memeorandum: McCain proposes $300 million prize for better car battery (CNN)

4:40 PM ET, June 23, 2008

Top Items:

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.”

Discussion: Wonkette, The Carpetbagger Report, The New Republic, Real Clear Politics, TIME.com, TPM Election Central and Donklephant

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, No More Mister Nice Blog, Comments from Left Field and The Carpetbagger Report

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.

Discussion: Think Progress, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Carpetbagger Report, Too Sense, Pajamas Media, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, MSNBC, Political Radar, AMERICAblog News and Raw Story

Matt / Think Progress:
McCain adviser: Another attack on the U.S. ‘would be a big advantage’ for McCain.

Discussion: TPM Election Central

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 …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Redstate and The Democratic Daily

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.

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Commentary, Wonkette and Wake up America

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: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, American Street, TalkLeft, Unfogged and Booman Tribune

Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:
FISA: Turning Up The Pressure

Discussion: The G Spot

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, Donklephant and Democratic Strategist

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 …

Discussion: The Corner, Associated Press, protein wisdom, Salon, JustOneMinute, The Trail, Don Surber, The Jed Report, TPM Election Central, The Caucus, Political Machine, The Confluence, The Bellows, Donklephant and BuzzFlash.org

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

First Obama attack book in the works — The same publisher that distributed the 2004 best-seller that took aim at John Kerry's Vietnam service is planning a summer release of what's scheduled to be the first critical book on Barack Obama. — Conservative journalist David Freddoso's …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Fox News, Comments from Left Field, The Caucus, American Spectator and Donklephant

Byron York / The Corner:
“Swiftboating” — It's common to see mentions in the press …

Discussion: The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

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.

Discussion: GoozNews, Matthew Yglesias, Angry Bear, Outside The Beltway and Don Surber

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic: Krugman v. Homeownership...Go Krugman!

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 …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Moderate Voice, Time, Althouse, Boing Boing, Towleroad.com, ACLU Blog, The Big Picture, First Draft, Secular Blasphemy, TV Decoder, Martini Revolution, The Carpetbagger Report, Comments from Left Field, Outside The Beltway and Lawyers, Guns and Money

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.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice, The Moderate Voice, TalkLeft, NO QUARTER, The Confluence, Tennessee Guerilla Women and The Strata-Sphere

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.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, MyDD, Wake up America, Shakesville, No More Mister Nice Blog, Rising Hegemon, Blue Girl, Red State, Salon, Commentary and Connecting.the.Dots

CNN:

McCain proposes $300 million prize for better car battery — (CNN) — Sen. John McCain is expected Monday to call for a $300 million prize for innovation that would help the U.S. decrease its reliance on oil, a day after his rival for the presidency called for greater oversight for energy traders.

Discussion: Wonk Room and Climate Progress

Glen Johnson / Associated Press:
Sen. McCain offers $300 million prize for new auto battery

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Wonkette and Donklephant

Roger Kimball / Encounter Books:

Encounter Bids The New York York Times Farewell — Beginning today, June 23, 2008, Encounter Books will no longer send its books to The New York Times for review. Of course, the editors at the Times are welcome to trot down to their local book emporium or visit Amazon.com to purchase our books …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Commentary, Roger L. Simon and Power Line

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