memeorandum: Hank Paulson's inside jobs (Felix Salmon)

4:00 PM ET, November 29, 2011

Top Items:

BREAKING: Cain ‘Reassessing’ Candidacy — In a conference call this morning, Herman Cain told his senior staff that he is “reassessing” whether to remain in the race. He will make his final decision “over the next several days.” — UPDATE: National Review was on the call. It lasted five minutes.

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Report: Cain “reassessing” whether to stay in race — Herman Cain told members of his staff that he is “reassessing” his decision to remain in the race for the Republican presidential nomination following new allegations that he conducted a 13-year-long affair with an Atlanta businesswoman.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and CNN

Michael Levenson / Boston Globe:
Jon Huntsman: Herman Cain should consider dropping out over latest sexual allegation

Discussion: CNN, The Hill and Los Angeles Times

Susan Saulny / New York Times:
Cain Accused of Affair by Ginger White

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Hotline On Call, The Other McCain, Feministe, Iowa Caucuses, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, Wonkette, CNN and The Reaction, more at Mediagazer »

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Herman Cain reassessing presidential candidacy

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Gawker, American Spectator, Jack & Jill Politics, Indecision Forever, The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay, ThinkProgress, americanthinker.com, The Moderate Voice and Althouse

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Cain Reassessing Candidacy Amid New Allegations

Discussion: TalkLeft, Campaign 2012, The New Republic, Truthdig, Pat Dollard, True Blue Liberal, americanthinker.com and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Jason Noble / Iowa Caucuses:
Michele Bachmann offers take on Herman Cain controversy in Iowa radio interview

Discussion: Ballot Box, Mediaite, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

ABCNEWS:
Herman Cain Reassessing Campaign

Discussion: Daily Kos and Patterico's Pontifications

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Herman Cain abandoned by conservatives

Discussion: Daily Kos, ABCNEWS and CNN

Richard Teitelbaum / Bloomberg:

How Paulson Gave Hedge Funds Advance Word — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson stepped off the elevator into the Third Avenue offices of hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management LP in Manhattan. It was July 21, 2008, and market fears were mounting. Four months earlier …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway, Mish's Global Economic …, ThinkProgress, Money & Company, New York Magazine, Ben Smith's Blog, Business Insider, Gawker, Truthdig, The Future of Capitalism, EconomicPolicyJournal.com and Prairie Weather

Felix Salmon:

Hank Paulson's inside jobs — What on earth did Hank Paulson think his job was in the summer of 2008? As far as most of us were concerned, he was secretary of the US Treasury, answerable to the US people and to the president. But at the same time, in secret meetings …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Big Government

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney's Fading Popularity — You want to know the biggest reason Mitt Romney hasn't surged at any point in the Republican Presidential race this year? It's because the more GOP primary voters across the country have been exposed to him, the less they've liked him.

Discussion: GOP 12, DownWithTyranny!, The Daily Dish and Taylor Marsh

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Gingrich still rising — Last night we went into the field in Florida and Montana- we'll have the results of those polls out tomorrow after another night of calls but the early indications are that Newt Gingrich will have a double digit lead in both states- he has not peaked yet and is still on an upward curve.

Discussion: The American Prospect, The Caucus, The Politico, ABCNEWS, Iowa Caucuses, weaskamerica.com, Weasel Zippers, Ballot Box, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Daily Kos and The Hill

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:

Newt Gingrich: 'I Call On The President To Repudiate The Concept Of The 99 And The 1′ — 2012 GOP presidential contender Newt Gingrich today, during an event in South Carolina, said that he repudiates the very idea behind the Occupy Wall Street movement — that the economy should work for everyone …

Discussion: Roll Call, Towleroad News #gay and Right Wing Watch

Walter C. Jones / The Augusta Chronicle:
Gingrich takes lead in SC poll

Discussion: Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Ballot Box, GOP 12 and National Review

BBC:

Iran protesters storm UK embassy in Tehran — Militant students are said to have removed the British flag, burnt it and replaced it with Iran's flag. State TV showed youths smashing embassy windows. — The move comes after Iran resolved to reduce ties following the UK's decision to impose further sanctions on it.

