Daily Briefing: The New Caliphate
• TimereporterViveca NovaksaysKarl Rovewas the likely source of a July 2003 article aboutValerie Plame.Novak: "I remember [Rove's lawyer] looking at me and saying something to the effect of 'Karl doesn't have a [Matt Cooper] problem. He was not a source for Matt.' I responded instinctively, thinking he was trying to spin me, and said something like, 'Are you sure about that? That's not what I hear aroundTime.' He looked surprised and very serious." [ Time , NYT , WSJ ]
•Sen.Fristthreatens to use the "nuclear option" to saveSamuel Alitofrom a filibuster. Sen.Lindsey Graham(R-S.C.): "We're not close to a deal." [ WP , NYT , LAT ]
•White House flackTrent Duffy: "What you will see more of next year is the president going back to the basics -- winning the war and growing the economy and creating jobs." [ WT ]
•Sen.Clinton's quiet, centrist approach to Iraq "is drawing increasing scorn from liberal activists." [ WP ]
• Ronald BrownsteinonAlito's abortion memos: "It's still not clear these disclosures will seriously threaten Alito's confirmation. And if they do not, both sides might need to rethink basic assumptions about the politics of the Supreme Court." [ LAT ]
•Gov.Mark Warner(D-Va.) tours battleground states for a head-start on '08.Warner: "As Democrats, what we have to do is put forward ideas and candidates that can win in places like Florida, that can win in places like Virginia." [ NYT ]
•Administration officials warn of impending caliphate;Rumsfeldsays Iraq could "serve as the base of a new Islamic caliphate to extend throughout the Middle East, and which would threaten legitimate governments in Europe, Africa and Asia." [ NYT ]
•House and Senate have different views to the future of Medicaid. [ NYT ]
•Attorney, professor, and authorJohn Yoobelieves "the constitution itself gives the president lots of leeway, allowing him to invade Iraq without congressional permission and to disregard such treaties as the Geneva Convention." [ LAT ]
•Gov.-electCorzine's appointment ofRobert Menendezto his N.J. Senate seat fulfills childhood dream. [ USAT ]
•Investigators concludeJohn Snow's ownership of bonds did not represent a conflict of interest. [ WSJ ]