memeorandum: Tim Pawlenty: Michele Bachmann often ‘off the mark’ (Maggie Haberman/The Politico)

4:40 PM ET, July 25, 2011

Top Items:

Wonkbook: Republicans have won. But can they stop there? — (YURI GRIPAS - REUTERS) We don't yet know what the final deal to raise the debt ceiling will be. But now that Harry Reid is developing a proposal with $2.7 trillion in cuts and nothing in revenues, it's a safe bet that it won't include any tax increases.

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

Harry Reid Calls House Republicans' Bluff — Something you often see in negotiations is a mismatch between one side's stated sticking points and its real sticking points. In the debate over the debt ceiling, for example, Republicans have sought to portray themselves as having two bottom lines.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, JustOneMinute and The Mahablog

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Speaker Boehner's Big Gamble — The Republican Speaker John A. Boehner, following the collapse of negotiations with President Obama, appears to be considering a path that would involve the House Republicans voting to raise the federal debt ceiling on their own terms, with little expectation of Democratic support.

Discussion: The Politico, Prairie Weather, Balkinization, NationalJournal.com, Outside the Beltway, Politics and The Hill

The Note:

Debt Debate: What are the Odds Congress Can Raise Debt Ceiling by Aug. 2? — ABC News' Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) reports: — Democrats and Republicans are on a collision course this week over raising the debt ceiling. At some point, somebody will need to back down, but right …

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, Michelle Malkin, Washington Post, The Mahablog, Scared Monkeys, Balloon Juice and The Gateway Pundit

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
GOP Stumbles Over Surprise Dem Debt Limit Offer

Discussion: Washington Monthly, White House.gov Blog, Wall Street Journal and Daily Kos

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Reid played key role on debt bill before Obama nixed plan

Discussion: YID With LID, Verum Serum, Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media

Chad Pergram / Fox News:
The Basics of Boehner's Debt Pitch to GOP Conference

Discussion: USA Today and AmSpecBlog

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:
Boehner's Plan Unveiled

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Right Scoop, Hot Air, Fox News and FrumForum

New York Times:
Senate and House Still Far Apart on Debt in 2 New Plans

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Finger-pointing, posturing, and politics

Discussion: Washington Post, The Impolitic, Online NewsHour, Mother Jones and Washington Monthly

John Avlon / CNN:
Our stupid self-inflicted debt crisis

Discussion: current.com, MN Progressive Project and Guardian

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo: What To Expect Today — If you're shaking off the cobwebs …

Scott Shane / New York Times:

Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S. — The suspect behind the attacks in Norway said he believed multiculturalism to be a threat. Here, mourners at Oslo Cathedral. More Photos » — The man accused of the killing spree in Norway was deeply influenced …

New York Times:

Norway Attacker May Have Had Accomplices; Death Toll Lowered — OSLO — The 32-year-old man accused of devastating twin attacks in Norway now maintains that two cells of extremists collaborated with him, court officials said here Monday as they ordered solitary confinement for the suspect.

Discussion: The Lede, The Daily Dish, Gawker, Little Green Footballs, NewsBusters.org, FP Passport, www.thetakeaway.org, Guardian and Althouse

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

A Right-Wing Monster — For many years, a quiz entitled “Al Gore or the Unabomber?” circulated on conservative Web sites. The quiz juxtaposed passages from the former vice president's eco-manifesto “Earth in the Balance” with quotes from Theodore Kaczynski's critiques of industrial civilization …

Discussion: National Review, The Atlantic Online and The Reaction

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:
NYT: US ‘Counter-Jihad’ Bloggers Heavily Influenced Oslo Terrorist

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos and Israel Matzav

Boris Johnson / Telegraph:
Anders Breivik: There is nothing to study in the mind of Norway's mass killer

Discussion: Obsidian Wings, Guardian, Marbury and Shakesville

William Saletan / Slate Magazine:
If Muslims are responsible for Islamic terrorism, are Muslim-bashers responsible for the massacre in Norway?

