memeorandum: Political Class Clowns (Timothy Egan/Opinionator)

9:05 AM ET, November 4, 2011

Top Items:

Cain rises in Post-ABC poll despite scandal; most Republicans dismiss allegations — Businessman Herman Cain and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney are running nearly even atop the field of 2012 GOP presidential hopefuls, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Outside the Beltway, Don Surber, Guardian, Prairie Weather, The Caucus, New York Magazine, New York Times and blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Nia-Malika Henderson / Washington Post:

Cain camp considering legal action against Politico — A Herman Cain aide said Thursday that the Cain campaign is considering its legal options over the original Politico story, which revealed that the former head of the National Restaurant Association was accused of sexually harassing at least two women during his tenure in the 1990s.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, Sky Dancing, The Gateway Pundit, iOwnTheWorld.com, Hot Air, Big Journalism, Outside the Beltway and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »

The Politico:

Sources reveal new details about Cain allegation — The details put a woman's account even more sharply at odds with Cain's.

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Freedom's Lighthouse, Mediaite, American Spectator and Saint Petersblog

The Politico:

Sources reveal new details about Cain allegation — Herman Cain flatly denies the most serious allegation facing him - that he made an unwanted sexual advance toward a female employee at a work event - but POLITICO has learned new details making clear there were urgent discussions …

Discussion: Hot Air and Washington Post

Jim Rutenberg / The Caucus:
Gloria Cain Won't Do Fox Appearance

Discussion: msnbc.com, Saint Petersblog, blogs.telegraph.co.uk and Washington Post

Richard Pollock / PJ Media:
PJM Sources Report Details of Alleged Cain Incident

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Lawyer for Cain accuser hopes to release statement Friday

Discussion: The Other McCain and RedState

Rasmussen Reports:
National Poll: Cain 26%, Romney 23%, Gingrich 14%

Discussion: National Review, American Spectator, Weekly Standard, The PJ Tatler, Freedom's Lighthouse, Washington Wire, Don Surber, Guardian, Saint Petersblog, GOP 12 and Hullabaloo

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
Politico Is Tawdry — Rich, I continue to think the real story …

Discussion: TBogg, Pundit & Pundette and Washington Monthly

David Weigel / Slate:
Cainaquiddick: Where Source-Based Journalism Goes to Die

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Caucus, National Review, RedState, Erick's blog and Taylor Marsh

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Cain says Forbes concluded Perry camp was source of harassment leak

Discussion: Radio Iowa, The Lonely Conservative and CNN

The Huffington Post:

Elizabeth Warren Heckled By Tea Party Supporter … BROCKTON, Mass. — Moments into a speech before volunteers here Wednesday evening, Elizabeth Warren was interrupted by a Tea Party supporter who hurled a gender-based epithet at the Senate candidate. The man, who said he'd been unemployed …

Discussion: Sky Dancing, Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, The Raw Story, Gawker, Feministing, Daily Kos, Salon, US Politics and Suburban Guerrilla

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:

‘South Park’ mocks Occupy Wall Street, Michael Moore [VIDEO] — Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of Comedy Central's “South Park,” have a history of taking on politics in their animated series — even when it means mocking liberal causes. On their Wednesday broadcast …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Mediaite, Hot Air, OWS Exposed, Hit & Run, Whiskey Fire and Weasel Zippers

Lee Fang / ThinkProgress:
Romney Campaign Memo: The Koch Brothers Are The ‘Financial Engine Of The Tea Party’

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Raw Story

NY Daily News:
More than a dozen Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested outside Goldman Sachs

Discussion: OWS Exposed and JammieWearingFool

Timothy Egan / Opinionator:

Political Class Clowns — For a Republican Party that has spent the better part of its presidential campaign proving that most of its candidates are not smarter than a fifth grader, the real scandal around frontrunner-of-the-moment Herman Cain is not what he knows. It's what he doesn't know.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

NY Daily News:

Mayor Bloomberg says White House candidates must believe in evolution, global warming — Says ‘mind-boggling’ some candidates don't believe science — 'We have presidential candidates who don't believe in science,' Bloomberg said — Belief in science should be a no-brainer …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Gawker

Eric Kleefeld / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com: TPM2012 — Pamela Geller: 'I Endorse Herman Cain.

