memeorandum: Jobless Claims in U.S. Increased 12,000 to 465,000 Last Week (Bob Willis/Bloomberg)

11:20 AM ET, September 23, 2010

Top Items:

“Pledge to America” Unveiled by Republicans (Full Text) — CBS News has obtained a final draft of House Republicans' legislative agenda for the next Congress, a 21-page “Pledge to America” that they will formally unveil Thursday morning at a Virginia hardware store.

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Perhaps the Most Ridiculous Thing to Come Out of Washington Since George McClellan — The House Republicans' “Pledge to America” is out. A thrill will run up the leg of a few Chris Matthews' types on the right. As Dan noted on Twitter, the Contract with America was 869 words and this is 21 pages.

Ezra Klein:

The GOP's bad idea — “America is more than a country,” begins the GOP's ‘Pledge to America.’ America, it turns out, is an “idea,” an “inspiration,” and a “belief.” And the GOP wants to govern it. — Their policy agenda is detailed and specific — a decision they will almost certainly come to regret.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Economist's View and TPMDC

The Huffington Post:

GOP ‘Pledge For America’ Director Lobbied For AIG, Exxon, Pfizer, Chamber — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — The Republican Party's 21-page blueprint, “Pledge to America,” was put together with oversight by a House staffer who, up till April 2010, served as a lobbyist for some of the nation's most powerful oil …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Think Progress, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Wonk Room, Taylor Marsh, Oliver Willis, Politerati and First Draft

National Review:

We'll Take the Pledge — All year long, conservatives have been pressuring Republicans to release a Contract with America for 2010 — an updated version of the campaign platform that the party unveiled before its 1994 sweep of Congress. Thursday morning, Republican congressmen are responding …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hotline On Call, Liberty Pundits Blog, Hit & Run, Riehl World View, AmSpecBlog, Power Line, The Hill, Ben Smith's Blog, Outside the Beltway, Politics Daily and American Spectator

Directorblue / Doug Ross:
A Critique of the GOP's New ‘Pledge to America’: Dudes. …

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com and No More Mister Nice Blog

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Online:
Why Republicans Don't Need a ‘Pledge’

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Washington Independent and Club for Growth

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
White House quickly attacks GOP ‘Pledge’

Discussion: Human Events, Weasel Zippers, Political Punch, Michelle Malkin, The Note and ABCNEWS

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
G.O.P. Cites Tax Cuts and Health Care as Main Focus

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Monthly, The Hill, The Caucus, Outside the Beltway, TPMDC and CNN

Dan Pfeiffer / White House.gov Blog Feed:
The Congressional Republican Pledge to Special Interests

Discussion: The Hill, The Fix, Sweetness & Light and Firedoglake

Quinnipiac University:

Little-Known New York Attorney General Candidates Tied, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Gillibrand Up By Only 6 Points — Two little-known candidates for New York State Attorney General, Democratic State Sen. Eric Schneiderman and Republican Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Washington Wire, New York Magazine, Capital Tonight, Taegan Goddard's …, the albany project and Capitol Confidential

John McCormack / Weekly Standard: Gillibrand Leads by 1 Point in SurveyUSA Poll, 6 Points in Q Poll

Jordan Fabian / Ballot Box: Poll shows Sen. Gillibrand in close race

Athan Kompos / WGRZ-TV:
Poll Shows NY Governors Race Tighter Between Cuomo And Paladino

Discussion: Libertarian Republican, No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review, Ruby Slippers, RedState, USA Today, Salon, ABCNEWS, TPMDC and Washington Wire

Washington Post:

Two of Obama's closest advisers among those likely to leave in White House shuffle — In his nearly two years in office, President Obama has relied on a very small clique of advisers that serves as his most trusted sounding board on politics and policy. — Members of his staff describe Obama …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Confluence, AMERICAblog News, Politerati, Prairie Weather and The Page

Bill Plante / CBS News:

Axelrod Leaving WH; Emmanuel Likely Next — Sources say President's 2 Closest Advisors Heading for Other Pursuits in Latest News on Pending D.C. Shakeup — (CBS) President Obama's inner circle will likely be losing some key players. CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante reports …

Discussion: Yourish.com and Sweetness & Light

David Rogers / The Politico:
Democrats may back off tax vote

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Sweetness & Light

Wcbsmark / CBS New York:

Cuomo Caught Lying About Voting For Bloomberg? — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — There has been a dramatic development in the race for New York governor. — A new poll has Republican Carl Paladino within striking distance of Democrat Andrew Cuomo as voters say they want to elect someone who will stop the circus in Albany.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org, Moe Lane, Liberty Pundits Blog and Babalú Blog

