memeorandum: Where are the Republicans who will reject pandering and prejudice? (Washington Post)

12:20 PM ET, August 19, 2010

Top Items:

Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim — Religion, Politics and the President — OVERVIEW — A substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined. More than a year and a half into his presidency …

Washington Post:

Poll: 1 in 5 Americans thinks Obama is a Muslim — The number of Americans who believe — wrongly — that President Obama is a Muslim has increased significantly since his inauguration and now account for nearly 20 percent of the nation's population. — Those results, from a new Pew …

Discussion: Brendan Nyhan, Outside the Beltway, Achenblog, Pew Research Center, DISSENTING JUSTICE, News Desk, The League of Ordinary …, Macsmind, NewsBusters.org, New York Magazine, MyDD, Hullabaloo, Althouse, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Page, more at Mediagazer »

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

In Defining Obama, Misperceptions Stick — WASHINGTON — Americans need only stand in line at the grocery checkout counter to glimpse the conspiracy theories percolating about President Obama. “Birthplace Cover-Up,” screams the current issue of the racy tabloid Globe. “Obama's Secret Life Exposed!”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Associated Press, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, Sweetness & Light, msnbc.com, Prairie Weather and Marbury

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:

Tribalism And Constitutional Rights, Ctd. — The Economist has a disturbing new poll on the proposed Islamic community center near Ground Zero, and it has some rather disturbing numbers. Among them, only 50% “think that Muslims have a constitutional right to build a mosque there,” 57% of Democrats and only 32% of Republicans.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Amy Sullivan / Swampland:
Barack Obama is Not a Muslim

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Politics Daily

CNBC:

Weekly Jobless Claims Post Surprise Jump, Hit 500,000 — New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a nine-month high last week, yet another setback to the frail economic recovery. — Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 500,000 …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Firedoglake, Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys, The Powers That Be, MyDD, TalkLeft and Conservatives4Palin.com

The U.S. Department of Labor:

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis — EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION — Program Contact: — TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED UNTIL — (202) 693-4676 — UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT — SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

Discussion: Free exchange, The Washington Independent and Truthdig

Bob Willis / Bloomberg:
Jobless Claims in U.S. Rose to Highest Since November

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Right Pundits and Commentary

New York Post:

The shame of New York — The real story of the Ground Zero mosque is that the project only became feasible because of the appalling and astonishing fecklessness of the officials who were charged with the reconstruction of the site and the neighborhood all the way back in 2001.

Alex Altman / Time:
TIME Poll: Majority Opposes Mosque, Many Distrust Muslims

Discussion: Guardian, TPMDC, Gateway Pundit, The Page and Swampland

Michelle Boorstein / Washington Post:
In flap over mosque near Ground Zero, conservative writers gaining influence

Discussion: The Other McCain, Little Green Footballs, Jihad Watch, The Atlantic Online, American Power, GayPatriot, Atlas Shrugs, Gateway Pundit, Whiskey Fire and The Daily Beast

Bobby Ghosh / Time:
Does America Have a Muslim Problem?

Discussion: Washington Wire, Mediaite, Hot Air and The Huffington Post

Washington Post:
Where are the Republicans who will reject pandering and prejudice?

Discussion: The Nation, Confederate Yankee, PostPartisan, Soccer Dad and Atlas Shrugs

Christina Bellantoni / TPMDC:
Anti-'Mosque' Geller: 'Strip Clubs Didn't Bring Down The Towers'

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Atlantic Online, New York Magazine and Atlas Shrugs

Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:

Breaking: Blago Holdout Retired State Employee Who Once Handed Out Campaign Literature For Relative Seeking Office; NPR and Liberal Talk Radio Listener — Here's what Fox local news in Chicago reports: … Note that that is not yet confirmed. It is now confirmed by CBS local news Chicago.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, WBBM-TV, Wizbang and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Larry Yellen / Chicago News and Weather:

Speculation Abounds on ‘Holdout’ Blago Juror — Other jurors support retrial — Chicago - The wait continues for the “holdout” juror to explain herself. She is the lone juror who, on some counts at least, prevented the Blagojevich jury from reaching unanimous verdicts to convict.

Discussion: Big Government

WBBM-TV:
Blagojevich Jury Holdout Remaining Silent

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

CNN:

Last U.S. combat convoy has left Iraq — Mosul, Iraq (CNN) — The last U.S. brigade combat team in Iraq has left the country, a move that helps U.S. President Barack Obama reach his goal of 50,000 troops in the country by September 1. — Their departure leaves about 56,000 U.S. troops in the country, according to the U.S. military.

