memeorandum: John DiStaso's Granite Status: Pawlenty steering committee member defects to Romney camp (John DiStaso/unionleader.com)

8:10 AM ET, July 27, 2011

Top Items:

Cat To Emerge from Bag? — There's an interesting possibility, even a likelihood, we may see unfold over the coming days. And if it happens, we might find out quickly whether there's a limit past which consensus opinion, the Wall Street/business interests who hold such a sway over national politics …

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Whiskey Fire and Balloon Juice

David Rogers / The Politico:

CBO: John Boehner's debt bill comes up short — On the eve of a House vote, new cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office could pose a problem for Speaker John Boehner as he tries to rally conservative support for his two-step plan to raise the federal debt ceiling and avert default next week.

Discussion: Hot Air, USA Today, Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers, The Hill, CNN, Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway and The Note

Wall Street Journal:

The GOP's Reality Test — Republicans who oppose Boehner's debt deal are playing into Obama's hands. — The debt-limit debate is heading toward a culmination, with President Obama reduced to pleading for the public to support a tax increase and Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority …

Discussion: The Hill and New York Times

The Politico:

Credit hit worries Obama, Congress more than default — It's not the default that strikes the most fear in the White House and Congress these days. It's the downgrade. — Even Republican leaders say the country can't go into default, and they'll do everything possible to raise the debt limit by Aug. 2.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, New York Times and New York Times

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Dems plot the endgame in debt limit fight — So now what? Now that Dems and Republicans have unveiled competing plans for the way forward — and now that both sides have dug in — what happens next? — Here's the game plan, as seen by Senate Dem aides: The next move is to sit tight …

Discussion: CBS News, NationalJournal.com, Riehl World View, Daily Kos, The Hill, Roll Call, National Review, The Caucus and Club for Growth

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Boehner to rework his debt-ceiling bill — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will rework his two-step plan to raise the debt ceiling after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found the bill would not cut as much spending as promised. — “We're here to change Washington - no more smoke-and-mirrors …

Discussion: Erick's blog, The Heritage Foundation, Heritage Action for America, RedState, NPR, nation.foxnews.com, Washington Monthly, Washington Post and ThinkProgress

Jack Lew / White House.gov Blog:

Baseline Basics — The CBO just released its analysis of the debt ceiling extension and deficit reduction plan that the House of Representatives is considering. We have been clear in our opposition to this bill, and the President explained why last night.

Discussion: Politics and National Review

David Jackson / USA Today:
Obama team threatens to veto Boehner debt plan

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, The Gateway Pundit and Political Punch

Daniel Stone / Yahoo! News:
Analysis: U.S. credit downgrade ‘inevitable’

Discussion: YID With LID, The Gateway Pundit and Hot Air

Marin Cogan / The Politico:
Conservative frosh go opposite ways

Discussion: The Hill, The Page and CNN

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Oof: CBO says Boehner's bill would save less than $1T over 10 years …

Discussion: The Politico, Weasel Zippers and National Review

Washington Times:
House GOP revolts against Boehner plan

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, CNN, The Politico and Red Dog Report

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Debt ceiling poll: Voters with Obama

Discussion: The Mahablog, Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
NOPE! Top House Conservatives Says Boehner Lacks Sufficient GOP Support To Raise Debt Limit

Discussion: Swampland, The Hill, The Politico, The New Republic, Discourse.net, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and Washington Post

Alicia M.Cohn / The Hill:
Boehner says his plan's deficit committee will not raise taxes

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, The Hill, Washington Post, The Note, The Democratic Daily, Jared Bernstein and Little Green Footballs

CBO's Latest 10 Documents:
ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT ON THE DEFICIT OF THE BUDGET CONTROL ACT OF 2011 AS PROPOSED IN THE HOUSE

Discussion: Daily Kos, Erick's blog and Booman Tribune

Wall Street Journal:
Big GOP Bloc in House Opposes Boehner's Plan

Discussion: GOP 12, Washington Post, Roll Call, Taegan Goddard's …, The Note, Outside the Beltway, The Atlantic Online, Crooks and Liars and Pajamas Media

Fred Thompson / National Review:

An Open Letter to the GOP — As someone who understands the pressures and difficulties you have been going through, I want to say, “Congratulations.” You won, and so did the country. — Absent some major miscalculations, within the next few days there will be official acknowledgement of what has already happened.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Shakesville

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Not Leveling with Viewers — It's been said many times. But it's never enough: the conventions of journalistic ‘objectivity’, as currently defined, frequently make journalists violate their biggest duty, which is honesty with readers. The top headline running now on CNN reads …

Discussion: Foreign Policy

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard: White House's Carney on President's Debt Ceiling Plan: ‘You Need it Written Down?’

