memeorandum: In ‘cliff’ talks, Obama on brink of disaster (Marc A. Thiessen/Washington Post)

9:45 AM ET, December 4, 2012

Top Items:

Josh Barro / Bloomberg:

What's Wrong With the Republican Fiscal Cliff Counteroffer — Here are three big problems with the letter they sent to the White House: — 1. It's not really a proposal — it's just a set of headline numbers without specific policies. The letter says Republicans want to cut $900 billion …

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Business Insider and Wonkblog

Jessica Yellin / CNN:

White House won't counter Boehner's fiscal proposal — Washington (CNN) - Don't expect negotiations for a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff” to heat up this week. — Senior administration officials said the offer House Speaker John Boehner submitted to the White House on Monday wasn't serious enough …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Hill, ABCNEWS, Politico, The Week, Weasel Zippers and Business Insider

Russell Berman / The Hill:

House GOP makes a $2.2 trillion debt counteroffer to Obama on cliff — House Republican leaders have made a counteroffer to President Obama in the fiscal cliff negotiations, proposing to cut $2.2 trillion with a combination of spending cuts, entitlement reforms and $800 billion in new tax revenue.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Politico, CNN, First Read, Red Alert Politics, Michelle Malkin, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Examiner, “The Lid”, The Other McCain, AEIdeas, Vodkapundit and Hot Air

Bloomberg:

Republicans Counter Obama Plan With Entitlement Cuts — U.S. House Speaker John Boehner proposed $2.2 trillion of spending cuts and new revenue that lack what President Barack Obama calls essential for a fiscal agreement: higher tax rates for top-earning Americans.

Discussion: The Agonist

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Republicans Make Counteroffer in Fiscal Talks — WASHINGTON — Republican Congressional leaders on Monday countered President Obama's deficit reduction proposal with a plan of their own that is far heavier on spending cuts but embraces $800 billion in new taxes over the next 10 years.

Discussion: The New Republic, Vox Verax, Washington Free Beacon, Power Line, Democracy in America and The Caucus

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

Boehner tries to call a mulligan — House Speaker John Boehner is trying to call a mulligan. — In 2011, not long after an election in which Democrats were utterly routed, Erskine Bowles testified before the debt supercommittee. “I tried to think...if it was possible …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Palin regrets calling GOP lawmakers ‘wusses’ on deficit talks

Discussion: Politico

David Brooks / New York Times:
The Truly Grand Bargain

Discussion: Mother Jones

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
Republican Doomsday Plan: Cave on Taxes, Vote ‘Present’

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:
In ‘cliff’ talks, Obama on brink of disaster

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Wake up America and Vodkapundit

Susan Davis / USA Today:
GOP's $4.6T ‘fiscal cliff’ counterproposal rebuffed

Discussion: Politico, NationalJournal.com, The Week, ABCNEWS and Hot Air

Daniel Gross / The Daily Beast:
On the Fiscal Cliff, Republicans Got Nothin'

Discussion: The Daily Dish, National Review, Booman Tribune, Washington Post, The Hill and CNN

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Boehner, House GOP leaders offer ‘fiscal cliff’ counterproposal

Discussion: Post Politics, msnbc.com, Wonkblog, The Hill, Nice Deb, Jared Bernstein, Prairie Weather, Townhall.com, First Read, White House Dossier, National Review and Politico

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Do Democrats actually want to go over the fiscal cliff?

Discussion: Washington Post, Business Insider, The Hill, msnbc.com, Baltimore Sun, Hot Air, Wake up America and Taegan Goddard's …

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Leaders May Be Pondering Surrender On Taxes

Discussion: Library Grape

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Boehner Counter Offer To Obama Includes Higher Medicare Age, Social Security Benefit Cut

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog and Wonkblog

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Obama Rejects Boehner Fiscal Cliff Plan

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Weekly Standard and Weasel Zippers

David Corn / Mother Jones:
John Boehner's Hostage Crisis

Discussion: Power Line, The Week, Hullabaloo, Shakesville, Daily Kos and Washington Post

Lisa Mascaro / Los Angeles Times:
Boehner makes counteroffer on ‘fiscal cliff’

Discussion: The Agonist and Hullabaloo

Manu Raju / Politico:

Ashley Judd exploring Senate run — Ashley Judd vs. Mitch McConnell? — It might not be as far-fetched as you think. — The Hollywood movie star and eighth-generation Kentuckian is seriously exploring a 2014 run for the Senate to take on the powerful Republican leader, four people familiar with the matter tell POLITICO.

