memeorandum: White House to quickly replace Wolfowitz (Jeannine Aversa/Associated Press)

11:50 AM ET, May 18, 2007

Top Items:

Testimony in a Teacup — What's Overlooked in Comey's Histrionics — James Comey's Senate testimony on Tuesday was staggeringly histrionic. It has, as Sen. Arlen Specter suggested, the dramatic flair of the Saturday Night Massacre. Presidential emissaries seeking the signature …

Discussion: Balkinization, The Next Hurrah, The Carpetbagger Report and Shakesville

Marty Lederman / Balkinization:

Is This the Best the Administration's Surrogates Can Do? (with speculation about why the White House was so eager to obtain Ashcroft's signature) — Doug Kmiec, head of OLC at the end of the Reagan Administration, has a profoundly misguided Op-Ed in tomorrow's Washington Post in which he tries …

Discussion: Salon, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Anonymous Liberal, CorrenteWire and The Impolitic

Will Thomas / TPMmuckraker:

The Daily Muck — Its a brand new muck format. Tell us what you think. — Following yesterday's stunning revelation by the Washington Post that 26 US attorneys had been considered for dismissals, professionals all around the country are trying to figure out what the Justice Department felt they were doing wrong.

Discussion: Clarion-Ledger

Massimo Calabresi / Time:
Was Gonzales' Emergency Visit Illegal?

Discussion: NorthJersey.com, Courier-Journal, dailyreportonline.com, Los Angeles Times, Think Progress, Riehl World View, MaxSpeak, First Draft and Macsmind

Washington Post:
Caller ID — It's not whether the president called. It's what he did.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Democratic Daily, Washington Monthly and Truthdig

New York Times:
Senate Democrats Plan a Resolution on Gonzales

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Real Cities, TPMmuckraker, Blog of the Moderate Left, The BLT, MSNBC, Washington Monthly, DownWithTyranny! and TalkLeft

John W. Dean / FindLaw's Writ: Recent Developments in the Scandal over the Attorney General's Performance:

Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:

Wolfowitz Resigns From World Bank — Paul D. Wolfowitz, ending a furor over favoritism that blew up into a global fight over American leadership, announced his resignation as president of the World Bank Thursday evening after the bank's board accepted his claim that his mistakes at the bank were made in good faith.

Discussion: POLITOPICS and CNN

Opinion Journal:

World Bank Justice — Wolfowitz's resignation offers a window into a corrupt institution. — So after weeks of nasty leaks and media smears, the World Bank's board of executive directors yesterday cleared President Paul Wolfowitz of ethical misconduct for following the board's own advice …

Discussion: Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Neptunus Lex, The American Mind, Betsy's Page, Power Line and On Deadline

Steven R. Weisman / New York Times:

How Battles at Bank Ended 'Second Chance' at a Career — Paul D. Wolfowitz was ready to move on from the Pentagon in early 2005. He had been thwarted in his effort to become defense secretary or national security adviser. And the war in Iraq had deteriorated.

Discussion: The Washington Note, The Glittering Eye, Prairie Weather, Obsidian Wings and Wonkette

Jeannine Aversa / Associated Press:

White House to quickly replace Wolfowitz — WASHINGTON - Trying to put a controversy behind it, the Bush administration was wasting no time finding a successor to World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, who will resign over his handling of a pay package for his girlfriend.

Discussion: Donklephant and Think Progress

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
For Washington Insider, Job Was an Uneasy Fit

Discussion: Slate

David Saltonstall / NY Daily News:

In Rudy's heart & on payroll — Judith Giuliani got $125G to craft speeches — Being Mrs. Rudy Giuliani can't be easy, but at least it pays well - about $10,000 a month. — A day after the former mayor disclosed in federal filings that he considers his third wife, Judith, a salaried employee …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Don Surber and WorldNetDaily

Frank Newport / Gallup Poll:

Majorities of Republicans, conservatives, and frequent church attenders in favor — PRINCETON, NJ — A substantial majority of the American public favors the expansion of federal hate crime legislation to include crimes against people based on their gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Discussion: Pam's House Blend and AMERICAblog

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Do Conservatives Favor Expanding Federal Hate-Crimes Law?

Discussion: Donklephant

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

Obama Disputes Claim of Sharing Clinton's Stance on War — Senator Barack Obama yesterday directly challenged former President Bill Clinton's assertions that Mr. Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton hold the same essential positions on the Iraq war. — Throughout the spring …

Discussion: National Review and MSNBC

Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:
Can Old Loyalties Trump Racial Solidarity?

Discussion: The Caucus, TIME and New York Times

Fred Thompson / Pajamas Media:

First Blogger? — Since the '04 Howard Dean campaign, the Internet has been seen as fertile ground for presidential candidates. But the advent of a possible candidacy by former Senator Fred Thompson could take online politics to a new level. In this exclusive article for Pajamas Media …

Discussion: Power Line, Central Sanity and Bob Krumm

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Bush gives Blair hearty benediction — The British press got off on the wrong foot with President Bush, literally. When he and Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom walked into the sunny Rose Garden just before lunchtime on Thursday, most of the foreign reporters stayed in their seats …

Discussion: Tom Watson

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Just the Two of Us — For President Bush, the sensation must …

Discussion: New York Times

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

McCain's missed votes on Iraq trigger Reid rebuke — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is the only presidential candidate in Congress to have missed a major vote on the Iraq war this year, and his absences are not sitting well with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, Comments From Left Field and AMERICAblog

Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:

The Man Who Wasn't There — Fred Thompson isn't yet running, but he's running a great campaign. — Having watched the second Republican debate the other night, it's clear to me the subject today is Fred Thompson, the man who wasn't there. While the other candidates bang away earnestly …

Discussion: Townhall.com and Instapundit.com

John Ward Anderson / Washington Post:

60 Die in Iraq; Study Warns Of Collapse — British Center Finds Country Close to Being a 'Failed State' — More than 60 people were killed and dozens wounded in mortar strikes, drive-by shootings, roadside explosions, suicide bombings and other violent attacks in Iraq on Thursday …

Discussion: The Impolitic, Atlantic Free Press and Daily Kos

Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:

Murtha accused of rules violation — Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) threatened to deny any further spending projects to a Republican who challenged him over an earmark, his antagonist has charged — a potential violation of House rules. — Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) had challenged money …

Discussion: Iowa Voice, Confederate Yankee and Wizbang