memeorandum: ISTOOK SENT EARMARKS TO SIX ABRAMOFF CLIENTS (Erich W. Zimmermann/Taxpayers …)

4:35 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, Lonewacko, Cliff Schecter, The Democratic Daily, New York Magazine, 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: The Swamp, The Daily Dish, Liberal Values, The Raw Story, The Democratic Daily, Minnesota Monitor, Pajamas Media, Donklephant 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, Wonkette, Los Angeles Times, Shakesville, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Pam's House Blend, Balloon Juice and The Washington Independent

Associated Press:

Clinton says she's open to being Obama's VP — WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton told colleagues Tuesday she would be consider joining Barack Obama as his running mate, and advisers said she was withholding a formal departure from the race partly to use her remaining leverage to press for a spot on the ticket.

Discussion: Union-News, Washington Wire, Rocky Mountain News, TalkLeft, Corrente, Wake up America, Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, the albany project and Donklephant

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: Matthew Yglesias and Reason Magazine

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Montana Governor, Senators Set To Jump Off Fence

Discussion: American Street, The Trail, Associated Press, The Field and TPM Election Central

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
McAuliffe: If Obama Gets Magic Number, Hillary Will Concede

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

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

Discussion: Time

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

Discussion: The Fix, The Moderate Voice, American Research Group, JammieWearingFool and Macsmind

Associated Press:
Obama picks up 2 Massachusetts superdelegates

Discussion: 2008 Democratic … and St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Detroit Free Press:
Kilpatrick, 4 other Mich. superdelegates pick Obama

Discussion: The Caucus and MSNBC

Washington Post:
Obama On Brink Of Historic Victory

Discussion: The Reaction

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

Discussion: New York Times, Commentary, No More Mister Nice Blog, Swampland and Slog

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

Discussion: The Fix, The Moderate Voice and The Reaction

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

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

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

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

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, The Daily Dish, Top of the Ticket and TIME.com

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Clinton, pushed as VP, doesn't push back — In a call with the New York congressional delegation that just ended, Hillary Clinton heard calls that she become Barack Obama's running mate — and notably didn't tamp those voices down, two people familiar with the call's contents said.

Discussion: The Raw Story and TIME.com

Associated Press:
Clinton: Open to being Obama's vice president

Discussion: The Jed Report

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, Outside The Beltway, Redstate, TownHall Blog, Real Clear Politics and Shakesville

Cathleen Falsani / Chicago Sun Times:
‘This is a dangerous time in America . . . you have to whisper your thoughts’

Discussion: The Daily Dish, michellemalkin.com and Betsy's Page

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

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

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

David Brooks / New York Times:

Calling Dr. Doom — It took Christopher Columbus about 70 days to get to the New World — a bit less than half as long as it took us to get through the 2008 primary calendar. But by Tuesday night, we'll have reached our destination, and people in the Obama and McCain camps are feeling good about themselves.

Discussion: The Next Right, Connecting.the.Dots and TownHall Blog

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report: Obama's comfort level at the non-existent Applebee's salad bar

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, JammieWearingFool, Balloon Juice, The Strata-Sphere, NO QUARTER 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

Mark Halperin / TIME.com:

HALPERIN'S TAKE: What Obama And Clinton Underestimate — Obama underestimates: — 1. The intensely loyal feelings many of Clinton's supporters have about her - and the intensely negative feelings they have about him. — 2. That any delay in choosing a running mate will only bring rampant speculation …

Discussion: marbury

Amz / Democracy Corps:

Another Congressional Wave Election — In the latest Democracy Corps battleground survey of 1,600 likely voters conducted May 19-26, 2008, we modified our sample design to include more hard-to-reach Republican-held districts. And even in this totally Republican battleground that Bush won …

Discussion: The Raw Story, TPM Election Central and Naked Politics

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 and Sister Toldjah