memeorandum: Let Down by Fred Thompson — NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. … (Robert D. Novak/Washington Post)

11:20 AM ET, May 8, 2007

Top Items:

The Star-Ledger / NJ.com:

6 arrested in plot to kill soldiers at Fort Dix — Federal investigators last night arrested six Islamic radicals who were planning a heavily armed attack against soldiers at Fort Dix as part of a jihad against America, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Discussion: The Mahablog, No More Mister Nice Blog, QandO, Jules Crittenden, On Deadline and Wizbang

Associated Press:

Six Arrested in Alleged Fort Dix Murder Plot — MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — Six nationals of the former Yugoslavia were arrested on charges they plotted to attack the Fort Dix Army base and "kill as many soldiers as possible," federal authorities said Tuesday. — The six were scheduled to appear …

Discussion: Media Blog

WNBC:

Six Arrests In Alleged Terror Plot To Kill N.J. Soldiers — NEW YORK — Six men from New Jersey have been arrested in an alleged terror plot against soldiers at Fort Dix, according investigators. — Investigators said the men planned to use automatic rifles to enter Fort Dix and kill as many soldiers as they could at the N.J. base.

Discussion: Vox Popoli

Confederate Yankee:

Six Arrested in New Jersey Islamic Terror Plot — Via WNBC.com: … According to WPVI, the six men attempted to purchase fully automatic AK-47s from an arms dealer working with the FBI. WABC describes the six men as all being ethnic Albanians. Their immigration status was not clear from news accounts.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, BLACKFIVE and The Right Angle

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Breaking: Feds bust six in NJ plot to murder troops at Fort Dix; Update: At least three are illegal aliens — No word yet on whether they're freelance or part of a cell, but there's a presser scheduled for this afternoon at 2:30. … Standby for updates. — Update: The article originally described …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Michelle Malkin, The American Mind, Pajamas Media and La Shawn Barber's Corner

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Justice: Islamist Plot To Attack Fort Dix

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway and Redstate

ABCNEWS: Six Arrested in Plot to Storm N.J. Army Base

Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:

World Bank Panel Finds Wolfowitz at Fault; Aide Resigns — A committee of World Bank directors has formally notified Paul D. Wolfowitz that they found him to be guilty of a conflict of interest in arranging for a pay raise and promotion for Shaha Ali Riza, his companion, in 2005.

Discussion: The Next Hurrah, The Huffington Post, Needlenose, Balloon Juice and AMERICAblog

Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:

Deal Is Offered for Chief's Exit at World Bank — Leading governments of Europe, mounting a new campaign to push Paul D. Wolfowitz from his job as World Bank president, signaled Monday that they were willing to let the United States choose the bank's next chief, but only if Mr. Wolfowitz stepped down soon, European officials said.

Discussion: Moon of Alabama, The Washington Note, William K. Wolfrum, The Swamp, Think Progress, Daily Kos and TalkLeft

Washington Post:

September Could Be Key Deadline in War — Lawmakers Call for Proof of Progress by Fall — Congressional leaders from both political parties are giving President Bush a matter of months to prove that the Iraq war effort has turned a corner, with September looking increasingly like a decisive deadline.

Discussion: TPMmuckraker, QandO, TIME: Swampland, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Eschaton, Booman Tribune, Middle Earth Journal, Crooks and Liars and Prairie Weather

Anne Flaherty / Associated Press:
GOP senator: Patience on Iraq is limited

Discussion: Leader's Journal releases … and Middle Earth Journal

Kevin Drum / Political Animal:
SIX MONTHS....No more Friedmans after September?

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Michael Barone / Opinion Journal:

The Realignment of America — The native-born are leaving "hip" cities for the heartland. — In 1950, when I was in kindergarten in Detroit, the city had a population of (rounded off) 1,850,000. Today the latest census estimate for Detroit is 886,000, less than half as many.

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, Blogs for Bush, The Corner, Betsy's Page, EconLog and Silflay Hraka

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
The Flight To Flyover Country

Discussion: JunkYardBlog

Elaine Sciolino / New York Times:

Sarkozy Sets a New Course for Relations With U.S. — Two days before the first round of the presidential election last month, Nicolas Sarkozy donned a red checked shirt, jeans and cowboy boots, mounted a small white horse named Universe and rode around the Camargue country in France's deep south.

Discussion: World Politics Watch, Ezra Klein, Human Events and Rising Hegemon

Jules Crittenden:
The Only Good Cowboy is a French Cowboy — New York Times …

Discussion: New York Times, Pajamas Media and Sister Toldjah

Washington Post:

Comparison To Clinton Is Dismissed — French Counterpart Lacked Substance, Senator's Camp Says — There was a time when advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) looked abroad for proof that women can get elected to a top leadership role in the modern world: Margaret Thatcher …

Discussion: Don Surber and JammieWearingFool

USA Today:
Poll: Clinton rebounds over Obama

Discussion: TIME, CNN Political Ticker, Pollster.com, Political Punch, Taegan Goddard's … and First Draft

Nic Robertson / CNN:

Sunni demand could unravel Iraqi government … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraq's top Sunni official has set a deadline of next week for pulling his entire bloc out of the government — a potentially devastating blow to reconciliation efforts within Iraq. He also said he turned down an offer …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, Right Wing Nut House, Captain's Quarters and Think Progress

Kevin Drum / Political Animal: IRAQI POLITICAL UPDATE....Remember the Iraqi constitution …

William Lowther / Daily Mail:

Blundering Bush makes ANOTHER gaffe as he winks at the Queen — When you've just made it sound like the Queen is more than 200 years old, there may be a few ways of recovering from the gaffe. — But turning to her and giving her a sly wink is probably not included in any book of royal etiquette.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Heretik, The Right Angle and NewsBusters.org

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:

Let Down by Fred Thompson — NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — "Will he announce?" asked the Lincoln Club of Orange County's publication in preparation for Fred Thompson's appearance at the organization's 45th annual dinner here Friday night. A rumor, totally unfounded, ran rampant before his speech …

Discussion: KnoxViews, Shakesville, Political Animal, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Hot Air and Daily Kos

Adam Nossiter / New York Times:

50 Years Later, Little Rock Can't Escape Race — LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Fifty years after the epic desegregation struggle at Central High School, the school district here is still riven by racial conflict, casting a pall on this year's ambitious commemorative efforts.

Discussion: The Buck Stops Here and The Corner