memeorandum: Bachmann Drops Leadership Bid (Susan Jo Keller/The Caucus)

10:05 AM ET, November 11, 2010

Top Items:

White House Gives In On Bush Tax Cuts — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's top adviser suggested to The Huffington Post late Wednesday that the administration is ready to accept an across-the-board continuation of steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers.

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

President Obama ready to deal on Bush tax cuts for the wealthy — The White House signaled Wednesday that President Barack Obama is ready to cut a deal on the Bush-era tax cuts - accepting a temporary extension of the cuts for the wealthiest Americans to win renewal of tax breaks for middle-class taxpayers.

Discussion: FrumForum

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Gearing up: David Brock to launch outside group for 2012

Discussion: The Politico and Talking Points Memo

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Is the Deficit Commission Serious? — I've been trying to figure out whether I have anything to say about the “chairman's mark” of the deficit commission report that was released today. In a sense, I don't. This is not a piece of legislation, after all. Or a proposed piece of legislation.

Discussion: CEPR, Firedoglake, The Mahablog and Balloon Juice

Paul Krugman:

Unserious People — OK, let's say goodbye to the deficit commission. If you're sincerely worried about the US fiscal future — and there's good reason to be — you don't propose a plan that involves large cuts in income taxes. Even if those cuts are offset by supposed elimination of tax breaks elsewhere …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Hill, Firedoglake, Brilliant at Breakfast, Greg Mankiw's Blog, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Swampland, The Politico, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Mahablog, AMERICAblog News and Balloon Juice

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Pelosi, political left rip proposal from debt commission chairmen — The chairmen of President Obama's fiscal commission sparked a political firestorm Wednesday with the early release of a report proposing sweeping changes to Social Security, Medicare and the tax code.

Discussion: The Hill, The Nation, Political Punch, msnbc.com, The Other McCain and Michelle Malkin

New York Times:
Some Fiscal Reality — The draft proposal by the chairmen …

Discussion: National Review, The New Republic and Right Wing News

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Panel Seeks Social Security Cuts and Tax Increases

Ezra Klein:
There is no report from the fiscal commission

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Washington Post, The New Republic, Open Left, TPMDC and National Review

Megan Carpentier / TPMDC:
Fiscal Commission Co-Chairs Simpson And Bowles Release Eye-Popping Recommendations

Discussion: Modeled Behavior, The Daily Dish, Taylor Marsh, Bloomberg, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Associated Press, National Review, The Atlantic Online, Talking Points Memo, msnbc.com, Hullabaloo, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, The Reality-Based Community, Booman Tribune and The Huffington Post

Speaker Pelosi / The Gavel:
On the Proposal Released by Co-Chairs of the Fiscal Commission

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, The Politico, Opinion L.A., The Plum Line, The Hill, The New Republic, NPR Topics, Flypaper and Firedoglake

Jake Sherman / The Politico:

Michele Bachmann drops leadership bid — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann dropped out of the race for House Republican Conference chair on Wednesday night, ending a quixotic bid for leadership that many saw as the first real test of the tea party against the GOP establishment.

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid, Gateway Pundit, msnbc.com, CNN, The Note, New York Magazine, FrumForum and Taylor Marsh

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:
Kentucky Republican Senator-elect Rand Paul is already making waves …

Discussion: USA Today

Patrick O'Connor / Washington Wire:
Rep. Bachmann Bows Out of GOP Leadership Race

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and DownWithTyranny!

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Aides say Hensarling has leadership bid in the bag

Discussion: FrumForum, Hot Air, Derek Wallbank and National Review

Susan Jo Keller / The Caucus:
Bachmann Drops Leadership Bid

Discussion: Wonkette

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
Bachmann drops bid for conference post, backs Hensarling

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Top of the Ticket

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Nostalgic for George W. Bush — I miss George W. Bush. — I don't miss him in the sense that I wish he were still president. If he were, we might be at war with Iran and North Korea by now, and perhaps Portugal. Neither do I miss the endless debates over waterboarding and the Iraq war …

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Top of the Ticket, TPMMuckraker and Althouse

Gail Collins / New York Times:
What Everything Means — I can't stop thinking about the elections.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Geoffrey Dickens / NewsBusters.org blogs:
George W. Bush Delivers a Basic Economics Lesson to Matt Lauer

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

Sources: Pentagon group finds there is minimal risk to lifting gay ban during war — A Pentagon study group has concluded that the military can lift the ban on gays serving openly in uniform with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts, according to two people familiar …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Advocate, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, Poliglot, Wonk Room, Shakesville, New York Magazine, Prairie Weather and FrumForum

The Politico:

Nancy Pelosi faces new resistance from Democrats — Nancy Pelosi is struggling to stand her ground as the effects of last week's Democratic debacle shift the political earth beneath her feet. — Pelosi announced Friday that she's running for minority leader in the new Congress, and her election still seems on track.

