memeorandum: A Nod to the Insiders — As John McCain was purging Washington … (Jill Abramson/New York Times)

4:15 PM ET, June 1, 2008

Top Items:

Rev. Pfleger: 'They want to kill me...it's been ugly' — The Rev. Michael Pfleger, who helped reignite Barack Obama's pastor problems by mocking Hillary Clinton, said this evening he's received “thousands of hate threats” since his videotaped pulpit rant. — “They want to kill me,” …

Discussion: Political Punch, Associated Press, Wake up America, Lynn Sweet, Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, JammieWearingFool, QandO and TIME.com

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Leaving His Church — Obama on Trinity:

Discussion: Prairie Weather, TalkLeft, Pam's House Blend and Baltimore Sun

Mark Steyn / The Corner:

Pews you can lose — As one of the early trailblazers for the Rev Wright put it, greater love hath no man than to lay down his friends for his life. In among all the usual presidential ditching of inconvenient associations, I can't think of anything to compare with Obama's dumping of Trinity.

Discussion: Flopping Aces, GINA COBB and Power Line

Dan Gilgoff / God-o-Meter:
Obama's Church Resignation: Not a Rebuke

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Tom Raum / Associated Press:
Obama quits Chicago church after long controversy

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Michael Powell / New York Times:
Following Months of Criticism, Obama Quits His Church

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, the talking dog, TPM Election Central and The Swamp

Fox News:

Clinton Emerges Victorious in Puerto Rico, But Win Likely Won't Propel Candidacy — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hillary Clinton won the Democratic presidential primary in Puerto Rico on Sunday, and is expected to return to the mainland with a purseful of delegates.

Discussion: MyDD

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:

Turnout in Puerto Rico May Be Low — Geraldo Rivera is in Puerto Rico. He interviewed Hillary Clinton but it hasn't aired yet. — From his live report: — Turnout has been low to moderate. — She needs 160,000 votes for popular vote lead — She will win majority of delegates and superdelegates.

Discussion: Associated Press, Sister Toldjah and Pajamas Media

CNN:

Clinton wins Puerto Rico by wide margin, CNN projects — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton will win Puerto Rico's Democratic primary by a wide margin, CNN projects, giving her the larger share of the territory's 55 delegates. — As polls closed, it was too early to determine the exact margin of victory.

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM)

Fausta / Fausta's blog:
Will Puerto Rico make or break Hillary?

Discussion: Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Fix, The Trail and Redstate

Zzaki / Political Radar:
Obama Won't Wait for Clinton Concession

Discussion: Boston Globe, Associated Press, The Jed Report, Tennessee Guerilla Women, TIME.com and The Caucus

Tim Shipman / Telegraph:
Hillary Clinton to be offered dignified exit

Discussion: TalkLeft, Liberal Values, Hot Air, Fox News, Sister Toldjah, protein wisdom, Wake up America, DownWithTyranny!, NO QUARTER, Liberty Street, Stubborn Facts, The Moderate Voice, The Raw Story, Too Sense and Vox Popoli

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
THE NEW MATH — From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

Discussion: TPM Election Central, Election Law and Spin Cycle

Todd S. Purdum / Vanity Fair:

The Comeback Id — Old friends and longtime aides are wringing their hands over Bill Clinton's post-White House escapades, from the dubious (and secretive) business associations to the media blowups that have bruised his wife's campaign, to the private-jetting around with a skirt-chasing, scandal-tinged posse.

Discussion: Fox News, Booman Tribune and Sister Toldjah

Washington Post:

The Iraqi Upturn — THERE'S BEEN a relative lull in news coverage and debate about Iraq in recent weeks — which is odd, because May could turn out to have been one of the most important months of the war. While Washington's attention has been fixed elsewhere, military analysts have watched …

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Democracy Project, Flopping Aces, The Strata-Sphere, Hot Air, African American …, MSNBC, The Diplomad, Commentary, The Long War Journal, Dean's World, NewsBusters.org and Redstate

Alexandra Zavis / Los Angeles Times:
In Iraq, month ends with lowest U.S. death toll yet

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Neptunus Lex, Attackerman, Weekly Standard, Commentary, Gateway Pundit and missing links

Walter Shapiro / Salon:

The new math in Florida and Michigan — After a day of wrangling in Washington, the magic number for the Democratic presidential nomination is now 2,118, and Hillary Clinton nets 24 largely symbolic votes. — Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee members, from left …

Discussion: Firedoglake, MyDD, Naked Politics and Associated Press

Taylor Marsh:
Dear Rules and Bylaw Committee Power Brokers

Discussion: The New Republic, Obsidian Wings and Hillary Is 44

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
OBAMA HAD THE VOTES FOR 50-50 MI SPLIT

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight.com, The Seminal, The Carpetbagger Report, Buck Naked Politics, The Corner, The Political Carnival, Spin Cycle, The Daily Dish, Daily Kos and Associated Press

Associated Press:
Officials say Fla., Mich. delegates will get half-votes

Discussion: The News Buckit, NY Daily News, Ben Smith's Blogs, AMERICAblog, Redstate, Jules Crittenden, TRAIL BLAZERS, Perez Hilton, Pam's House Blend, The Carpetbagger Report, The Reaction and Wall Street Journal

CNN:
Florida, Michigan: All the delegates, half the votes

Discussion: Commentary, Blue Mass. Group, Uppity Wisconsin, TRAIL BLAZERS and The Caucus

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Clinton Supporter Ejected From Rules Meeting, “McCain Will Be Our Next President”

Discussion: Don Surber, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Buck Naked Politics, The Mahablog, Redstate, The Reaction, The Jed Report, Wake up America and Stop The ACLU

Amanda / Think Progress:

McClellan promises to donate portion of book profits to Iraq veterans. — Yesterday, MoveOn launched a petition calling on former White House press secretary Scott McClellan to donate the proceeds from his new book to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and New York Times

Nicole Belle / Crooks and Liars: McClellan Agrees To Donate Some Proceeds Of His Book To Iraq/Afghanistan Vets

Ben Feller / Associated Press:
McClellan: Bush should have fired Rove

Discussion: Think Progress, The Carpetbagger Report and Roger L. Simon

Clark Hoyt / New York Times:

Entitled to Their Opinions, Yes. But Their Facts? — ON May 12, The Times published an Op-Ed article by Edward N. Luttwak, a military historian, who argued that any hopes that a President Barack Obama might improve relations with the Muslim world were unrealistic because Muslims would be …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, TPMCafe, Yourish.com and Ben Smith's Blogs

Jill Abramson / New York Times:

A Nod to the Insiders — As John McCain was purging Washington lobbyists from his campaign last month, Barack Obama fired up a withering put-down. — “It appears,” he said, “that John McCain is a creature of Washington.” — The two senators have been tripping over each other to distance themselves …

Discussion: TownHall Blog