memeorandum: A Tempered View of Greenland's Gushing Drainpipes (Andrew C. Revkin/Dot Earth)

11:45 AM ET, July 4, 2008

Top Items:

New and Not Improved — Senator Barack Obama stirred his legions of supporters, and raised our hopes, promising to change the old order of things. He spoke with passion about breaking out of the partisan mold of bickering and catering to special pleaders, promised to end President Bush's abuses …

Discussion: American Spectator, NewsBusters.org, Connecting.the.Dots, Viking Pundit, The Peking Duck, TigerHawk, Hot Air, BuzzMachine and Commentary

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Rove's Third Term — Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn't scream. Hillary Clinton didn't say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn't impugn John McCain's military service.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, The Sideshow and Brilliant at Breakfast

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

A Man of Seasonal Principles — You'll notice Barack Obama is now wearing a flag pin. Again. During the primary campaign, he refused to, explaining that he'd worn one after Sept. 11 but then stopped because it “became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism.”

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Soccer Dad

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

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, The Trail, Top of the Ticket, The American Mind and Major Garrett's Bourbon Room

WTVD-TV:

Former Senator Jesse Helms dead at 86 — RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) — Former five-term Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms has died at 86. — Helms was born in Monroe, NC where his father, called “Big Jesse,” served as chief of police. Jesse and Dot Helms are the parents of three children …

Discussion: The Foundry, Outside The Beltway and TIME.com

CNN:

Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican who became an icon to conservatives, died Friday at the age of 86, a senior congressional source said. — The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank …

Discussion: Think Progress and AMERICAblog News

MSNBC:

Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86 — Republican known as ‘Senator No’ served 30 years before retiring in 2003 — RALEIGH, North Carolina - Former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, a leading conservative from North Carolina who served 30 years in the Senate before retiring in 2003, has died, the Jesse Helms Center said Friday.

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

PLEASE, PLEASE, REPORTERS WITH BRAINS — I spent most of today in bed with some kind of nasty cold. So I only caught up on any news this evening. And I must confess to being little short of astounded by the avalanche of press BS I'm reading on Barack Obama's position on Iraq.

Discussion: NY Daily News, The Carpetbagger Report, Marc Ambinder, Matthew Yglesias and Democrats.com

Patrick Healy / New York Times:
Target: Barack Obama. Strategy: What Day Is It?

Discussion: The Politico, CNN, TPM Election Central, TIME.com and TalkLeft

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Obama May Consider Slowing Iraq Withdrawal

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Neptunus Lex, Guardian, NO QUARTER, TIME.com, Hot Air and THE LIBERAL JOURNAL

Natalie Gewargis / Political Punch:
Obama's Iraq Quagmire

Discussion: iowahawk, Commentary, TPM Election Central, TIME.com, Hot Air, Guardian, Redstate, Pajamas Media, NewsBusters.org, Stop The ACLU, The Caucus, Wake up America, The Moderate Voice and protein wisdom

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

The Economy? Words Fail Me. — Think you're worried about the economy? Phillip Swagel is a wreck. — The assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy, Swagel came out for his monthly economic briefing yesterday, 90 minutes after the Labor Department reported that the country …

Discussion: Angry Bear and Calculated Risk

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:

White House says ruling could free detainees in US — WASHINGTON - The White House said Thursday that dangerous detainees at Guantanamo Bay could end up walking Main Street U.S.A. as a result of last month's Supreme Court ruling about detainees' legal rights.

Discussion: PBD, New York Times, William K. Wolfrum, AMERICAblog News and The Progress Report

Bob / BobKrumm.com:

How did you spend Independence Day? — BAGHDAD - How are you spending your 4th of July holiday? While most Americans probably slept, 1,215 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines raised their right hands and committed to a combined 5,500 years of additional service during the largest reenlistment ceremony …

Discussion: The Corner, Gateway Pundit and Chicago Boyz

Telegraph:

Muslims in Britain should be able to live under Sharia, says top judge — Muslims in Britain should be able to live according to Sharia, the country's most senior judge has said. — Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury …

Discussion: Samizdata.net and Hot Air

Steve Doughty / Daily Mail:
Sharia law SHOULD be used in Britain, says UK's top judge

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, The Sundries Shack and Vodkapundit

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Celebrity Passport Records Popular — State Dept. Audit Finds Snooping Was Frequent — Government workers repeatedly snooped without authorization inside the electronic passport records of entertainers, athletes and other high-profile Americans, a State Department audit has found.

Discussion: Cato-at-liberty and Prairie Weather

Gerard Baker / Times of London:

Barack Obama's policy switches are giving the Left whiplash — The Democratic nominee's policy pivots are causing anguish among liberals. He is no fool — Change, it turns out, wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Having campaigned for the past year as the agent of transformation …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool

John Branch / New York Times:

American Flags as Big as Fields — On the field before the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball plans to assemble the largest gathering of Hall of Fame players in baseball history. And as fans salute their heroes, the former players will join the crowd in saluting the American flag …

Discussion: protein wisdom, American Power and JammieWearingFool

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:

Obama: Mental Distress Can't Justify Late Term Abortion — Here's Obama reaching out to the evangelical right. The Associated Press reports: … Obama made no such distinction last year: … NARAL leaders ought to feel like idiots. [More...] … A leading anti-choice group …

Discussion: The Confluence, Shakesville, PoliPundit.com and The Sundries Shack

Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:
Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion

Discussion: American Street, Cogitamus, Pajamas Media, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, Gateway Pundit and Stop The ACLU

Sarah Wheaton / The Caucus:

Obama Responds to FISA Protest on His Web Site — After a protest group gained prominence on Senator Barack Obama's own campaign Web site, the candidate has written a response to those who object to his support for the current compromise legislation in the Senate on immunity for telecoms.