memeorandum: Propensity for Pessimism: The Battle Over Douglas Elmendorf — and the Inability to See Good News (David Leonhardt/New York Times)

8:35 AM ET, December 10, 2014

Top Items:

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Fox melts down after torture report: ‘The United States of America is awesome, we are awesome!’ — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Fox News analysts, hosts and reporters on Tuesday wasted no time in blasting Democrats after Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE, Taylor Marsh, Jezebel and rubber hose

Howard Dean / Politico:

I'm Ready for Hillary — Hillary Clinton is by far the most qualified person in the United States to serve as President. If she runs, I will support her. I have known Hillary for almost twenty-five years. We first met when I was the governor of Vermont and she was the First Lady …

Discussion: Washington Times

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:

WATCH Fox Host Lose It Over Senate Torture Report: ‘We Are Awesome!’ — After the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report on the torture techniques used by the CIA, the hosts of Fox News' “Outnumbered” lashed out at Senate Democrats' for publicizing CIA interrogation methods.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Banter, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo, Raw Story, New Yorker and Unfogged w/ Comments

Michael Hirsh / Politico:

Michael Hayden Is Not Sorry — The Senate report rakes Bush's former CIA director over the coals. He fires back in an exclusive interview. — Though the CIA's “enhanced interrogation” program long predated his takeover of the agency in 2006, former Director Michael Hayden has found himself …

Discussion: Newsmax, The Hill and Bloomberg View

Wall Street Journal:
CIA Interrogations Saved Lives

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Betsy's Page, The Federalist, National Review, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Washington Post, New York Times, NBC News, Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Twitchy, Washington Free Beacon and rubber hose

Andrew Sullivan / The Dish:
Darkness Visible: Live-Blogging The Torture Report

Discussion: New York Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Bloomberg Politics, Bloomberg View, Raw Story, Prairie Weather, The Moderate Voice, Hullabaloo, emptywheel and Washington Post

mccain.senate.gov:
FLOOR STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE REPORT ON CIA INTERROGATION METHODS

Discussion: Bloomberg View, New York Times, The Seattle Times and The Daily Caller

Adam Chandler / The Atlantic Online:
This Is How a Prisoner of War Feels About Torture

Discussion: United States Senator …, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg View, PoliticusUSA and Vox

The White House:
Statement by the President Report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Discussion: Washington Post, Guardian, Bloomberg View, New York Magazine, Hit & Run, New York Times and KTLA

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Remind Me Who It Is the CIA Works For?

Discussion: Telegraph, Booman Tribune, Balloon Juice and Hot Air

Scott Shane / New York Times:
Report Portrays a Broken C.I.A. Devoted to a Failed Approach

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Politico, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Samizdata and Guardian

ABC News:
Torture Report: Former CIA Directors Say Interrogation Program ‘Saved Thousands of Lives’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Wall Street Journal, Hit & Run, Yahoo! News and Hot Air

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Obama's long arc on torture

Discussion: ABC News, Little Green Footballs, Washington Post, First Draft, American Prospect, NBC News, TIME, ABC News, Washington Free Beacon and The Dish

New York Times:
7 Key Points From the C.I.A. Torture Report

Discussion: CNN, ImmigrationProf Blog, Outside the Beltway, National Review, Liberal Values, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Beast, Hinterland Gazette, ProPublica and Politico

Hilary Sargent / Boston Globe:

Harvard Business School Professor Goes to War Over $4 Worth of Chinese Food — Ben Edelman (left) and Ran Duan (right) — Ben Edelman is an associate professor at Harvard Business School, where he teaches in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets unit.

Discussion: Washington Times, Bloomberg View, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Power Line, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Guardian, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Gawker and National Review

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

What will Cruz do? — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) faces a tough decision on whether to follow through on his pledge to block any legislation he deemed nonessential in the lame-duck session. — With his colleagues scrambling to finish a $1 trillion government-funding measure and get out of town, Cruz is a wild card.

Discussion: Political Wire

Manu Raju / Politico:

Harry Reid's new mission: Blocking ‘crazy stuff’ — An interview with the Senate's incoming minority leader. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has had one of the hardest jobs in Washington for the past six years as he battled Republicans, struggled to keep his party in power and worked to advance President Barack Obama's agenda.

Discussion: Political Wire, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon and Daily Kos

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Deal reached on $1.01 trillion spending bill

Discussion: Hot Air, Power Line, PoliticusUSA and The Daily Caller

Burgess Everett / Politico: Harry Reid makes push for nominees

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:

How much did Gruber make? — ObamaCare consultant Jonathan Gruber refused to say Tuesday how much money he received in federal and state contracts related to healthcare reform. — In a series of tense exchanges with lawmakers, Gruber declined to estimate how much he was paid and repeatedly referred questions to his lawyer.

Discussion: National Review and Daily Kos

Peter Suderman / Hit & Run:
Jonathan Gruber's Weak New Excuse for His Obamacare Exchange Subsidies “Speak-O”

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

Noah Rothman / Hot Air:
Gruber won't deny the White House wanted to trick Congress into passing the ACA

Discussion: Fox News

Washington Post:

Congressional budget poised to partially block pot legalization in D.C. — An emerging deal to keep the federal government funded into next year would block the D.C. government from allowing legal sales of marijuana in the nation's capital, according to multiple congressional aides with knowledge of the negotiations.

Discussion: City Desk, Fox News, Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

National Journal:
Congress Will Say D.C. Can Legalize Pot, But Can't Tax or Regulate It

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Hit & Run and Firedoglake

Tim Devaney / The Hill:

Dems push to revive failed gun control legislation — Gun control advocates in Congress are looking to revive failed legislation strengthening background check regulations. — A handful of Democratic lawmakers said Tuesday they plan to push once again for universal background checks …

BuzzFeed:

Lena Dunham: Why I Chose To Speak Out — The ways I've been attacked for sharing my story show how far we have to go when discussing sexual assault. — Mike Marsland / WireImage / BuzzFeed — It has been almost a decade since I was sexually assaulted.

Discussion: Fox News, Mediaite and The Daily Banter

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:

Social Injustice Ate My Homework — Harvard law students have been taught to think like spoiled children. — If there were a First Rule of our present penchant for victimhood, it would presumably be that everything unpleasant that happens in the world must, in some way, eventually be about you.

Discussion: Shot in the Dark and National Law Journal

New York Times:

Congressional Leaders Reach Deal on Spending — WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders reached a deal Tuesday on a more than $1 trillion spending package that would fund most of the federal government through the current fiscal year. — But because negotiations on the package dragged over policy details …

Discussion: The Hill and New York Magazine

Ken Kurson / The New York Observer:

Source: Rolling Stone Deputy Editor Tendered Resignation; Wenner Declines — Deputy managing editor offered to resign in wake of UVA reporting brouhaha — Rolling Stone Managing Editor at Will Dana speaks onstage at the New York Public Library on October 17, 2013.