memeorandum: President Obama defends Susan Rice against criticism from John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte (Ed O'Keefe/2chambers)

10:00 PM ET, November 14, 2012

Top Items:

Ashley Parker / The Caucus:

Romney Blames Loss on Obama's ‘Gifts’ to Minorities and Young Voters — A week after losing the presidential election to President Obama, Mitt Romney blamed his overwhelming electoral loss on what he said were big “gifts” that the president had bestowed on loyal Democratic constituencies …

Discussion: CNN, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', American Prospect, msnbc.com, AMERICAblog, Addicting Info, Outside the Beltway, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, New York Times, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mad Kane's Political Madness, Eschaton and Daily Kos

Maeve Reston / Los Angeles Times:

Romney reflects on his loss in call with campaign donors — The stage from Mitt Romney's election gathering at the Boston Convention Center, left standing overnight following his electoral defeat. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times / November 7, 2012) — Mitt Romney told his top donors Wednesday …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs, ABCNEWS, The Hill, msnbc.com, The Daily Banter, Guardian, New York Magazine, Mediaite, Gawker and The Hinterland Gazette

Andrew Kohut / Wall Street Journal:

Misreading Election 2012 — The GOP might be out of step with some voters, but Mitt Romney was an unusually unpopular party standard-bearer. — Postelection talk of “lessons learned” is often exaggerated and misleading, and so it is in 2012. — A week after President Obama won re-election, two themes are dominant.

Discussion: Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Moderate Voice, Betsy's Page, JustOneMinute, Washington Wire, American Power and Washington Examiner

New York Times:

Frederick Humphries, F.B.I. Agent in Petraeus Case — By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT, SCOTT SHANE and ALAIN DELAQUÉRIÈRE — DOVER, Fla. — The F.B.I. agent who helped start the investigation that led to the resignation of David H. Petraeus as C.I.A. director is a “hard-charging” …

Discussion: Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Guardian, Wonkette, Wired, Reuters, Mediaite, TIME, Gawker, Hot Air, New York Magazine, Business Insider, emptywheel and The PJ Tatler

Luis Martinez / ABCNEWS:

Jill Kelley Loses VIP Privileges at Military Base — Jill Kelley, the Tampa socialite at the center of the Petraeus scandal, has lost the privilege of visiting MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa without an escort. The base is home to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and U.S. Special Operations Command …

Discussion: Business Insider, emptywheel and New York Magazine

CBS News:
Sources: Paula Broadwell warned Gen. Allen against “seductress” Jill Kelley

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, Mediaite, Washington Free Beacon, The Other McCain, americanthinker.com and Wall Street Journal

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

Obama: Attacks on Susan Rice ‘outrageous’ — President Barack Obama offered a fiery defense Wednesday of his administration's handling of the attack on Americans in Benghazi, calling R epublicans' critiques of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice “outrageous.”

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, New York Times, Taylor Marsh and The Moderate Voice

Talking Points Memo:
Obama Defends Susan Rice Against ‘Outrageous’ McCain, Graham Attack

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Atlantic Online, The Daily Banter and Shakesville

David Weigel / Slate:
John McCain's Long War Against Susan Rice

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Washington Examiner, FP Passport, Daily Kos and Politico

David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:
Sen. Graham Responds To Obama: I Hold You ‘Ultimately Responsible’ For Benghazi

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community and Mediaite

Ed O'Keefe / 2chambers:
President Obama defends Susan Rice against criticism from John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte

Discussion: Politico, BuzzFeed, Hot Air, The Fix, Mother Jones, Crooks and Liars, Gawker and Election 2012

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Obama: I Made Susan Rice Talk to the American People About Benghazi

Discussion: RealClearPolitics Video Log, BuzzFeed, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and Michelle Malkin

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
Obama defends UN Amb. Rice, invites critics to ‘go after me’

Discussion: Politico and Taegan Goddard's …

Sophie Quinton / NationalJournal.com:
McCain, Graham Promise to Oppose Susan Rice for State

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Daily Caller, LifeNews.com, New York Magazine, The Fix and Outside the Beltway

Fox News:

Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees — Former CIA Director David Petraeus has agreed to testify about the Libya terror attack before the House and Senate intelligence committees, Fox News has learned. — Petraeus had originally been scheduled to testify …

Politico:
Hard questions await Obama at news conference

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Wire, msnbc.com, NewsBusters.org, The PJ Tatler, CNN, Taylor Marsh, National Review, First Read, Jammie Wearing Fools, Althouse, Hot Air and Instapundit

Paul Wolfowitz / AEIdeas: Forget the gossip: Focus on Benghazi

Laura Clawson / Daily Kos:

Nancy Pelosi swats down Luke Russert's ‘offensive’ question with a lesson on earning your job — You have to hand it to Nancy Pelosi. When emblem of establishment media nepotism Luke Russert asked if she shouldn't clear the way for younger leadership, being all old and stuff …

Discussion: US News, Crooks and Liars, DownWithTyranny! and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ed O'Keefe / 2chambers:
Nancy Pelosi staying put, criticizes Luke Russert for age question

Discussion: Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Fix, Hot Air and Business Insider

