memeorandum: Breathless speculation marks veepstakes (Jonathan Martin/The Politico)

8:25 PM ET, May 28, 2008

Top Items:

Scott McClellan's Confession — Scott McClellan worked as a loyal press spokesman for George W. Bush for eight years, ultimately becoming White House Press Secretary . He resigned from that position in 2006, in the wake of the controversy over the Valerie Plame leak scandal.

Discussion: Attackerman, On Deadline, The Trail, Taylor Marsh, Media Blog, Washington Wire, Clayton Cramer's BLOG and Slog

Rich Noyes / NewsBusters.org:

What Happens When the Ex-Press Secretary Doesn't Trash His Boss — Before Scott McClellan was President Bush's Press Secretary, there was Ari Fleischer, and when Fleischer left the White House he wrote his own book, “Taking Heat: The President, the Press, and My Years in the White House.”

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Power Line and Lynn Sweet

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Scott McClellan on the “liberal media” — (updated below - Update II) — In a minimally rational world, this extraordinary passage, from the new book by Scott McClellan, would forever slay the single most ludicrous myth in our political culture: The “Liberal Media”: … Just consider how remarkable that is.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Political Punch, The Daily Dish, Balloon Juice, Crunchy Con, QandO, Pajamas Media, BuzzFlash.org, TIME.com, TPMMuckraker, BAGnewsNotes, Daily Kos, Liberty Street, atrios.blogspot.com, INSTAPUTZ and American Power

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
WHITE HOUSE REACTS TO MCCLELLAN'S BOOK

Discussion: Think Progress, FishBowlDC, The Impolitic, TBogg, The Raw Story, The Moderate Voice and The Swamp

Ali / Think Progress:
Loyal Bushies Smear McClellan: ‘Disgruntled,’ …

Discussion: Political Punch, The Corner, MSNBC, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Commentary, The Carpetbagger Report and The Democratic Daily

Douglas Stanglin / Bloomberg:
Bush ‘disappointed’ by tone of McClellan memoir

Discussion: Nitpicker, Connecting.the.Dots and Swampland

Henry Blodget / The Huffington Post: McClellan Book's Real Message: “I'm a Loser”

Redstate:
Incompetence, Thy Name Is . . .

Discussion: New York Times, DownWithTyranny!, Cheat Seeking Missiles, On Deadline, American Spectator, The Corner, Flopping Aces, The Lede and Reason Magazine

Mark Halperin / TIME.com:

Clinton's Letter to Superdelegates — The stakes in this election are so high: with two wars abroad, our economy in crisis here at home, and so many families struggling across America, the need for new leadership has never been greater. — At this point, we do not yet have a nominee …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Wake up America, Salon, Spin Cycle, Booman Tribune and Irish Trojan in Tennessee

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Hillary Clinton's Swing-State Advantage — Clinton says her primary wins are indicative of general-election results — PRINCETON, NJ — In the 20 states where Hillary Clinton has claimed victory in the 2008 Democratic primary and caucus elections (winning the popular vote) …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Hot Air, Redstate, TPM Election Central, Taylor Marsh and PSoTD

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: McCain 46%, Obama 45% — Obama leads Clinton among national Democrats by 50% to 44% — PRINCETON, NJ — John McCain and Barack Obama are now virtually tied at 46% to 45% when registered voters nationally are asked for whom they would vote next November if these were the two …

Discussion: The Swamp, NO QUARTER and MyDD

Fernando Suarez / CBS News:
Clinton Casts Wide Net of Exaggeration, Claims to Lead in “Every Poll”

Discussion: The Jed Report, Liberal Values, AMERICAblog, The Moderate Voice and The Political Carnival

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Selfless Leader's Final Appeal

Discussion: James Poulos

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:

Democrats Are Advised to Seat Half of 2 States' Delegations — Democratic Party lawyers have determined that no more than half the delegates from Florida and Michigan can be seated at the party's August convention, dealing a blow to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's efforts to seat the full delegations from those states.

Discussion: TIME.com, Comments from Left Field, Commentary, Political Machine, A Blog For All and Don Surber

Hillary Clinton / CNN:

Rendell: ‘Very unlikely’ Clinton will win — (CNN) - Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell - who has been one of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's biggest backers - said Wednesday that she would make a “far better candidate” than frontrunner Barack Obama in major swing states, but is “very unlikely” she will be the Democratic nominee this fall.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs and The Political Carnival

Hillary Clinton / CNN:

Florida court throws out DNC suit — (CNN) — A Florida court threw out a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the Democratic Party's decision not to seat delegates from Florida — as litigants prepared to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. — Political consultant Victor DiMaio …

Discussion: The Trail, MyDD, Associated Press, Wake up America, 2008 Democratic … and The Political Carnival

Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:
Clinton's Two-State Two-Step

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, TalkLeft, The Corner, Daily Kos, The Hill and The Carpetbagger Report

Fox News:

Obama Considering Solo Trip to Iraq, After McCain Challenge — Barack Obama is reportedly considering a trip to Iraq, after John McCain repeatedly challenged the Democratic front-runner to join him there and see the situation on the ground before concluding that U.S. efforts have failed to get the war-torn nation back on track.

Discussion: The Caucus, Spin Cycle, Boston Globe, The Swamp and TPM Election Central

GOP.com:
RNC Launches Online Clock Counting Days Since Obama's Last Visit to Iraq

Discussion: Wake up America, The Caucus, Top of the Ticket, Needlenose and Sister Toldjah

Bob Smizik / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Madden removed from air by ESPN — Mark Madden, who made his reputation with bold, outlandish attacks on famous people, has been permanently removed from the air by ESPN. — His dismissal, which came down from ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., came five days after he made a scurrilous remark …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and The Radio Equalizer

Stephen Adams / Telegraph:

John Bolton escapes citizen's arrest at Hay Festival — John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, has escaped an attempted citizen's arrest as he appeared at the Hay Festival. — George Monbiot is held off by security guards — Security guards blocked the path …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs and Moonbattery

Jeff Stier / The Politico:

Will Obama's former smoking impact health? — Now that John McCain has finally released his medical records, the issue of candidates' health should be put to rest, right? Not so fast. Barack Obama's campaign has said at least some of his medical records would be released next week …

Discussion: protein wisdom

Jill Zuckman / The Swamp: Obama smoking presents health issue

Transterrestrial Musings:

Maybe He Sailed Up The Rhine — OK, when we last left our hero, his [uncle]great-uncle had liberated [Auschwitz]Buchenwald while in the army. Or did he? … Hey, maybe the story is fake, but accurate. — You know, if I were an Obama staffer, I'd start fact checking everything he says, to try to stay ahead of the blogosphere.

Discussion: Riehl World View, Stubborn Facts, baldilocks, Sweetness & Light, The American Mind and A Blog For All

Josiah Ryan / CNSNews:

Conservatives Give Jindal Thumbs up as McCain's VP — (CNSNews.com) - Conservative leaders are rallying around Bobby Jindal, the 36-year-old Republican governor of Louisiana, as a possible vice presidential running mate for presumptive nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Discussion: PoliPundit.com

Walter Alarkon / The Hill:

Wasserman Schultz: Judiciary Committee Willing To Arrest Rove If He Doesn't Testify — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said that the House Judiciary Committee would be willing to arrest Karl Rove if the former White House official doesn't testify about his role in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006.

Discussion: Think Progress