memeorandum: Oval Office speech another low-key effort (Ed Morrissey/Hot Air)

1:30 PM ET, September 1, 2010

Top Items:

A Note to My Fellow Hawks — President Obama opposed the war in Iraq. He still thinks it was a mistake. It's therefore unrealistic for supporters of the war to expect the president to give the speech John McCain would have given, or to expect President Obama to put the war in the context we would put it in.

Discussion: New York Times, JustOneMinute, American Power, Wonk Room, The New Republic, National Review, Swampland, Washington Wire, Guardian, Commentary and The Page

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

President Obama's Oval Office speech on Iraq — text — Oval Office Remarks by President Obama, as provided by the White House — Good evening. Tonight, I'd like to talk to you about the end of our combat mission in Iraq, the ongoing security challenges we face, and the need to rebuild our nation here at home.

Jonah Goldberg / National Review:

Obama's Speech — Yes, there were some fine parts. How could there not be? — But I really disliked it. Maybe I'm letting other factors poison my take, and I should probably sleep on it before rendering final judgment. But here are a few things that really stuck in my craw.

Discussion: Politics Daily, Fox News, Power Line, PostPartisan, Right Wing News, Washington Post, Commentary, The Plum Line, Betsy's Page and Hot Air

Victor Davis Hanson / National Review:

Iraq Through the Looking Glass — Most Americans will support President Obama's call for patience in Afghanistan and his policy of continuing the long-planned drawdown in Iraq. — But there was something bizarre about his entire Iraq speech — it was as if it were being delivered …

Discussion: Theo Spark, ATTACKERMAN and Commentary

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

Bush-Era Iraq War Architects Emerge To Demand ‘Credit’ For Iraq War ‘Success’ — In April 2006, ThinkProgress produced a report titled “The Architects of War: Where Are They Now?” We wrote at the time, “a review of the key planners of the conflict reveals that they have been rewarded — not blamed — for their incompetence.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, NPR, Commentary and The Caucus

George Packer / Interesting Times:
A Date That Will Live in Oblivion

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Daily Beast, The Nation, At War and ATTACKERMAN

Scott / Power Line:
A classless, limp and boring speech

Discussion: The Hill

Tim Fernholz / American Prospect: Returning to the War At Home

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Oval Office speech another low-key effort

Discussion: Public Secrets, RedState, Moe Lane, Facebook, Outside the Beltway, Top of the Ticket, National Review, Right Wing News and Mediaite

Fred Kaplan / Slate:
Obama's frustrating, unfocused speech on Iraq.

Discussion: Ross Douthat, Washington Wire, The Blaze and Hot Air

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The “nobody-could-have-known” excuse and Iraq

Discussion: normblog, At War, The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, Eschaton and TalkLeft

New York Times:
The War in Iraq — We were glad to see President Obama …

Discussion: Guardian, Neptunus Lex, PostPartisan, The Daily Beast and The Politico

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Palin 2012 in Alaska — If Sarah Palin runs for President in 2012 she can't count on a whole lot of support back home. 62% of Alaska Republicans are opposed to her making a White House bid and she gets only 17% in a hypothetical 2012 primary in the state tying for her second with Mike Huckabee behind Mitt Romney.

Discussion: Freedom's Lighthouse, Conservatives4Palin.com and GOP 12

Fox News:
Murkowski Concedes Alaska Primary Race to Tea Party Candidate

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Lisa Murkowski loses, do Democrats sense opportunity?

Discussion: Washington Post, Swing State Project, Hotline On Call and GOP 12

Sydelle Moore / Congress Blog:
The Big Question: Is Murkowski's defeat good news for Dems?

Discussion: The Politico

William Yardley / New York Times:
Murkowski Concedes Alaska Primary Defeat

Discussion: CNN, The Atlantic Online, Washington Wire, Wonkette, FiveThirtyEight, Climate Progress, OpenSecrets.org, MyDD, The Impolitic, Right Wing News, SENATUS and New York Magazine

Joe Miller / joemiller.us:
Miller Statement On GOP Nomination

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, USA Today and Liberty Pundits Blog

Des Moines Register:
Sarah Palin's plans mark change in posture toward Iowa

Discussion: Hot Air and GOP 12

Publius / Big Government:
Read Between the Lines: Murkowski Doesn't Endorse Miller

Discussion: Riehl World View and RedState

Anchorage Daily News:
Murkowski concedes GOP Senate race to Miller

Discussion: Online NewsHour, The Other McCain, Cubachi, Washington Monthly, Conservatives4Palin.com and TPMDC

Michael Joseph Gross / Vanity Fair:

