memeorandum: Was an Accusation of Plagiarism Really a Political Attack? (Margaret Sullivan/New York Times)

3:25 PM ET, August 12, 2014

Top Items:

Exclusive: Obama Told Lawmakers Criticism of His Syria Policy is ‘Horsesh*t’ — Hillary Clinton and Congressmen alike have called on Obama to arm Syria's rebels. But the President fumed at lawmakers in a private meeting for suggesting he should've done more.

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg View:

When Obama Beat Hillary, We All Lost — For journalists, the dog days of August are the worst. Nothing happens because Congress and the rest of you are all on vacation. So now is the time for whatever quirky column has been niggling at the back of one's mind, waiting for a break in the news cycle.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, Instapundit and Washington Post

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

David Axelrod swipes at Hillary Clinton over Iraq — David Axelrod, the longtime top adviser to President Barack Obama, has taken to Twitter to slam Hillary Clinton in the wake of her comments rejecting the core of the Obama administration's self-described foreign policy principle.

Discussion: National Review

Jim Acosta / CNN:
After criticism of Obama policy, Hillary Clinton to party with President

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Politico

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Nothing Hillary Clinton is now saying about foreign policy matters

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, neo-neocon, The Dish and Bloomberg View

Joe Concha / Mediaite:
Concha: From ISIS to Health Care, Hillary's Media Allies Rewriting History

Discussion: Hot Air, Speaker.gov and Politico

Trymaine Lee / msnbc.com:

Eyewitness to Michael Brown shooting recounts his friend's death — FERGUSON, Missouri — The last moments of Michael Brown's life were filled with shock, fear and terror, says a witness who stood just feet away as a police officer shot and killed the unarmed teen.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, KCTV, Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, Daily Kos, The Daily Banter, Balloon Juice, NBC News, KMOV-TV, Gawker and CNN, more at Mediagazer »

Wesley Lowery / Washington Post:

Police use tear gas on crowd in Ferguson, Mo., protesting teen's death — FERGUSON, Mo. — For a third night, summer rage pitted the people of Ferguson against those sworn to protect them. — On Saturday, officers shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Daily Kos, Feministing, Gawker, Jezebel, New York Times and Hot Air

Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:
Black lawmakers want DOJ to investigate St. Louis police

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Last Refuge

A. O. Scott / New York Times:

Robin Williams, an Improvisational Genius, Forever Present in the Moment — Some years ago, at a party at the Cannes Film Festival, I was leaning against a rail watching a fireworks display when I heard a familiar voice behind me. Or rather, at least a dozen voices, punctuating …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Great Debate and BillMoyers.com

James Hamblin / The Atlantic Online:

Robin Williams Lived Intensely — Robin Williams is dead at 63. The comedian carried insecurity and self-doubt with contagious intensity. He was so grandiose and wild that it would've irritated audiences to their cores had his eyes not betrayed an insatiable melancholy, imploring, please, I just want to be liked.

Discussion: Guardian, CNN and The Daily Banter

Tina Nguyen / Mediaite:
Shepard Smith Clarifies and Apologizes for Robin Williams ‘Coward’ Remark

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Politico, ABC News, The Daily Banter, BuzzFeed, Mashable and The Raw Story

Dave Itzkoff / New York Times:
Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Comedian, Dies at 63 in Suspected Suicide

Discussion: The White House, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, Capital New York, White House.gov Blog, The Verge, TVNewser and Shakesville

Los Angeles Times:
Robin Williams dies in apparent suicide; actor, comic was 63

Discussion: Slate, PoliticusUSA, Taylor Marsh, CBS New York, WPRI-TV, The Democratic Daily, Hollywood Reporter, American Spectator, Outside the Beltway, Inside Movies and Daily Kos

TMZ.com:
Robin Williams Dead — Commits Suicide

Discussion: Fox News, Scared Monkeys, The Urban Daily, Western Journalism and Mashable

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

Was an Accusation of Plagiarism Really a Political Attack? — There aren't too many worse things you can suggest about an author than that his or her work is plagiarized. It's the book-world equivalent of spreading the word that a financial adviser has cooked the books or that the parish priest has designs on the altar boys.

