memeorandum: Karzai tells Susan Rice of more demands for accord extending U.S. troop presence (Washington Post)

10:55 AM ET, November 26, 2013

Top Items:

Republicans mindlessly oppose Iran nuclear deal — Republicans are opposed to President Obama's deal with the Iranians — whatever it is. — A couple of minutes after 9 p.m. on Saturday, word crossed the news wires that negotiators in Geneva had reached an agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, DownWithTyranny! and Connecting.the.Dots

Bryan Bender / The Boston Globe:

John Kerry opened secret channel to Iran — Quiet diplomacy helped lead to deal on Tehran's nuclear program — WASHINGTON — It was early December 2011 and the US Senate was poised to hold a crucial vote on the nomination of Richard Cordray to head President Obama's controversial new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh and Taegan Goddard's …

Yossi Klein Halevi / The New Republic:

Israel's Freakout, Explained — New worries about whether Obama's presidency has made them less safe — There are only two credible obstacles to an Iranian bomb: economic sanctions and the possibility of an Israeli military strike. The deal signed with the Iranian regime threatens both.

Discussion: Postmodern Conservative

Matt Spetalnick / Reuters:
Analysis: Iran deal bears Obama's personal stamp

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

Alex Kane / Mondoweiss:
(Updated) Senator Chuck Schumer promises more Iran sanctions, vows to ‘defeat’ Arab world and Palestinians

Discussion: Firedoglake, Reuters, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The World's Greatest …, Talking Points Memo, The Dish, Wall Street Journal, MJ Rosenberg, Crooks and Liars, Balloon Juice, Real Clear Politics and JP Updates

Israel Hayom:
Poll: Israelis don't believe Iran will stop nuclear program

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Israel Matzav and JP Updates

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

CNN/ORC poll: Democrats lose 2014 edge following Obamacare uproar — Washington (CNN) - What a difference a month makes. — A new CNN/ORC International poll indicates a dramatic turnaround in the battle for control of Congress in next year's midterm elections.

Discussion: Quinnipiac News + Events, Reuters, Weekly Standard, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway, Scared Monkeys, Post Politics, Weasel Zippers, Heritage Action for America, Talking Points Memo and UrbanGrounds

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:

HealthCare.gov won't be perfect on Dec. 1, administration says — Administration officials said Monday that some visitors to ObamaCare's federal enrollment site would experience outages, slow response times or messages to try again later during the month of December.

Discussion: First Read, Pat Dollard, Connecting.the.Dots, Outside the Beltway, CNN and The Moderate Voice

Reuters:
All (good) Obamacare news is local

Discussion: ABC News, The Plum Line and Politico

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
No, the Failure of Obamacare Would Not Lead to Single-Payer

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly and The Reaction

Nancy Folbre / Economix:
The Single-Payer Alternative — Nancy Folbre is professor emerita …

Discussion: Corrente

Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:

Julian Assange unlikely to face U.S. charges over publishing classified documents — The Justice Department has all but concluded it will not bring charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for publishing classified documents because government lawyers said they could not do so without …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

Spies worry over “doomsday” cache stashed by ex-NSA contractor Snowden — (Reuters) - British and U.S. intelligence officials say they are worried about a “doomsday” cache of highly classified, heavily encrypted material they believe former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has stored on a data cloud.

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller and The Verge

Fredrick Kunkle / Washington Post:

Report: Deeds expresses anger at state agency that failed son, vows fight for change — Virginia state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, who is recuperating at home after his son stabbed him before taking his own life last week, blamed a local mental-health agency for the tragedy in an interview with a Bath County newspaper Monday.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Raw Story

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:
Creigh Deeds: ‘I am alive for a reason’

Discussion: CNN and NPR

Jose DelReal / Politico:

Charles Krauthammer: Worst since Munich — 'This is a sham from beginning to end. It's the worst deal since Munich,' he said. John Shinkle/POLITICO — Close — Charles Krauthammer says he believes President Barack Obama's deal with Iran is “the worst deal since Munich.”

Fox News:

Almost 80 million with employer health care plans could have coverage canceled, experts predict — Almost 80 million people with employer health plans could find their coverage canceled because they are not compliant with ObamaCare, several experts predicted.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon and The Gateway Pundit

Katrina Trinko / USA Today:

It's all ho-ho-ho til Obama hijacks your holiday: Column — Forget the turkey; stuff yourself with health care talk. — CONNECT — Loathe peaceful holidays? Detest the spirit of agreeableness and good will that tends to pervade during this time of year?

Discussion: The Federalist

Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:

Democrats Fear Obamacare Will Cost Them The Senate — One top Democratic pollster: “If there's nothing you want to fix, there's something wrong with you.” — Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., is one of the most vulnerable Democrats headed into the midterms. (Liz Lynch)

Discussion: The Plum Line and Hot Air

Jonathan Allen / Politico:
Obamacare deadline tests Dem patience

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and The Week

Washington Post:

Karzai tells Susan Rice of more demands for accord extending U.S. troop presence — KABUL — Efforts by the United States and Afghanistan to finalize a long-term security arrangement appeared on the brink of collapse Monday as Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a new set of demands …

Discussion: Foreign Policy, The Week, New York Times and Liberaland

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Praised by de Blasio, Dinkins Responds With an Arrow — To punctuate an impassioned pitch for his signature plan to raise taxes on the wealthy, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio went out of his way during a speech on Monday to praise a cherished political mentor and former boss watching from the audience.

Discussion: Capital New York and Politicker

Washington Post:

Among American workers, poll finds unprecedented anxiety about jobs, economy — Will Figg/For The Washington Post - John Stewart works at the Philadelphia International Airport escorting passengers in wheelchairs. The job pays $5.25 an hour, plus tips. “I'm glad I don't have a family,” Stewart said.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Hot Air

Globe and Mail:

Liberals cruise to victory in Toronto Centre — Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland cruised to victory in the Toronto Centre by-election Monday, handily defeating NDP candidate Linda McQuaig. — Ms. Freeland will immediately enter the House of Commons with an important role in Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's caucus.

Discussion: Politico and Poynter

Carrie Dann / NBCNews:

‘Do-nothing’ Congress on track for one of the least productive years ever — It's not quite a “do nothing” Congress - but it's not far off. — With only a handful of remaining legislative days on their calendar, this current Congress is on track to go down as one of the most unproductive in modern history.

Discussion: NationalJournal.com and Shakesville

The White House:

Remarks by the President on Immigration Reform — San Francisco, CA — THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! (Applause.) Well, hello, San Francisco! (Applause.) It is great to be back in California. It is great to be with all of you. I love San Francisco. (Applause.) You got great food.

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Weasel Zippers, White House.gov Blog, Pat Dollard and PoliticusUSA

Mark Landler / New York Times:
Obama Signals a Shift From Military Might to Diplomacy

Discussion: Mediaite, Washington Post, Reuters, Prairie Weather, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Mondoweiss, Wonkblog and Democracy in America

New York Times:

End the N.S.A. Dragnet, Now — WASHINGTON — THE framers of the Constitution declared that government officials had no power to seize the records of individual Americans without evidence of wrongdoing, and they embedded this principle in the Fourth Amendment.

Anna Palmer / Politico:

Tea party unscathed in early GOP civil war — The Republican civil war erupted into full view this fall, and the establishment looked like it was about to shove the movement back in line. — But the early skirmishes ended with the tea party no weaker than it was.