memeorandum: U.S. attorneys fallout seeps into courts (Richard B. Schmitt/Los Angeles Times)

2:15 PM ET, June 18, 2007

Top Items:

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: Captain's Quarters, Mouth of the Potomac, Townhall.com, Taegan Goddard's …, Connecting.the.Dots, Pajamas Media, The Swamp and Central Sanity

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, Jules Crittenden, The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway and The Mahablog

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: Salon, Associated Press, New York Times, The Atlantic Online, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Los Angeles Times, The Swamp, The Politico, Oliver Willis, Pollster.com and Washington Post

Chicago Sun Times:

Rezko cash triple what Obama says — During his 12 years in politics, Sen. Barack Obama has received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted businessman Tony Rezko and his associates than he has publicly acknowledged, the Chicago Sun-Times has found.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, MSNBC, JammieWearingFool, Los Angeles Times and New York Times

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
Richardson Is Counting on Nevada, a State He Has to Himself

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, The Caucus, Liberal Values and The Carpetbagger Report

Peter Brown / Real Clear Politics:
A Turning Point in the GOP Race

Discussion: MSNBC, Blue Crab Boulevard and Los Angeles Times

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: Daily Kos

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: Firedoglake, The Agonist and CREW

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: The Carpetbagger Report and All Spin Zone

Rob / Say Anything:

Calling Michael Moore's Socialist Bluff — Sicko, Michael Moore's new movie about America's health care system (the one that glorifies the socialized medicine of Cuba) hasn't even hit theaters yet, but already it's been leaked to the internet. — Asked what he thought of that, Moore …

Discussion: Reuters, The Jawa Report, Comments From Left Field, Central Sanity, Wizbang, The American Mind, Hot Air and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

David Lat / New York Times:

The Supreme Court's Bonus Babies — AFTER the Supreme Court's term ends this month, the nine justices will go their separate ways for the summer. A few weeks later, their 36 law clerks — the young legal geniuses who spend a year assisting the justices in selecting cases for review …

Discussion: Abovethelaw.com, Althouse and The Volokh Conspiracy

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:
FIVE TO FOUR … As George W. Bush staggers toward the conclusion …

Discussion: TalkLeft

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: IraqSlogger.com and The Swamp

David Morgan / Reuters:
Iraq now ranked second among world's failed states

Discussion: The Newshoggers

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

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: Washington Times, The American Street, All Spin Zone, The Impolitic, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Heretik, AMERICAblog, Suburban Guerrilla and Say Anything

New York Times:

Taking On Big Donors, McCain Takes a Big Risk — A ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee like Senator John McCain could normally bank on a bonanza of campaign contributions from the defense industry, especially if he was under pressure to raise money fast.

Discussion: The Politico, CBS News, Outside The Beltway, MSNBC, TIME and TIME: Swampland

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

An Interview With National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman, John Ensign — On Friday, I got together for a phone interview with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman, John Ensign. Unfortunately, we spent more time than I anticipated debating particular parts of the bill …

Discussion: Heading Right, Captain's Quarters and Tammy Bruce

Khaled Abu Toameh / Jerusalem Post:

Gaza's Christians fear for their lives — Christians living in Gaza City on Monday appealed to the international community to protect them against increased attacks by Muslim extremists. Many Christians said they were prepared to leave the Gaza Strip as soon as the border crossings are reopened.

Discussion: QandO, Gateway Pundit and On Deadline

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: Unfogged