memeorandum: IF MCCAIN DID THIS: Marc Ambinder comments, “But if John McCain … (Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit.com)

10:40 AM ET, May 10, 2008

Top Items:

Barack Obama wants to be president of these 57 United States — Ah, Oregon. The beautiful Northwest. Rain. Trees. Clouds. Rain. Friendly territory for Sen. Barack Obama, the leading contender for the Democratic Party's long-disputed presidential nomination.

Discussion: Suitably Flip, Patterico's Pontifications, The Moderate Voice and TalkLeft

Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit.com:

IF MCCAIN DID THIS: Marc Ambinder comments, “But if John McCain did this — if he mistakenly said he'd visited 57 states — the media would be all up in his grill, accusing him of a senior moment. Just saying....” — UPDATE: L.A. Times: “Barack Obama wants to be president of these 57 United States.”

Discussion: Wizbang, Dean's World, Weekly Standard, GINA COBB and The New Editor

Marc Ambinder:

From The “If McCain Did This” Files — Obama, below, is tired, nothing more. — But if John McCain did this — if he mistakenly said he'd visited 57 states — the media would be all up in his grill, accusing him of a senior moment. Just saying....

Discussion: The Corner, Sister Toldjah, No More Mister Nice Blog, Top of the Ticket, Outside The Beltway, Taylor Marsh, Althouse, American Power, Redstate, Classical Values, Macsmind, TigerHawk, The Democratic Daily, Crooks and Liars, NewsBusters.org and The Impolitic

Hindrocket / Power Line:
CAN HE SPELL “POTATO?” — Yesterday Barack Obama said that John McCain …

Discussion: Ed Driscoll.com and Sister Toldjah

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Obama: I want to be president of all 57 states

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, Gateway Pundit, JammieWearingFool, Weekly Standard Blog and The News Buckit

Jay / Stop The ACLU:
Obama Wants to Be President of 57 States

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Doug Ross

CNN:
McCain defends his ‘bearings’

Discussion: New York Times, BuzzFlash.org, Althouse, Political Radar, The Daily Dish, TPM Election Central, Salon and Hot Air

Leila Fadel / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

In big concession, militia agrees to let Iraqi troops into Sadr City — BAGHDAD — Followers of rebel cleric Muqtada al Sadr agreed late Friday to allow Iraqi security forces to enter all of Baghdad's Sadr City and to arrest anyone found with heavy weapons in a surprising capitulation …

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, The Other McCain, War in Context, The Strata-Sphere and Redstate

Bill / INDCJournal:

Day Trip to Sadr City — A wide variety of vehicles enter Sadr City. — I finally made it into Sadr City. Gaining entrance has been difficult, because Army public affairs embedded me with a unit (3-89 Cav) that operates only up to the Shia district's southwestern border.

Discussion: The Long War Journal and QandO

Eric Martin / American Footprints:
Toll the Bell for the Polls, Part III

Discussion: D-Day, McClatchy Washington Bureau and Associated Press

Matthew Yglesias: Time to Get Mad — Eric Martin reviews the latest out of Sadr City and waxes indignant:

From Beirut to the Beltway:

Obama: time to engage in diplomacy — Guess what time it is? It's time for Obama's “diplomatic efforts” to come save the day. … Oh the time we wasted by fighting Hizbullah all those years with rockets, invasions of their homes and shutting down their media outlets.

Discussion: Jeha's Nail and Blacksmiths of Lebanon

Obama'08:

Statement of Senator Barack Obama on the situaton in Lebanon — Hezbollah's power grab in Beirut has once more plunged that city into violence and chaos. This effort to undermine Lebanon's elected government needs to stop, and all those who have influence with Hezbollah must press them to stand down immediately.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Charles Chuman / Pajamas Media: Beirut Clashes Trap Citizens

Ellen R. Malcolm / Washington Post:

Quitters Never Win — When I was growing up in the 1960s, I wanted to play basketball. In those days, the rules said girls could dribble only three steps and then had to pass the ball. To make sure we didn't overexert ourselves, we weren't allowed to cross the half-court line.

Discussion: The Corner, AMERICAblog and Publius Pundit

John M. Broder / New York Times:

For First Time, More Superdelegates Favor Obama — The trump card Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton held in her faltering bid for president — her support among the superdelegates who can control the fate of the Democratic nomination — began slipping from her grasp on Friday as Senator Barack …

Discussion: Eschaton, The Page and Truthdig

Michael Luo / The Caucus:
Clyburn Sees ‘Tipping Point’ to Obama

Discussion: Cliff Schecter … and New York Times

Michael Calderone / The Politico:

Lanny Davis on CNN primary night: ‘Worst experience I ever had on television’ — When Clinton supporter Lanny Davis appeared on CNN during primary night, shortly before 10 p.m., there was a peculiar exchange with host Anderson Cooper. … During the Election Night broadcast …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, PSoTD, NewsBusters.org, Ed Driscoll.com, TVNewser, AMERICAblog and The Other McCain

Philip Giraldi / The American Conservative:

War With Iran Might Be Closer Than You Think — Friday, May 9th in Foreign policy, War by Philip Giraldi — There is considerable speculation and buzz in Washington today suggesting that the National Security Council has agreed in principle to proceed with plans to attack an Iranian al-Qods-run camp …

Discussion: At-Largely and abu muqawama

Amanda Carpenter / Townhall.com:

WaPo Manufactures McCain Scandal — When is a senator doing constituent work and when is he tied up in an influence-peddling scandal? The lines seem blurred when it comes to the media's coverage of the land swap deals Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been involved in.

Discussion: FOX Embeds, TownHall Blog, The Other McCain, The Jed Report and RADAMISTO

Jim Tankersley / The Swamp:

Schakowsky, Durbin: Clinton should quit — Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) urged Sen. Hillary Clinton to end her Democratic presidential campaign Friday, while U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he'd “counsel” Clinton to do the same. — “There really are no options left …

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and The Page

Associated Press:

Another Texas superdelegate backs Clinton — DALLAS — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton picked up another endorsement from a Texas Democratic superdelegate for the party's presidential primary. — Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, announced Friday night that he is endorsing Clinton.

Discussion: 2008 Democratic …