memeorandum: The Immigration Con Artists (David Sirota from Creators Syndicate)

2:55 PM ET, June 10, 2008

Top Items:

Obama's Answer on the Johnson Conundrum — ABC News' Sunlen Miller today asked Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, how he could “rail against Countrywide Financial Corp as an example of insiders and today's economy while your VP search is headed by someone who got questionable loans from Countrywide?”

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Redstate, NewsBusters.org, Commentary and JammieWearingFool

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Obama: No vetting the vetters — At a press conference in St. Louis, Obama defends his choice of Jim Johnson to lead his vetting team, calling reports into Johnson's ties to the mortgage company Countrywide “a game.” — “Johnson has a very discrete task,” he said, dismissing the notion that he'd “hire vetters to vet the vetters.”

Discussion: MSNBC, The Campaign Spot and Commentary

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama's hypocrisy on Johnson continues Update: “Preposterous”

Discussion: Political Punch, Wake up America, Redstate and Little Green Footballs

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

Lieberman Camp To Obama: Back Off — We've been keeping you abreast of the ongoing behind-the-scenes battle between Barack Obama and Joe Lieberman, who is fast emerging as the front man for John McCain's attacks on Obama as unfit to defend the country, and now there have been some key new developments.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, TIME.com, Open Left, The Mahablog and The Reaction

Mark Hemingway / National Review:
Jewish Whispering Campaign

Discussion: Commentary, Political Punch, Power Line, Betsy's Page, The Carpetbagger Report, American Street, Gateway Pundit and Sister Toldjah

Mark Hemingway / The Corner:
Anatomy of an Obama Hit Job

Discussion: Commentary

Leila Fadel / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

U.S. seeking 58 bases in Iraq, Shiite lawmakers say — BAGHDAD -Iraqi lawmakers say the United States is demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed “status of forces” agreement that will allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely. — Leading members of the two ruling Shiite parties …

Discussion: Informed Comment, The Daily Dish, abu muqawama, The Opinionator, Newshoggers.com, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, Martini Revolution, PoliGazette, Firedoglake and American Footprints

Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:

Bush administration says it may not get Iraq deal this year — WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is conceding for the first time that the United States may not finish a complex security agreement with Iraq before President Bush leaves office. — Faced with stiff Iraqi opposition, it is …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Newshoggers.com, Gulf Times, Comments from Left Field, Hullabaloo, Los Angeles Times, Matthew Yglesias, Below The Beltway, rubber hose and Associated Press

CNN:

Senator says Obama VP search team discussed 20 names — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential vetting team discussed roughly 20 names with a senior Senate Democrat Tuesday, including some well-known options and others that are “outside the box.”

Discussion: TPM Election Central

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES... From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro

Discussion: The New Republic

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Obama could raise $100 million in June, fundraisers say — Leading Democratic fundraisers predict that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will raise hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few months if he opts out of public financing and begins raising money for the general election.

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Patterico's Pontifications, Wake up America, Macsmind, PoliGazette, PoliBlog (TM), Washington Post, Redstate, Firedoglake and Balloon Juice

The Big Trunk / Power Line:
SOMETHING'S HAPPENING HERE — The Hill reports that Obama may raise $100 million in June.

Discussion: TownHall Blog and Wake up America

David Brown / PittsburghLIVE.com:

Ron Paul plans his own convention — TRIBUNE-REVIEW — Maverick GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul has booked an arena in Minneapolis for a “mini-convention” that could steal some of John McCain's thunder just days before he accepts the Republican nomination.

Discussion: Fox News and Hot Air

CNN:

McCain: ‘I will veto every single beer’ — (CNN) - John McCain issued a promise Tuesday that may cause a bit of unrest with a broad swath of voters: — He'll veto every single beer? — In a slip of the tongue while railing against excessive earmarks at the National Small Business Summit in Washington …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Martini Revolution and The Political Carnival

H. Josef Hebert / Associated Press:

Republicans block extra taxes on oil companies — WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline.

Discussion: Yahoo! News

Hindrocket / Power Line:
SPEAKING OF WINDFALL PROFITS

Discussion: Reuters and AMERICAblog

Edward J. Markey / Wall Street Journal:

Why Is Bush Helping Saudi Arabia Build Nukes? — Here's a quick geopolitical quiz: What country is three times the size of Texas and has more than 300 days of blazing sun a year? What country has the world's largest oil reserves resting below miles upon miles of sand?

Discussion: The Washington Note, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Newshoggers.com, michellemalkin.com, The Moderate Voice, PoliGazette, Israel Matzav and The Volokh Conspiracy

David Saltonstall / NY Daily News:

Barack gets dressing down for dorkiness — Barack Obama ditched the campaign trail for the bike trail last weekend, offering onlookers a rare peek into the Democratic nominee's casual-wear closet. — It wasn't a pretty picture: ill-fitting jeans, a tucked-in golf shirt …

Discussion: Don Surber and JammieWearingFool

New York Post:

BARACK'S BITE — WE'RE in for taxing times if Barack Obama wins the White House, says CNBC's Maria Bartiromo. “He's going to take the capital gains tax at 15 percent right now all the way up to 25 to 28 percent,” the “Money Honey” tells Avenue. “Sell anything, like a home or stocks, and make a profit . . .

Discussion: Confederate Yankee, TIME.com, Commentary, John McCain Report blog, Blog entry, Gawker, Oliver Willis and QandO

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

McCain to visit Colombia — John McCain will visit Colombia for one day in early July and meet with President Alvaro Uribe, reports the country's largest daily. — According to today's edition of El Tiempo, potential stops include the capital in Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena.

Discussion: TIME.com

Marc Ambinder:

Clinton Asks Pledged Delegates To Support Obama (Updated) — Multiple Democratic sources say that Sen. Hillary Clinton, in a series of private conversations and conference calls, continues to urge her pledged delegates to vote for Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention.

Discussion: Dispatch, TPM Election Central and TIME.com

Stephen Fidler / Financial Times:

Down but dangerous: how al-Qaeda has been pushed on to the defensive — Between 1998 and 2001, the US suffered three serious terrorist attacks: against its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998; against the USS Cole, a warship docked in Aden, in 2000; and, most devastatingly, against New York and Washington on September 11 2001.

Discussion: The Sundries Shack, Hot Air, The Strata-Sphere and New York Sun