Today’s edition of quick hits.
* This really isn’t good: “Wall Street plunged again lower Friday amid renewed fears that the financial sector’s troubles with bad credit won’t soon end and that some consumers are buckling under signs of a slowing economy. The Dow Jones industrials finished down nearly 250 points. The arrival of earnings season has investors worried about how banks and brokerages have fared after suffering losses in the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Traders appeared to grow more pessimistic ahead of reports next week from the nation’s biggest financial institutions. Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are all slated to weigh in next week. Adding to investors’ unease, Merrill Lynch might take a $15 billion hit from its exposure to soured subprime mortgage investments, according to The New York Times. The nation’s largest brokerage is also said to be seeking another capital infusion to help shore up its balance sheet.”
* He’ll come bearing gifts: “The Bush administration will notify Congress on Monday of its intent to sell $20 billion in weapons, including precision-guided bombs, to Saudi Arabia, moving up the announcement to coincide with the president’s arrival in Riyadh, The Associated Press has learned. Despite concern about the deal from some lawmakers, the State Department, which last month said it would delay the notification until after Congress comes back into session, will announce the proposed sale on Jan. 14, a day before the House returns to work and more than a week before senators return to Washington, said a senior official.”
* Shouldn’t there be some kind of FCC rule against raving lunatics buying quality newspapers? “Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson is considering making an offer for The Virginian-Pilot, a daily newspaper he has criticized for its coverage of him and his activities. The Pilot is the flagship newspaper of Norfolk-based Landmark Communications Inc., which announced last week that it was evaluating whether to sell all its assets, including The Weather Channel. ‘Although the price for The Weather Channel is a little rich for my blood, I am considering a potential bid for the Pilot and have asked my attorneys to look into it,’ Robertson said in an e-mail statement provided Friday by his assistant, G.G. Conklin.”
* Interesting campaign controversy: “When John McCain’s presidential campaign all but went broke, it borrowed money from its bank using its fundraising list as collateral. Problem: McCain’s own privacy policy promises donors he won’t sell their information. That seems to put the Republican senator’s campaign in a pickle; either it pledged to its bank proceeds from something it can’t sell, or it offered to violate its own promise to donors.”
* What, exactly, do we know about the recent events in the Strait of Hormuz? Slate’s Fred Kaplan takes a look, and highlights how best to “prevent a naval war with Iran.”
* Dan Froomkin: “So what’s President Bush got to show for his three-day visit to Israel and the West Bank? Not much more than a bunch of pretty pictures for his scrapbook.”
* I don’t doubt Dennis Kucinich’s sincerity about a New Hampshire recount, but I do doubt his willingness to pay for one: “The New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office said Kucinich can have a recount but he will have to pay for it. Under state law if a candidate loses by less than 3 percent they can pay a flat $2,000 for the recount. If they lose by more than 3 percent they have to pay the entire cost.”
* The Wall Street Journal editorial page believes “the economy could use another tax cut.” At least they’re consistent in their absurdity.
* Interesting observation about Edwards: “[I]t was Edwards who forced a new style of politics [this cycle], untethered by the fear and timidity of the 90s, adamant that liberalism was an electoral boon and economic justice a popular sentiment. Knowing they had to defend against his challenge, both Hillary and Obama edged closer to his appeal. This left the Edwards campaign without much substance on which to distinguish itself, but it left the Democrats in a much stronger position overall, and forced them to argue for, and commit to, a much broader and more inspiring agenda than we otherwise might have seen.”
* John Cole coins The [Jonah] Goldberg Principle: “You can prove any thesis to be true if you make up your own definitions of words.”
* An independent pro-Huckabee group called Common Sense Issues is utilizing robocalls to help get the message out about their guy. How many robocalls? 5 million.
* Does Chris Matthews have a problem with women?
* My friend Blue Girl reads GAO reports so I don’t have to. This time, the subject is port security.
* And finally, the president is apparently a little uncomfortable with John McCain’s idea of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq until 2108. NBC News asked Bush, “John McCain has been saying on the campaign trail that the American people would accept U.S. troops remaining in Iraq for a hundred years. Do you agree with that?” He responded, “I don’t know if a hundred years is the right number. That’s a long time.” Well said, Mr. President.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.