Discussion: Commentary, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Barcepundit and Daily Kos

Reuters:
Nancy Pelosi wants DREAM Act vote

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Gateway Pundit

MIke Lillis / The Hill:
New GOP chief of staff calls Pelosi ‘garbage’

Discussion: Guardian, TPMDC, Weasel Zippers, Washington Post and Politics Daily

Sean Cockerham / Anchorage Daily News:

98 percent of write-in votes go to Murkowski — SPELL CHECK: Despite objections from Miller's team, most Murkowski votes are being accepted. — scockerham@adn.com — JUNEAU — Almost 98 percent of write-in ballots opened Wednesday went to Lisa Murkowski on the first day of a count meant to decide Alaska's U.S. Senate race.

Discussion: Ballot Box, Associated Press, USA Today and NPR Topics

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

The Onion Strikes Comic Gold With Biden Spoofs — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has never smashed a Whac-A-Mole game in a drunken fit. He has never invoked Freedom of Information laws to find out a female federal employee's work schedule. And to the best of anyone's knowledge …

Discussion: Federal Eye, Hit & Run, Weigel, The Atlantic Online and The Awl, more at Mediagazer »

James Hibberd / Hollywood Reporter:

The Reign of Right-Wing Primetime … I'll name a hit TV show, and you guess if it's more popular among Republicans or Democrats. — First, NCIS — investigating military crimes on CBS. Safe bet conservatives love it, right? — How about ABC's Desperate Housewives — a racy soap, female audience.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Pirate's Cove, Big Hollywood, Gawker and Weigel, more at Mediagazer »

Hank Stuever / Washington Post:
TV Preview: In 'Sarah Palin's Alaska,' there are many reasons …

Discussion: Right Wing News and NewsBusters.org

Noah Shachtman / Danger Room:

Bombs Away: Afghan Air War Peaks With 1,000 Strikes in October — The U.S. and its allies have unleashed a massive air campaign in Afghanistan, launching missiles and bombs from the sky at a rate rarely seen since the war's earliest days. In October alone, NATO planes fired their weapons …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Marbury, Hot Air, The Maddow Blog and Washington Post

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Boehner's Image Improves, Reid's Does Not After Midterms — Four in 10 still unfamiliar with House Republican leader — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' opinions of House Republican Leader John Boehner, who is in line to be the speaker of the House in the new Congress, improved after the midterm elections.

Discussion: The Fix, Scared Monkeys, Politics Daily, USA Today, CNN and The Hill

Fox News:
Boehner to Fly Commercial as House Speaker

Discussion: News Hounds, Atlas Shrugs, The Politico, American Power and Washington Post

CBS News:

CIA May Face New Probe Over Destroyed Videos — National Archives Tells NBC its Investigation into Possible Violation of Federal Records Act by CIA may be Reopened — (CBS/AP) The CIA may face new legal challenges over its destruction of videotapes showing the waterboarding of terror suspects …

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:

Christine O'Donnell considers reality show — The Tea Party favorite who may have cost Republicans a Senate seat won't rule out another run for office. — Christine O'Donnell won't rule out making another run for office. The former Delaware Senate candidate told Jay Leno during an appearance on the …

Discussion: CNN

Eli Lake / Washington Times:

Obama bid to pick Iraq leader spurned — Talabani rebuffs request to resign — POWER STRUGGLE: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani rejected a request by President Obama to give up his post in the new government. (Associated Press) — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, one of America's closest allies …

Discussion: Washington Post, FrumForum and AmSpecBlog

Lisa Lambert / Reuters:

Tensions with states grow over high speed rail — (Reuters) - The Transportation Department warned two governors-elect that federal money allocated to building high-speed passenger rail lines in their states cannot be used to pay for other infrastructure projects, as tensions grow over federal transportation spending.

Discussion: Ohio Political News & Opinion, The Foundry, The Moderate Voice and Althouse