Discussion: Post Politics, The Week, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and Taegan Goddard's …

Mother Jones:

Exclusive: Dick Armey Quits Tea Party Group in Split Over Direction — In a move not publicly announced, former Rep. Dick Armey, the folksy conservative leader, has resigned as chairman of FreedomWorks, one of the main political outfits of the conservative movement and an instrumental force within the tea party.

Discussion: Ballot Box, CNN, Politico, Post Politics, New York Magazine, The Raw Story and Connecting.the.Dots

Bob Woodward / Washington Post:

Fox News chief's failed attempt to enlist Petraeus as presidential candidate — Roger Ailes, the longtime Republican media guru, founder of Fox News and its current chairman, had some advice last year for then-Gen. David H. Petraeus. — So in spring 2011, Ailes asked a Fox News analyst headed …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine, Informed Comment, Gawker, Washington Examiner, Politico and FP Passport, more at Mediagazer »

Alexthechick / doubleplusundead:

An open letter to Bob Costas and Jason Whitlock — Gentlemen: I see that you have chosen to use the horrific crime of the murder of Kasandra Perkins to express your belief that guns are the problem, not the men who wield them. I am utterly certain that you believe that you have the moral high ground on this matter.

Discussion: USA Today, Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller and small dead animals

Ben Shapiro / BREITBART.COM:
CNN BLAMES CULTURE OF ‘MANLINESS’ FOR BELCHER MURDER/SUICIDE

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Ed Driscoll, Red Alert Politics and This Just In

Kevin Cirilli / Politico:
Rush Limbaugh: Bob Costas ‘cop out’

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, ThinkProgress and Examiner

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:

Bloomberg Asked Clinton to Consider Succeeding Him as Mayor — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has long struggled to imagine a successor with the combination of star power, experience and grit to fill his shoes. — But not long ago, he was struck by an inspiration: Hillary Rodham Clinton, the retiring secretary of state.

Discussion: The Hill, Politicker, Capital New York, Capital Tonight, Runnin' Scared, Washington Post, Daily Mail, New York Magazine, CBS New York, Weasel Zippers, msnbc.com, TMZ.com and Post Politics

Hans Nichols / Bloomberg:

Obama Said to Consider Vogue Editor Wintour for U.K. Embassy — President Barack Obama is considering nominating Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, to be either his next ambassador to the U.K. or France, as he looks to reward his biggest fundraisers with embassies that never seem out of fashion …

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite, Daily Mail, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, New York Magazine and Taegan Goddard's …, more at Mediagazer »

Fars News Agency:

Iran Hunts US ScanEagle Drone over Persian Gulf — TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi announced that his forces hunted a US Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) over the Persian Gulf after the drone violated the country's airspace.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, emptywheel and Weasel Zippers

Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:

Corporate Profits Hit Record High While Worker Wages Hit Record Low — A constant conservative charge against President Obama is that he is inherently anti-business. However, businesses keep defying the storyline by making larger and larger profits, rebounding nicely out of the Great Recession.

Chris Isidore / CNNMoney.com:
Corporate profits hit record as wages get squeezed

Discussion: Daily Kos

Mike Levine / Fox News:

Holder chief of staff targeted by Republicans in ‘Furious’ scandal to leave post — In one of the first high-level departures from the Justice Department since President Obama was elected to a second term, Attorney General Eric Holder's chief of staff — a political target …

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

Financial Times:

Notes from the EU … Welcome. If you have yet to register on FT.com you will be asked to do so before you begin to read FT blogs. However, our posts remain free. — This blog covers everything from the European Union's foreign and economic policies to the fortunes of its political leaders …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and WorldViews

momentoftruthproject.org:

BOWLES STATEMENT ON SPEAKER BOEHNER'S LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT — While I'm flattered the Speaker would call something “the Bowles plan,” the approach outlined in the letter Speaker Boehner sent to the President does not represent the Simpson-Bowles plan, nor is it the Bowles plan.

Discussion: Hit & Run, msnbc.com, Mother Jones and Speaker.gov