memeorandum: Civility, Obama Style (Andrew Ferguson/Weekly Standard)

12:25 AM ET, July 31, 2011

Top Items:

White House, Republicans Strike Tentative Deal To Raise Debt Ceiling — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — ABC News has learned that Republicans and the White House have struck a tentative deal to raise the debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline. It's not done yet …

Discussion: The Hill, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Taegan Goddard's …, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop, Politics and Verum Serum

Seung Min Kim / The Politico:

Pelosi: Boehner went to ‘dark side’ — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi didn't mince words on Speaker John Boehner's efforts on the debt ceiling, whipping out a Star Wars reference on the House floor Saturday. — Instead of working out a compromise with Democrats, she said on the House floor …

Discussion: CNN, The Note, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, Ballot Box, Pirate's Cove, Hot Air, americanthinker.com and The Hill

David Rogers / The Politico:

Senate debt vote delay is sign of hope — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is in active negotiation with the White House on a debt ceiling deal, and Democrats agreed late Saturday night to postpone a partisan-tinged cloture vote to give time for both sides to reach a deal.

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Daily Kos and Michelle Malkin

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:

Forty-three GOP senators pledge opposition to Reid debt-ceiling plan — Forty-three GOP senators on Saturday signed a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) expressing opposition to his debt-ceiling legislation currently being considered in the upper chamber.

Discussion: The Note, Outside the Beltway and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

CNN:

Democrats, Republicans disagree on state of debt talks — What will it take to find a solution to the U.S. Debt crisis? Wolf Blitzer and Don Lemon break down the hurdles and options in “GET IT DONE — Countdown to Debt Crisis,” a CNN Special Report Sunday night at 9 ET on CNN.

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Politico, Sky Dancing, Gothamist and Pajamas Media

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell:

43 Senators Sign Letter Opposing The Reid Bill — WASHINGTON, D.C. - The following letter is signed by 43 Republican Senators. In it they encourage the Majority Leader 'to abandon this reckless proposal and instead pursue a more responsible course of action. — The full text of the letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid is below.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, FiveThirtyEight, Daily Kos and TPMDC

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Democrats enforce filibuster against their own debt bill — Senate Republicans want a 60-vote threshold for a debt-limit bill to pass the chamber, but it's actually Democrats who are enforcing the filibuster on their own legislation, insisting on delaying a vote until 1 a.m. Sunday morning.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Conservatives4Palin

The Note:

Reid Dismisses GOP Letter Against His Bill, Says His Bill Is ‘Only Game In Town’ — ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: — Moments before being summoned to the White House this afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., declared that his bill is still “the only game in town,” …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Kevin G. Hall / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Economists: Now is wrong time for Congress to cut spending

Discussion: Liberty Street, The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake and Prairie Weather

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
‘Fully engaged’ McConnell expresses optimism on debt deal

Discussion: ThinkProgress and AMERICAblog News

NationalJournal.com:
No Compromise in Sight on Debt as Congress Heads into Saturday Session

Discussion: Hot Air, The Atlantic Online, Washington Post, Firedoglake, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
The trigger that could lead to a debt deal

Discussion: TalkLeft, Daily Kos and Economist's View

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
As Congress Nears Debt Limit Endgame, Attention Turns to a Trigger

Discussion: Open Congress and Washington Monthly

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Senate headed for critical debt vote Sunday

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly and AMERICAblog News

Bob Cusack / The Hill:
Days after lauding McConnell, Democratic leaders rip him

Discussion: The Caucus and Connecting.the.Dots

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Reid Aims For GOP Support By Adopting McConnell Debt Limit Plan Fallback Plan

Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, The Politico, Daily Kos, The Daily Dish and The Moderate Voice

Bloomberg:
Congress Deadlocked on Plan to Avert Default

Discussion: The Atlanta Post

Jamie Klatell / The Hill:
Kyl: Dems using debt debate for ‘much broader tax increases’

Discussion: The Note, Hullabaloo, Questions and Observations, CNN and Outside the Beltway

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Rep. McCotter calls for a truce between Republicans, Tea Party — Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), a Republican presidential candidate, called Saturday morning for Republicans and the Tea Party to stop fighting and work together to help save the country, presumably from Democratic policies, although he was not specific.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Riehl World View, sisu and Pundits Blog

Paul Krugman:

Very Serious Suckers — Jonathan Chait has an excellent piece documenting the way in which what he calls the establishment, and I call Very Serious People, misjudged the way the debt ceiling thing would play out: … He then goes on to show how the usual suspects — the WaPo editorial page …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, driftglass and The Moderate Voice

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Declaration of independents — August is upon us, beaches beckon and Michele Bachmann has set the self-improvement bar high. She recently told The Wall Street Journal, “When I go on vacation and I lay on the beach, I bring von Mises.” The congresswoman may be the first person ever …

Discussion: Hit & Run

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:

Wisconsin GOPer Admits She Compared Public Schools To Nazi Germany — So now we know: the 2010 blog post deleted from a tea party social network recently comparing America's public schools to Nazi Germany was in fact written by Kim Simac, a tea party organizer and the state Republicans' choice …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

The White House:

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Acting Responsibly on Behalf of the American People — WASHINGTON—In this week's address, President Obama urged both Republicans and Democrats to take action to avoid defaulting for the first time in our nation's history. While the two parties are not far apart in their goals …

Discussion: The Other McCain, The Moderate Voice and The Gateway Pundit