Bryan Preston / Pajamas Media:
Unbelievable: Obama White House Stubbornly Refusing to Release Any Written Debt Plan (Update: Video Added)

Discussion: Sense of Events and Big Journalism

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
WH press corps hammers Carney: How come Obama hasn't produced his own debt-ceiling plan?

Discussion: Townhall.com and The Other McCain

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:
Guy Benson White House: Asking for Obama's Specific Debt Plan is a “Republican Talking Point”

Discussion: Pirate's Cove

Paul Krugman:

The Cult That Is Destroying America — Watching our system deal with the debt ceiling crisis — a wholly self-inflicted crisis, which may nonetheless have disastrous consequences — it's increasingly obvious that what we're looking at is the destructive influence of a cult that has really poisoned our political system.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Hullabaloo and Pajamas Media

Washington Post:

House Republicans delay vote on Boehner debt plan — Responding to Obama's appeal in a speech Monday night for Americans to contact their members of Congress to urge them to adopt his “balanced approach” to deficit reduction, callers flooded Capitol telephone circuits Tuesday morning …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway and ThinkProgress

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:
Public Wants a Debt Ceiling Compromise, Expects a Deal Before Deadline

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, CNN, Booman Tribune, Politics, Balloon Juice and The Moderate Voice

Charles Babington / Associated Press:
House GOP to rework budget plan after new estimate

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Caucus and Daily Kos

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

SwiftVets revenge — The Navy Times (no link) reported last week that Navy Secretary Ray Mabus stripped the Silver Star from a Vietnam swift boat veteran, Capt. Wade Sanders: — “Had the subsequently determined facts and evidence surrounding both the incident for which the award …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media

Thomas Lifson / americanthinker.com:

Kerry spokesman stripped of Silver Star — John F. Kerry almost became president running on the basis of his alleged heroism in Vietnam. Thanks to the efforts of a group of truth-tellers, the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, the serious holes in the fantasy narrative propounded …

Discussion: The Other McCain

Christina Rexrode / Associated Press:

McDonald's: Apple slices in every Happy Meal — McDonald's to put apples in every Happy Meal as part of broader health push — Companies: — Related Quotes — SymbolPriceChange — MCD — 88.02 — NEW YORK (AP) — An apple a day may keep the doctor away.

Discussion: Hot Air and The Lonely Conservative

David Jackson / USA Today:
Michelle Obama praises McDonald's

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and The Raw Story

Emily York / Los Angeles Times:
McDonald's to make Happy Meals more healthful

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. / The Jawa Report:

On Islamophobia and Right Wing Extremism — Since I am constantly accused of being an ‘Islamaphobe’ let me, once again and for the record, explain my position on Islam, Islamophobia, and right-wing extremism. I'll start at the latter and work my way to the former. — 1) Right-wing extremism is real.

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, AmSpecBlog, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Jihad Watch

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Pat Buchanan: Norwegian Right-Wing Terrorist ‘Breivik May Be Right’

Discussion: The Other McCain, Sky Dancing, Mediaite, Pharyngula, WorldNetDaily, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Newshoggers.com

The Politico:

Romney's swing-state rollout - RNC unveils new ‘Change Direction’ ad - Ted Strickland's next act - 2012ers dodge Boehner plan - Huntsman 2.0 - Warren v. Brown — POPPING IN OHIO — ROMNEY'S SWING-STATE ROLLOUT: Mitt Romney will take his 2012 campaign to the general-election battleground of Ohio today …

Discussion: Gallup and Washington Post

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

U.S. officials believe al-Qaeda on brink of collapse — U.S. counterterrorism officials are increasingly convinced that the killing of Osama bin Laden and the toll of seven years of CIA drone strikes have pushed al-Qaeda to the brink of collapse. — The assessment reflects a widespread view …

Discussion: Reuters and Top of the Ticket

Suzanne Goldenberg / Guardian:

US eco-activist jailed for two years — Campaigners denounce sentence of ‘hero’ Tim DeChristopher for disrupting oil and gas industry auction as excessive — An activist who became a hero to campaigners for disrupting a Bush administration auction for the oil and gas industry with $1.8m …

Discussion: Marginal Revolution and AMERICAblog News