Today’s edition of quick hits.
* As of the latest report, it looks like the hostages in a New Hampshire Clinton campaign office have been released: “A deranged man wearing what appeared to be a bomb strapped to his chest walked into a Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign office Friday, took several hostages and demanded to speak to the candidate during a nearly four-hour standoff, authorities said. The man released the last of the hostages as the afternoon wore on, but he remained in the office and was not immediately taken into custody.”
* ABC: “Local police are believed to be negotiating with a man described as a well-known local resident with a history of emotional problems who told his son to ‘watch the news today.'”
* I continue to believe that Giuliani is utterly and completely screwed: “Giuliani refused to take questions here today about allegations that travel expenses were picked up obscure city offices when he was mayor of New York City. ‘We’ve already explained it,’ he said, walking past reporters after a town hall meeting. Giuliani, who is normally friendly to reporters, bristled past them, and campaign staffers were unusually physical in keeping the press away. Several campaign aides told campaign reporters to return to the press area, and some of his security detail manhandled reporters. On other occasions, reporters have been free to video Giuliani as he is shaking hands and signing autographs after events, and he often informally takes questions from reporters.”
* This certainly won’t help: “Ray Kelly, who was Police Commissioner right before and right after the Rudy era, says he never heard about any of the reimbursement delays that Team Rudy has been using to explain the squirrelly accounting procedures.”
* Giuliani’s principal rival sees Giuliani drowning, and doesn’t see the need to get involved: “This is something the mayor is addressing and I think we ought to give him the opportunity to address that as he feels appropriate,” Romney said. “I really don’t have anything to say, or to add to the discussion other than, let’s let him have an ample chance to look at the history and explain what he feels is needed.”
* The gang that can’t shoot straight might actually do the right thing on this one: “The Bush administration is working with industry on a plan to extend lower, introductory interest rates on home loans before they reset at higher levels…. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other top regulators met Thursday with loan servicing companies — firms that collect and distribute loan payments — and other industry executives. No formal agreement was announced, but an accord on this issue could be revealed in the next week or two.”
* Where are the rest of records we were promised of White House visits by Jack Abramoff?
* The Republicans’ problem with race, Part MMMCCXVII.
* When Jack Murtha was quoted yesterday saying that the “surge is working,” it sparked all kinds of interest. As it turns out, that isn’t what Murtha actually said.
* How pathological has Karl Rove’s lying become? Even Former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card is distancing himself from “Turd Blossom,” telling a national television audience last night, “Sometimes [Rove’s] mouth gets ahead of his brain.”
* Good advice from Howard Dean: “Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean opened the party’s fall meeting with a warning to his fellow party members. ‘The worst thing we can do right now is be complacent … and take things for granted’ Dean told the crowd. He said ‘Republicans may not know’ how to run the country but ‘they know how to win elections … we better work harder than they do.'”
* Joe Biden isn’t usually associated with impeachment talk, but the second-tier presidential hopeful said yesterday that if Bush launches an attack against Iran, he’s open to impeachment.
* You know, I’m starting to think that maybe, just maybe, the WaPo’s John Solomon isn’t a very good reporter.
* The NYT exposed some of Giuliani’s whoppers today in a textbook case of a great newspaper article. MSNBC noted the Times piece with this chyron: “Newspaper finds some figures wrong, but basic claims still true.” This is why I don’t watch television news.
* Facebook backs down: “Critics objected to what they viewed as a breach in privacy because users would have to formally decline to have the information displayed after making purchases at each participating web site. Most Facebook applications involve a pro-active “opt-in,” with users choosing to participate. MoveOn and the more than 51,500 members of its protest group wanted Facebook to make the Beacon feature “opt-in,” too, meaning that if a user took no action, their information would not be displayed. And that’s what Facebook will do, the site announced this evening.”
* CAP did a nice job this week with a new economic strategy entitled “Progressive Growth: Transforming America’s Economy through Clean Energy, Innovation, and Opportunity.” It offers the next (hopefully Democratic) president a blueprint on economic growth and a transformation to a low-carbon economy. Take a look.
* And finally, yesterday, the WaPo ran a ridiculous piece about a bogus smear that Barack Obama is a Muslim. Today, in a must-see political cartoon, the WaPo’s own Tom Toles (aka, the Best Cartoonist In America) swings back at his own newspaper’s awful article. Good for him; that took some guts.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.