memeorandum: Congress Websites Down: House, Senate Sites Not Working (UPDATE) (Craig Kanalley/The Huffington Post)

9:45 AM ET, July 26, 2011

Top Items:

Conservatives denounce Boehner plan — The chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee wasted little time announcing his opposition to the House GOP leadership's two-step plan to raise the debt ceiling. — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who stood — visibly uncomfortable …

The White House:

Address by the President to the Nation — THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight, I want to talk about the debate we've been having in Washington over the national debt — a debate that directly affects the lives of all Americans. — For the last decade, we've spent more money than we take in.

Discussion: Althouse, Washington Post, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Scared Monkeys, White House.gov Blog, NewsBusters.org blogs, Wizbang and Booman Tribune

New York Times:

The Republican Wreckage — House Republicans have lost sight of the country's welfare. It's hard to conclude anything else from their latest actions, including the House speaker's dismissal of President Obama's plea for compromise Monday night. They have largely succeeded in their campaign …

Discussion: Speaker, Washington Post, The New Republic, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather

New York Times:

Parties Head to Showdown as Obama Warns of a ‘Crisis’ — WASHINGTON — The Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House on Monday barreled toward a showdown on competing plans to cut spending and raise the debt limit as a resolution to the intensifying crisis remained out of sight just one week before a possible federal default.

Discussion: American Power, AMERICAblog News, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, The Talking Dog, Firedoglake, The Politico, JustOneMinute, ThinkProgress, TalkLeft, Politics, Balkinization and Prairie Weather

The Politico:

Debt ceiling speeches: Obama reasserts himself; Boehner pushes back — President Barack Obama elbowed his way back into the debt ceiling debate Monday night, three days after Republicans shoved him out, but he offered no hint of a solution to the escalating political and financial crisis.

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Sundries Shack, The Moderate Voice, The Note, CNN and Michelle Malkin

cbpp.org:
Statement: Robert Greenstein, President, on House Speaker Boehner's New Budget Proposal

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The New Republic, Taylor Marsh and GoozNews

Byron York / Washington Examiner: Conservatives bridle at trillions in ‘phony’ cuts

David Beard / NationalJournal.com:
Congressional Websites Crash After Obama Urges People to Reach Out on Debt Ceiling

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Angry Bear and The Caucus

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Boehner briefed Limbaugh on debt plan

Discussion: Salon, Outside the Beltway, Politics, ThinkProgress, Juanita Jean's, Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post and The Politico

Wall Street Journal:
A Leadership Default — The President blames House Republicans for everything.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The Lonely Conservative

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
President Obama, House Speaker Boehner present dueling debt-limit plans to nation

Discussion: Political Punch, Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway and The Politico

The Politico:
Speaker Boehner's remarks, as prepared for delivery

Discussion: ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Moderate Voice

Washington Wire:
Obama's Address to the Nation on Debt Talks

Discussion: Firedoglake

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:
Tea Party Coalition Rejects Boehner's Debt Proposal (UPDATE)

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, AlterNet, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — White House Transcript: Obama's speech on the debt limit

Discussion: Power Line, Hit & Run, Big Government, Pundit & Pundette and The Gateway Pundit

Americans for Tax Reform RSS:
House Republicans Solve Debt Limit Impasse by Cutting Spending

Discussion: Budget Committee, Speaker, Washington Post, Bloomberg, TPMDC, Politics, National Review and The Daily Caller

Kbh / Keith Hennessey:
President Obama says no to a bipartisan debt limit plan

Discussion: National Review, The Huffington Post, Sister Toldjah, JOSHUAPUNDIT and theblogprof

Ylan Q. Mui / Washington Post:

More Americans unhappy with Obama on economy, jobs — More than a third of Americans now believe that President Obama's policies are hurting the economy, and confidence in his ability to create jobs is sharply eroding among his base, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News and The Politico

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

New polls confirm Obama's Democratic base crumbles — With all of the spotlights on the high-stakes debt maneuverings by President Obama and Speaker John Boehner the last few days, few people noticed what Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders said: — “I think it would be a good idea if President Obama faced some primary opposition.”

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Red Dog Report, The Gateway Pundit and The Note

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Krauthammer on Obama's Address: “I Thought I Was Cynical Until I Heard That Speech” (Video) — Charles Krauthammer unloaded on Obama tonight after his stale poll-driven speech to the nation. Obama still has no plan. — “I thought I was cynical until I heard that speech. It was purely partisan.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, PoliPundit.com and HotAirPundit

PewResearch.org:

Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics — Twenty-to-One — By Rakesh Kochhar, Richard Fry and Paul Taylor, Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends — The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times …

Discussion: The Politico, Associated Press and Jared Bernstein

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:
Recession Study Finds Hispanics Hit the Hardest

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Wall Street Journal and PointOfLaw Forum

Katherine Burton / Bloomberg:

Soros to End Hedge-Fund Career, Return Money — George Soros, the billionaire best known for breaking the Bank of England, is returning money to outside investors in his $25.5 billion firm, ending a career as hedge-fund manager that spanned more than four decades.

Discussion: DealBook and The Big Picture

Catherine Rampell / New York Times:

The Help-Wanted Sign Comes With a Frustrating Asterisk — The unemployed need not apply. — That is the message being broadcast by many of the nation's employers, making it even more difficult for 14 million jobless Americans to get back to work. — A recent review of job vacancy postings …

Discussion: Economix

Telegraph:

Norway killer Anders Behring Breivik had extensive links to English Defence League — Anders Behring Breivik had extensive links to the far-Right English Defence League, senior members of the group have admitted. — Anders Behring Breivik leaves court on Monday

Discussion: Politics, msnbc.com, Guardian and Document.no

Emmalee Abel / Courthouse News Service:

Black Student Can't Be Valedictorian — PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AR) - A high school southeast of Little Rock would not let a black student be valedictorian though she had the highest grade-point average, and wouldn't let her mom speak to the school board about it until graduation had passed, the graduate claims in Federal Court.

Discussion: Pharyngula, Balloon Juice, iOwnTheWorld.com, ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gawker and ECHIDNE of the snakes

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Mike Lee: I Want America's ‘House To Come Down’ Unless Congress Votes To Rewrite Constitution — In an interview on MSNBC's Hardball this evening, tenther Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) admitted that he is using the threat of a catastrophic default to extort the nation into rewriting the Constitution …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Gingrich regrets 2008 climate ad with Pelosi — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Tuesday that he regrets making a commercial with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on the need to address climate change. — Gingrich, who partnered with Pelosi while she was Speaker for the 2008 ad …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Baby Talk — I was struck by these sentences in President Obama's speech: … Consider the condescension implicit in the president's statement—"a term that most people outside of Washington have probably never heard of before." These “people outside of Washington” are not little children …

Discussion: theblogprof and Don Surber