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

7:00 PM ET, May 28, 2008

Top Items:

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: Political Punch, BuzzFlash.org, TIME.com, Daily Kos, BAGnewsNotes and The Huffington Post

Wall Street Journal:

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: On Deadline, Attackerman, The Trail, Taylor Marsh and Washington Wire

Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:

Ex-Press Aide Writes That Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq — Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated “political propaganda campaign” led by President Bush and aimed at “manipulating sources of public opinion” …

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

WHITE HOUSE REACTS TO MCCLELLAN'S BOOK — From NBC's Les Kretman — White House press secretary Dana Perino released this statement on Scott McClellan's critical book on the Bush White House: — “Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House.

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

Redstate:

Incompetence, Thy Name Is . . . “SCOTT MCCLELLAN” — There's not much more that needs to be said than what Haystack said, but let me pile on a bit. — Since I began blogging, I've begged and pleaded for the White House to fire the guy. He was a terrible press secretary who now resorts to sounding like one of the Kos Kidz.

Discussion: New York Times, DownWithTyranny!, On Deadline and Flopping Aces

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

Discussion: The Corner, Balloon Juice, The Carpetbagger Report and FishBowlDC

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

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

Discussion: Nitpicker and Connecting.the.Dots

Ken Herman / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Bush misled U.S. on Iraq, former aide says in new book

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Gawker, Preemptive Karma, Burnt Orange Report, LewRockwell.com Blog, Clayton Cramer's BLOG and The Daily Dish

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: Hot Air, Redstate, TPM Election Central and Taylor Marsh

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, MyDD and NO QUARTER

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

Fernando Suarez / CBS News:

Clinton Casts Wide Net of Exaggeration, Claims to Lead in “Every Poll” — From CBS News' Fernando Suarez: — BILLINGS, MONT. — During an evening rally in Montana's largest city Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton explained to the crowd why she should be the Democratic Party's nominee …

Discussion: The Jed Report, Liberal Values and The Moderate Voice

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, Salon, Spin Cycle, Booman Tribune and Irish Trojan in Tennessee

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

National Review:

Is Obama Willing To Meet Ahmadinejad, But Not Petraeus? — Obama spokesman Bill Burton, responding to John McCain's suggestion that both he and Obama take a trip to Iraq in the near future: — You know what is intriguingly missing from that answer? Any indication that Obama will return to Iraq before Election Day.

Discussion: GOP.com, Stop The ACLU, Wake up America, The American Mind and Redstate

Fox News:
McCain to Obama: The Proof Is in the Visit

Discussion: Spin Cycle, The Swamp, Boston Globe and American Spectator

Stephen Adams / Telegraph:

John Bolton to be target of citizen's arrest at Hay Festival — John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, faces a citizen's arrest when he addresses an audience at the Hay Festival in Wales this evening. — George Monbiot, the journalist and activist …

Discussion: Think Progress, A Blog For All and MoJoBlog

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 …

Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:

Clinton's Two-State Two-Step — On Saturday, when the Rules Committee of the Democratic National Committee meets to determine the fate of Florida and Michigan's delegations to this summer's convention, it will have some company. A group of Hillary Clinton supporters has announced it will demonstrate outside.

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

Roger Simon / The Politico:
Dems seek to avoid meltdown

Discussion: The Swamp, The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, Ben Smith's Blogs, Real Clear Politics, Wake up America, Stumper, Political Machine and Washington Wire

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

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, Associated Press and MyDD

Oregonian:

Why I've chosen to back Barack Obama — F or the first time in 40 years, the Oregon Democratic primary has played a pivotal role in deciding who may be our president. In casting our votes, we Oregonians understood the seriousness of our decision. — As one of the superdelegates …

Discussion: 2008 Democratic … and DownWithTyranny!

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