memeorandum: A Sly Wink at de Blasio Makes Cover of Vanity Fair (Michael M. Grynbaum/New York Times)

5:35 PM ET, December 10, 2014

Top Items:

Sen. Mark Udall, Bashing CIA, Reveals Classified Findings on Interrogation Program — “The CIA is lying,” the Colorado Democrat said on the Senate floor Wednesday. — In a career-defining speech, Sen. Mark Udall took to the Senate floor Wednesday to disclose classified information regarding …

Discussion: Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The PJ Tatler, Daily Kos and Booman Tribune

Bob Kerrey / USA Today:

Sen. Bob Kerrey: Partisan torture report fails America — Intelligence agencies need guidance to do better, Senate Democrats failed to provide it. — I regret having to write a piece that is critical of the Democratic members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air, “The Lid”, VodkaPundit, The Federalist, Politico, American Spectator, The Verge and Washington Free Beacon

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: Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Shakesville, Washington Post, Washington Times and Booman Tribune

The Hill:

Senate Dem: ‘The CIA is lying’ — Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) on Wednesday called on President Obama to “purge” his administration of the CIA officials who were involved in the “enhanced interrogation” program detailed in a new Senate report. — “It's bad enough to not prosecute these officials …

Discussion: ABC News and Politico

Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:
McConnell: Torture Report Was One Last ‘Thumb In The Eye’ Of Bush Admin

Discussion: Mediaite and PoliticusUSA

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Avoids Taking Sides on Effectiveness of C.I.A. Techniques

Discussion: ABC News, JustOneMinute and ABC News

Aleksander Chan / Gawker:
Fox News Host: Get Over CIA Torture Report Because “America Is Awesome”

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Michael Hirsh / Politico:
Michael Hayden Is Not Sorry

Discussion: Guardian, Newsmax, The Dish, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, The Hill, American Prospect and Liberal Values

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

Elizabeth Warren to Dems: Kill the bill — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Democrats in the House to use their leverage and reject a bipartisan spending bill to keep the government open until a measure tucked inside rolling back a piece of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law is removed.

Discussion: Daily Kos

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: Washington Monthly, Democracy21, PoliticusUSA, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Washington Free Beacon, Daily Kos and Hot Air

The Hill:
Senate Republicans feud over whether to keep nuke option

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hugh Hewitt Show, National Review and The PJ Tatler

Politico:
Support frays on left for spending bill

Discussion: RedState and Daily Kos

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
What will Cruz do? — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) faces …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Washington Post and Politico

David Dayen / The New Republic:
Elizabeth Warren's Latest Wall Street Attack Was Her Boldest Yet

Discussion: Business Insider, Politico, naked capitalism and Washington Monthly

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Reid, in Diminished Role, Vows Fight With G.O.P.

Discussion: Hot Air, Yahoo! News and Weekly Standard

Maxim Lott / Fox News:

College president sorry for saying ‘All lives matter’ — Smith College President Kathleen McCartney never meant to say “all lives matter,” she explained to angry students. — The president of prestigious Smith College is red-faced and apologetic Tuesday for telling students on the Northampton, Mass., campus that “all lives matter.”

Discussion: Hit & Run, National Review, MichelleMalkin.com, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, JustOneMinute, The PJ Tatler, Inside Higher Ed and Latest

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: JustOneMinute, Jezebel, The Huffington Post, Raw Story, RedState, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Mediaite and Guardian

Darren Goode / Politico:

Landrieu run again? ‘Oh Lord, no’ — Sen. Mary Landrieu pretty much dismissed any notion that she would run again for governor, the Senate or any other public office. — “Oh Lord, no,” the Louisiana Democrat said Wednesday. — Story Continued Below — “Well, let me say …

Discussion: OnPolitics and Political Wire

Politico:
K Street woos Mary Landrieu

Discussion: Washington Post and Hot Air

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

Exposing deceit as he ‘humbly’ begs our pardon — Modesty does not become Jonathan Gruber, the man who both helped conceive (in 2009) and unmask (in 2014) ObamaCare. — Gruber tried to eat humble pie Tuesday as he appeared before a House committee to explain video footage that emerged …

Discussion: Ed Driscoll and Twitchy

Robert Frank / CNBC:

Millionaires' choice for president: Hillary — Top presidential pick among millionaires is ... CNBC's Robert Frank reveals the result of a recent survey which shows Hillary Clinton as the top presidential choice for the 2016 election. Also Ken Langone explains why he is backs New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Discussion: CNN, OnPolitics, Politico and Political Wire

Perry Chiaramonte / Fox News:

Parents angry after school tells 13-year-olds they can have sex, choose gender — Students at Acalanes High School in Northern California were given this gender identity chart in a sex ed class conducted by the local Planned Parenthood chapter. — Students at one northern California high school …

Discussion: Liberty Unyielding and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Growing Public Support for Gun Rights — More Say Guns Do More to Protect Than Put People at Risk — For the first time in more than two decades of Pew Research Center surveys, there is more support for gun rights than gun control. Currently, 52% say it is more important to protect …

Discussion: Politico and The Federalist

Russell Berman / The Atlantic Online:

Obama Wants Congress to Let Him Hunt ISIS Anywhere — As the release of a report on the CIA's use of torture in a previous war against terrorists consumed Capitol Hill on Tuesday, a key Senate committee began debate on a resolution authorizing a much newer counter-terror campaign …

Discussion: Hot Air and The Dish

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times: President who vowed to end war, now seeks sweeping power to expand it

Eric Ostermeier / Smart Politics:

Plurality-Winning Governors Elected At Century-Long High Water Mark — The rate of gubernatorial candidates elected without the support of a majority of voters is at its highest level since the 1910s — The 2014 election cycle fell far short of the projected upheaval in the number of governors ousted from office in November.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, OnPolitics and Washington Post

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Rep. Peter King: Senate Report Not Torture, Just People Having “To Stand In Awkward Positions” — “We're not talking about anyone being burned or stabbed or cut or anything like that. We're talking about people being made to stand in awkward in positions, have water put into their nose and into their mouth.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine, Mediaite, New York Times, Vox and The Atlantic Online

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Judge sets deadline for James Risen subpoena — A federal judge is giving Attorney General Eric Holder one week to decide whether to press forward with the Justice Department's years-long effort to force New York Times reporter James Risen to testify against one of his alleged sources …

Discussion: ABC News, The Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Rick Santorum is running for president again — and says this time will be different — Rick Santorum won primaries and caucuses in 11 states in 2012, coming in a respectable second in the GOP presidential primary season. And Republicans have a history of bestowing their nomination on the next guy in line …

Discussion: CNN, Joe. My. God. and Shakesville