memeorandum: America's First Muslim President (Suhail A. Khan/Foreign Policy)

10:30 PM ET, August 24, 2010

Top Items:

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org:

Andrea Mitchell Lectures U.S. on Ground Zero Mosque: America Needs to Be ‘More Sensitive to Minority Communities’ — Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday fretted that the “angry voices” protesting against the Ground Zero mosque will hurt Barack Obama's attempts to reach out to the Muslim world.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool and Freedom's Lighthouse

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Karen Hughes: I don't remember any of my work with Imam — As you may have heard, former Bush senior adviser Karen Hughes came out against Cordoba House over the weekend. Hughes called on Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf to move the project in order to “provide a path toward the peaceful relationships …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Firedoglake, Washington Post, TPMDC, Salon, Mother Jones and Think Progress

Fox News:

‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Imam: America Killed More Innocents Than Al Qaeda — The controversial imam at the center of the debate over the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero says his goal is to create coalitions across the religious divide, but during a 2005 conference in Australia, he said America may be worse than Al Qaeda.

Discussion: Riehl World View

Cristian Salazar / Associated Press:

NY archbishop worries about tone of mosque debate — NEW YORK (AP) — The tense climate around a proposal for an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero could put New Yorkers in danger of losing their senses of tolerance and unity, values they embraced in the days after Sept. 11 …

Discussion: Associated Press, Ben Smith's Blog and Riehl World View

National Review:
Inventing Moderate Islam

Discussion: Coalition to Honor Ground Zero, Israel Matzav and Cold Fury

Claudia Rosett / Forbes:
Cashing In On Ground Zero

Discussion: Big Peace, Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, Fausta's Blog, Weekly Standard and Front Page Magazine

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Meek wins; Scott leads McCollum — The anti-incumbent wave menacing Washington this year faced its toughest test to date Tuesday in primaries from Florida to Alaska, as an array of well-funded, energetic political veterans appeared poised to turn back primary challenges from insurgent outsider candidates.

Discussion: CNN, Guardian, Wonkette, Tammy Bruce and Macsmind

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Rubio back on top — Democrats will get their stronger candidate if Kendrick Meek wins the Florida Senate primary tonight as expected- but the biggest winner coming out of the primary may be Marco Rubio. PPP finds he would begin the general election in the lead at 40%, followed by Charlie Crist at 32%, and Meek at 17%.

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Don Surber, Weekly Standard, National Review, Post on Politics, Taegan Goddard's …, American Glob and GOP 12

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
10 Questions for Marco Rubio

Discussion: Colorlines, Firedoglake, Democracy in America, MyDD, GOP 12 and Commentary

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Minority leader Boehner to call for mass firing of Obama's economic team — CLEVELAND — House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) will call Tuesday for the mass firing of the Obama administration's economic team, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and White House adviser Larry Summers …

Dan Pfeiffer / White House.gov Blog Feed:
Their Economic Policies Haven't Changed, So They Won't Bring the Change We Need

Discussion: TPMDC, ABCNEWS, Washington Monthly, iOwnTheWorld.com, Swampland, msnbc.com, The Politico, New York Times, The Fix, The Caucus, Political Punch and Politics Extra

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Boehner on the national stage

Discussion: CNN, National Review and The Page

Ed Hornick / CNN:
10 things Republicans must do in 10 weeks

Discussion: Don Surber and Pirate's Cove

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:
John Boehner Mocked His Deficit Reduction Plan Before He Proposed It

Discussion: Weigel, Daily Kos, Politic365, Capital Gains and Games blogs and Gateway Pundit

The Hill:
House Republican leader calls on Obama to fire Geithner, Summers

Discussion: AmSpecBlog and National Review

Nathan Hodge / Washington Wire:

Conway: U.S. Withdrawal Deadline Boosts Taliban in Afghan War — The top U.S. Marine general said President Barack Obama's announced July 2011 deadline to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan had given “sustenance” to the Taliban. — “We know the president was talking to several audiences …

Discussion: Hot Air, YID With LID and NO QUARTER

Igor / Think Progress:
Marine Corps Commandant Conway Reiterates: Marines Should Not …

Discussion: World Blog, Shakesville and Pam's House Blend

Reuters:
Obama's Afghan withdrawal date bolsters enemy-Marines

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Weekly Standard

Alex Pareene / Salon:

Jonah Goldberg: Caring about Muslims is a hate crime against Real Americans — Jonah Goldberg, whose columns are apparently published in grown-up newspapers for consumption by literate adults, uses today's to expand on a theme that he first toyed with at The Corner last week …

Los Angeles Times: Islamophobia? Not really — The supposed anti-Muslim backlash …

Dina Temple-Raston / NPR:
Rancor Over Mosque Could Fuel Islamic Extremists

Discussion: NO QUARTER, Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, The Jawa Report, American Power, Mediaite, The Impolitic and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, more at Mediagazer »

realtor.org:

July Existing-Home Sales Fall as Expected but Prices Rise — Existing-home sales were sharply lower in July following expiration of the home buyer tax credit but home prices continued to gain, according to the National Association of Realtors®. — Existing-home sales1 …

Discussion: Felix Salmon, The Atlantic Online, Political Economy, Moneyblog, Politics Daily, The Curious Capitalist, New York Times, Clusterstock, The Daily Dish, Guardian, The Big Picture, Economix, Balloon Juice and Commentary

Daniel Indiviglio / The Atlantic Online:
How Bad Was July's Plummet in Home Sales?

