memeorandum: Jefferson's Army of Nation Builders (Dominic Tierney/Press Association)

11:20 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.

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

The Morning Plum — UPDATE: White House denies giving in on Bush tax cuts: The White House is sharply denying the Huffington Post story I noted below claiming that David Axelrod signaled a willingness to accept a temporary extension of all the Bush tax cuts, claiming that their position remains unchanged.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Post, The Politico, pandagon.net and AMERICAblog News

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: Indecision Forever, Firedoglake and FrumForum

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

Discussion: 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 Plum Line, Ross Douthat, Open Left, The Mahablog, TPMDC, National Review, Greg Mankiw's Blog, Grasping Reality … 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 …

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: Questions and Observations, The Nation, Political Punch, The Hill, msnbc.com, Associated Press, Michelle Malkin and Hot Air

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Sen. Conrad: ‘If some of us have to sacrifice a political career ... then so be it’

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and The Huffington Post

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

Discussion: National Review, The New Republic and Pirate's Cove

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Kentucky Republican Senator-elect Rand Paul is already making waves in Washington, D.C. with plans to organize either a Senate or bicameral Tea Party Caucus. — Paul said he's been chatting with several people from Kentucky about laying down a communications blueprint to keep …

Discussion: USA Today

Jake Sherman / The Politico:

Michele Bachmann drops leadership bid — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann dropped out of the race for House Republican Conference chairwoman 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: The Note, Zandar Versus The Stupid, msnbc.com, Gateway Pundit, CNN, New York Magazine, FrumForum and Taylor Marsh

Ronald Grover / Bloomberg:
Bristol Palin Survives ‘Dancing’ Elimination Round With Help of Tea Party

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Taegan Goddard's …

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

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Top of the Ticket

Patrick O'Connor / Washington Wire:
Bachmann Bows Out of 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

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, Balloon Juice, 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

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, The Note, Washington Post, Hotline On Call, Associated Press, National Review, USA Today and NPR Topics

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, News Desk, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Advocate, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway, Federal Eye, Poliglot, Raw Story, Wonk Room, Shakesville, New York Magazine, Prairie Weather and FrumForum

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Grassley: 2012 GOP candidates face blank slate with Iowa voters — Republican presidential candidates face a blank slate with Iowa voters heading into the 2012 cycle, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Thursday. — Grassley, the long-serving dean of Iowa's congressional delegation …

Huck PAC:
Huck PAC Releases Statement About Iowa Visit

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Right Wing Watch and Hotline On Call

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: The Hill, Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Guardian and TPMDC

Digby / Hullabaloo:

Being a Tutsi — I just watched Glenn Beck's program “the Puppet Master” about the nefarious, money-changing, New World Order, self-hating Jew conspirator, George Soros. I don't think I could do it again. — I listened to an hour or so of Limbaugh and had to turn it off, when I heard this line …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and News Hounds

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 »

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

The Establishment candidate — John Thune's presidential hopes got a gorgeous rollout in the Weekly Standard in September. The piece begins, vividly, with Thune in a small plane, looking down at his South Dakota hometown, Murdo. — “If he wins the nomination, it will be because he is …

Discussion: The American Independent, The Politico and Erick's blog

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 »

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: Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Post, FrumForum and AmSpecBlog

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

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

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 …

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:

U.S. Tweaks Message on Troops in Afghanistan — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is increasingly emphasizing the idea that the United States will have forces in Afghanistan until at least the end of 2014, a change in tone aimed at persuading the Afghans and the Taliban …

Discussion: Commentary, New York Magazine, Raw Story and FP Passport

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