memeorandum: ‘Tempted to despair’: Trump's resilience causes Democrats to sound the alarm (Washington Post)

4:20 PM ET, February 8, 2020

Top Items:

CNN:

CNN poll: Sanders leads as Buttigieg grabs momentum in New Hampshire — Buttigieg and Sanders both claim victory in Iowa — (CNN)Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders heads into the New Hampshire primary still holding a lead over his top rivals for the Democratic nomination, but with Pete Buttigieg …

Discussion: Mother Jones, USA Today, New York Post and The Week

Colin Kalmbacher / Law & Crime:

Pete Buttigieg Funded by Russian-Linked Oligarch Who Supports Trump and McConnell — Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg is facing questions after recent revelations that his 2020 effort has taken campaign contributions from an infamous …

Discussion: Mediaite

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Journalists shouldn't make political predictions. I learned this lesson the hard way. — Of all the lessons the mainstream media should have learned over the past four years, one of them is inexcusably obvious: We're bad at predictions. — Who can forget poll analyses, the infographic needles …

Associated Press:

Biden mocks rival Buttigieg's record as small city mayor — MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Scrambling to salvage his presidential campaign, Joe Biden escalated his criticism of Pete Buttigieg on Saturday, mocking Buttigieg's experience as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and warning that he would struggle without …

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post and The Daily Beast

CBS Boston:

Exclusive NH Tracking Poll: Buttigieg Takes Lead Over Sanders In Tight New Hampshire Race — BOSTON (CBS) - Pete Buttigieg continued his rise in Friday night's exclusive WBZ/Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll, for the first time taking a narrow lead that falls within the survey's 4.4% margin of error.

Discussion: BuzzFeed News

CNN:
Amy Klobuchar raises over $2 million dollars after debate, campaign says

Discussion: WTOP

Sarah Mucha / CNN: Biden campaign mocks Buttigieg's experience in new attack ad

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Bernie Sanders showed us he's a very skilled politician

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, NewsOne and Outside the Beltway

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Winners and losers from the New Hampshire Democratic debate

Discussion: Associated Press, The Daily Beast, Breitbart and Bern Notice

The Boston Globe:
Buttigieg opens slight lead over Sanders in N.H., Globe/WBZ/Suffolk poll shows

Discussion: Axios, Politico and New York Post

Niall Stanage / The Hill:
Five takeaways: Fear of Trump hangs over Democratic debate

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Politico and NBC News

Politico:
Everything you need to know about the 2020 race in New Hampshire today

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill and One America News Network

Alex Griswold / Washington Free Beacon:
Pete Buttigieg Refuses to Answer Half of NYT Foreign Policy Survey

Discussion: New York Times

New York Times:
How Pete Buttigieg Became the Surprise of the Iowa Caucuses

Discussion: UPI, NB Blog and Mediaite

Julie Pace / Associated Press:
Democrats on edge after 2020 election season's ragged launch

Discussion: Axios and Breitbart

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite: Bernie Sanders Support with Black Voters Cratered by More Than Half in a Week

FiveThirtyEight:
Who Won The New Hampshire Democratic Primary Debate?

Discussion: Political Wire

New York Times:
7 Takeaways From the Democratic Debate in New Hampshire

Discussion: Mother Jones and The Hill

The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Trump used Philly girl's story to attack ‘failing government schools.’ But she's at one of the city's most desired charters. — President Donald Trump turned a Philadelphia fourth grader into a poster child for the school-choice movement Tuesday when he told the nation that thousands of students were …

Discussion: Slate, Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Todd Spangler / Detroit Free Press:

Bloomberg gets key endorsement from Michigan congresswoman, who says he will be president — WASHINGTON — Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is pulling out all the stops to win Michigan's March 10 presidential primary and on Saturday picked up what could be a watershed endorsement …

Washington Post:

‘Tempted to despair’: Trump's resilience causes Democrats to sound the alarm — Anxiety is coursing through the Democratic Party as President Trump emerges from his impeachment proceedings as a potent threat for reelection, with party leaders and activists uncertain about how to beat …

Lisa Rein / Washington Post:

VA chief Wilkie sought to dig up dirt on woman who complained of sexual assault, agency insiders say — The Veterans Affairs Department's inspector general is reviewing a request from a top House leader to investigate allegations that VA Secretary Robert Wilkie sought to dig up dirt …

Discussion: ProPublica

Associated Press:

Actor-comedian Orson Bean, 91, hit and killed by car in LA — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Orson Bean, the witty actor and comedian who enlivened the game show “To Tell the Truth” and played a crotchety merchant on “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” was hit and killed by a car in Los Angeles, authorities said.

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Power Line and The Wrap

Vivian Salama / CNN:

Firing of House impeachment witnesses raises questions over US-Ukraine policy — Gergen on firings: There's a classy way and the Trump way — (CNN)A White House decision to remove two top officials who played key roles as witnesses in the Ukraine scandal prompted confusion in Washington …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Raw Story and East Bay Times

John Gans / New York Times:
Col. Vindman and the Trumpification of the National Security Council

Discussion: Raw Story, The Brussels Times, Mediaite, Vox, The Daily Caller and The Week

Washington Post:
Trump ousts Vindman and Sondland, punishing key impeachment witnesses in post-acquittal campaign of retribution

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Mother Jones, Vox, UPI, The Resurgent, The Last Refuge and Associated Press

Molly Jong-Fast / The Bulwark:

Donald Trump Definitely Learned His Lesson — We should have expected that a speech tasked with unpacking “our Country's VICTORY over the Impeachment Hoax!” would be crazy. — But none of us could have possibly predicted just how crazy it turned out to be.

Brittany Shammas / Washington Post:

Meet the 71-year-old staging a one-man protest in his Trump-loving retirement community — For most of his life, Ed McGinty kept his political beliefs to himself. — Raised Irish Catholic in Philadelphia, the 71-year-old retired real estate broker has always been a Democrat, just like his parents before him.

Discussion: Raw Story

Jackie Kucinich / The Daily Beast:

Democratic Voters Worry Biden Has ‘Too Much Baggage’ After Trump's Ukraine Smears — The conspiracy theories about Biden amplified by Trump may have been debunked, but some voters say it doesn't matter—the former VP already has a huge weak spot. — On the campaign trail …

New York Times:

Amy Klobuchar — Jamelle Bouie (7/10) — Klobuchar sounded confident and aggressive, willing and able to go after her competitors. Her defense of experience, in particular, was strong. More and more, she looks like a real alternative for moderate Democrats.

TMZ.com:

Trump's ‘Orange Face’ Photo Appears Edited to Show Stark Contrast … DT took to Twitter Saturday, writing ... “More Fake News. This was photoshopped, obviously, but the wind was strong and the hair looks good? Anything to demean!” The black and white rendition of the pic was also posted by this Moon guy.

Discussion: Vox, Raw Story and Mediaite