memeorandum: Mistrust Puts Up A Wall (E. J. Dionne Jr/Washington Post)

5:00 PM ET, July 3, 2007

Top Items:

White House won't rule out Libby pardon — WASHINGTON - The White House on Tuesday declined to rule out the possibility of an eventual pardon for former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. But spokesman Tony Snow said, for now, President Bush is satisfied with his decision to commute Libby's 2 1/2-year prison sentence.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, AMERICAblog and Democrats.com

Amanda / Think Progress:

Snow: Bush's Commutation Of Libby's Sentence Was 'Routine' — During the White House press briefing this morning, spokesman Tony Snow characterized President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison term as "routine." — "The president spent weeks and weeks consulting with senior members …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TPMmuckraker, The Atlantic Online, New York Times, Daily Kos, The Carpetbagger Report, BuzzFlash.org and No More Mister Nice Blog

Guardian:

Just another obstruction of justice — There are lots of unanswered questions surrounding the Valerie Plame saga, but Scooter Libby's commutation ensures they won't be answered. — On June 9, 2003, just one day after his national security advisor, Condoleezza Rice, got beaten …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, Angry Bear, DownWithTyranny!, Left in the West, The Next Hurrah and TPMmuckraker

Atrios / Eschaton:

Rich — Inevitably, the subject of Marc Rich comes up every time presidential pardons come up. Without going into all of the issues, can we just remind the world that... Marc Rich's lawyer was Scooter Libby.

Discussion: The American Street and The Atlantic Online

Editor and Publisher:

Editorials Hit Libby's Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card — NEW YORK The bloggers, politicians, and TV pundits weighed in quickly Monday after President Bush took the surprisingly sudden step of commuting Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month prison sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice in the CIA leak case.

Discussion: San Francisco Chronicle, Think Progress, Denver Post, News Corpse and The Democratic Daily

Opinion Journal:

Bush and Libby — The commutation is a profile in non-courage. — President Bush's commutation late yesterday afternoon of the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby will at least spare his former aide from 2 1/2 years in prison. But by failing to issue a full pardon …

Robert D. Novak / Chicago Sun Times:

Only Libby smiling today — WASHINGTON — President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence pleased but did not fully satisfy restive conservatives, while enraging his liberal critics. Libby himself can breathe a sigh of relief that he does not have to serve prison time, but hardly anybody else is all that happy.

Discussion: PERRspectives Blog, The Carpetbagger Report and The Strata-Sphere

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Lewis Libby owes his freedom to our corrupt political elite

Discussion: Harper's, Daily Kos and Norwegianity

The New Republic:
STILL MORE LIBBY:

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Dick Polman's American Debate, The BRAD BLOG and TalkLeft

David Brooks / New York Times:
[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: Ending the Farce

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, The Carpetbagger Report, Talking Points Memo, bustardblog, WTF Is It Now??, The Atlantic Online, Taylor Marsh, The Moderate Voice and Prairie Weather

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Bully For Him — Tim Noah says Bush did the right thing.

Discussion: Slate, Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, The Anonymous Liberal, Norwegianity and The Next Hurrah

Associated Press:
Reaction to Bush's Libby Decision

Discussion: Right Wing News, Wizbang and Bluey Blog

Washington Post:
Too Much Mercy — IN COMMUTING I. Lewis Libby's prison sentence …

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Dear MSM: You Ain't The Only Game In Town Any More, Honey

Discussion: pol.moveon.org and Suzie-Q

Rasmussen Reports:

Romney Holds Nine-Point Lead in New Hampshire — Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has the lead in the first Rasmussen Reports poll of New Hampshire's Republican Presidential Primary. Romney currently attracts support from 26% of Likely Primary Voters, nine points more than his nearest competitor.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Townhall.com and National Review

ABCNEWS:
Giuliani Campaign Pulls in $17M in 2Q

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker and The Politico

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Romney raises $14 million

Discussion: Townhall.com

CNN Political Ticker: Romney raises $14 million in second quarter

Macer Hall / Daily Express:

BROWN: DON'T SAY TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS — Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word "Muslim" in connection with the terrorism crisis. — The Prime Minister has also instructed his team - including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith - that the phrase "war on terror" is to be dropped.

Discussion: Melanie Phillips's Diary, The American Mind, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Gateway Pundit, Sister Toldjah, Weasel Zippers, Jules Crittenden, Telegraph, Solomonia, Little Green Footballs and Atlas Shrugs

Telegraph:
'Don't tell British about the EU treaty'

Discussion: EU Referendum

White House:

Remarks by the President to the Travel Pool After Visiting with Wounded Military Personnel — AFTER VISITING WITH WOUNDED MILITARY PERSONNEL — Washington, D.C. — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. General, thank you very much for your hospitality.

Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:
Obstruction of Justice, Continued

Discussion: Grasping Reality …

CBS News:

Al Qaeda In Iraq Behind U.K. Bomb Plot? — Sources Tell CBS News Suspects Recruited By Leader Of Terror Group's Iraq Branch — (CBS/AP) British intelligence services increasingly believe that the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow bare the fingerprints of al Qaeda in Iraq, CBS News has learned.

Discussion: Power Line, protein wisdom, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, The Glittering Eye, Captain's Quarters, TPMCafe blogs, The Corner and Yourish.com

New York Times:

Short on Money, McCain Campaign Dismisses Dozens — The presidential campaign of Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who once seemed poised to be his party's nominee in 2008, acknowledged yesterday that it was in a political and financial crisis as a drop in fund-raising forced …

Discussion: Washington Post, Arizona Republic, The Politico, MSNBC, Associated Press, CNN Political Ticker and Air America Radio

New York Times:

U.S. Says Iran Helped Iraqis Kill Five G.I.'s — Agents of Iran helped plan a January raid in Shiite holy city of Karbala in Iraq in which five American soldiers were killed by Islamic militants, an American military spokesman said Monday. The charge was the most specific allegation …

Discussion: Editor and Publisher, Confederate Yankee, Daily Kos, Jules Crittenden, Norwegianity, At-Largely, INTEL DUMP, Gateway Pundit, Power Line and The Strata-Sphere

Amanda / Think Progress:

Rep. Hunter: Ann Coulter Is 'Approaching That Level Of Being A Great American' — Yesterday on MSNBC's Hardball, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) defended Ann Coulter's attacks on John Edwards, including that she wishes he "had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot."

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!

Bob Owens / Pajamas Media:

DECAPITATING THE TRUTH — When the major wire services ran stories claiming that 20 headless bodies had been found in a village southeast of Baghdad, with sources that looked dubious, Confederate Yankee blogger Bob Owens didn't just sit back and complain. He got on the case and started asking questions.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Michael Yon, QandO, Sister Toldjah and The Jawa Report

E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

Mistrust Puts Up A Wall — The United States is a cranky nation in a crabby mood. To relieve our distemper, we need the leadership we're now lacking and a citizenry with greater hope in its democratic capacities. — The defeat last week of the immigration bill is the most obvious manifestation …

Discussion: Democracy Project and Middle Earth Journal