memeorandum: Lawmakers already taking aim at auto-cuts (Associated Press)

10:30 AM ET, November 21, 2011

Top Items:

The Hillary Moment — President Obama can't win by running a constructive campaign, and he won't be able to govern if he does win a second term. — When Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson accepted the reality that they could not effectively govern the nation if they sought re-election to the White House …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, The Mahablog, americanthinker.com, Taylor Marsh, Wizbang, Sky Dancing, Pat Dollard, Israel Matzav, The Lonely Conservative, Jammie Wearing Fools and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Andrew Malcolm / Investor's Business Daily:

The ‘Dump Obama’ movement has begun; Guess who'd replace him? — Faced with peanut-sized Jimmy Carter poll numbers, disturbing big-donor reluctance, unacceptable unemployment and depressing economic forecasts, President Obama heads back on the road tomorrow to do what he always does when in trouble:

Discussion: Ballot Box, YID With LID and Newshoggers.com

Michael Catalini / NationalJournal.com:

Democratic Pollsters: Obama Should Abandon Run for Second Term — President Obama should abandon his run for a second term and turn over the reins of the Democratic Party to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, two one-time Democratic pollsters wrote in Monday's Wall Street Journal, which appeared online Sunday.

Discussion: THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Examiner:

Newt Gingrich was a lobbyist, plain and simple — Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) arrives for a meeting in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill March 31, 2011 in Washington, DC. Gingrich met with about 20 freshman Republican members of Congress and discussed ways …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, JustOneMinute, American Spectator, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012 and Betsy's Page

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Romney, Gingrich Now Top Choices for GOP Nomination — Gingrich's support on the rise this month — PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans are most likely to name Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as their first choice for their party's 2012 presidential nomination, with Herman Cain close behind.

Discussion: CNN, The Moderate Voice, Los Angeles Times and GOP 12

David Edwards / The Raw Story:

Krugman: ‘Only fools and clowns’ believe Republican ideology — New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says that Newt Gingrich is just the latest of the “fools and clowns” in the Republican presidential race to become a frontrunner. — “I have a structural hypothesis here,” Krugman told ABC's Christiane Amanpour Sunday.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org blogs and The Gateway Pundit

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
A frightening forum in Iowa

Discussion: Wonkette, Balloon Juice, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Washington Post and The Politico

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
GOP field readies spending spree

Discussion: The Hill, Wall Street Journal, ABCNEWS, The Caucus, CNN and Rick Perry 2012 Campaign …

New York Times:

Deficit Deal Fell Apart After Seeming Agreement — WASHINGTON — The one sliver of real hope came a week ago, in the darkened Capitol on the Sunday night after Veterans Day. — Called away from dinner tables, the Jets-Patriots game on television and, in one case, a soccer team party …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, The Maddow Blog, News Desk, Prairie Weather and Brilliant at Breakfast

Associated Press:
Lawmakers already taking aim at auto-cuts

Discussion: CBS News, US Politics and PoliPundit.com

Eric Lipton / New York Times:
Lawmakers Trade Blame As Deficit Talks Crumble

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Wire, Washington Post, Rick Perry 2012 Campaign …, The Caucus, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Truthdig, Booman Tribune and Reuters

BBC:
‘Super-committee’ on brink of US deficit failure

Discussion: The Agonist

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Debt supercommittee members brace for failure

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Huffington Post, The Heritage Foundation, USA Today, Prairie Weather and The Democratic Daily

Alan Diaz / ABCNEWS:

Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden Draw Boos at NASCAR Event — First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden were grand marshals at today's NASCAR season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, appearing as part of their charitable campaign to support military veterans and their families.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Scared Monkeys, US Politics, Pat Dollard and The Lonely Conservative

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
First Lady Michelle Obama Booed At NASCAR Race

Discussion: Freakonomics, Don Surber, FITSNews, Associated Press, Gawker, Zandar Versus The Stupid and Jezebel

First Read / msnbc.com:

First Thoughts: Worst. Congress. Ever? — Worst. Congress. Ever?... The Super Committee's failure is the latest evidence to back up that assertion... The blame game begins over the Super Committee... Then again, gridlock could end up succeeding to produce as much as $6 trillion …

Discussion: USA Today, Campaign 2012 and New York Times

Susan Page / USA Today:
Gingrich rises, Cain drops in new poll

Discussion: msnbc.com

Detroit Free Press:
Return of the Reagan Democrats? Blue-collar voters in Macomb County bolting for the GOP, Free Press poll finds

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Kevin Landrigan / Nashuatelegraph.com:

Ayotte, Bass get behind Romney — Congressman Charlie Bass will endorse the GOP presidential candidacy of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on Monday, The Telegraph has confirmed. — Bass will make it official when Romney tours the BAE Systems plant on Spit Brook Road in Nashua and then addresses employees.

Discussion: The Politico and GOP 12

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Mitt Romney on Barack Obama: 'He's done nothing'

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Metro and Political Insider

Justin Sink / The Hill:
NH Rep. Charlie Bass endorsing Romney

Discussion: CNN

CBS News:

America's new poor — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO … In Forsyth County's rolling subdivisions near Atlanta, Easy Street seems to run forever. What recession? The average household here earns $88,000 - the highest in Georgia, 13th highest in America. — But for more families here, prosperity is a pretense.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Judd Gregg / The Hill:

Where in the world is Obama? — The president was in Hawaii while the supercommittee hit stall speed. What is new about this? Very little. — Throughout his term, President Obama has avoided leading on the issue of fiscal responsibility. He walked away from his own commission …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, americanthinker.com, Betsy's Page, ABCNEWS and The Lonely Conservative

David Frum / New York Magazine:

When Did the GOP Lose Touch With Reality? — Some of my Republican friends ask if I've gone crazy. I say: Look in the mirror. — It's a very strange experience to have your friends think you've gone crazy. Some will tell you so. Others will indulgently humor you. Still others will avoid you.

Discussion: Business Insider and Booman Tribune

New York Times:

Jose Pimentel Is Charged in N.Y.C. Bomb Plot — A Manhattan man who became fascinated by the American-born Muslim militant Anwar al-Awlaki was arrested on charges of plotting to build and detonate bombs in New York, city officials announced on Sunday night.

Discussion: YID With LID, Los Angeles Times, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Jihad Watch, Gawker and Blogs of War

Joseph Goldstein / City Room:
Man Arrested and Charged in Bomb Plot

Discussion: Capital New York, CNN, Right Wing News, Jihad Watch, National Review, Gates of Vienna, TalkLeft, Jammie Wearing Fools, Business Insider, New York Post, Atlas Shrugs and Fausta's Blog

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Boring Cruel Romantics — There's a word I keep hearing lately: “technocrat.” Sometimes it's used as a term of scorn — the creators of the euro, we're told, were technocrats who failed to take human and cultural factors into account. Sometimes it's a term of praise …

Discussion: Prairie Weather