memeorandum: Egghead and Blockheads (Maureen Dowd/New York Times)

7:20 PM ET, September 18, 2011

Top Items:

Why Obama should withdraw — When Ronald Reagan ran for re-election in 1984, his slogan was “Morning in America.” For Barack Obama, it's more like midnight in a coal mine. — The sputtering economy is about to stall out, unemployment is high, his jobs program may not pass …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, YID With LID, The Crawdad Hole and Hot Air

The Huffington Post:

Bill Clinton: Dick Cheney ‘Sowing Discord’ With Suggestion That Hillary Run Against Obama In 2012 … On Sunday, former President Bill Clinton laughed off former Vice President Dick Cheney's suggestion that Hillary Clinton should challenge President Barack Obama in 2012.

Discussion: Power Line

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Israel: Adrift at Sea Alone — I'VE never been more worried about Israel's future. The crumbling of key pillars of Israel's security — the peace with Egypt, the stability of Syria and the friendship of Turkey and Jordan — coupled with the most diplomatically inept and strategically incompetent government …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Israel Matzav, YID With LID, Salon and Elder of Ziyon

John T. Bennett / The Hill:
Palestinian envoy: UN petition for membership will be presented Fri.

Discussion: Reuters

New York Times:
For Palestinians, U.N. Is Best Chance to Change Conflict's Dynamics

Discussion: Don Surber, Guardian and The Huffington Post

Jerusalem Post:
The myth of Palestinian peoplehood

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Israel Matzav and Israpundit

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Egghead and Blockheads — THERE are two American archetypes that were sometimes played against each other in old Westerns. — The egghead Eastern lawyer who lacks the skills or stomach for a gunfight is contrasted with the tough Western rancher and ace shot who has no patience for book learnin'.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CANNONFIRE, Northern Reflections, Prairie Weather and Althouse

Gail Collins / New York Times:

Rick Perry, Uber Texan — YOU think of Rick Perry, you think of Texas. And more Texas. Perry the cowboy coyote-killer, the lord of the Texas job-creation machine, the g-dropping glad-hander with a “howdy” for every stranger in the room. He barely exists in the national mind outside of the Texas connection.

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, The Crawdad Hole and Althouse

Henry K. Lee / San Francisco Chronicle:

Michelle Le search turns up body in Sunol Canyon — Sunol — Ten days after Hayward police arrested a woman on suspicion of murdering a nursing student whose body has not been found, a volunteer searcher discovered human remains Saturday in rural Alameda County.

Discussion: L.A. NOW, ABCNEWS and Associated Press

Washington Post:

Book portrays dysfunction in Obama White House — The book, which covers Obama's presidency through February of this year and is based on more than 700 hours of interviews, suggests that the president was not always the dominant figure in his White House. — Suskind cites a series of memos …

Discussion: Firedoglake, JustOneMinute, NewsBusters.org and Ben Smith's Blog

New York Magazine:
Obama's Economic Quagmire: Frank Rich and Adam Moss Talk About What's Really in Ron Suskind's Revealing …

Discussion: Gawker and Daily Kos

David Goldstein / MiamiHerald.com:

Black caucus head treads line between criticizing, supporting Obama — WASHINGTON — As the debate over jobs turns into the latest political tug-of-war, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri walks a careful but candid line. — As chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus …

Discussion: The Hill, Hot Air and The Raw Story

Washington Post:
Obama to call for new minimum tax rate for millionaires

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Don Surber, Runnin' Scared, Instapundit, The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, American Power, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

Jessica Yellin / CNN: Obama to propose new tax rate for millionaires

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

Reinventing The HMO — The Stewart Community Choice health care plan concept, being launched in Massachusetts, seems like an obvious future step for a financially constrained world. They'll be essentially offering people lower insurance premiums if they accept less choice of where they accept treatment.

Discussion: Washington Post, Boston Globe and Modeled Behavior

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

Ever-increasing tax breaks for U.S. families eclipse benefits for special interests — As President Obama and congressional Republicans argue over how to rewrite the U.S. tax code, the debate has revolved around “loopholes” for corporate jets and ending “carve-outs” for well-heeled special interests.

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress, AMERICAN FUTURE, Prairie Weather, americanthinker.com and CNN

New York Post:

Manhattan AG's office suspends lawyer who moonlights as a dominatrix — A well-respected lawyer in the state Attorney General's Office spends her days toiling in securities fraud — and her nights moonlighting as a dominatrix, The Post has learned. — Alisha Smith, 36, who dresses demurely …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Power Line, New York Magazine, Gothamist and Gawker

Chris Wallace / Fox News:

Rep. Paul Ryan Rips Obama's Jobs Plan; Herman Cain Defends His ‘999’ Tax Proposal — Special Guests: Rep. Paul Ryan, Herman Cain … CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: I'm Chris Wallace. — President Obama takes on entitlements and wants to raise taxes on millionaires to cut the nation's debt, while continues a hard sell on his jobs plan.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Campaign 2012

Imtiyaz Delawala / ABCNEWS:

President Clinton Says Gridlock in Washington Hurting the Economy — On the eve of the annual meeting of his Clinton Global Initiative, Former President Bill Clinton says that partisanship in Washington is hampering any ability to reach economic solutions for the country.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars