memeorandum: Jimmy Carter Lobbies for Cuban Spies (Wall Street Journal)

9:25 AM ET, April 4, 2011

Top Items:

Matt Welch / Hit & Run:

It Doesn't Get Any Clearer Than That: “Free speech is a great idea, but we're in a war” — Here's what Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said today about Florida pastor Terry Jones' burning of a Koran, which has been used an excuse by Afghanis to murder 22 people, including seven United Nations workers:

Discussion: NY Daily News, National Review, Weasel Zippers and Washington Times

Larry O'Connor / Breitbart.tv:

Lindsey Graham: 'Freedom of Speech is a Great Idea But We're in a War' — No follow-up question from “Journalist” Bob Schieffer??? Was he even LISTENING to Graham's answer? Wouldn't you like to know exactly what action Graham wants Congress to take with regard to curbing free expression?

Discussion: Mediaite and theblogprof

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:

Reid: 'We'll look into' Quran burning — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told CBS's Bob Schieffer on Sunday that some members of Congress were considering some kind of action in response to the Florida Quran burning that sparked a murderous riot at a United Nations complex in Afghanistan and other mayhem.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Althouse, Another Black Conservative, GayPatriot, The Lonely Conservative, theblogprof, Pajamas Media, Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, Flopping Aces, Questions and Observations and The Last Tradition

Fox News:
Senators Consider Hamid Karzai's Request to Condemn Koran Burning Amid Protests

Discussion: NewsReal Blog, Fox Nation and RedState

Wall Street Journal:
Petraeus Says Quran Burning Endangers War Effort

Discussion: Right Wing News, Washington Wire, Firedoglake and Weasel Zippers

Hiram Reisner / NewsMax.com:
Reid: Probe of Quran Burning Considered

Discussion: Fox Nation, Pat Dollard, Sultan Knish, Hot Air, Wizbang, The Daily Dish, The Jawa Report, CBS News, Daily Pundit, Cold Fury and Blue Collar Philosophy

CNN:
U.S. officials condemn buring of Quran

Discussion: The Politico, FrumForum and Don Surber

Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway:
Lindsey Graham On Koran Burning: “Freedom Of Speech Is A Great Idea But We're In A War.”

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media

Associated Press:
Quran protests spread to turbulent Afghan east

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Washington Monthly

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Clinton: Shutdown would hurt GOP but might not be ‘traumatic’ for economy — A government shutdown might not have a “traumatic” effect on the economy, former President Bill Clinton said Monday. — Clinton, who faced a shutdown during his 1995 budget negotiations with congressional Republicans …

Discussion: The Politico and FrumForum

Sean J. Miller / The Hill:

The Hill Poll: GOP seen as more reasonable in spending-cut debate — A plurality of likely voters believes Republicans have been more reasonable than Democrats in the negotiations over spending cuts. — A new poll conducted for The Hill showed 41 percent polled said the GOP had been …

Discussion: National Review

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

A Tea Party Star Stirs Iowans, and She Isn't Palin — WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Sarah Palin, the reigning heroine of many social conservatives, has given few signals that she will make a presidential bid. Mike Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008 on the strength of his appeal …

Discussion: The Note, The Politico, The Last Tradition and American Power

Russell Berman / The Hill:
GOP freshmen face big shutdown decision: fight or fall in line

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Washington Post:
Government shutdown looms over talks as crunch time for 2011 budget nears

Discussion: The Politico and FrumForum

Fox News:

GOP Budget Plan to Cut More Than $4 Trillion Over Decade, Rep. Paul Ryan Says — The Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee said his party's budget proposal for 2012 would cut deficits by more than $4 trillion over the next decade, vowing to tackle costly entitlements like Medicare and Medicaid.

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, Maggie's Notebook, Another Black Conservative, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, PERRspectives, UrbanGrounds and The Page

Naftali Bendavid / Wall Street Journal:
GOP Aim: Cut $4 Trillion

Discussion: The Huffington Post, FrumForum and New York Times

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner: BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Ryan's budget plan to slash deficits by over $4 trillion

Jennifer / Cubachi:
Rep. Paul Ryan: “Where the president has failed to lead, we're going to lead”

Discussion: Doug Ross, USA Today and Liberty Pundits Blog

Cathy Hayes / IrishCentral:

Samantha Power to be the next Secretary of State? — Irish-born adviser now key to Obama foreign policy — A flattering New York Times profile has increased speculation that Samantha Power, the Dublin-born aide to President Obama, could be his next Secretary of State or National Security Adviser.

Discussion: Washington Post, Israel Matzav, Don Surber and Atlas Shrugs

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org blogs:

Politico's Roger Simon: 'Obama's The Greatest Orator Of Modern Times' — Politico's Roger Simon said Sunday Barack Obama is the greatest orator of modern times. — Chatting with Howard Kurtz on CNN's “Reliable Sources,” Simon also said journalists are just now looking beyond …

Discussion: Breitbart.tv

Mike Mulcahy / Minnesota Public Radio:

Bachmann hires former top Huckabee staffer — From Mark Zdechlik: — Rep. Michele Bachmann's political action committee has hired Wes Enos, the Iowa political director for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee when he ran for president in 2008. — Bachmann chief of staff Andy Parrish confirmed Enos …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and GOP 12

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Mike Huckabee wins South Carolina county straw poll

Discussion: CNN and The Daily Dish

Palm Beach Post:

Foreclosure crisis: Fed-up judges crack down disorder in the courts — Angry and exasperated by faulty foreclosure documents, judges throughout Florida are hitting back by increasingly dismissing cases and boldly accusing lawyers of “fraud upon the court.” — A Palm Beach Post review …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, Firedoglake and naked capitalism

Wall Street Journal:

Jimmy Carter Lobbies for Cuban Spies — Why lend legitimacy to the Castro brothers? — They say that Cuba is a place where time stands still and it certainly seemed that way last week when Jimmy Carter arrived in Havana to fraternize with the Castros. The image of the 86-year-old American …

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative

New York Times:

U.S. Shifts to Seek Removal of Yemen's Leader, an Ally — SANA, Yemen — The United States, which long supported Yemen's president, even in the face of recent widespread protests, has now quietly shifted positions and has concluded that he is unlikely to bring about the required reforms …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and FrumForum

The Politico:

Jon Huntsman, the rock ‘n’ roll years — Jonny Huntsman didn't quite make it through his senior year of high school, and the cause was pretty plain to his classmates. One recalled the long-haired, diffident Salt Lake City high schooler sitting next to him in history class “hitting his desk as if it were a piano.”

Discussion: GOP 12

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Obama launches reelection campaign with video — President Barack Obama launched his reelection campaign Monday morning with a web video posted on his website. — “It Begins With Us” features a series of supporters from around the country explaining why they support the president …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and FrumForum