memeorandum: CNN Anchor Blasts Florida Governor For Ducking Gun Control, Demands Action Before ‘I Cover Another Tragedy’ (Igor Volsky/ThinkProgress)

1:20 PM ET, December 19, 2012

Top Items:

Michael Scherer / TIME:

2012 Person of the Year: Barack Obama, the President — Twenty-seven years after driving from New York City to Chicago in a $2,000 Honda Civic for a job that probably wouldn't amount to much, Barack Obama, in better shape but with grayer hair, stood in the presidential suite on the top floor …

Richard Stengel / TIME:

The Choice — In 1782 an expatriate French aristocrat named J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur who lived in New York's Hudson Valley published a book in London called Letters from an American Farmer. The third letter was titled “What Is an American?”

Discussion: Politico, Post Politics, msnbc.com, Gawker and Business Insider

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama is Time's ‘Person of the Year’

Discussion: JustOneMinute and americanthinker.com

Roger Kimball / Roger's Rules:

Robert H. Bork, 1927-2012 — Judge Robert H. Bork, one of the the greatest jurists this country has ever produced, died early this morning from heart complications in a Virginia hospital near his home. He was 84. — Bork was a national celebrity. Several years ago …

Discussion: The Week, Hot Air, Spectator, Freedom's Lighthouse, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, americanthinker.com and National Review

New York Sun:

Kagan on the Second — There have been so many irresponsible statements by those seeking to exploit the tragedy at Newtown, Connecticut, that it's hard to keep up with them, but for the combination of arrogance and inaccuracy one can't beat the editorial the New York Times ran out this week under …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Right Turn

Ethan Bronner / New York Times:

Robert H. Bork, Conservative Jurist, Dies at 85 — Robert H. Bork, a former solicitor general, federal judge and conservative legal theorist whose 1987 nomination to the United States Supreme Court was rejected by the Senate in a historic political battle whose impact is still being felt, died on Wednesday in Arlington, Va. He was 85.

Discussion: Althouse, Gawker, American Power and Lawyers, Guns & Money

David Savage / Los Angeles Times:

Robert Bork, failed Supreme Court nominee, dies at age 85 — Robert Bork, shown at 1987 hearings on his nomination to the Supreme Court, died Wednesday. (Charles Tasnadi / Associated Press) — Robert H. Bork, whose failed Supreme Court nomination in 1987 infuriated conservatives …

Discussion: protein wisdom

Washington Post:
Judge Robert H. Bork, conservative icon, dies at 85

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Verge and The Volokh Conspiracy

Steven Hayward / Power Line:
Robert Bork's Revenge?

Discussion: National Review and PointOfLaw Forum

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Judge Robert Bork dead at 85

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

New York Times:

Inquiry Into Libya Attack Is Sharply Critical of State Dept. — WASHINGTON — An independent inquiry into the attack on the United States diplomatic mission in Libya that killed four Americans on Sept. 11 sharply criticizes the State Department for a lack of seasoned security personnel …

Discussion: “The Lid”, CNN, New York Post, Politico, The Hinterland Gazette, First Read and The Daily Caller

Matthew Lee / bigstory.ap.org:
STATE DEPT SECURITY CHIEF RESIGNS AFTER BENGHAZI

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Hit & Run and Mediaite

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Rep. Cole: Report reveals White House ‘failed’ on Benghazi security

Discussion: CNN

Alexander Abad-Santos / The Atlantic Wire:
Conservatives Think Hillary Clinton Is Faking Her Concussion

Discussion: NewsMax.com, Taylor Marsh, PoliticusUSA, The Week, The Daily Caller, CNN, The Moderate Voice and The Camp Of The Saints

Fox News:
Report on Libya attack cites ‘systemic failures’ in security, confirms no protest

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Jawa Report, nation.foxnews.com, Fox News Insider and The Lonely Conservative

Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
BENGHAZI REVIEW SLAMS STATE DEPARTMENT ON SECURITY

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools, americanthinker.com and The Gateway Pundit

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:
Review of Benghazi attack faults ‘grossly’ inadequate security, leadership failures

Discussion: NPR, Post Politics, Power Line, Freedom Outpost and Reuters

Adolph L. Reed Jr / New York Times:

