memeorandum: Clinton: The Difference Between Could and Will (Chris Cillizza/The Fix)

9:00 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, The Trail, On Deadline, Media Blog, Taylor Marsh, Washington Wire, Clayton Cramer's BLOG, Slog and Romenesko

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, Power Line, Hot Air 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, Redstate, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Political Punch, The Daily Dish, Think Progress, QandO, Balloon Juice, BuzzFlash.org, TIME.com, Crunchy Con, Pajamas Media, On Deadline, Liberty Street, INSTAPUTZ, atrios.blogspot.com and American Power

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

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

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

Discussion: Nitpicker, Swampland and Connecting.the.Dots

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

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

Discussion: Political Punch, The Huffington Post, MSNBC, CNN, Daily Kos, Wall Street Journal, The Carpetbagger Report and The Democratic Daily

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

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, Commentary, Comments from Left Field, Political Machine, A Blog For All and Don Surber

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: 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, The Corner, Daily Kos, The Carpetbagger Report, TalkLeft and The Hill

Nitya / Political Radar:
Rendell: Clinton ‘Very Unlikely’ To Win

Discussion: TIME.com

Krissah Williams / The Trail: Florida Voter's Lawsuit Dismissed

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

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, Irish Trojan in Tennessee and TalkLeft

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: NO QUARTER, The Swamp 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

GOP.com:

RNC Launches Online Clock Counting Days Since Obama's Last Visit to Iraq — Why Does Obama Readily Agree To One-On-One Negotiations With Ahmadinejad, But Decline One-On-One Briefings With Our Military Leaders? — WASHINGTON - RNC Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan released the following statement today:

Discussion: Wake up America, Top of the Ticket and Needlenose

Fox News:
Obama Considering Solo Trip to Iraq, After McCain Challenge

Discussion: Boston Globe, Spin Cycle, The Caucus, The Swamp and Sister Toldjah

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Obama Says He Is Considering Iraq Trip

Discussion: 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

BlueOregon:

Another Superdelegate for Obama: Wayne Kinney — Wayne Kinney, a DNC committeeperson from Bend, has announced his support for Barack Obama. He joins Meredith Wood Smith, who announced earlier today, and four other superdelegates backing Obama. Oregon has 12 in all. Two have announced support for Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Comments from Left Field and Political Machine

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 and The Political Carnival

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

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Clinton: The Difference Between Could and Will — Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign is edging closer to overtly making the argument that she — and she alone — can beat John McCain in the fall election. — “There is a difference between someone who could win and someone who will win,” …