memeorandum: Report: Obama to be in Hawaii as Nation Goes Over the Cliff (Keith Koffler/White House Dossier)

11:40 AM ET, November 29, 2012

Top Items:

Inside the talks: Fiscal framework emerges — Listen to top Democrats and Republicans talk on camera, and it sounds like they could not be further apart on a year-end tax-and-spending deal - a down payment on a $4 trillion grand bargain. — But behind the scenes, top officials …

Discussion: Reuters, CNN, Prairie Weather, Business Insider, The Fix, msnbc.com, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, ABCNEWS and Washington Post

Politico:

Inside the talks: Fiscal framework emerges — Officials familiar with the White House position say Obama plans zero flexibility on his insistence on a higher tax rate for top earners. He plans to take what one aide called a “trust but verify” position: He will insist on a higher rate in the year-end deal.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Dish

Washington Examiner:
Morning Examiner: We're going over the cliff

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wonkblog, THE WESTERN EXPERIENCE and Daily Kos

Wall Street Journal:
Obama Flexible on Top Tax Rates

Discussion: ABCNEWS, American Prospect and The Other McCain

Scott Shane / New York Times:

Big Issues Are Lost in Focus on Libya Talking Points — WASHINGTON — Three days after the lethal attack on the American Mission in Benghazi, Libya, Representative C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, asked intelligence agencies to write …

Discussion: the daily howler and Right Wing News

Wall Street Journal:

The Trouble With Susan Rice — The would-be secretary of state's record on Iran, Israel, human rights and more. — Several Republican senators continue to oppose the possible nomination of Susan Rice, currently the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to be secretary of state in President Obama's second term.

Discussion: Hot Air and Cognitive Dissidence

Sharyl Attkisson / CBS News:
Who changed the Benghazi talking points?

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Other McCain, National Review, Wizbang and New York Times

Politico:
Behind the Susan Rice meeting meltdown

Discussion: The Caucus, Connecting.the.Dots, White House Dossier, msnbc.com, First Read, WJLA-TV, Weasel Zippers, Roger Ailes, Taking Note, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Hill, CNN, ABCNEWS and The Hill

Washington Post:
Fight over Susan Rice holds political risks for White House

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, The Maddow Blog, Althouse, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine, The Caucus and Prairie Weather

Alex Seitz-Wald / Salon:
Rice vs. Rice: What changed for John McCain since 2004?

Discussion: 2chambers, the daily howler and msnbc.com

Erick Erickson / RedState:

The Incestuous Bleeding of the Republican Party — If money is the root of all evil, for the Republican Party evil is located on the fifth floor of 66 Canal Center Plaza, Alexandria, VA 22314. — Strip away the candidate and coalition and it is on the fifth floor of 66 Canal Center Plaza …

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette and americanthinker.com

J. David Goodman / New York Times:

Photo of Officer Giving Boots to Barefoot Man Warms Hearts Online — On a cold November night in Times Square, Officer Lawrence Deprimo was working a counterterrorism post when he encountered an older, barefooted homeless man. The officer disappeared for a moment, then returned with a new pair of boots …

Discussion: Newsday, The Week, Weasel Zippers, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Memphis Commercial Appeal, WJLA-TV, Telegraph, Gawker, Gothamist and New York Magazine

Joshua Green / Business Week:

The Science Behind Those Obama Campaign E-Mails — One fascination in a presidential race mostly bereft of intrigue was the strange, incessant, and weirdly overfamiliar e-mails that emanated from the Obama campaign. Anyone who shared an address with the campaign soon started receiving messages …

Discussion: The Week, Mediaite, Taegan Goddard's … and Washington Post

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:
Obama campaign: 'There's more to come'

Discussion: Booman Tribune and CNN

Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:

Drive to Unionize Fast-Food Workers Begins — After three years of working at the McDonald's restaurant on 51st Street and Broadway, Alterique Hall earns $8 an hour — and is yearning for something better. — So when he heard about an unusual campaign that aims to unionize dozens …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Weasel Zippers, Taylor Marsh, Washington Examiner and Jammie Wearing Fools

Sarah Jaffe / The Atlantic Online: McJobs Should Pay, Too: It's Time for Fast-Food Workers To Get Living Wages