Discussion: Dean's World

Bruce Bawer / Wall Street Journal:
Inside the Mind of the Oslo Murderer

Discussion: The Wire, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, The Daily Dish, Towleroad News #gay, Roger Ailes and Runnin' Scared

BBC:
Norway gunman ‘has accomplices’

Discussion: Guardian, FP Passport and War in Context

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

White House stokes debt-ceiling crisis — A Republican aide e-mails me: “The Speaker, Sen. Reid and Sen. McConnell all agreed on the general framework of a two-part plan. A short-term increase (with cuts greater than the increase), combined with a committee to find long-term savings …

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, The Other McCain, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, JOSHUAPUNDIT, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Pundit & Pundette, Washington Times, Pajamas Media, Poor Richard's News, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Examiner

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Series of short-term debt deal votes will be a tax increase, Dem charges

Discussion: The Note, Weasel Zippers and Democracy in America

James Surowiecki / New Yorker:
SMASH THE CEILING — In the past few years, the U.S. economy …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Felix Salmon:
How we got into this fine mess

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Gawker and Paul Krugman

Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:

Steve King on default: Obama could be impeached — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said Monday that President Barack Obama “would be impeached” if the nation falls into default. — “STOP talking about default,” he wrote on Twitter. “The 1st dime of each $1 of revenue services debt.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Raw Story, Weasel Zippers, The Daily Caller and Pajamas Media

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:
Rep. King Says Obama Will Be Impeached If Government Defaults

Discussion: Politics

Niall Stanage / The Hill:

The Hill Poll: Most voters see media as biased and unethical — Likely voters hold a dismal view of the news media, generally regarding reporters as biased, unethical and too close to the politicians they purport to cover, according to a new poll for The Hill.

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Big Journalism, Weasel Zippers, Red Dog Report, Don Surber, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NewsBusters.org and JammieWearingFool

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Tim Pawlenty: Michele Bachmann often ‘off the mark’ — Tim Pawlenty engages in the latest round of ammo exchanges with Michele Bachmann, hitting back at her campaign's sharp criticism of the former Minnesota governor and breaking apart the charges while at an event in Iowa today:

Discussion: GOP 12, Hot Air and National Review

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Donald Trump mocks ‘tough guy’ Tim Pawlenty

Discussion: GOP 12 and Red Dog Report

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Politics of a downgrade — A bond trader forwards on a note from Bank of America analysts today, anticipating a short term debt deal, likely followed at some point by a downgrade of America's bond rating from AAA to AA: — We expect the US credit rating to remain on negative outlook …

Discussion: Felix Salmon, Taylor Marsh and Politics

Paul Krugman:
Moody's Blues, Poor Standards, and the Debt

Discussion: Mother Jones, Economist's View and Rortybomb

Brian Goldsmith / The Atlantic Online:

Washington Isn't Broken, the Republican Party Is — Democrats have repeatedly sought a compromise deal on the debt. Why blame the whole city for Republican intransigence? — Watching yesterday's Sunday shows was a reminder that, of all the bromides that are popular among D.C. pundits …

Daniel Frankel / Yahoo! News:

Palin doc headed for PPV as ticket sales plummet — LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) - With its Sarah Palin documentary “The Undefeated” increasing its playdates by 40 percent this weekend, only to watch box office revenue decline by more than 63 percent, distributor Arc Entertainment announced Sunday …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, The Garlic, Ben Smith's Blog and GOP 12

Christine Haughney / New York Times:

To Reach Simple Life of Summer Camp, Lining Up for Private Jets — Gov. Paul LePage of Maine happened to be waiting for his flight at Augusta State Airport on a recent Saturday when the weekend crush began. — A turboprop Pilatus PC-12 carrying Melissa Thomas, her daughter …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Gawker and Gothamist

Adam Serwer:

Captain America's Fictitious, Integrated 1940s America — In the vein of what Ta-Nehisi Coates referred to as a “convenient suspension of disbelief” in X-Men First Class, Captain America: First Avenger dutifully ignores the civil-rights struggles of the 1940s.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Atlantic Online

Bunny Mellon / Newsweek:

The Secret-Keeper — On the eve of her 101st birthday, reclusive philanthropist Bunny Mellon, the wealthy zelig who cavorted with Kennedys and stood by John Edwards, talks exclusively to Meryl Gordon about life with Paul, her famous friends, and the secrets buried in her gardens.

Discussion: USA Today, Taegan Goddard's …, The Politico and Ben Smith's Blog