memeorandum: Moody's: Neither debt plan protects the nation's AAA rating (Peter Schroeder/The Hill)

1:50 PM ET, July 31, 2011

Top Items:

Congressional Sources: Republicans and Democrats Reach Tentative Debt Deal — ABC News' Jonathan Karl (@JonKarl) reports: — Democratic and Republican Congressional sources involved in the negotiations tell ABC News that a tentative agreement has been reached on the framework of a deal …

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:

Outlines of Debt Compromise Emerge — An announcement could come as early as Sunday afternoon. — Here are the outlines of a debt-ceiling deal that congressional leaders and the Obama White House are firming up in preparation for a possible announcement as early as Sunday afternoon.

Discussion: TPMDC, Taylor Marsh, Maggie's Notebook, Hot Air, Hullabaloo, Betsy's Page, Outside the Beltway, Patterico's Pontifications, Sky Dancing, The Atlantic Online, Viking Pundit and Weekly Standard

The Note:

Caution on Capitol Hill: ‘Nothing Is Agreed to Until Everything Is Agreed to’ — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — There is caution on Capitol Hill about a tentative deal being reached. — As the mantra here goes, “nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.”

Discussion: Hot Air and Mediaite

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Dems, GOP Float Eye-Popping Debt Limit Compromise — Very late on Saturday, multiple reports sketched out the framework of a debt limit compromise President Obama has struck with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). — As noted here, the issue under contention was the design of a so-called …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Note, Don Surber, Hullabaloo, The New Republic and The Daily Caller

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

A deal comes together — Two senior Republican offices have confirmed that while the outlines of a debt-ceiling deal are in place, no “paper” has been exchanged. The agreement would take the country through the 2012 election, but the Boehner bill two-step cutting process would remain.

Discussion: Pundit & Pundette and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Dan / Riehl World View:

Jennifer Rubin Is An A**hole — Sorry, but there's really no other word for it. Talk about someone with a malfunction. You write for the Washington Post now, sweetie. You need to grow up and at least write like an adult, even if you can't manage to think like one.

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Democrats will lose now. But they can win later.

Discussion: emptywheel and DISSENTING JUSTICE

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
The end of Harry Reid as we know it

Discussion: The Other McCain, PoliPundit.com and The Note

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
Moody's: Neither debt plan protects the nation's AAA rating

Discussion: PoliPundit.com and Vox Popoli

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Amid New Talks, Some Optimism on Debt Crisis

Discussion: Firedoglake, Politics, Prairie Weather, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, TalkLeft, AMERICAblog News, Calculated Risk and U.S. Senate Republican …

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
BREAKING: Dems Delay Debt Limit Test Vote

Discussion: Open Congress, Salon, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, New York Times and Booman Tribune

Michelle Malkin:
Saturday night Kabuki bickerfest; Update: Sunday Senate Vote Pushed Back to 1pm; Backroom deal details emerge

Discussion: The Politico, USA Today, The Hill, theblogprof, The Other McCain, Firedoglake, Hot Air and AmSpecBlog

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

Compromise In The Works — The rumored deals flying around Washington today all sound pretty bad. And how could they not be? The White House started with a position that: … But (1) and (3) were in significant tension. The White House strategy for getting (3) was to persuade the public that (3) was the correct position.

Discussion: Washington Post and Grasping Reality …

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
GOP ready to declare victory in debt fight

Discussion: CNN

Washington Wire:
Live Blog: The U.S. Debt Battle

Discussion: Calculated Risk and Wall Street Journal

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
McConnell: 'We're very close' to a deal

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Note, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and The Hill

The Caucus:
McConnell Sees Deal “Very Close”; Focus Is on Triggers for Cuts

Discussion: Daily Kos

Heidi Przybyla / Bloomberg:
White House, Republicans Said to Reach Tentative Deal on U.S. Debt Ceiling

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, American Power, NationalJournal.com and The Agonist

Stanley B. Greenberg / New York Times:

Why Voters Tune Out Democrats — Stanley B. Greenberg is the chief executive of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, a polling company that works with center-left political parties in the United States and abroad. — BARACK OBAMA can't catch a break from the American public on the economy …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos and Suburban Guerrilla

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Bring Back Poppy — WATCHING today's Republicans being led around by an extremist Tea Party faction, with no adult supervision, I find my mind drifting back to the late 1980s when I was assigned to cover the administration of George H.W. Bush, who I believe is one of our most underrated presidents.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Weasel Zippers and NewsBusters.org

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Tempest in a Tea Party — SO I was chatting with Chris Coons, the new Democratic senator from Delaware who had a rare win over the Tea Party when he beat loony Christine “I've Dabbled in Witchcraft but I Am Not a Witch” O'Donnell in the midterms. — Coons is a smart guy who's alarmed …

Discussion: Reuters, The Greenroom, Weasel Zippers and Althouse

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Rep. McCotter calls for a truce between Republicans, Tea Party

Discussion: Riehl World View, Outside the Beltway and sisu

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

Rightward Tilt Leaves Obama With Party Rift — WASHINGTON — However the debt limit showdown ends, one thing is clear: under pressure from Congressional Republicans, President Obama has moved rightward on budget policy, deepening a rift within his party heading into the next election.

Discussion: The Note, Corrente, CNN and The Agonist

Mgroombridge / Decide America:

Debt-Ceiling Negotiations Leaving Defense Budget in Grave Jeopardy — Every indication is that the debt-ceiling negotiations are leaving the defense budget in grave jeopardy. By exposing critical defense programs to disproportionate cuts as part of the “trigger mechanism,” …

Discussion: Weekly Standard and National Review

Kevin G. Hall / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Economists: Now is wrong time for Congress to cut spending — WASHINGTON — Lawmakers trying to reach a deal on spending cuts in order to raise the nation's debt ceiling risk causing serious economic harm if they cut government programs too much in the near term, economists warn.

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