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Cain Adviser Walks Back Perry Accusation

Discussion: New York Times and The Daily Dish

Jana Winter / Fox News:

ACORN Officials Scramble, Firing Workers and Shredding Documents, After Exposed as Players Behind Occupy Wall Street Protests — Officials with the revamped ACORN office in New York — operating as New York Communities for Change — have fired staff, shredded reams of documents and told workers …

Discussion: Journalism.org, Weasel Zippers, Betsy's Page and The Lonely Conservative

Nancy Cordes / CBS News:

Boehner: Debt deal will include new tax revenues — House Speaker John Boehner addressed one of the biggest sticking points for the 12 member Congressional “supercommittee” today, acknowledging that any bipartisan agreement will need to include some new tax revenue.

Discussion: Hot Air, Los Angeles Times, Weasel Zippers, National Review and The Lonely Conservative

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Boehner calls anti-tax crusader Norquist ‘some random person’

Discussion: The Politico and Indecision Forever

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Man charged for phone threats against Rep. Eric Cantor's family — The FBI charged a man on Thursday for allegedly threatening House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). — The FBI said that Glendon Swift was charged for leaving threatening messages on Cantor's work voicemail in Richmond …

Discussion: The United States Department … and The Politico

John Parkinson / ABCNEWS: Caller Accused of Rep. Cantor-Kill Threat

Chip Somodevilla / ABCNEWS:

Cain Shows Initial Resilience in the Face of Controversy — Herman Cain is showing initial resilience in the face of allegations of sexual impropriety: More than half of potential Republicans voters say the controversy is not serious, fewer than a quarter say it makes them less likely to support Cain …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Emily Goodin / The Hill:

Report: Ethics panel launches investigation into Rep. Richardson — The House Ethics Committee voted Thursday to launch an investigation into Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.), according to a report. — The committee is looking into whether the three-term lawmaker pressured her congressional staff …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Oligarchy, American Style — Inequality is back in the news, largely thanks to Occupy Wall Street, but with an assist from the Congressional Budget Office. And you know what that means: It's time to roll out the obfuscators! — Anyone who has tracked this issue over time knows what I mean.

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Paul Krugman and Economist's View

Felix Salmon:

Bernanke can't solve our problems — Many thanks to Joe Weisenthal for throwing some much-needed cold water on the NGDP fandom which is currently sweeping the blogosphere. — I'm a fan of NGDP myself; I was one of the 37% of econobloggers who voted for it in the Kauffman survey this quarter.

Discussion: National Review and The New Republic

Joe Weisenthal / Business Insider:
The Smartest People In Washington Are 100% Wrong About Stimulating The Economy

Discussion: National Review, The Atlantic Online and The New Republic

Evan Perez / Washington Wire:

Lawmakers Seek Information on ‘Fast And Furious’ Leaks — Lawmakers investigating a botched federal gun probe are pressing the Justice Department to provide information about media leaks discrediting a whistleblower who alerted Congress to investigative tactics that allowed firearms to be smuggled to Mexico.

Robert Winnett / Telegraph:

Britain poised to provide billions for new rescue package as euro crisis deepens — Britain is poised to provide billions of pounds for a new global economic rescue package, prompted by concerns that the EU plan to save the euro will not be enough to stabilise the world economy.

Discussion: EconLog, Wall Street Journal and Guardian

Henry K. Lee / San Francisco Chronicle:

Developer with shotgun scared off Oakland rioters — OAKLAND — Oakland developer Phil Tagami is used to working behind the scenes to broker some of the biggest deals in town. Late Wednesday, he was using different persuasive skills - holding a loaded shotgun to scare away rioters trying to get into a downtown building.

Discussion: Campaign 2012