• Is there a side to Mukasey that Chuck Schumer didn’t know? “Mukasey, 66, reassured top hard-liners…[he] said that he saw ‘significant problems’ with shutting down Guantánamo Bay and that he understood the need for the CIA to use some ‘enhanced’ interrogation techniques against Qaeda suspects. Mukasey also signaled reluctance with naming a special prosecutor to investigate Bush-administration misconduct, according to one participant. ‘Gosh, I’m a little worried that the Democrats might have problems with him,’ said one well-connected conservative.” Yah think? [Brand X]
• Celebrities help charities by making them brands. Can they do the same for politicians? [PRWeek]
• Newt wants you to prove you love him before he puts out. [WT]
• Amazing collection of Simpson homages to famous film scenes.
• The most amazing things about this poll showing Obama and Hillary having a “drag” on downticket elections is that it was conducted by Biden’s pollster and not Edwards’. Ben Smith points out that their names aren’t the only factors in the drag:
Some people say (YOUR DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT) is a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama and will support her liberal agenda of big government and higher taxes if she becomes President. If we re-elect (YOUR DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT) they will be a rubber stamp for Clinton/Obama and will forget the values of our district.
After hearing this if the election for U.S. Congress were held today, would you vote for [ROTATE] _the Republican candidate OR _(the Democratic incumbent), or are you undecided?
Open left discusses other problems in the poll: “I think the key here is that the freshman Democrats are weakened not by the attack that connects them to any specific Democrat, but rather by the attack that they will be a tool of someone outside the district.”
[WP, Politico, Open Left]
• I want to use this as a title for my next novel: “Courting the Anxious Cubicle Man” [CQ]