memeorandum: CNN Poll: Voters say both candidates likeable, flip-floppers (CNN)

11:10 PM ET, July 3, 2008

Top Items:

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:

Obama Might ‘Refine’ Iraq Timeline — Barack Obama in Fargo, N.D. (Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated Press) — FARGO, N.D. - Senator Barack Obama said Thursday the United States cannot sustain a long-term military presence in Iraq, but added that he would be open to “refine my policies” …

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Obama to ‘refine’ Iraq plan — Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Thursday backed off his firm promise to withdraw combat forces from Iraq immediately and instead said he could “refine” his plan after his trip to Baghdad later this month. — Earlier, a top Obama adviser had said that the senator is not “wedded” to a specific timeline.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, The Sundries Shack, Pajamas Media, The New Republic, Wake up America, Redstate and American Spectator

Jonathan Weisman / The Trail:
Obama Softens on Iraq Withdrawal Timeline

Discussion: The American Mind

Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Obama says Iraq trip could refine his policy

Discussion: Democrats.com

New York Times:
Obama Strives to Retain Some Flexibility on His Iraq Policy

Discussion: democracyarsenal.org

Scott Martelle / Top of the Ticket:
Is Barack Obama softening his Iraq withdrawal time line?

Discussion: NO QUARTER and The Swamp

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central: News Orgs Already Getting It Wrong On Obama's Iraq Remarks

Natalie Gewargis / Political Punch:
Obama's Iraq Quagmire

Discussion: iowahawk, protein wisdom, NewsBusters.org, Stop The ACLU, Guardian and Hot Air

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Obama will ‘continue to refine’ Iraq policy

Discussion: Hot Air, Obsidian Wings, The Jed Report, TPM Election Central and Talking Points Memo

Los Angeles Times:
Amid questions, Obama restates commitment to 16-month Iraq exit

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Patterico's Pontifications

Joe Rospars / my.barackobama.com:

Response from Barack on FISA and Discussion with Policy Staff — Barack is on the road today, but he wrote a response that he asked be posted on the blog. You'll find it below. — In addition, for the next 30 minutes or so, three members of our policy staff will be in the comments on this post to respond to any questions you have.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Newshoggers.com, Wake up America, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos, Emptywheel, TPM Election Central, MyDD and The Political Carnival

Barack Obama / The Huffington Post:

My Position On FISA — Today, Barack Obama posted a message to supporters on my.barackobama.com about the FISA legislation. — I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to those of you who oppose my decision to support the FISA compromise. — This was not an easy call for me.

Discussion: The Caucus, The Trail, Moue Magazine and RADAMISTO

BBC:

Google must divulge YouTube log — Google must divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched any video on YouTube, a US court has ruled. — The ruling comes as part of Google's legal battle with Viacom over allegations of copyright infringement.

Discussion: Corrente and Newshoggers.com

Miguel Helft / New York Times:
Google Told to Turn Over User Data of YouTube

Discussion: Electronic Frontier Foundation and Viking Pundit

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Judge Protects YouTube's Source Code, Throws Users To The Wolves

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Scholars and Rogues, Scripting News, Silicon Alley Insider and RConversation

Kurt Opsahl / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Court Ruling Will Expose Viewing Habits of YouTube Users

Discussion: Threat Level, Wampum, Discourse.net, Stop The ACLU, TechCrunch, Reason Magazine, The Impolitic, Hot Air, The Volokh Conspiracy and Wake up America

Matthew Yglesias:

I'm Worried — David Broder: … And yet here we are in 2008. And I don't think anyone can seriously dispute that the current President of the United States violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or any number of legal commitments to refrain from torture.

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Grasping Reality …, Eschaton, Macsmind, American Power, NewsBusters.org and TalkLeft

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The Al-Haramain ruling and the current Congress

Discussion: Electronic Frontier Foundation, All Spin Zone, THE GUN TOTING LIBERAL™, The Jed Report, DownWithTyranny!, The Raw Story, Democrats.com, Eunomia, TalkLeft and RADAMISTO

Swopa / Firedoglake:
Let's See, If Bush Is Serving Nixon's Third and Fourth Terms, Then John McCain...

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:

Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion — WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says “mental distress” should not qualify as a justification for late-term abortions, a key distinction not embraced by many supporters of abortion rights.

Discussion: Cogitamus, Hot Air, FactCheck.org, Stop The ACLU and Gateway Pundit

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:
Obama: Mental Distress Can't Justify Late Term Abortion

Discussion: The Confluence

Douglas J. Feith / Wall Street Journal:

Why We Went to War in Iraq — A lot of poor commentary has framed the Iraq war as a conflict of “choice” rather than of “necessity.” In fact, President George W. Bush chose to remove Saddam Hussein from power because he concluded that doing so was necessary.

Discussion: Wonk Room and Balloon Juice

Booman Tribune:
Feith Still the Stupidest Guy

Discussion: American Street and The Sideshow

ABC News:

Plasma, LCDs blamed for accelerating global warming — Audio: Flat screen TVs ‘contribute to global warming’ (The World Today) — A gas used in the making of flat screen televisions, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), is being blamed for damaging the atmosphere and accelerating global warming.

Discussion: The Sundries Shack, The Jawa Report, Moonbattery, NewsBusters.org and PoliPundit.com

CNN:

CNN Poll: Voters say both candidates likeable, flip-floppers — (CNN) - How do voters feel about the two major-party presidential candidates this year? — As the marathon 2008 campaign for the White House enters its final four months, a solid majority views both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain favorably.

Discussion: The New Republic and TIME.com

Doyle McManus / Los Angeles Times:

A short but sweet gathering — Barack Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee are toying with a convention scheduling change that has been broached before in theory but never seriously considered: cutting the party's conclave in Denver short by one day to give Obama an extra …

Discussion: DemConWatch, Redstate, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Hot Air, The Trail, Marc Ambinder, TIME.com and The Political Carnival

Oreo / DemConWatch:
Will Obama Accept the Nomination at Invesco Field?

Discussion: Daily Kos

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

MSNBC host: Was the Colombia hostage rescue a sham designed to benefit McCain? — Like so many conspiracy theorists these days, he doesn't have the balls to level the accusation squarely, preferring instead to “just ask questions.” It falls to Buchanan to flesh out the theory before rejecting it.

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, US News, Ben Smith's Blogs and Redstate

Steve Doughty / Daily Mail:

Sharia law SHOULD be used in Britain, says UK's top judge — The most senior judge in England tonight gave his blessing to the use of sharia law to resolve disputes among Muslims. — Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips said that Islamic legal principles could be employed to deal with family …

Discussion: The Sundries Shack and Vodkapundit

David Matthews / The Hill:

Philly radio station refuses to run Democratic ad — A Philadelphia news radio station has rejected a Democratic ad that features an impersonator of President Bush thanking GOP congressional candidates for supporting the “Big Oil” agenda. — Philadelphia KYW-AM Vice President …

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Fox News

Rasmussen Reports:

Election 2008: Montana Presidential Election — Montana: Obama Leads McCain By Five — Barack Obama is leading John McCain by five percentage points in Montana. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state shows Obama attracting 48% of the vote while McCain earns 43%.