memeorandum: The credibility and integrity of S&P's ratings action (Felix Salmon)

8:35 AM ET, August 7, 2011

Top Items:

Edmund L. Andrews / NationalJournal.com:

Why S&P's Downgrade is No Joke — The real impact of S&P's downgrade is political, not economic. — It's tempting to dismiss Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. long-term Treasury bonds as no big deal in the real world. It's also tempting to describe it as a broad criticism …

Josh Boak / The Politico:

S&P warns of a second downgrade — One day after lowering the nation's platinum triple-A credit rating, Standard & Poor's analysts warned Saturday that the U.S. government could face a second downgrade if the economy continues to struggle and the government fails to make the cuts outlined in the debt ceiling agreement.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Firedoglake, PERRspectives, Towleroad News #gay and AMERICAN FUTURE

John Bellows / U.S. Department of the Treasury:

Just the Facts: S&P's $2 Trillion Mistake — In a document provided to Treasury on Friday afternoon, Standard and Poor's (S&P) presented a judgment about the credit rating of the U.S. that was based on a $2 trillion mistake. After Treasury pointed out this error - a basic math error …

Discussion: Guardian, Economics One, Ben Smith's Blog, Politics, Fortune, FOXBusiness.com, Corrente and Wall Street Journal

Felix Salmon:

The credibility and integrity of S&P's ratings action — Treasury's official response to the S&P downgrade has arrived, and it makes for pretty depressing reading. Treasury's taking a shoot-the-messenger approach: S&P made a mistake in its debt-sustainability calculations, they say …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, New York Times, The Curious Capitalist, Patterico's Pontifications and Conservatives4Palin

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Standard and Poors versus Mitch McConnell — Putting aside the question of whether we should accord any credibility to Standard and Poors' downgrade, it's hard to see how conservatives can claim S & P's report as a political victory when it says this:

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Political Carnival and Daily Kos

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly: A timeline of events — Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?

Jamie Klatell / The Hill:
White House: S&P downgrade is why Obama ‘pushed for grand bargain’

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Liberal Values and CNN

David Barboza / New York Times:
China Tells U.S. It Must ‘Cure Its Addiction to Debt’

Discussion: Corrente, Outside the Beltway, Balkinization, ThinkProgress, China Digital Times and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

GetEQUAL.org:

Protesters Travel From Across Texas to Picket Hate-Based Event — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Michael Diviesti, GetEQUAL Texas State Lead Organizer, (512) 694-3394, michael@getequaltx.org — HOUSTON, TX — On August 6th, Governor Perry spoke at an event inside Reliant Stadium in Houston …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Towleroad News #gay

Manny Fernandez / New York Times:
Perry Leads Prayer Rally for ‘Nation in Crisis’

Discussion: Gawker, New York Magazine and Towleroad News #gay

Kasie Hunt / The Politico:
Perry prays for the U.S.

Discussion: CNN, Runnin' Scared, The Note, JammieWearingFool and Ballot Box

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Obama's soft response to Tea Party draws liberal criticism — Liberals are growing frustrated with President Obama's soft response to the Tea Party after fractious negotiations over the debt limit led to the loss of nation's AAA credit rating on Friday. — Republicans and Democrats …

Discussion: The Democratic Daily and Weasel Zippers

Janet Daley / Telegraph:

If we are to survive the looming catastrophe, we need to face the truth — The idea that a capitalist economy can support a socialist welfare state is collapsing before our eyes, says Janet Daley. — Getting it right: the Tea Party recognised where America's policies were heading

Discussion: National Review

Washington Examiner:

Obama won't escape blame for credit downgrade — Standard and Poor's explanation for why it downgraded U.S. debt is written in such a way that it can be seized upon by all ideological stripes. The statement cites the unwillingness of Republicans to raise taxes and of Democrats to agree to entitlement cuts.

Discussion: The Impolitic

Kurt Andersen / New York Times:

The Madman Theory — I had breakfast this week with one of Hollywood's most ferocious, self-confident and successful doers of deals. He was still steamed about what an unforgivably lousy negotiator his president had been on the debt ceiling agreement. — One particular Obama move he found appalling above all the rest.

Mark Tapscott / Washington Examiner:

Wisconsin Democratic Party flak threatens to sic union bullies on independent news group — A spokesman for the Wisconsin Democratic Party has threatened to sic union bullies on an independent news organization whose reporting he thinks is “biased.” — Graeme Zeilinski was upset …

Discussion: RedState

Associated Press:

Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan Kills Members of SEAL Team 6 — WASHINGTON — The Associated Press has learned that more than 20 Navy SEALs from the unit that killed Osama bin Laden were among those lost in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. — The operators from SEAL Team Six were flown …

Discussion: Power Line, Doug Ross, Wizbang, Patterico's Pontifications, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, Moonbattery, Outside the Beltway and The Jawa Report

CNN:
U.S. official: About two dozen U.S. deaths in Afghan copter crash

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Daily What, UrbanGrounds, Associated Press, Weasel Zippers, Runnin' Scared, Firedoglake, neo-neocon, Michelle Malkin, Washington Post, ABCNEWS and New York Times

Rasmussen Reports:

67% Say Economy Causing Family Stress — With the Rasmussen Consumer and Investor Indexes hovering near two-year lows and unemployment rates still in the nine percent (9%) range, it's perhaps no surprise to find that a majority of Americans say the economy is adding stress to their family.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Alexander Bolton / Ballot Box:

Mystery Romney backer reveals himself — Edward Conrad, a former executive at Bain Capital, has revealed himself as the mystery donor who gave a $1 million corporate contribution to a special political action committee supporting Mitt Romney. — Conrad stepped forward after campaign watchdog groups filed …

Discussion: The Political Carnival