Discussion: NO QUARTER, Political Economy, Vox Popoli, Mother Jones, New York Times and Politics Daily

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

GOP Maintains Edge in Midterm Voting Preferences — Holds 47% to 44% advantage in latest update — PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup tracking of 2010 midterm congressional election voting preferences shows 47% of registered voters saying they would vote for the Republican candidate and 44% …

Discussion: Ballot Box and Gallup.Com

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
For Obamacare supporters, judgment day approaches

Discussion: Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, Wake up America and Beltway Confidential

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:

MoJo for President: The Fantasy Continues — Joe Scarborough, former congressman from Florida and co-host of MSNBC's agenda-setting wake-up show Morning Joe, has protested, kindly and loudly (he is kind and loud), when speculation arises about his presidential ambitions.

Discussion: Salon and The Daily Caller

Steve Goldstein / MarketWatch:

Stimulus plan boosted GDP by as much as 4.5%, says CBO — WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The oft-criticized stimulus plan boosted the economy in the second quarter by as much as 4.5%, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday. — In a report published the same day as Minority Leader …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Obsidian Wings

Douglas Elmendorf / Director's Blog:
Estimated Impact of the Stimulus Package on Employment and Economic Output

Discussion: The Hill and Economist's View

CNN:

Greene escorted from campaign event — South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee Alvin Greene was escorted from an event on Saturday. — Washington (CNN) - Embattled Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene was escorted from a meeting of the Oconee County Democratic Party on Saturday …

Discussion: Associated Press, Sister Toldjah and Weasel Zippers

Kevin Allocca / TVNewser:

‘CBS Evening News’ Ties All-Time Low — The network newscast ratings for last week are in and “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” tied its all-time low in total viewers with an average of 4.89 million tuning in during the five days. — The low was set last June, when ABC also hit its own low.

Discussion: Media Decoder, Weasel Zippers, Pajamas Media, The Impolitic, The Daily Caller and NewsBusters.org

Wall Street Journal:

The Twenty Years' War — Defeating Saddam took 19 years too long. — Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990. Two decades later, on Aug. 18, 2010, the U.S. withdrew its last combat brigade from Iraq. Throughout those years U.S. military operations went under a variety of names …

Discussion: Commentary

Zaid Jilani / Think Progress:
Pickens Laments That He Failed To Convince Bush And Obama To Take Iraq's Oil

Discussion: Aspen Daily News Online

Julie Appleby / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Colleges say new health law may imperil student policies — WASHINGTON — Colleges and universities say that some rules in the new health law could keep them from offering low-cost, limited-benefit student insurance policies, and they're seeking federal authority to continue offering them.

Discussion: Right Wing News and Sister Toldjah

The Politico:

Is ‘Beckapalooza’ about cause or Beck? — Even as he prepares for a Saturday rally that could cement his status as an unparalleled force in conservative politics, Glenn Beck is facing quiet but persistent questions from some on the right about whether he can be a reliable partner …

Discussion: Think Progress, Wonkette, Taylor Marsh, Ben Smith's Blog and Strupp

Scott / Power Line:

A question too far... ...for Obama's counterrorism adviser John Brennan, who has declared jihad a legitimate tenet of Islam. Pressed on the issue by Washington Times editorial writer James Robbins — author of the terrific forthcoming book This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Moonbattery and Pajamas Media

Shai Oster / Wall Street Journal:

China Traffic Jam Could Last Weeks — BEIJING—A 60-mile traffic jam near the Chinese capital could last until mid-September, officials say. — Traffic has been snarled along the outskirts of Beijing and is stretching toward the border of Inner Mongolia ever since roadwork on the Beijing-Tibet Highway started Aug. 13.

Discussion: Hot Air, Left Coast Rebel, New York Magazine and Felix Salmon

David Brooks / New York Times:

A Case of Mental Courage — In 1811, the popular novelist Fanny Burney learned she had breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy without anesthesia. She lay down on an old mattress, and a piece of thin linen was placed over her face, allowing her to make out the movements of the surgeons above her.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Sadly, No!, The Future of Capitalism and Shakesville