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, Balloon Juice and The Dish

Dylan Byers / Politico:

David Gregory's flight to nowhere — David Gregory wasn't supposed to host “Meet The Press” on Sunday. He was on a planned vacation in Nantucket, where, the night before, he had hosted a special presentation of the Boston Pops, sponsored by Coastal Living and Real Simple.

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Talking Points Memo, Power Line, TVNewser, Hot Air and NY Daily News

New York Times:

Times Reporter Is Injured in Iraq Helicopter Crash — ERBIL, Iraq — A helicopter carrying aid from Iraq's Kurdish autonomous government to stranded Yazidi refugees in the Sinjar mountains of northern Iraq crashed on Tuesday, killing the pilot and injuring other passengers …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Politico, Gawker, Business Insider, Mashable, Poynter and Twitchy, more at Mediagazer »

Arthur Macmillan / Agence France-Presse:

Iran congratulates Iraq's PM pick, snubs Maliki AFP 1 hr ago — Tehran (AFP) - Iran officially ended its long-time allegiance to Iraq's sidelined Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday, swinging its support behind newly designated premier Haidar al-Abadi in a congratulatory message.

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Moderate Voice, Reuters, The PJ Tatler and Guardian

New York Times:
Iraq Needs a New Prime Minister

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Review, Foreign Policy, Institute for the Study of War and Outside the Beltway

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Koch-linked group cancels Michigan ads — A powerfully funded group backed by the conservative Koch brothers has canceled over a million dollars' worth of Michigan ads for the month of August, according to sources tracking the 2014 air war. — Freedom Partners, which had booked …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Dana Milbank: Obama vacations as the world burns — President Obama must really be teed off. — Hillary Rodham Clinton, his once-loyal secretary of state and his likeliest successor, has gone rogue, criticizing his foreign policy as too timid. — Dana Milbank writes about political theater in the nation's capital.

Discussion: Althouse

Anita Kumar / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Obama's standing among voters is hurting Democrats, poll finds — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is dragging down his party and hurting the prospects of fellow Democrats as they head into midterm elections that will determine who controls Congress, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and New York Magazine

Stuart Rothenberg / Rothenblog:

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Might Be Why Americans Hate Congress — The media's narrative about Congress is clear: It is unproductive, members care only about getting re-elected and they have failed to do their jobs. — So it should come as no surprise that Americans believe Congress has been unproductive …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Jelani Cobb / New York Times:

Can the G.O.P. Ever Attract Black Voters? — STORRS, Conn. — ON the morning of March 6, 1989, students began to gather at a flagpole on the campus of Howard University. Then they entered the administration building, chained doors shut, locked arms and announced that they would not leave until key demands were met.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Weekly Standard

Peter Wood / Minding The Campus:

Campus Activism: the Fight for Imaginary Victories — Campus activism is, by and large, the world of make-believe. Whenever students occupy a president's office, Tinkerbell is not far away. Whenever faculty demand a boycott, Professor Dumbledore winks at Professor Snape.

Discussion: National Review

Rick Manning / The Hill:

More lost emails — When will Democrats have enough? — Twenty different Obama administration officials have lost or destroyed a portion of their email traffic. Email traffic that was, in some cases, under subpoena or in others requested as part of a larger inquiry into the conduct of the executive branch.

Jonathan Topaz / Politico:

King, Roberts get testy over Iraq — Rep. Peter King on Tuesday got involved in a testy exchange with MSNBC host Thomas Roberts while calling for greater U.S. military involvement in Iraq. — The New York Republican criticized President Barack Obama for his handling of the situation …

Discussion: Mediaite