memeorandum: Joe McGinniss Wants to Be Taken Out of “Sarah Palin's Alaska” (David Weigel/Weigel)

10:45 AM ET, November 6, 2010

Top Items:

UPDATED: Before Bush Donor Takeover Of MSNBC, Network Selectively Applies Rules To Suspend Olbermann — UPDATED: We have been notified that Comcast has not yet officially taken over MSNBC/NBC Universal. Although Comcast has tentatively finalized a deal to purchase a majority stake in NBC …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, JammieWearingFool, Media Matters for America and AMERICAblog News

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Keep Keith! — On Olbermann's unjust suspension. — MSNBC's suspension of Keith Olbermann is ludicrous. — Second, he's not a reporter. It's an opinion show. If Olbermann wants to put his money where his mouth is, more power to him. — Third, GE, the corporate parent of MSNBC, gives money to political organizations.

New York Times:

Olbermann of MSNBC Suspended Over Donations — Keith Olbermann, the leading liberal voice on American television in the age of Obama, was suspended Friday after his employer, MSNBC, discovered he made campaign contributions to three Democrats last month. — The indefinite suspension …

Discussion: Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, The Politico, AlterNet.org, Media Decoder, HazZzMat, Pajamas Media, AmSpecBlog, Prairie Weather and Weigel

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:

Political giving not unusual on cable — A search of campaign finance records shows that MSNBC host Keith Olbermann is hardly the only cable news host who has written a check for a candidate in recent years. — With the distinction between journalism and punditry increasingly blurring …

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Nation, Roger Ailes, The Atlantic Online, Wonkette and Dennis the Peasant

John Cook / Gawker:

Olbermann 'Doesn't Answer' to NBC News Standards — MSNBC chief Phil Griffin suspended Keith Olbermann today for violating “NBC News policy and standards” by donating to three Democratic congressional candidates last month. But according to an NBC News source, MSNBCers have been exempt from those rules for years.

Discussion: New York Magazine, DISSENTING JUSTICE, First Draft, Booman Tribune, The Daily Beast, Crooks and Liars, Salon, Daily Kos, Ben Smith's Blog, The Atlantic Online, The Plum Line, Runnin' Scared, CBS New York, Examiner, The Politico, The Powers That Be and Suburban Guerrilla, more at Mediagazer »

Danny Yadron / Washington Wire:
Olbermann's Replacement? Wait for It...

Discussion: Don Surber, Top of the Ticket, ECHIDNE of the snakes and Hot Air

Michelle Malkin:
Support Olbermann? No freaking way; Poll added

Discussion: National Review, Wake up America, The Politico, Right Wing News, Yahoo! News, Pajamas Media, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Outside the Beltway, theblogprof, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Deadline.com

Jillian Rayfield / TPMDC:
Scarborough, Buchanan Also Made Political Contributions

Discussion: Salon and Daily Kos

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Keith Olbermann Suspended from MSNBC

Atrios / Eschaton:
And Buchanan? — So Olbermann is suspended for making political contributions.

Discussion: Salon, The Plum Line, ThinkProgress and Open Left

Steve Krakauer / Mediaite:
Keith Olbermann Suspended From MSNBC Indefinitely

Kevin Cullum / The Hill:

Obama calls for compromise, won't budge on tax cuts — Days after Democrats received a self-described “shellacking” at the polls, President Obama called for an end to campaigning and an embrace of compromise. — But he signaled no willingness to bend on the first challenge likely to face …

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and TigerHawk

Ace of Spades HQ:

O'Donnell, Who Lost By 17 Points, Still Sending Out Press Releases Attacking People — O'Donnell didn't cost us one seat; she cost us three. Chalk Rossi's and Buck's loss up to her as well. — But here's O'Donnell saying it wasn't her “standing up for principle” that cost her the election, but shady machinations against her.

Discussion: Pajamas Media and protein wisdom

David Weigel / Weigel:

Joe McGinniss Wants to Be Taken Out of “Sarah Palin's Alaska” — The premiere episode of “Sarah Palin's Alaska” began with the former governor's piqued version of a minor scandal of the summer — author Joe McGinniss renting the house next to hers as he researched his biography of Palin.

Discussion: Don Surber, GOP 12 and The Huffington Post

Margalit Fox / New York Times:

Jill Clayburgh Dies at 66; Starred in Feminist Roles — Jill Clayburgh, an Oscar-nominated actress known for portraying strong, independent women, died on Friday at her home in Lakeville, Conn. She was 66. — The cause was chronic leukemia, with which she had lived for 21 years, her husband, the playwright David Rabe, said.

Discussion: The Confluence, PopEater, Suburban Guerrilla and Althouse

Andrew Ferguson / Weekly Standard:

What's So Great About America — Marco Rubio will have to write a new speech sooner or later, but he shouldn't hurry up on our account. We still enjoy the one he's been giving all year. He delivered it again to a national television audience on Election Night, after walloping …

Discussion: Power Line

Mark Davis / The Age:

Murdoch reveals ‘arrogant’ Obama — TWO generations ago, Rupert Murdoch bowed to pressure from the White House to suppress the biggest story of his life - that the American president John F. Kennedy was indifferent to the political fate of Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and New York Magazine

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Murdoch: Bloomberg called Obama ‘arrogant’

Discussion: Hot Air, Political Punch and Weasel Zippers

Wall Street Journal:

The GOP's 2012 Game Plan — Sen. Mitch McConnell says Republicans will keep the country focused on the unpopular elements of the president's agenda, especially health care. — 'It's a great first step. " That's the way Washington's resident realist, Mitch McConnell, is describing this week's GOP electoral triumph.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, American Power, The Moderate Voice, Beltway Confidential, The Daily Dish and The New Republic

Myglesias / Yglesias:
The Irrelevance of Mitch McConnell

Discussion: The New Republic, Talking Points Memo and CNN

Thomas M. Defrank / NY Daily News:

Ex-President George W. Bush rips wisdom of Barack Obama, Sarah Palin and John McCain to friends — Former President George W. Bush is privately critical of Sarah Palin (below), but stops short of criticizing the likes of Barack Obama in his upcoming memoir ‘Decision Points.’

Discussion: Firedoglake and The Moderate Voice

New York Times:

Pleading Sanity — At his Rally to Restore Sanity, Jon Stewart complained about the shrieking tone of cable news. Were you watching when a montage juxtaposed footage from your news show with that of Glenn Beck's? — I saw that. I was sitting at home, with my notebooks for the election …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, CNN and Weasel Zippers

William Easterly / Aid Watch:

David Brooks illustrates how clueless Easterners can be without local knowledge about My Midwest — A frequent theme in this blog is the importance of local knowledge for development. David Brooks helpfully illustrated in his column today on my home region the Midwest.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Moderate Voice, EconLog and Commentary

Mike Soraghan / New York Times:

Obama's Enthusiasm for Gas Drilling Raises Eyebrows — President Obama's newfound interest in expanded natural gas drilling yesterday surprised many on all sides of the drilling debate, from environmentalists to drillers and even the coal industry. — Representatives of drilling groups …

Discussion: AmSpecBlog and Hot Air

Jacob Sullum / Hit & Run:

If the Tea Party Prefers Bachmann to Hensarling, What Good Is It? — The New York Times reports that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a “Tea Party heroine,” plans to challenge Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) for the post of GOP conference chair, the fourth-highest House leadership position, in the new Congress.