Discussion: Think Progress, This Just In, The Reaction, newsfeed.time.com and New York Magazine

Ernesto Londoño / Washington Post:
Operation Iraqi Freedom ends as last combat soldiers leave Baghdad

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Media Decoder, Raw Story, The Foundry, Los Angeles Times, Sister Toldjah, Federal Eye, Crooks and Liars, Ò", Aljazeera, ATTACKERMAN, BLACKFIVE, National Review and DISSENTING JUSTICE, more at Mediagazer »

Jordan Fabian / The Hill: McCain says Bush administration deserves ‘some credit’ for Iraq troop exit

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Civilians to Take U.S. Lead After Military Leaves Iraq

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite, The Nation, Washington Post, Guardian and Hot Air

Glynnis MacNicol / Mediaite:

Sarah Palin Supports Dr. Laura In N-Word Controversy, Wants Her To ‘Reload’ — Apparently Sarah Palin fully supports Dr. Laura, who announced Tuesday she would be quitting radio following controversy over her numerous use of the N-word on her show earlier this week.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Top of the Ticket and New York Magazine

Joan Walsh / Salon: Sarah Palin defends Dr. Laura

Alana Goodman / NewsBusters.org:
Sheryl Crow Bashes Sarah Palin: 'Someone Unplug Her Microphone!"

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller and Weasel Zippers

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Howard Dean: “Mosque” should move — (updated below - Update II - Update III) — Certain things are disappointing and surprising even for the most hardened cynics. Hearing Howard Dean — the former liberal standard-bearer — join Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin by saying the following is definitely one of them:

The Huffington Post:
Dean Stands By Mosque Remarks, Charges Liberal Critics With Being Inflexible

Discussion: Washington Monthly, National Review, Talking Points Memo, JustOneMinute, Think Progress, Scared Monkeys, TPMDC, Hot Air and Gateway Pundit

Margaret Carlson / Bloomberg:
Smart President Fails Test at Ground Zero: Margaret Carlson

Discussion: Commentary and Betsy's Page

Quinnipiac University:

Sink Inching Up In Close Florida Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Crist Leads Three-Way Senate Race — Apparently bolstered by the civil war for the Republican nomination for Governor in Florida, State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democrat, is on the plus side …

Discussion: The Hill, Taegan Goddard's …, TPMDC, Post on Politics, Riehl World View and The Eye

Jim Geraghty / National Review:

NRSC: ‘The Next Time Democrats Call You Extreme, Show Them This Video.’ — You see it here first, folks: the new web video from the NRSC about just whose views are “extreme” around here. — Their closing sequence, showcasing that the so-called extreme candidates are either leading or in dead heats …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Sister Toldjah, Commentary, Macsmind, American Glob, Nice Deb and Hot Air

The Politico:

Mosque a long shot to be built — When President Barack Obama turned the battle over a planned New York Islamic center into a national debate over religious freedom, he unwittingly allied himself and his party with an ill-planned, long-shot development project described by one of its most prominent allies as “amateur hour.”

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Daily Kos and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Ezra Klein:

If only Obama had ... See if this structure seems familiar to you: Over the past two years, Barack Obama has done X. Now, his poll numbers have slipped to 44 percent. His party is slated to lose a lot of seats in the 2010 midterms. Obama's decision to do X is to blame. — “X” can be a lot of things.

Discussion: TalkLeft, The New Republic, Right Wing News and Washington Monthly

Jennifer A. Kingson / New York Times:

Home Aquariums as Decorating Elements — KARIN WILZIG has a hard time choosing a favorite color from among the 64 that she and her husband can use to illuminate the 14 1/2- foot, 450-gallon aquarium in their TriBeCa town house. The default is fuchsia, which turns the dozen koi a deep pink.

Discussion: Ezra Klein and The Awl

Jacob Davies / Obsidian Wings:

Adult Supervision Required — I'm looking at this Cordoba House business and I really cannot endorse the United States as guarantor of global freedom* if we're going to run things this way. Aren't there some aliens that can step in or something? — This is the stupidest thing since Terri Schiavo …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Skip the lecture on Israel's ‘risks for peace’ — In the intifada that began in 2000, Palestinian terrorism killed more than 1,000 Israelis. As a portion of U.S. population, that would be 42,000, approaching the toll of America's eight years in Vietnam. During the onslaught …

Discussion: Commentary and Betsy's Page

Hotline On Call:

How To Lose A Guy In 75 Days — Two years after his coattails helped sweep two dozen Democrats into office, President Obama is proving more a boon to Republicans than to Democrats during the midterm elections. His poll numbers are so morose that Democrats are planning ways to avoid his shadow …