memeorandum: Border fence a dead end for wildlife? (Associated Press)

10:45 AM ET, May 22, 2007

Top Items:

After the Surge — The Administration Floats Ideas for a New Approach in Iraq — President Bush and his senior military and foreign policy advisers are beginning to discuss a "post-surge" strategy for Iraq that they hope could gain bipartisan political support.

Discussion: TAPPED, Sadly, No! and toohotfortnr

Fester / The Newshoggers: Ignatius wants another pony

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:

Immigration Compromise Faces New Opposition — Proposal Stays Alive, But Foes Lie in Wait — The Senate voted last night to move forward on an overhaul of immigration laws, but even proponents of the delicate compromise proposal conceded that the furor over the deal was surpassing their expectations and endangering the plan.

Discussion: QandO, The Gun Toting Liberal™, NewDonkey.com, MSNBC, Bluey Blog, On Deadline and Don Surber

New York Times:

Senate Critics Vow to Alter Immigration Measure — As the Senate began work on a comprehensive immigration bill, lawmakers from both parties demanded substantial changes in the legislation on Monday and forced Senate leaders to extend debate beyond the Memorial Day recess.

Discussion: Brian Beutler

Ken Silverstein / Harper's:

Six Questions for Marcus Stern on Duke Cunningham — Marcus Stern and his colleagues Jerry Kammer, Dean Calbreath, and George E. Condon Jr. are the authors of the newly released book, The Wrong Stuff: The Extraordinary Saga of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the Most Corrupt Congressman Ever Caught.

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Today's Must Read — OK, so you knew Duke Cunningham was dirty, but you didn't know that he was this dirty. — The Wrong Stuff: The Extraordinary Saga of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the Most Corrupt Congressman Ever Caught, the book about Cunningham by the reporters who brought him down, hits stores this coming Monday.

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:

President Stands by Gonzales — President Bush said yesterday that Democrats in Congress are engaging in "pure political theater" by preparing resolutions of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, and he repeated his support for his embattled aide and longtime friend.

Discussion: The Heretik, Law Blog and Discourse.net

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
House Dems Warn White House

Discussion: Salon, The Carpetbagger Report and The Hill

New York Times: Bush Scorns Proposed Vote on Gonzales as Theater

Simon Tisdall / Guardian:

Iran plans Iraq summer showdown — Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaida elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering US Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, US officials say.

Discussion: Informed Comment, EU Referendum, At-Largely, The Reaction, Democratic Underground …, Washington Monthly, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, The Strata-Sphere, Captain's Quarters, The Belmont Club, Hot Air, Blogs of War and Rising Hegemon

Will / Attytood:
"Buying the War," Part II — now it's Iran

Discussion: The Impolitic and Jihad Watch

Carla Marinucci / San Francisco Chronicle:

Edwards charges $55,000 to speak to UC Davis students about poverty — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who as a Democratic presidential candidate recently proposed an educational policy that urged "every financial barrier" be removed for American kids who want to go to college …

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Captain's Quarters, The Politico, TIME, Hot Air, New York Observer, Scared Monkeys, PSoTD, Macsmind, Don Surber, Liberal Values and Outside The Beltway

Bob Kerrey / Opinion Journal:

The Left's Iraq Muddle — Yes, it is central to the fight against Islamic radicalism. — At this year's graduation celebration at The New School in New York, Iranian lawyer, human-rights activist and Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi delivered our commencement address.

Discussion: Hot Air and The American Mind

Ryan Sager / Latest Politics:

Gunning for the Varmint — You know things have gotten serious in a campaign when the candidates are insulting the sizes of each other's guns. And you know, in a crowded field such as the one for the Republican Party's nomination for president, the candidate who's winning is the one who isn't playing the game.

Discussion: Associated Press and Power Line

Mike Glover / Associated Press:

Giuliani sends mixed signals about Iowa — DES MOINES, Iowa - Some Iowa Republicans are questioning whether presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani intends to largely skip the state's leadoff caucuses. — A sluggish start to campaign organizing and indecision about whether to compete …

Stewart M. Powell / San Francisco Chronicle:

Bush could double force by Christmas — (05-22) 04:00 PDT Washington — The Bush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showed Monday. — The little-noticed second surge …

Discussion: News Bloggers Blog and The Impolitic

White House:

President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer — PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all for coming. Mr. Secretary General, thank you very much for joining us. Laura and I are really happy to have you here at our place in Crawford.

Discussion: First Draft

Michael A. Fletcher / Washington Post:
Bush to Urge NATO to Commit More Troops to Afghanistan

Discussion: The Agonist

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Clinton, Obama whip for ''08 — Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have intensified their fight for congressional endorsements, setting up whip operations in which their surrogates are cajoling undecided lawmakers to get off the fence.

Discussion: New York Times

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Ron Paul Boomlet To Implode In 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... I have watched with some amusement as centrist, liberal and uncategorizable blogs attempt to herald Ron Paul as a reasonable conservative, especially after his statement in the last debate that claimed that American foreign policy invited the 9/11 attacks.

Discussion: Iowa Voice and Reason Magazine

Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus: Ron Paul's Web of Support

Russ Buettner / New York Times:

Onetime Giuliani Insider Is Now a Critic From Outside — As Rudolph W. Giuliani runs for president, his image as a chief executive who steered New York through the disaster of Sept. 11 has become a pillar of his campaign. But one former member of his inner circle keeps surfacing to revisit …

Discussion: Liberal Values and TalkLeft

Rachel Lucas:

Rachel's Helpful Guide to Online Dating: For Men — Must get this one out of my system. — Almost all of the single people I know use online dating services; the taboo seems to have completely lifted in the last few years. Because, would it really be better to meet men in bars? Eww.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Althouse, Pajamas Media and TheOtherSideofKim Front Page