memeorandum: On the AP count — It's a bit hard to know what to make of this … (Ben Smith/Ben Smith's Blogs)

3:50 PM ET, June 3, 2008

Top Items:

AP tally: Obama effectively clinches nomination … WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, The Sundries Shack, New York Magazine, The Democratic Daily, Macleans.ca Blog Central, Political Machine, Blue Mass. Group, Macsmind, Sister Toldjah, Outside The Beltway and Slog

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Superdelegates surge to Obama — A tsunami of superdelegates is poised to rush to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over the next 12 hours, giving him a mathematical lock on his party's presidential nomination. — The superdelegate surge is likely to swamp a few holdouts within the camp …

Discussion: Rocky Mountain News, Liberal Values, The Daily Dish, The Raw Story, Minnesota Monitor, Donklephant, Pajamas Media and Real Clear Politics

CNN:

Clinton not ready to concede, her chairman says — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton's is “absolutely not” prepared to concede the race for the Democratic presidential nomination to Sen. Barack Obama, her campaign chairman said. — Terry McAuliffe rejected as “100 percent” …

Discussion: MSNBC, MoJoBlog, Shakesville, Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Pam's House Blend, Balloon Juice, The Washington Independent and Donklephant

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

On the AP count — It's a bit hard to know what to make of this: AP just called the race based on its own delegate count. — The catch: … Not to be a stickler here, but that's not how this has been working, either in our count or in in the Obama campaign's. The commitments that matter are the ones that are public.

Discussion: Time

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

McAuliffe: If Obama Gets Magic Number, Hillary Will Concede — Did Hillary campaign chair Terry McAuliffe just reveal that Hillary will concede defeat when Obama clinches the magic number of 2,118 delegates? — He certainly appeared to do just that this morning on The Today Show. Here's the exchange...

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Open Left, The RBC, Political Machine and The Mahablog

Marc Ambinder:

RNC Memo: Dems In Chaos — The Republican National Committee will send out an agenda-setting memo later this afternoon that portrays the Democratic Party in a state of disarray and claims that legions of Hillary Clinton voters are poised to jump to John McCain.

Discussion: Reason Magazine

CNN:

Clinton backer Feinstein says it's time to end — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Major Hillary Clinton supporter Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Tuesday the final primaries mark a “moment of truth” for the New York senator, who should end her campaign. — The California senator also repeated her view …

Discussion: TPM Election Central and TIME.com

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Montana Governor, Senators Set To Jump Off Fence — The three highest ranking Democrats in Montana plan to wade into the Democratic presidential race as soon as the state's primary is decided tonight, according to a source familiar with the decision. — Gov. Brian Schweitzer …

Discussion: The Trail, Associated Press, The Field, TPM Election Central and Taegan Goddard's …

Yahoo! News:
Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP

Discussion: Washington Wire, Wake up America, Daily Kos, Associated Press, the albany project and The Democratic Daily

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Clinton, pushed as VP, doesn't push back

Discussion: TIME.com

Yahoo! News:
AP tally: Obama effectively clinches nomination

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, The Carpetbagger Report, Threat Level, MyDD, The Jed Report and Mathew Gross

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Obama Pushes Effort to Claim Victory Tonight

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, The Politico, The Caucus, Big Brass Blog, THE GUN TOTING LIBERAL™, American Street, Swampland, MSNBC, The Plank, Boston Globe, Real Clear Politics, The Carpetbagger Report, marbury, PoliBlog (TM), Politicker and TPM Election Central

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Wolfson denies AP report

Discussion: The Fix, The Moderate Voice and The Reaction

Scott Helman / Boston Globe:
Trouble signs as Obama closes in

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, JammieWearingFool and Macsmind

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:
Clinton Campaign Denies AP Report That She Will Concede Obama Has Won

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, AMERICAblog, Associated Press, Hot Air, Corrente, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room and The Democratic Daily

Randyj / TIME.com:
“Senator Clinton Will Not Concede the Nomination This Evening”

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Slog

Washington Post:
Obama On Brink Of Historic Victory

Discussion: The Reaction

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
South Dakota, Montana Primary Predictions

Discussion: American Research Group, Taegan Goddard's …, The Democratic Daily and Donklephant

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Obama Pushes to Claim Victory After Final Votes

Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs and Swampland

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:

A Campaign to Hate — Wherever I go — from glittering dinner party to glittering dinner party — the famous and powerful people I meet (for such is my life) tell me how lucky I am to be a journalist in this the greatest of all presidential contests. I tell them, for I am wont to please …

Discussion: marbury, Hot Air, Redstate, Outside The Beltway, TownHall Blog, Real Clear Politics, Shakesville and Raising Kaine

Bob Herbert / New York Times:
A Gift to the G.O.P. — Talk about self-inflicted wounds.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Weekly Standard Blog, Real Clear Politics and Commentary

Froma Harrop / Real Clear Politics:
White Women Take the Gloves Off

Discussion: protein wisdom, Don Surber, No More Mister Nice Blog and Jonathan Martin's Blogs

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:

New Questions about Vice President Cheney's Role in CIA Leak — Chairman Waxman urges Attorney General Mukasey to turn over the FBI interviews of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, citing new information from the FBI interview of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and the recent disclosures by Scott McClellan.

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Nukes & Spooks and The Washington Independent

Faiz / Think Progress:
Waxman calls for release of FBI interviews with Bush and Cheney.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Emptywheel and Needlenose

Alisyn Camerota / Alisyn in the Greenroom:

Beckel's Obama Bombshell — Were you watching at 6:25 when Democratic strategist Bob Beckel dropped a bomb on us? He said he'd heard through his political pipeline that a big shoe was about to drop on the Obama campaign. It has something to do with Michelle Obama.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Hot Air, NO QUARTER, Balloon Juice, The Strata-Sphere, JammieWearingFool and Rising Hegemon

Associated Press:

Former screen siren Bardot convicted in race case — PARIS - Brigitte Bardot was convicted Tuesday of provoking discrimination and racial hatred for writing that Muslims are destroying France. — A Paris court also handed down a $23,325 fine against the former screen siren and animal rights campaigner.

Discussion: Law Blog, Reason Magazine, Don Surber and The Volokh Conspiracy

CNN:

Admiral: Bush doesn't want war with Iran — (CNN) — Retired Adm. William Fallon resigned in March as leader of the U.S. military's Central Command after reportedly clashing with President Bush. — During an interview Tuesday on CNN's American Morning," Fallon denied a magazine article's assertion …

Discussion: BuzzFlash.org

McQ / QandO:
ADM. WILLIAM FALLON'S FIRST INTERVIEW

Discussion: Hot Air and Outside The Beltway

The Corner:

My Old Party — This is an astounding moment in American politics. You cannot credibly say the Clintons are a political dynasty the way, say, the Kennedys or Bushs are. But I think one has to say the Clinton rule of the Democratic party has been dynastic.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Power Line, PrestoPundit, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Sister Toldjah and The Next Right

Christopher Hitchens / Slate:

A Tale of Two Tell-Alls … - There was no rational reason to suspect a continuing Iraqi WMD threat. Feith's citations from the Duelfer Report alone are stunning in their implications. — That alternatives to war were never discussed and that the administration was out to “get” Saddam Hussein from the start.

Discussion: Political Machine