memeorandum: Fuller Rubin — The McCain campaign triumphantly sends … (Ben Smith/Ben Smith's Blogs)

11:45 PM ET, May 16, 2008

Top Items:

Huckabee jokes about Obama ducking a gunman — (CNN) - During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Think Progress, Crooks and Liars, Pandagon, Shakesville, Corrente, MyDD, Balloon Juice, Open Left, Daily Kos, The Caucus, Group News Blog, AMERICAblog, Confederate Yankee, Hullabaloo and Donklephant

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Huckabee jokes at NRA conference about someone trying to shoot Obama; Update: Painfully awkward video added; Update: Huckabee apologizes — Stupid, and doubtless to receive plenty of attention since it's useful to so many groups. The left will use it as a Larger Truth about the NRA …

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Think Progress, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The Other McCain, TownHall Blog and Degree of Madness

Andy Barr / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
Huckabee Jokes About Obama Getting Shot At

Discussion: American Spectator

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Obama on McCain: Hypocrisy and fear-mongering — In an appearance in South Dakota just now, Barack Obama came back at yesterday's attacks from George W. Bush and John McCain, accusing them of “hypocrisy, fear-peddling, and fear-mongering.” — He responded first to the charge from Bush …

Discussion: TPM Election Central, The Swamp, CNN, THE GUN TOTING LIBERAL™, The Page, Commentary, The Carpetbagger Report, American Street, The Other McCain, Hot Air, Weekly Standard Blog, Gateway Pundit, Slog and American Power

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Knesset Kerfuffle Shows Obama Not Afraid to Engage — President George W. Bush's comments at the Israeli Knesset yesterday, in which he blasted as “appeasers” anyone who favors talking with rogue states like Iran or radical groups like Hamas, set off a furious back and forth between …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Power Line and The Washington Independent

New Yorker:

FEVER DREAM TICKETS — That was an astounding speech John McCain delivered this morning in Columbus, Ohio. On almost every issue except Iraq, it was a ringing declaration of rhetorical (though not always substantive) independence from the Bush Administration.

Discussion: Daily Kos

James P. Rubin / The Huffington Post:
Talking with Our Enemies: McCain Should Admit The Truth and Stop …

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, Political Machine and Gateway Pundit

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs: Bush to raise money for McCain

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
McCain campaign responds: ‘Hysterical diatribe’

Discussion: The Caucus, The Swamp, The Jed Report, Salon, The New Republic and Balloon Juice

Rasmussen Reports:

Election 2008: Kansas Senate — Kansas Senate: Roberts 52% Slattery 40% — Before March, the Unites States Senate election in Kansas was a shoe-in for Republican incumbent Pat Roberts. At that point there was no viable Democratic candidate in the race and the state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, MyDD and Swing State Project

Rasmussen Reports:

Election 2008: Maine Senate — Maine Senate: Collins (R) 52% Allen (D) 42% — The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Maine voters shows that the state's U.S. Senate race has gotten a little bit tighter this month. In her bid for re-election, Republican Senator Susan Collins …

Discussion: Cliff Schecter, Daily Kos, MyDD, Eschaton and Swing State Project

American Research Group:
Democrats — Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama 56% to 38% among men …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and TalkLeft

Jonah Goldberg / The Corner:

The Long Night of an Obama Presidency — Reading this piece about the Edwards endorsement of Obama, a cold shiver went down my spine. As scary as a Deval Patrick appointment as AG would be (I've long thought he would be Obama's likely choice), the suggestion that John Edwards …

Discussion: Political Radar and American Street

CNN:

Edwards flatly rules out running with Obama — (CNN) — Seeing John Edwards and Barack Obama on the same stage earlier this week left political pundits buzzing: Could these two be an unbeatable presidential ticket? — They appeared to have natural chemistry — something Edwards …

Discussion: MyDD, Open Left, Sister Toldjah and DownWithTyranny!

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Bush Rebuffed on Oil Plea in Saudi Arabia — RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — With the price of oil hitting record highs, President Bush used a private visit to King Abdullah's ranch here Friday to make a second attempt to persuade the Saudi government to increase oil production and was rebuffed yet again.

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Washington Post, MarketWatch, Climate Progress, Washington Monthly, American Street, The American Conservative, Hoffmania! and The Huffington Post

Marc Ambinder:

The White House Changes Targets — Ed Gillespie, gaggling to reporters today in Saudi Arabia, said that the White House really meant to Get Carter, not Obama:

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, michellemalkin.com, Sister Toldjah and Open Left

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:

A Blogger Call With Hillary Clinton: It's the Map Not the Math — Update: Taylor Marsh has posted the audio of the call here. — We had a great blogger call with a very hoarse Hillary Clinton today. It was just for bloggers so she could thank us for our support. — She is staying in the race.

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, Taylor Marsh, The Other McCain and Booman Tribune

New York Magazine:

Republican Consultant Alex Castellanos: Obama Has 60 Percent Odds of Winning — Castellanos at Harvard on March 5.Photo: Darren McCollester/Getty Images — The Republican media consultant Alex Castellanos has been called the father of the modern political attack ad …

Discussion: The New Republic and Political Machine

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

McCain Responds: Americans Have “Every Reason To Doubt” Whether Obama Can Keep Us Safe — Here's the response from McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds to Obama's speech hitting McCain and Bush on foreign policy today: … You know, I wasn't aware that Obama had ever indicated that he thinks “we don't have enemies.”

Discussion: The Page, Talking Points Memo, The Carpetbagger Report, The RBC, Swampland and Hoffmania!

Marc Ambinder:

Rove Belittles Obama At NRA Convo — At the NRA convention in Kentucky this afternoon, Karl Rove portrayed Barack Obama as an effete, South Side liberal who claims he's immune to criticism and and who would confiscate guns by the barrel. The gun stuff is much less important than Rove's general line …

Discussion: The Page and Salon