Sarah Palin the Sound and the Fury — Even as Sarah Palin's public voice grows louder, she has become increasingly secretive, walling herself off from old friends and associates, and attempting to enforce silence from those around her. Following the former Alaska governor's road show …

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, Mediaite and The Right Scoop

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Saying anything about Palin — A former aide to the McCain campaign got in touch with me this morning to cop to being the half-serious progenitor of a story which, embellished almost beyond recognition, appears in Vanity Fair's portrait today of Sarah Palin as monster. — Reports Vanity Fair:

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Taegan Goddard's …, Weigel and Conservatives4Palin.com

Kathleen Parker / Washington Post:

My name is Glenn Beck, and I need help — Despite all the words spilled in evaluating Glenn Beck's tent-less revival last weekend, the real meaning may have been hiding in plain sight. — Beck's “Restoring Honor” gathering on the Mall was right out of the Alcoholics Anonymous playbook.

Discussion: Don Surber, Liberty Pundits Blog, Achenblog, Right Wing News and NewsBusters.org

Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:
MSNBC Libtalker: I Could EASILY Out-Draw Glenn Beck!

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, American Glob and Patterico's Pontifications

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
The Trouble With Pitches — I tweeted yesterday that I liked …

Discussion: The Urban Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money and American Prospect

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Americans Give GOP Edge on Most Election Issues — Greatest Republican advantages on terrorism, immigration, federal spending — PRINCETON, NJ — A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds Americans saying the Republicans in Congress would do a better job than the Democrats in Congress of handling seven of nine key election issues.

Discussion: The Hill, Politics Daily, CNN, Hotline On Call, Beltway Confidential, Swampland, Hot Air, Washington Post, Club for Growth, NRSC, FiveThirtyEight, Wake up America, Eunomia, Jay Bookman and Don Surber

Charlie Cook / National Journal Online:

No Help On The Horizon For Dems — Labor Day is almost here and Democrats are still waiting for the cavalry to arrive. An exhaustive scan of the horizon reveals no rescuers and none of the things Democrats badly need to save them from tough midterm election losses on Nov. 2.

Discussion: FoxNews.com and Taegan Goddard's …

Wall Street Journal:

Tax Cuts Weighed to Spur Economy — The Obama administration is considering a range of new measures to boost economic growth, including tax cuts and a new nationwide infrastructure program, according to people familiar with the discussions. — The president's economic team has met frequently …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly and Liberty Pundits Blog

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Tax Cuts That Make a Difference — It's time to start talking about a tax cut. — The economy is struggling mightily. Some 15 million people remain unemployed. The Federal Reserve has been slow to act and still is not doing much. The Senate has been unable to find the 60 votes needed to pass anything but minor bills.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Washington Post, Jay Bookman, NPR Blogs and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Lynn Hulsey / Dayton Daily News:

Senate candidate indicted for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor — DAYTON — Eric W. Deaton, a Constitution Party candidate for U.S. Senate, was indicted Tuesday, Aug. 31, for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to Greg Flannagan, spokesman for Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck Jr.

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, WHIO-TV, Taegan Goddard's …, IntoxiNation, Talking Points Memo and JammieWearingFool

Hal Scherz / Wall Street Journal:

Dear Patients: Vote to Repeal ObamaCare — Don't believe Democrats who promise to fix the bill once they're re-elected. — Facing a nationwide backlash, Democratic congressional candidates have a new message for voters: We know you don't like ObamaCare, so we'll fix it.

Discussion: The New Republic and protein wisdom

Kristin Huguet / Apple:

Apple to Provide Live Video Streaming of September 1 Event — What: — Live video stream of Apple's September 1 event — When: — Where: — www.apple.com — Live Video Streaming — Apple® will broadcast its September 1 event online using Apple's industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming …

Discussion: This Just In, The Huffington Post, CNN, Boing Boing, MacRumors, Engadget, ReadWriteWeb, The Moderate Voice and TechCrunch, more at Mediagazer »

Minnesota Public Radio:

MPR News/Humphrey Institute Poll: Voters disapprove of Pawlenty's cross-county politicking — Minnesota voters are unhappy with the political activities of Gov. Tim Pawlenty according to a new MPR News-Humphrey Institute Poll. — The poll — conducted by Minnesota Public Radio News …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The Page and GOP 12

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

Aspiring Politician to Sue 2 Florida Papers — Jeff Greene, a Florida real estate developer who lost one of the year's most bitter and closely watched primary elections, is preparing to sue The St. Petersburg Times and The Miami Herald for libel, claiming that articles they published cost him his bid for the United States Senate.