Patrick Gavin / Politico:

Mitt Romney face tattoo man does an about-face — Critics of Mitt Romney accused him of being a flip-flopper. Now one of his die-hard supporters is guilty of the same charge. — Eric Hartsburg, the 30-year-old resident of Michigan City, Ind., inked the Romney/Ryan campaign's distinctive …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mediaite, Boston Globe, Gawker, First Read and The Raw Story

Brady Dennis / Washington Post:

Mortgage-interest deduction could be on the table in ‘fiscal cliff’ debate — Of all the deductions woven into the sprawling U.S. tax code, few have been more fiercely guarded than the enormous tax break that lets homeowners deduct the interest they pay on their mortgages.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and National Review

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Groups call on Obama to veto NDAA over potential Guantanamo restrictions — A coalition of advocacy groups sent a letter to President Barack Obama Tuesday urging him to veto the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act if it in any way restricts the executive branch's ability to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Catherine Herridge / Fox News:
Feinstein commissions report on housing Gitmo detainees in US, calls it viable option

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Fox News Insider and The Lonely Conservative

Renesys Events / Internet Events Bulletin:

77 networks out in Syria — 77 networks experienced an outage in Syria starting at 10:26 UTC on November 29. This represents 92% of the routed networks in the country. — 100% of the networks in this event reached the Internet through: Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (AS29386).

Discussion: Renesys Blog, The Atlantic Online, WorldViews, GigaOM, The Verge and AllThingsD

Keith Koffler / White House Dossier:

Report: Obama to be in Hawaii as Nation Goes Over the Cliff — President Obama is reportedly scheduled to be vacationing in Hawaii on January 2, the date billions in spending cuts - and untold consequences for the economy - will kick in if a deal is not reached on the “fiscal cliff.”

Discussion: Nice Deb, Weasel Zippers, americanthinker.com and The Daily Caller

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Top Romney strategist: Failure to reach out to women, Hispanics biggest mistake — Mitt Romney's top political strategist on Thursday said the campaign's failure to reach out to women and Hispanic voters was their biggest mistake. — In an interview on CBS's “This Morning,” …

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'

Wall Street Journal:

The Tea Party Goes to War — A left-right attempt to treat terror detainees like common criminals. — There's a lot to be said for the libertarian approach to government, but the realities of a dangerous world can make its more rigid adherents seem naïve.

Discussion: TheBlaze.com

Jeff Dunetz / “The Lid”:

Today The UN Will Make Arafat Proud and Steal Jewish Heritage — Yasser would be so proud! — Today the UN is expected to complete the journey it began in November 1974 when it invited a mass-murderer from Egypt to speak in its General Assembly. At the time Yasser Arafat said he brought …

Discussion: Hot Air

Keith Laing / The Hill:

Dems, Amtrak push back on GOP attacks on rail subsidies — Democrats and Amtrak officials pushed back Wednesday against House Republican efforts to eliminate federal subsidies for the national passenger rail service. — The venue for the rail funding fracas was a hearing of the House Transportation …

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Gary D. Robertson / Associated Press:

McIntyre keeps NC Congress seat after recount — RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre reclaimed his longtime southeastern North Carolina congressional seat on Wednesday night, earning a razor-thin victory over his Republican challenger after a machine recount produced hardly any change in the margin.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

CNN: Rouzer concedes House bid after recount in North Carolina race

Kerry McDermott / Daily Mail:

Girl, 15, ‘beheaded’ in Afghanistan after her family turned down marriage proposal — Two men have been arrested following the death of the teenage girl in Kunduz province, northern Afghanistan — Victim, named as ‘Gisa’, was beheaded by her cousin after she and her family turned …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Yousaf Butt / Web Edition:

DIY graphic design — The diagram leaked to the Associated Press this week is nothing more than either shoddy sources or shoddy science. In either case, the world can keep calm and carry on. — This week the Associated Press reported that unnamed officials “from a country critical …

Discussion: Guardian, americanthinker.com, The Agonist and Elder of Ziyon

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:

National Income and Product Accounts Gross Domestic Product, 3rd quarter 2012 (second estimate); Corporate Profits, 3rd quarter 2012 (preliminary estimate) — Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States …

Discussion: Wonkblog, BBC, Business Insider and Balloon Juice