memeorandum: Woman Held in Iran Arrives in U.S. (Associated Press)

3:40 AM ET, September 20, 2010

Top Items:

Obama Aides Weigh Bid to Tie the G.O.P. to the Tea Party — WASHINGTON — President Obama's political advisers, looking for ways to help Democrats and alter the course of the midterm elections in the final weeks, are considering a range of ideas, including national advertisements …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Weasel Zippers, Nice Deb, No More Mister Nice Blog, FrumForum, Conservatives4Palin.com, Pajamas Media and AmSpecBlog

New York Times:

Tea Party Victory Opens Rift Between Moderate and Conservative Republicans — WASHINGTON — The few remaining Republican centrists in the Senate were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Michael N. Castle of Delaware, a longtime and reliable moderate voice who could provide some counterbalance …

Discussion: Questions and Observations

Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:

Bring It!... Obama Plans More Attacks on Tea Party Like the One Last Night in Chicago — Despite their constant attacks on the tea party Americans who love their country and want a responsible government and fiscal discipline, the corrupt democratic-media complex has failed.

New York Times:

G.O.P. Insider Fuels Tea Party and Suspicion — WASHINGTON — In the days leading up to the Delaware primary, Sal Russo hosted a radio fund-raiser, organized a political rally and pressed the case with reporters that Christine O'Donnell was the Tea Party's choice for the United States Senate.

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, FoxNews.com, The Mahablog, naked capitalism, Politics Daily, Politerati, FrumForum and The Huffington Post

CNN:
Murkowski: I was victim of ‘smear’ campaign

Discussion: The Reaction, The Hill, The Politico, protein wisdom, Talking Points Memo, Hotline On Call and Ballot Box

Randall Chase / Associated Press:

O'Donnell makes light of witchcraft comment — LINCOLN, Del. - Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell is making light of comments she made more than a decade ago when she was in high school about having dabbled in witchcraft. — “How many of you didn't hang out with questionable folks …

Discussion: Think Progress, Washington Post, NewsBusters.org, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Moderate Voice and Gawker

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit:

SCOTT JOHNSON: If Al Franken was able to overcome his personal record to become a United States Senator, Christine O'Donnell certainly can. “O'Donnell has the additional advantage of having a man who formerly advertised himself as the bearded Marxist for her opponent.”

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Classical Values, Power Line and INSTAPUTZ

Bruce Drake / Politics Daily:

Karl Rove Says Christine O'Donnell Needs to Explain Witchcraft ‘Dabbling’ to Voters … Karl Rove, political mastermind for former President Bush said Sunday that Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party insurgent who won an upset victory in Delaware for the GOP Senate nomination, “can't simply ignore” …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, delawareonline, Riehl World View and Liberty Pundits Blog

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
O'Donnell On ‘Witchcraft’ …

Discussion: Gawker and News Hounds

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Memo to the Right: “The Lombardi Rule” Is In Effect

Discussion: Riehl World View, Pundit & Pundette, Jezebel and Don Surber

Roxana Tiron / The Hill:
Rove: Murkowski's write-in campaign is ‘sad and sorry’

Discussion: Chicago Boyz, Raw Story and Left Coast Rebel

The Hill:

Clinton says he was wrong on healthcare bill's popularity — Former president Bill Clinton, a champion of healthcare reform, admitted on Sunday that he made the wrong prediction about the popularity of President Obama's healthcare bill. — Initially, Clinton had predicted that the polls …

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Scared Monkeys, Taylor Marsh, Don Surber, Left Coast Rebel and Weasel Zippers

Bridget Johnson / The Hill:
Bill Clinton: Tea Party is ‘general revolt against bigness’

Discussion: The Mahablog, Left Coast Rebel and Gateway Pundit

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
Bloomberg: Tea Party is a ‘boomlet’

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com and NewsReal Blog

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:
Bloomberg Pushes Moderates in National Races

Discussion: The Caucus, Politics Daily, The Eye, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and FrumForum

Raven Brooks:
About that Tea Party convention... canceled

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly and Crooks and Liars

Motoko Rich / New York Times:

For the Unemployed Over 50, Fears of Never Working Again — VASHON ISLAND, Wash. — Patricia Reid is not in her 70s, an age when many Americans continue to work. She is not even in her 60s. She is just 57. — But four years after losing her job she cannot, in her darkest moments …

Discussion: Economist's View

Media Decoder:

Newsweek's Howard Fineman to Join The Huffington Post — Howard Fineman, one of the more recognizable pundits on cable television and a correspondent for Newsweek for 30 years, is leaving the magazine to become a senior editor at The Huffington Post. — Mr. Fineman's move from a print medium …

Discussion: Mediaite, NewsBusters.org, New York Magazine and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Associated Press:

Colin Powell: Illegal Immigrants Fix My House — Former Secretary of State Urges Republicans to Support Path to Legal Status for Undocumented Workers — (AP) Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says illegal immigrants do essential work in the U.S. and he has firsthand knowledge of that - because they fix his house.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico: Colin Powell critical of President Obama

Roxana Tiron / The Hill:
Powell holds off on next endorsement, says Obama should focus on ‘governing’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Marianne Moran / Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Give States a Tool to Check Federal Power — Richmond, Va. — George Mason and James Madison were two Virginians who, while initially differing on the wisdom of adding a Bill of Rights to the Constitution, ended up working together to craft the first 10 amendments.

Discussion: Dean's World and Left Coast Rebel