memeorandum: Down but dangerous: how al-Qaeda has been pushed on to the defensive (Stephen Fidler/Financial Times)

2:25 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, JammieWearingFool and Commentary

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, Little Green Footballs and Redstate

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: The Daily Dish, The Opinionator, abu muqawama, Newshoggers.com, Firedoglake, PoliGazette and Happy Furry Puppy Story …

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, Los Angeles Times, Hullabaloo, Matthew Yglesias, Below The Beltway, rubber hose and Associated Press

Juan Cole / Informed Comment:
US Seeking 58 Bases; Khamenei Tells al-Maliki not to sign Security Pact

Discussion: American Footprints

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. Has anyone asked John McCain whether he has any second thoughts about the campaign finance law that bears his name? — In the video above of Obama's appearance in Bristol, Virginia, he appears to be having an out of body experience.

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Wake up America

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 and The Political Carnival

Mark Hemingway / National Review:

Jewish Whispering Campaign — Newsweek has a piece this week on Barack Obama — titled “His Jewish Problem: A Myth?” — that is an absolutely Herculean feat of water-carrying for the Illinois senator. But before tackling the factual problems, the article's biggest problem needs to be addressed …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, TPM Election Central, Commentary, Power Line, TIME.com, Political Punch, The Carpetbagger Report, Betsy's Page, Gateway Pundit, Open Left, The Mahablog and Sister Toldjah

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

Discussion: Commentary

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

Chris Orr / The New Republic:

Get Carter — We'll see whether it's a line of attack he sticks with, but John McCain's effort to tie Barack Obama to Jimmy Carter in an interview with Brian Williams last night seems like an awfully weak political gambit. McCain quipped: … Where to begin?

Discussion: Attackerman, Commentary, The Carpetbagger Report and Political Punch

David Weigel / Reason Magazine:
He's History's Greatest Monster!

Discussion: Cameron's Corner, American Street, Wizbang, Balloon Juice and Israel Matzav

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

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

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.”

ABCNEWS:

Justice Department Official Awards $500,000 Grant to Golf Group — Former Staffer Tells ABC News Anti-Crime Funds Given to Programs With The “Right” Connections. — A senior Justice Department official says a $500,000 federal grant to the World Golf Foundation is an appropriate use …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Carpetbagger Report, Crooks and Liars, Big Brass Blog and Attackerman

Matea Gold / Los Angeles Times:

CNN works to keep its political winning streak going — The presidential primary race has pushed the news network's audience numbers up. Now it wants to keep the momentum going. — NEW YORK — Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama aren't the only ones courting swing voters as the 2008 campaign shifts into its next phase.

Discussion: TVNewser and Romenesko