that support for it had converged somewhere into the area of 41 or 42 percent of the country. Now, it appears to have risen by several points …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Eye, Hot Air and CNN

CNN:
Decision on stay expected in California same-sex marriages case

Discussion: Firedoglake and The Page

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
CNN Poll is First To Show Majority Support for Gay Marriage

Discussion: New York Magazine, Raw Story and Wonk Room

Stan Collender / NiemanWatchdog.org:

Six essential questions about the deficit, Wall Street and Washington — Fiscal expert Stan Collender points out that the bond market is not demanding deficit reduction — in fact, quite the opposite. So where is the Washington establishment's obsession with the deficit coming from?

Discussion: Ezra Klein and Hullabaloo

Washington Post:
Stocks plunge as U.S. trade deficit is wider than expected

Discussion: New York Times, The Page and The Other McCain

Sewell Chan / New York Times:
For Fed, the Choices Get Harder

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and Beat the Press

ABCNEWS:

Civil Unrest: The Death of Decorum in Washington? — Has Civility Reached an Historic Low in Congress? — There was an extraordinary moment during the final senate debate on Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation. While Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delivered remarks, Senator Al Franken …

Discussion: Stop The ACLU

Timothy Egan / Opinionator:
The Mirthless Senate — Senator Al Franken at the hearing …

Discussion: Althouse

Tom Coyne / Associated Press:
Lugar likely to seek re-election

Discussion: The Hill

Michelle Malkin:

The vulgarity of liberal female “comedians” — Left-wing female comedians are proving that they can be as crude and stupid as their male counterparts. Who knew that striving for gender equality meant pursuing the dream that one day, someday, liberal women would be able to mock …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and Wonkette

Clifford D. May / National Review:

The Taboo of the Intellectuals — The controversy over plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in Manhattan has taken an odd twist. On one side are those making arguments in opposition to the project, along with those who merely have questions they would like answered so they can decide …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Commentary and Power Line

Megan Carpentier / TPMMuckraker:
‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Imam Was A Bush-Era Partner For Mideast Peace

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, ParaPundit, American Prospect, Talking Points Memo, The New Republic, Washington Monthly and Christian Science Monitor

David Streitfeld / New York Times:

Borrowers Refuse to Pay Billions in Home Equity Loans — PHOENIX — During the great housing boom, homeowners nationwide borrowed a trillion dollars from banks, using the soaring value of their houses as security. Now the money has been spent and struggling borrowers are unable or unwilling to pay it back.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Felix Salmon, Clusterstock and naked capitalism

The Huffington Post:

Huckabee Opposes Changing 14th Amendment, Setting Himself Apart From GOP Again — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — Distinguishing himself once more from his GOP rivals when it comes to immigration policy, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said on Wednesday that he didn't back efforts to rethink …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, TPMDC and FrumForum

CNN:
TRENDING: Huckabee against changing 14th Amendment

Discussion: The Politico, WBUR and NPR and Think Progress

Susan Crabtree / The Hill:

Waters set to launch defense against ethics charges in sit-down with reporters — Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) will launch an aggressive defense of the ethics charges leveled against her in a sit-down discussion with reporters Friday. — At the meeting with reporters …

Discussion: CNN

R. Jeffrey Smith / Washington Post:
Cohee at OneUnited, bank in Maxine Waters case, has checkered record

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, The BLT and The Page

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

George W. Bush makes surprise visit to U.S. troops — Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, made a surprise visit to U.S. troops this afternoon. — They showed up at the USO in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. There they mingled with the returning soldiers, thanked them …

Discussion: The Swamp, Michelle Malkin, AMERICAN DIGEST, Political Byline, Power Line, Wizbang and Shakesville

Peter Baker / New York Times:

The First Wave of Weary Aides Heads for the Exits — WASHINGTON — Linda Douglass slept nearly 12 hours the day after she left her job as a communications aide at the White House. And the day after that and the day after that. It took two weeks until she finally felt rested.

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Daniel W. Drezner, Federal Eye and New York Times

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Lindsey Graham quietly files Gitmo habeas bill

Discussion: Emptywheel and FrumForum

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:

Congressman Rangel's Party a Display of Defiance — It was a dramatic but fitting start to an evening that brimmed with political defiance. About 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, as guests began strolling into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate Representative Charles B. Rangel's 80th birthday …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, WNYC News, The Politico, New York Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Gothamist, City Room, Weasel Zippers, Gawker, The Page and FrumForum

Raelyn Johnson / CNN:
Despite scandal, Rangel rings in 80th birthday with lavish gala

Discussion: Townhall.com

Nile Gardiner / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:

The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown — The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Wizbang, Liberty Pundits Blog, NY Daily News and Conservatives4Palin.com

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

GOP plan to extend tax cuts for rich adds $36 billion to deficit, panel finds — A Republican plan to extend tax cuts for the rich would add more than $36 billion to the federal deficit next year — and transfer the bulk of that cash into the pockets of the nation's millionaires …

Discussion: Ezra Klein, Washington Monthly, TalkLeft, Guardian, AMERICAblog News and Beat the Press

Christopher S. Rugaber / Associated Press:

New claims for unemployment aid reach 484K — New applications for jobless benefits rise to highest since February as layoffs continue — Companies: — Related Quotes — SymbolPriceChange — CFN — 22.70 — WASHINGTON (AP) — The employment picture is looking bleaker …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Hit & Run, Another Black Conservative, Weasel Zippers and Scared Monkeys

Paul Krugman:

In The Matter Of Robert L. Gibbs — There he goes again. What gets me is how unprofessional the whole thing is. — Look, if you're a public figure of any kind, you're going to face a lot of criticism. Much of it will seem unfair to you; some of the unfair criticism will come from people …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Confluence, The Hill, Sister Toldjah, MyDD, The Daily Caller, The Huffington Post, Suburban Guerrilla, Prairie Weather, Democratic Strategist, Open Left, Outside the Beltway, The Politico and Grasping Reality …

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Netanyahu, the anti-Obama — Two photographs adorn the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Together they illuminate a portentous fact: No two leaders of democracies are less alike — in life experiences, temperaments and political philosophies — than Netanyahu …

Discussion: Commentary, Soccer Dad and Israel Matzav

Matt Bai / New York Times:

Waiting in the Wings to Be Chief G.O.P. Dealmaker — WASHINGTON — As lawmakers head home this week for what remains of summer, one question transfixes Washington: Will Democrats lose control of the House and possibly even the Senate in November, or will they hang on to fragile majorities?

Discussion: American Prospect, Paul Krugman, Weekly Standard, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice, American Spectator, TPMDC and New York Times

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Senate approves $600M border security bill — The Senate passed a $600 million border security bill during a rare recess session Thursday, sending it to President Obama for his signature. — Because Republicans and Democrats agreed to pass the legislation by unanimous consent …

Discussion: The Politico, The Note, The Swamp and Facing South

City Room:

Paterson Aide Charged With Assault — David W. Johnson, one of Gov. David A. Paterson's closest aides, surrendered to Bronx prosecutors Thursday morning to face misdemeanor assault charges, a person briefed on the matter said. — Mr. Johnson arrived at the office of the Bronx district attorney shortly …

Discussion: The Daily Politics, Gothamist and TPMMuckraker

Brett Michael Dykes / Yahoo! News:

Cringe-inducing typo outside N.C. school — Well, here's something to make your old English teacher gasp in horror: A road contractor hired to paint the word “school” on a freshly paved stretch of road near Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina rendered the traffic area in question a “shcool” zone.

Discussion: theblogprof, The TrogloPundit and Pajamas Media