Discussion: American Spectator, Guardian, Blogs of War, The Heritage Foundation, CANNONFIRE, DownWithTyranny!, World Now, Via Meadia, UN Dispatch, The Daily Dish, Israel Matzav, Truthdig, Bob Owens and The Agonist

Robin Pomeroy / Reuters:
Iranian protesters storm British embassy

Discussion: Wizbang, Pat Dollard and Gates of Vienna

New York Times:
Protesters Storm British Embassy in Tehran

Discussion: Tablet Magazine, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, Elder of Ziyon, New York Magazine, Balloon Juice, The Muqata, Israel Matzav, Reuters and The Moderate Voice

Rick Gladstone / New York Times:
Iran Moves to Downgrade Its Relations with Britain

Discussion: Alarabiya.net English, Guardian, The Lede, The Atlantic Online, Daled Amos, Sky Dancing and Weasel Zippers

Josh Lederman / The Hill:

Retirements hit Dem aspirations for a House takeover in 2012 — Rep. Barney Frank's (D-Mass.) announcement Monday that he won't seek reelection — coming on the heels of Rep. Charles Gonzalez's (D-Texas) weekend announcement to the same effect — threw another stumbling block in the way of Democrats …

Discussion: CNN, Moe Lane, The Politico and HotAirPundit

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Hoyer: Dems can retake House after retirements of Frank, other Dems

Discussion: The Politico

Karl Rove / Fox News:
Congress Will Be a Better Place When Barney Frank Is Gone

Discussion: americanthinker.com

David Firestone / The Loyal Opposition:
Barney Frank, Moderate

Discussion: Campaign 2012, OpenSecrets.org, NewsBusters.org blogs, Political Mojo, New York Times and Washington Post

Investor's Business Daily:
Loved by media, Barney Frank Helped Cause Financial Crisis

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

Mj Lee / The Politico:

Chris Christie: President Obama's just a ‘bystander’ — Gov. Chris Christie on Monday tore into President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the supercommittee's failure to reach an agreement on debt reduction last week, asking the president, “What the hell are we paying you for?”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Weasel Zippers, Right Wing News, National Review and Business Insider

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Christie rips Obama over deficit talks: ‘What the hell are we paying you for?’ — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ripped President Obama for the failure of the debt supercommittee calling the president “a bystander in the Oval Office” in comments Monday. — “I was angry this weekend …

Discussion: Bob Owens, The Gateway Pundit, Shakesville and americanthinker.com

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Ann Coulter bleeped on ‘Morning Joe’ — Ann Coulter was bleeped on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” show on Monday but the censoring didn't work and the conservative pundit could be heard using some words not fit for TV. — Coulter appeared to make the comments when talking about deceased Democratic …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, PopWatch, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, Booman Tribune, The Raw Story, TVNewser, nation.foxnews.com, Gawker and Business Insider

Paul Bedard / US News:

Obama's Job Approval Drops Below Carter's — President Obama's slow ride down Gallup's daily presidential job approval index has finally passed below Jimmy Carter, earning Obama the worst job approval rating of any president at this stage of his term in modern political history.

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Obama Approval Remains at 43% Through Thanksgiving Week

Discussion: Firedoglake, No More Mister Nice Blog, Weasel Zippers, LifeNews.com, The Hill, HotAirPundit and Campaign 2012

Nicholas Ballasy / The Daily Caller:

Exclusive: Obama in 2006: I ‘stole’ book title ‘Audacity of Hope’ from Rev. Wright, ‘my pastor’ [VIDEO] — Video obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller shows Illinois Senator Barack Obama, then campaigning for Democrats before the 2006 midterm elections, praising Reverend Jeremiah Wright …

Hoover Institution:

Curing the Unemployment Blues — by Richard A. Epstein (Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow and member of the Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force) — Deregulation is our last, best hope. — One of the enduring faiths of modern progressive thought is that omniscient policy makers …

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed, TBogg and Whiskey Fire

Josiah Ryan / The Hill:

Sens. Paul, McCain clash over terrorist detainee amendment — Republican Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and John McCain (Ariz.) battled on the Senate floor Tuesday over a proposed amendment to the pending defense authorization bill that could allow American citizens who are suspected of terrorism to be denied a civilian trial.

Discussion: Global Guerrillas and EconomicPolicyJournal.com

BBC:

Norway massacre: Breivik declared insane — Norwegian prosecutor Svein Holden: “The observed person was psychotic at the time the offences were committed” — Psychiatrists assessing self-confessed Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik have concluded that he is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog and New York Magazine

DealBook:

American Airlines Parent Files for Bankruptcy — The parent company of American Airlines said on Tuesday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection, in an effort to reduce labor costs and shed its heavy debt load. — American's parent, the AMR Corporation, was the last major airline …

Discussion: USA Today, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Gothamist, The New Republic and The Glittering Eye

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook Blog:

Our Commitment to the Facebook Community — I founded Facebook on the idea that people want to share and connect with people in their lives, but to do this everyone needs complete control over who they share with at all times. — This idea has been the core of Facebook since day one.