The Puzzle of Black Republicans — WHEN Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina announced on Monday that she would name Representative Tim Scott to the Senate, it seemed like another milestone for African-Americans. Mr. Scott will complete the term of Senator Jim DeMint, who is leaving to run Heritage Foundation.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Week, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Ashley Killough / CNN:
Tim Scott points to ‘moral decay’ after school shooting

Discussion: Politico

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
CNN Anchor Blasts Florida Governor For Ducking Gun Control, Demands Action Before ‘I Cover Another Tragedy’

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Raw Story and Mediaite

Manu Raju / Politico:

Orrin Hatch would vote against Boehner ‘Plan B’ — The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee said he'd vote against House Speaker John Boehner's back-up plan allowing tax rates on millionaires to increase, the latest sign of the uncertain road ahead for the year-end fiscal cliff.

Discussion: CNN and Post Politics

Associated Press:
Obama Social Security Offer at Odds With Top Dems

Discussion: CNN, Politico and Post Politics

Sam Baker / The Hill:
Boehner: Raising Medicare age can wait until next year

Discussion: CNN

Vicki Needham / The Hill: Democrats turn up pressure on extending long-term jobless aid

Kos / Daily Kos:
Capitulation is never popular. Or effective.

Discussion: Wonkblog, The Fix, The Agonist and Hullabaloo

Washington Post:

Chuck Hagel is not the right choice for defense secretary — FORMER SENATOR Chuck Hagel, whom President Obama is reportedly considering for defense secretary, is a Republican who would offer a veneer of bipartisanship to the national security team. He would not, however, move it toward the center …

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air, Politico, National Review, Betsy's Page, The Atlantic Online, “The Lid”, Moe Lane, Weekly Standard and Open Zion

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Neocons push against Chuck Hagel

Discussion: New York Times, “The Lid”, Weekly Standard, Exposing Liberal Lies, Mondoweiss, Booman Tribune, Right Turn, Foreign Policy, americanthinker.com, Slate, Washington Free Beacon, The New Republic and Politico

Ryan Ellis / Americans for Tax Reform RSS:

ATR Statement on “Plan B” Tax Plan — ATR's statement on the “Plan B” tax bill. — ATR has consistently maintained that individual Members of Congress make a pledge to their constituents to oppose and vote against tax increases. The House this week will vote on a tax bill.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Business Insider, Post Politics, National Review and Washington Examiner

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Quoting Rush Limbaugh Verbatim Is the Easiest Way to Discredit Him — His broadcasts since the Newtown shooting are an apt illustration of his self-contradiction and lack of intellectual integrity. — Reuters — There's been a lot of talk about the “national conversation” these last few days.

Discussion: The Spectacle Blog and Riehl World News

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:

Piers Morgan Calls Pro-Gun Advocate ‘Unbelievably Stupid,’ ‘Dangerous’: ‘You Shame Your Country’ — CNN's Piers Morgan has been on a rabid anti-gun rant since July's Aurora, Colorado, shootings that has gotten even more venomous after Friday's massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Discussion: Freedom Outpost, Gawker, Washington Examiner and Towleroad News #gay

NY Daily News:
Comfort dogs help ease pain of mourning Newtown community

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Tampa Bay Times:

Man shot at St. Pete pizza joint had been complaining about slow service — ST. PETERSBURG — Florida's controversial “stand your ground” law has been cited in hundreds of cases. People have used it to justify shooting, stabbing, killing and maiming would-be intruders, romantic competitors and rival gang members.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Booman Tribune and The Raw Story

Matt Ridley / Wall Street Journal:

Cooling Down the Fears of Climate Change — Evidence points to a further rise of just 1°C by 2100. The net effect on the planet may actually be beneficial. — Forget the Doha climate jamboree that ended earlier this month. The theological discussions in Qatar of the arcana of climate treaties are irrelevant.

Discussion: Power Line, Watts Up With That?, Hit & Run, The Glittering Eye and Althouse

Zachary Warmbrodt / Politico:

Treasury to exit GM bailout, likely at a loss — The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced plans to sell, almost certainly at a loss, the government's remaining shares of Detroit-based automaker General Motors in the latest in a recent string of moves by the administration …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner:

Court: Obama must rewrite contraception mandate to accommodate religious liberty … Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius cannot enforce the Obamacare contraception mandate as it is written, but must follow through on a promise to rewrite the rule to accommodate religious liberty, a federal appeals court ordered.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Questions and Observations