memeorandum: 59 percent think Palin lacks ability to be effective as president (Michael O'Brien/The Hill)

9:40 AM ET, August 30, 2010

Top Items:

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:

President Obama blasts lies, disinformation — Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy — President Barack Obama dismissed a recent poll showing that a third of Americans don't know he's a Christian - and blamed an online campaign of misinformation …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, Tammy Bruce, Peter Daou, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Creative Minority Report, NO QUARTER, The Swamp, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, iOwnTheWorld.com and HotAirPundit

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

After Washington rally, Glenn Beck assails Obama's religion — Conservative commentator Glenn Beck voiced sharper criticism of President Obama's religious beliefs on Sunday than he and other speakers offered from the podium of the rally Beck organized at the Lincoln Memorial a day earlier.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Raw Story, Firedoglake, News Hounds and The Moderate Voice

Rachel Rose Hartman / Yahoo! News:

Glenn Beck regrets calling Obama a ‘racist’ — Fox News host Glenn Beck said Sunday that he misspoke last year when he characterized President Obama as a racist. — “I have a big fat mouth sometimes and I say things,” Beck said during an interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace.

Discussion: The Reaction, Gawker and Dependable Renegade

msnbc.com:

Full transcript of the ‘NBC Nightly News’ interview — Obama said failures in the aftermath of Katrina made it clear that “the real protection for New Orleans and the coast are the wetlands,” lessons that he said provided important guidance in allowing his administration to respond quickly in the days after the oil spill.

Discussion: Commentary

Laura Meckler / Washington Wire: Obama Comments on Mosque Debate, Glenn Beck

Sean J. Miller / The Hill:
Jindal calls for greater ‘urgency’ from Obama on ending drilling moratorium

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and HotAirPundit

Silla Brush / The Hill:
Obama in Big Easy to mark Katrina

Discussion: CNN and The Politico

Associated Press: Obama Heralds New Orleans's Revival After Storm

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

59 percent think Palin lacks ability to be effective as president — Almost three out of five Americans believe former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) would not be an effective president, a new poll found Monday. — 59 percent of U.S. adults said they don't think Palin, the 2008 Republican …

Discussion: CNN, Red Dog Report, Outside the Beltway and GOP 12

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

It's Witch-Hunt Season — The last time a Democrat sat in the White House, he faced a nonstop witch hunt by his political opponents. Prominent figures on the right accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of everything from drug smuggling to murder. And once Republicans took control of Congress …

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Brian O'Connor / Red Dog Report:

Alaska's Joe Miller on Face the Nation — “Everybody in this instance is going to have to so some belt tightening.” — Alaska's next Senator? — Tuesday's results and today's polls seem to say so. — Alaska US Senate candidate Joe Miller (R) appeared on CBS's Face The Nation this weekend.

Discussion: sisu and The Other McCain

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
The Alaska Senate Race

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Think Progress, Conservatives4Palin.com and The Other McCain

Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:
More accusations made in close Senate race

Discussion: Ballot Box, American Spectator, The Other McCain, The Mudflats and Riehl World View

Jimmy So / CBS News:
Miller: U.S. Going Bankrupt, States Need Control

Discussion: HotAirPundit

Robert J. Samuelson / Washington Post:

The saving mentality is hurting the economy's recovery — The logic of the economic recovery isn't working — or, at any rate, not well. By that logic, over-borrowed Americans would repay loans and replenish depleted savings, creating a temporary drop in consumer spending and economic activity.

Mark Helprin / Wall Street Journal:

The World Trade Center Mosque and the Constitution — The plan to erect a mosque of major proportions in what would have been the shadow of the World Trade Center involves not just the indisputable constitutional rights that sanction it, but, providentially, others that may frustrate it.

Discussion: Commentary and The Future of Capitalism

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

Orange County Is No Longer Nixon Country — SANTA ANA, Calif. — Orange County has been a national symbol of conservatism for more than 50 years: birthplace of President Richard M. Nixon and home to John Wayne, a bastion for the John Birch Society, a land of orange groves and affluence …

Discussion: ocgov.com, Philly.com and City of Irvine Website

Brian Murphy / Associated Press:

New York imam: Politics behind mosque opposition … DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The imam spearheading a proposed Islamic center near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York believes the fierce opposition is closely linked to the U.S. elections in November, according to comments published Monday.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch

NewsReal Blog:

11 Chapters Meghan McCain's Editor Axed From Dirty Sexy Politics — Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain is scheduled for release on August 31. But you don't have to wait until Tuesday to see what didn't make the final editorial cut. NewsReal Blog has obtained exclusive excerpts from the chapters rejected by Meggie Mac's editors.

Sean O'Reilly / ABC Action News WFTS-TV:

Man arrested for attempting to spray mace on anti-gay protestors at a Leesburg High grad's funeral — Staff Sgt. Michael Bock died in Afghanistan — OMAHA, Neb. - A Nebraska man is jail after police believe he tried to spray mace on protestors outside the Omaha funeral of a Leesburg High graduate.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Gawker and Joe. My. God.

CNN:
Man fires pepper spray on protesters outside Marine's funeral

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Left Coast Rebel, Political Byline, Weasel Zippers and Raw Story

Steve Coll / New Yorker:

FLOOD TIDES — Last spring, according to a Pew Research Center poll, eighty-four per cent of Pakistanis were dissatisfied with the way things were going in their country. Inflation, terrorist bombings, and American drone strikes were among the causes of their discontent.

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Ashley Fantz / CNN:

Stabbed cabbie out of work, worries about feeding family — (CNN) — New York cab driver Ahmed Sharif cannot bring himself to talk about the young man who allegedly cut his throat and nearly killed him last week, a taxi union representative said Sunday. — “Ahmed is a strong man …

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, New York Magazine, Suburban Guerrilla and Gawker

Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:

What they're saying about the 8/28 rally — “Conservative commentator Glenn Beck and tea party champion Sarah Palin appealed Saturday to a vast, predominantly white crowd on the National Mall to help restore traditional American values and honor Martin Luther King's message.” — Associated Press