Top Items:
Kelly Moeller / Political Punch:
Rove: Obama's the Guy at the Country Club Holding a Martini Making Snide Comments About Everyone Else — ABC News' Christianne Klein reports that at a breakfast with Republican insiders at the Capitol Hill Club this morning, former White House senior aide Karl Rove referred to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, as “coolly arrogant.”
David Whitford / Fortune:
The evolution of John McCain — As a maverick Senator, he took pride in just saying no to everyone's wish list. But as a presidential contender, he's become a tax cutter and defender of home mortgages. The inside story of how the candidate is shaping his plan to fix the economy.
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Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
OBAMA vs. McCAIN ON THE ECONOMY....Fortune magazine has parallel interviews about the economy with John McCain and Barack Obama in the current issue, and the PR email they sent me highlights their answers to this question: … It's as if McCain is trying to become a parody of himself here.
Discussion:
Megan McArdle, Comments from Left Field, The Carpetbagger Report and No More Mister Nice Blog
Matt / Think Progress:
McCain adviser: Another attack on the U.S. ‘would be a big advantage’ for McCain. — Earlier this year, after former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto was tragically assassinated, pundits speculated that the shocking attack may have benefited Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) politically.
Ken Wheaton / AdAge:
Obama Campaign Drops Faux Presidential Seal — The Possum Sleeps Tonight — Last week, Barack Obama unveiled a new campaign seal — and not the kind that swims, barks and balances balls on the end of its nose. Rather, it was the kind that has a big old eagle on it and some Latin …
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Marc Ambinder:
A No “Seal” Zone, Starting..... I've had my fun with the Obama campaign's seal, and now that fun ends. I'm told that Obama recognizes that it was a silly mistake, that the universal reaction at Wacker and Michigan was, “Boy, was that dumb,” and that they don't think the seal staging will matter to actual voters.
Joe Klein / Swampland:
Too Good to Check — I have no way of knowing if this is true, though the source is excellent...but the word in Republican circles is that John McCain is quite frustrated by the vice presidential selection process because he can't go with any of his top three choices. They are:
Discussion:
MoJoBlog
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The New Republic syndrome — (updated below - Update II) — The number one problem facing the Democratic Party is that, as events of the last week demonstrate, it continues to be plagued by The New Republic Syndrome, one of the most fatal political afflictions that exist.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, TalkLeft, American Street, Unfogged and Booman Tribune
Mel Watkins / NYT > Movies:
George Carlin, Irreverent Comedian, Dies at 71 — George Carlin, the Grammy-Award winning standup comedian and actor who was hailed for his irreverent social commentary, poignant observations of the absurdities of everyday life and language, and groundbreaking routines like …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Home Not-So-Sweet Home — “Owning a home lies at the heart of the American dream.” So declared President Bush in 2002, introducing his “Homeownership Challenge” — a set of policy initiatives that were supposed to sharply increase homeownership, especially for minority groups. — Oops.
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Larry Rohter / New York Times:
Obama Camp Closely Linked With Ethanol — When VeraSun Energy inaugurated a new ethanol processing plant last summer in Charles City, Iowa, some of that industry's most prominent boosters showed up. Leaders of the National Corn Growers Association and the Renewable Fuels Association …
CNN:
Officials: Iraqi councilman kills U.S. soldiers — BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A member of an Iraqi city council shot at U.S. forces Monday outside Baghdad, killing at least three soldiers, two Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said. — But the U.S. military said one coalition soldier and an …
Discussion:
Attackerman
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
‘The Google’ — The first question at an excellent panel at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York today with top web folks from the leading campaign goes to McCain aide Mark Soohoo. — Moderator Andrew Rasiej asks for a show of hands on whether the panelists have had to tell the candidate not to say …
Discussion:
techPresident
William Kristol / New York Times:
Someone Else's Alex — The people at MoveOn.org have a new Iraq ad that is, if they do say so themselves, their most effective ever. Then again, for the group that brought us the “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” ad last September, that might not be saying much.
Rebecca Traister / Salon:
Why Clinton voters say they won't support Obama — The attack of the PUMAs, or a dozen reasons why Clinton voters are still too angry to come home. — Hillary Clinton supporters wait for their candidate to arrive at the National Building Museum in Washington on June 7.