Tom Raum / Associated Press:
THE RESET: Pelosi Decision May Affect Budget Talks

Discussion: CNN

Reuters:

Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari killed by Israeli strike — LIVE BLOG: Israel strikes more than 20 targets in Gaza, killing Ahmed Jabari, who was behind the 2006 abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit; IDF says ready for ground operation in Gaza if necessary; Hamas …

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, IDF Blog, Weekly Standard, Weasel Zippers, WorldViews, The Daily Beast, The Long War Journal, The Agonist, Washington Free Beacon and The Gateway Pundit

Paul Owen / Guardian:
Hamas: killing of military chief by Israel has ‘opened gates of hell’ - live

Discussion: WorldViews, The Daily Beast, Hit & Run, Melanie Phillips, PRI's The World, The Daily Dish and Business Insider

Telegraph:
Hamas military chief killed in Gaza air strike

Discussion: Reuters, Atlas Shrugs, UrbanGrounds, iOwnTheWorld.com and The PJ Tatler

IDF Blog:
Live Updates: Operation Pillar of Defense on Terror Targets in Gaza

Discussion: Israel Matzav, Wired, The Atlantic Online, The Verge, NYT Bits, Daily Dot, Sense of Events, Gawker, Business Insider and The Jawa Report, more at Mediagazer »

Rebecca Berg / BuzzFeed:

GOP Lawmaker Nominates Newt Gingrich For Speaker — “You don't have to be a member of the body to be speaker,” Rep. Gohmert says. Hijinks in the closed-door leadership election. — Image by Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call / Getty Images — WASHINGTON — Texas conservative Rep. Louie Gohmert submitted …

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Texas rep. nominates Gingrich for Speaker — Former Speaker and failed presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was nominated for the position of Speaker on Wednesday by conservative Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-Texas). There was no second. — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) …

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite and The Right Scoop

Grace Mahan / The Hill:

Man asks McCain: Are you mad that you look like McCain? — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday recounted an interesting exchange he recently had with a man at an airport in Phoenix. — At the Washington Ideas Forum sponsored by The Atlantic, McCain said, “I was recently at Sky Harbor …

David Martosko / The Daily Caller:

White House ‘secede’ petitions reach 675,000 signatures, 50-state participation — Less than a week after a New Orleans suburbanite petitioned the White House to allow Louisiana to secede from the United States, petitions from seven states have collected enough signatures to trigger a promised review from the Obama administration.

Discussion: protein wisdom, ABCNEWS, TIME, petitions.whitehouse.gov, Vox Popoli, AMERICAblog, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Lonely Conservative, Washington Monthly and Business Insider

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The Confederacy of Takers — President Obama's opponents …

Discussion: Addicting Info, ABCNEWS, Examiner, Civil War Memory, Outside the Beltway, Pundit Press, Mad Kane's Political Madness, Prairie Weather and Hot Air

William J. Bennett / CNN:

Republicans lost the culture war — Editor's note: William J. Bennett, a CNN contributor, is the author of “The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood.” He was U.S. secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 and director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George H.W. Bush.

Discussion: Liberal Values, The Jawa Report and Shakesville

Pete Wells / New York Times:

Restaurant Review: Guy's American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square — GUY FIERI, have you eaten at your new restaurant in Times Square? Have you pulled up one of the 500 seats at Guy's American Kitchen & Bar and ordered a meal? Did you eat the food? Did it live up to your expectations?

Discussion: New Jersey Online, The Greenroom, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Poynter, Weekly Standard, The Public Editor's Journal, The Seattle Times, Gawker, TIME, Tucson Weekly, Gothamist and Mashable!, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Transcript of President Obama's Press Conference — The following is the complete transcript of President Obama's press conference on Wednesday in Washington. (Transcript courtesy of Federal News Service.) — PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Good afternoon, everybody. Please have a seat.

Discussion: News Desk, The Mahablog, Nice Deb, Daily Download, The Other McCain, Mother Jones, Associated Press and Off the Charts Blog

Washington Post:
President Obama's news conference in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 14, 2012 (Full Transcript)

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Week, Hit & Run, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and Election 2012

Sean Kinney / MiamiHerald.com:

Death of Key West man linked to Obama's reelection — A Key West man who told his partner that “if Barack gets re-elected, I'm not going to be around” was found dead on Nov. 8, with the words “F— Obama!” scrawled on his will and two empty prescription bottles nearby.

Discussion: NY Daily News, Crooks and Liars, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes', Mock, Paper, Scissors, Mediaite, Gawker, The Raw Story and New York Magazine

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Paul rips big government in farewell — Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) delivered a blistering farewell speech on the House floor Wednesday in which he ripped the drastic tilt of the U.S. toward expanded government, a devalued currency, persistent wars and the constant erosion of personal freedoms.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Macy's CEO Defends Trump Partnership — It's about customer choice and not politics, CEO Terry Lundgren tells petition organizer. “Trump's brand has become toxic and contemptible, it represents mean spirited bullying and chicanery,” Angelo Carusone replied.

Discussion: Guardian, Gothamist, CBS New York and BobCesca.com