memeorandum: CNN RELIABLE SOURCES (CNN)

6:00 PM ET, June 18, 2007

Top Items:

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:

The Use of RNC E-Mail Accounts by White House Officials — The Oversight Committee has been investigating whether White House officials violated the Presidential Records Act by using e-mail accounts maintained by the Republican National Committee and the Bush Cheney '04 campaign for official White House communications.

Discussion: The Gun Toting Liberal™, Balloon Juice, Democratic National Committee, The American Mind, JustOneMinute, NO QUARTER, Daily Kos, The BLT and Donklephant

Jesse Lee / The Gavel:

Interim Report on RNC Emails and the Presidential Records Act — The Oversight Committee has been investigating whether White House officials violated the Presidential Records Act by using e-mail accounts maintained by the Republican National Committee and the Bush Cheney '04 campaign for official White House communications.

Discussion: All Spin Zone, The Newshoggers, The Carpetbagger Report and No More Mister Nice Blog

Think Progress:

Investigation Uncovers 'Extensive Destruction' Of RNC Emails, Violations Of Records Act — House investigators have learned that the Bush administration's use of Republican National Committee email accounts is far greater than previously disclosed — 140,216 emails sent or received by Karl Rove alone …

Discussion: Comments From Left Field, CREW and The Agonist

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Bush Officials Used RNC Server for Private E-mails

Discussion: Corrente

Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake: Fallout — While the RNC has been hitting the delete button …

Des Moines Register:

Obama: Campaign's 'Punjab' remark was 'stupid' — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama referred to as "stupid" and "caustic" his campaign's memo last week that implied rival Hillary Clinton's investments in India made her fit to represent the south Asian country.

Discussion: The Fix, Political Punch, TIME: Swampland, Taylor Marsh and Brendan Nyhan

Andrew J. Bacevich / Los Angeles Times:

More troops, more troubles — Candidates who call for beefing up our armed forces to deter terrorism show a profound misunderstanding of the Mideast. — IS THE U.S. Army too small? — The Democrats vying to succeed George W. Bush think so. Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Outside The Beltway, The American Mind, Liberty Street, Jules Crittenden, Middle Earth Journal, The Moderate Voice and The Mahablog

Lydia Saad / Gallup Poll:

Republican, Democratic Presidential Contests Strikingly Similar — Sen. Fred Thompson surges into tie with John McCain for second in GOP contest — PRINCETON, NJ — With no incumbent president or vice president running for the 2008 presidential nominations, it is perhaps not surprising …

Discussion: News Bloggers Blog, Real Clear Politics, Comments From Left Field, Mouth of the Potomac, Connecting.the.Dots, Captain's Quarters, Townhall.com, Pajamas Media, Taegan Goddard's …, The Swamp and Central Sanity

USA Today:

Poll: Clinton establishes sizable lead over Obama — WASHINGTON — New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has regained a double-digit lead over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the USA TODAY/Gallup Poll two weeks after the survey found the Democratic presidential rivals essentially tied.

Discussion: Washington Post, Salon, The Moderate Voice, New York Times, Associated Press, The Atlantic Online, Los Angeles Times, CNN Political Ticker, The Swamp, The Politico, Oliver Willis and Pollster.com

Douglas Burns / Iowa Independent:

Edwards Suggests Obama, Clinton Could Cost Swing States — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards Sunday warned Iowa voters about what he perceives as the perils of nominating a candidate who down-ticket Democrats in some parts of the nation may decline to appear with in their own campaign events.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Carpetbagger Report

Matthew Pennington / Associated Press:

Pakistan condemns Rushdie honor — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan on Monday condemned Britain's award of a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie as an affront to Muslim sentiments, and a Cabinet minister said the honor provided a justification for suicide attacks.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Captain's Quarters, Gateway Pundit, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Daimnation!

Times of London:
Pakistan says Rushdie knighthood justifies suicide bombings

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy and Sepia Mutiny

dukenews.duke.edu:

Duke University, Three Lacrosse Players Announce Settlement — Durham, NC — On Monday, Duke University leaders announced they have reached a settlement with David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. Below are statements about the settlement. — STATEMENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THE PRESIDENT OF DUKE UNIVERSITY:

Discussion: TalkLeft, Durham-in-Wonderland, WRAL-TV, Townhall.com, Gateway Pundit, On Deadline, The Moderate Voice and La Shawn Barber's Corner

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
That Didn't Take Long — Duke University moved quickly to end …

Discussion: Power Line

Washington Post:

We've Lost. Here's How To Handle It. — Last week's bloodshed in Iraq and the bombing of what remained of the historic Shiite shrine in Samarra and of two Sunni mosques in Basra were more reminders of a terrible truth: The war in Iraq is lost. The only question that remains …

Discussion: ThreatsWatch, Comments From Left Field, All Spin Zone, American Footprints and The Gun Toting Liberal™

James S. Gilmore III / Washington Post:
Redefining the U.S. Role in Iraq

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Carpetbagger Report and Hot Air

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:

Petraeus: Iraq 'Challenges' to Last for Years — Conditions in Iraq will not improve sufficiently by September to justify a drawdown of U.S. military forces, the top commander in Iraq said yesterday. — Asked whether he thought the job assigned to an additional 30,000 troops deployed …

Discussion: Election Central, TalkLeft, Liberty Street, AMERICAblog, Washington Times, All Spin Zone, The Impolitic, The American Street, Democratic National Committee, The Heretik, Brilliant at Breakfast, Say Anything and Suburban Guerrilla

Real Clear Politics:

Petraeus on Iraq, Panel on Immigration Bill — CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: I'm Chris Wallace. A top American general says security forces control only 40 percent of Baghdad, next on "Fox News Sunday." — Today, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, makes his first appearance ever on a Sunday talk show.

Discussion: CBS News and Dick Polman's American Debate

Michael Duffy / Time:

Surge Architect: More Time Needed — Fred Kagan, the man widely seen as the "architect" of the military surge in Iraq, sees signs of progress but warns that September is too early to make a final decision about how well it has achieved its goals. Instead, in an interview with TIME.com …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Maria Glod / Washington Post:

Va. School's No-Contact Rule Is a Touchy Subject — Fairfax County middle school student Hal Beaulieu hopped up from his lunch table one day a few months ago, sat next to his girlfriend and slipped his arm around her shoulder. That landed him a trip to the school office. — Among his crimes: hugging.

Discussion: Reason Magazine, Dr. Helen, Outside The Beltway and Unfogged

Bill Steigerwald / PittsburghLIVE.com:

Helping along global warming — TRIBUNE-REVIEW — Remember in January when the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its good friends in media trumpeted that 2006 was the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States? — NOAA based that finding …

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere and NewsBusters.org

Foreign Policy:

The Failed States Index 2007 — By The Fund for Peace and FOREIGN POLICY magazine — The world's weakest states aren't just a danger to themselves. They can threaten the progress and stability of countries half a world away. In the third annual Failed States Index …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, IraqSlogger.com, Outside The Beltway, The Swamp and The BLT