Talking Points Memo

What Happened Yesterday?

2009-07-11T11:00:00Z

Yesterday in 100 Seconds: Papal Friday

Feel the Hate

2009-07-10T22:22:24Z

Has Krauthammer been driven off the deep end by his hatred of Obama. Jacob Heilbrunn peruses the evidence.

A Classic Case of Overshare

2009-07-10T22:14:26Z

David Brooks describes how an unnamed GOP senator fondled Brooks' well-rounded thigh.

The Day in 100 Seconds: Papal Friday

2009-07-10T21:54:51Z

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

Presented By:

2009-07-10T21:54:51Z

That Should Go Over Well

2009-07-10T21:52:57Z

The latest GOP angle on attacking Obama's health care reform effort. Say we never should have founded Medicare.

Terra of Sarah

2009-07-10T21:46:05Z

I never fail to be amazed and amused that many right-wingers and Palinatics genuinely believe that everyone who thinks Palin is a grifter or a clown is actually afraid of her. As in when Bill Kristol recently wrote that Palin's critics "tend not only to dislike and disdain Palin, they also want to bury her chances now as a presidential possibility. What are they so scared of?"

We get emails from readers saying in essence, yes, yes, make fun of this august woman. But you know it's only because you know if you don't stop her now she'll be president in four years!

I will admit that for a day or two after her speech to the Republican National Convention last year, I was worried that the press's then-infatuation with this clown might help John McCain claw his way to the presidency. (Remember, our Muckraker reporter Kate Klonick had been on the Sarah scandal beat for a couple months in advance of her elevation. So we knew who we were dealing with.)

Kristol's a smart guy. Is he really so far down his own rabbit hole that he thinks anyone is worried about Palin becoming president? If I were a Republican I could see being very worried that she'd keep going on TV and doing further damage to the Republican brand just by acting like such a freak. But at this point, beside the people who have signed on to the Sarah Cult, I have the sense that the reaction most people have to this doofus's latest shenanigans is not fear but entertainment.

Does anyone disagree?

For those wishing more Palin entertainment, here's a former VA GOP Party Chair,, on Fox this afternoon claiming that the press was out to take Palin down because of her rock solid homespun values.

Heir to Burris

2009-07-10T20:58:08Z

Is Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) running for the Senate in 2010 or not?

Still Writing This Chapter of Bush II

2009-07-10T20:39:12Z

Spencer Ackerman is plowing through the joint IGs' report on domestic surveillance that was just released. Among the conclusions he's finding in the report: most leads secured by the secret surveillance program were determined not to have any connection to terrorism and -- surprise!--then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' July 2007 testimony to Congress about the surveillance program was "confusing, inaccurate, and ... had the effect of misleading."

In addition to detailing how the White House (read: Cheney) basically turned John Yoo into a one-man OLC, the report also explains how the White House (Cheney again?) directed the CIA to provide the factual underpinnings to the President's "legal" authorizations. Again no surprise, but let's note for the record that this whole operation was run from the very top.

Late Update: Another aspect of this also has Cheney's fingerprints all over it: Once DOJ began objecting to the program (that is, once anyone beyond Yoo at DOJ learned of it), those objections were kept from President Bush by White House staff, at least according to Bush.

Not A Line in the Sand -- But Close

2009-07-10T20:15:23Z

In an interview with TPMDC, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) says a number of Democrats, himself included, would have "great difficulty" voting for a health care reform bill without a public option.

On to the Vatican

2009-07-10T20:08:55Z

Slideshow: The Obamas meet the Pope

Hard Keeping Track

2009-07-10T20:05:08Z

We've had to go back and revise and extend our comprehensive timeline of Les Affaires Ensign to account for all the new revelations.

"Life Is About Choices"

2009-07-10T20:02:39Z

There's one thing that Sarah Palin and Roland Burris can agree on. Watch.

Reader Deep Thought

2009-07-10T19:12:18Z

TPM Reader BD:

Remember how during the 2008 campaign a lot of people suggested that Obama could prove to be an excellent role model for African-American men who have often been deemed less than responsible as husbands and fathers? Wouldn't it be great if white Evangelical Republican men could come up with a role model like that too?

It Wasn't Me!

2009-07-10T19:01:21Z

A neighbor of the Dem donor whose fundraiser was raided by the San Diego sheriff wants to make sure everyone knows she didn't make the derogatory comments about gays and call police about the event: "We're liberal Democrats -- we have a Buddha on our table."

BREAKING

2009-07-10T18:21:52Z

Bush Administration domestic surveillance programs much broader than previously known. Spencer Ackerman has more. Here's the joint report from the inspectors general.

We're going through the report now, but for a frame of reference let me refer you back to this TPMmuckraker report by Paul Kiel and Spencer Ackerman from two Julys ago. I dare say we were on to something.

Late Update: Fair question from a reader:

Confused, could you clarify-- I've been seeing headlines at TPM and elsewhere for a couple weeks saying things something like "CIA report delayed, AGAIN". Is the IG report with the revelations of previously unknown Bush lawbreaking that you're currently flashing the "breaking" notice for the same one that people were recently upset about the failure to release? Or is there ANOTHER report of this sort with yet more revelations still pending?

The report released today was compiled at the request (demand, really) of Congress by the IGs of the various entities that make up the intelligence community. This is a different report from the still-classified 2004 CIA report on the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of torture whose release has been delayed several times and is still pending.