memeorandum: Rand Paul: ‘I Am Not an Isolationist’ (Sen. Rand Paul/TIME)

2:25 PM ET, September 4, 2014

Top Items:

Sen. Rand Paul / TIME:

Rand Paul: ‘I Am Not an Isolationist’ — If I had been in President Obama's shoes, I would have acted more decisively and strongly against ISIS — Some pundits are surprised that I support destroying the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) militarily. They shouldn't be.

Discussion: Politico, Hit & Run, National Review, Business Insider, msnbc.com, RedState, Fox News Insider and Washington Post

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Warren: Destroying ISIS should be ‘No. 1 priority’ — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Wednesday said that the Obama administration should make defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) its top priority. — “ISIS is growing in strength. It has money, it has organization, it has the capacity to inflict real damage.

Discussion: National Review, The Intercept, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, The Anchoress and Althouse

Rich Lowry / Politico:

The Collapse of Obama's Foreign Policy — What this means, he hasn't spelled out in great specificity. Presumably fewer beheadings. A slower pace of Western recruiting. Fewer genocidal threats against embattled minorities. A downgrading of the caliphate to a mini-state, or merely a large swath of territory in Syria and Iraq.

Discussion: Israel Matzav

Andrew Romano / Yahoo! News:
Sen. Warren Criticizes Washington-Wall Street ‘Revolving Door’

Discussion: naked capitalism, The Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Washington Post:
There are big holes in Obama Mideast strategy

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs, The PJ Tatler, Bloomberg View and RedState

David E. Sanger / New York Times:
The Three-Headed Monster Challenging Obama's Foreign Policy

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:

Legal questions complicate Dem's exit from Kansas Senate race — Despite filing papers with the Kansas secretary of State withdrawing from the Senate race late Wednesday, Democrat Chad Taylor may be stuck on the ballot this fall. — Two election law statutes have raised questions …

Discussion: Hot Air, Election Law Blog, Daily Kos, Washington Post, RedState and Wall Street Journal

Nathan L. Gonzales / The Rothenberg Political Report:
Pat Roberts is the Most Vulnerable Republican Senator in the Country

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Wichita Eagle

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
The Senate Race In Kansas Just Got Crazy

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg View, Business Insider, National Review, Booman Tribune and Kansas First News

Sam Wang / New Yorker:
Democrat Drops Out of the Kansas Senate Race, Clearing the Way for an Independent

Discussion: The Dish, Washington Post and NBC News

Bryan Lowryeagle Topeka / Wichita Eagle:
Democrat Chad Taylor drops out of U.S. Senate race against Pat Roberts, Greg Orman

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, No More Mister Nice Blog, Roll Call, The Week, Outside the Beltway, CANNONFIRE, Fox News, OnPolitics and The Daily Caller

Manu Raju / Politico:
Dem's withdrawal poses threat to Roberts

Discussion: Washington Post, Capitol Report and The Moderate Voice

Kansas City Star:
Democrat Chad Taylor's exit shakes up U.S. Senate race in Kansas

Discussion: The Hill, Power Line, FiveThirtyEight and Weekly Standard

Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Midterm Calculus: Senate Control May Turn on Who's More Unloved, Obama or G.O.P.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Dish and Washington Post

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Federal Appeals Court Withdraws Decision Defunding Obamacare — In July, two Republican judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down a decision defunding much of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This effort to implement Sen. Ted Cruz's …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, Guardian, his vorpal sword, Hot Air, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Hit & Run

ABC News:
Court Grants Obama Plea to Re-Hear Health Case

Discussion: Politico and The Hill

Michael Hirsh / Politico:

Has Greenwald, Inc. peaked? — Thanks to Ed Snowden, Glenn Greenwald went from blogging to the big time. But his stock may be dropping fast. — For about a year, the global enterprise you might call Glenn Greenwald, Inc. has been taking off like a red-hot app.

Discussion: Firedoglake and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

Delaware Guv ‘Inadvertently’ Tweeted Photo Of Woman In Bondage Gear — Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D) tweeted Thursday that his staff was “looking into” how an “inappropriate” photo of a woman in bondage gear was sent out from his Twitter account. — The tweet, which promoted …

Discussion: The Raw Story and Mediaite

Jonathan Alter / The Daily Beast:

This Really Is Obama's Moment of Truth — In a presidency of many ‘critical junctures,’ this time his foreign policy legacy is truly on the line—and if he can lead now on ISIS and Putin, we'll soon forget his recent history. — We read so many stories about this “critical juncture” …

Michael Scherer / TIME:
Obama Offers Muddled Message to Europe in Face of Crises

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Week, The Dish and New York Times

WEWS-TV:

Bath Twp. Police: Former Navy SEAL Chris Heben lied about getting shot at West Market Plaza — BATH TWP., Ohio - Bath Township detectives believe they have “overwhelming evidence” to prove a former Navy SEAL lied when he claimed he was shot during an altercation with three black men outside of a popular shopping center.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Heavy.com, Liberaland and The Raw Story

Rick Hasen / Election Law Blog:

Breaking News and Analysis: Federal Court Grants Injunction Restoring Early Voting in Ohio — I have now had a chance to give an initial read the 71-page federal district court opinion in Ohio State Conference of the NAACP v. Husted. This is a significant case, which could potentially make it to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Associated Press and Washington Post

Erik Rush / WND:

OBAMA: THE HEAD OF THE ISIS SNAKE — Exclusive: Erik Rush calls BHO ‘a well-placed saboteur representing malignant interests’ — Erik Rush is a columnist and author of sociopolitical fare. His latest book is “Negrophilia: From Slave Block to Pedestal - America's Racial Obsession.”

Discussion: Right Wing Watch and The Raw Story

Nell Gluckman / Bangor Daily News:

LePage says cost of energy keeps wages low, drives business from Maine — ORONO, Maine — A week after L.L. Bean announced it will close its Bangor call center and on the same day that Verizon Wireless said it would add 90 customer service employees to its local facility …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Talking Points Memo

The Times:

We will not be cowed by barbaric killers — David Cameron and Barack Obama — As Russia holds a gun to Ukraine and Islamic extremists commit despicable murder, Nato must strengthen its alliance — When Nato last met in Britain in 1990 the Cold War was ending.

Discussion: Daily Mail, New York Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Fox News and Business Insider

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Huffington Post hires 9/11 truther to cover national security — The Huffington Post's Washington bureau has hired professional football player and 9/11 truther Donte Stallworth as a fellow, covering national security. — Stallworth, a wide receiver in the NFL since 2002 …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and JIMROMENESKO.COM

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Brit Hume: Obama told a friend of mine before he was elected, “Wouldn't it be great for the world if I were president?” — Saw this last night on Fox and had such a good laugh, I feel obliged to pass it along today. There's no way to prove he said it, but as Megyn Kelly's quick to show with archived audio …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and The Hill