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:
Cuomo's Image as Unstoppable Suffers a Blow

Discussion: Capitol Confidential, TPMDC, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Politics on the Hudson and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Kevin Sack / New York Times:

For Many, Health Care Relief Begins Today — Sometimes lost in the partisan clamor about the new health care law is the profound relief it is expected to bring to hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been stricken first by disease and then by a Darwinian insurance system.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wonk Room, Washington Post, Time, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and TalkLeft

The Politico:
Administration asks faith groups to do outreach …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Althouse and Weasel Zippers

Larry O'Connor / Breitbart.tv:

Race-Baiting Dem Congresswoman Pits Latinos Against Asians on Spanish-Language TV — Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez appeared on Spanish-Language Univision to tell Latino voters that their Congressional seat was being taken by the Vietnamese. — Rep. Sanchez is in a hotly contested race …

Discussion: Maggie's Farm, Big Government, Left Coast Rebel, Gateway Pundit, Bookworm Room, American Power, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Right Scoop and Pajamas Media

John / Power Line:
Another Democrat's Shameful Racism

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, protein wisdom and Big Journalism

Keith Bradsher / New York Times:

Amid Tension, China Blocks Vital Exports to Japan — HONG KONG — Sharply raising the stakes in a dispute over Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain, the Chinese government has blocked exports to Japan of a crucial category of minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles.

Discussion: Daniel W. Drezner, FP Passport, The Oil Drum, Angry Bear, Telegraph, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Post and naked capitalism

David Bernstein / The Volokh Conspiracy:

Dahlia Lithwick: It's “Weird” for a Senator to Consider the Constitutionality of Legislation — Lithwick in Slate: … Short answer: Senators swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. Of course they are obligated to determine whether a bill they are considering is constitutional.

Discussion: The Other McCain

Slate:
Decoding Christine O'Donnell

Discussion: Power Line

Bruce Horovitz / USA Today:

KFC pays college women for ad space on buns — KFC wants folks to watch its backside. — Or, more precisely, the backsides of female college students it's recruiting to promote its hot new bunless Double Down sandwiches. — Women on college campuses are being paid $500 each to hand …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Telegraph, Grim's Hall, culturekitchen, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Wire, Left Coast Rebel, The Confluence and JammieWearingFool

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Senate Forecast: Republican Takeover Chances Improved, but Democrats Are Building Pacific Firewall — Polls show the Republican candidate having gained ground in a key Senate race, Wisconsin — and Republicans have put another Senate race, in West Virginia, squarely into play.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Political Insider, Raw Story, Don Surber, Public Policy Polling and The Hill

William Bender / Philly.com:

In Bucks County, a bitter poll for Murphy to swallow — U.S. REP. Patrick Murphy's “uh-oh” moment came last month, when his polling firm reported that Republican Mike Fitzpatrick was within striking distance of recapturing his 8th District seat in Bucks County. — This is his “oh, no” moment:

Discussion: Ballot Box, Capitol Ideas … and CNN

James C. McKinley Jr / New York Times:

A Claim of Pro-Islam Bias in Textbooks — HOUSTON — Some conservative members of the Texas Board of Education assert that the history books used in this state have a pro-Islamic bias, and they are upset about it. — Never shy about wading into the culture wars, they are planning …

Discussion: Gawker, Wonkette, msnbc.com, Jihad Watch and Ò"

Justin Elliott / Salon:

The militias' man in the Senate? — Joe Miller's supporters have been known to carry assault rifles in public — and he's favored to win a Senate seat — Back in July, before Joe Miller won a stunning upset over Lisa Murkowski in Alaska's GOP Senate primary, national attention briefly focused …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and Talking Points Memo

CNN:

Biden helps Maryland Democrat — Washington (CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden teams up Thursday morning with fellow Democrat Barbara Mikulski. — A source with knowledge of the event says Biden is the main attraction at fundraiser for the four-term senator from Maryland, who is up for re-election this year.

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

Very Different Poll Results in New York — A new Siena poll in New York finds Andrew Cuomo (D) leading Carl Paladino (R) in the race for governor by 33 points, 57% to 24%, and Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D) leading Joe DioGuardi (R) in the U.S. Senate race by 24 points, 57% to 31% …

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Politics and New York Magazine

Jonathan Strong / The Daily Caller:

TheDC exclusive: Stephen Colbert to testify before House immigration subcommittee Friday — Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert is slated to testify at a congressional hearing Friday on immigration titled “Protecting America's Harvest,” two sources have told The Daily Caller.