memeorandum: Jonah Goldberg, Call Your Publisher (Jonathan Chait/The New Republic)

5:30 PM ET, July 11, 2008

Top Items:

Presidential candidate Obama to sponsor Cup car at Pocono race … SI.com has learned that for the first time in history, a major presidential candidate may sponsor a race car in NASCAR's premier series. According to sources, Barack Obama's campaign is in talks to become the primary sponsor …

Discussion: The Swamp, The Corner, Spin Cycle, The Raw Story, Top of the Ticket, Riehl World View, Media Blog, Donklephant and Taylor Marsh

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

New Obama Radio Ad Hits McCain As “Shameful” For “Makin' Stuff Up” — A source sends over a copy of a sharp new radio ad the Obama campaign will release a bit later today responding to this earlier RNC ad claiming Obama will hike taxes. — The Obama ad hammers McCain for the spot …

Discussion: Eschaton

Michelle Malkin: Obama tries to buy the NASCAR vote

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

FIRST THOUGHTS: THE A.D.D. ELECTION — From Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro — *** The A.D.D Election: It's another whiplash week. It's amazing how many Fridays we look back at the week and just shake our head... This really is turning into the A.D.D. election.

Discussion: The New Republic, Newshoggers.com, NFL Fanhouse, MyDD, Political Insider and David Corn

Jonah Goldberg / The Corner:

Phil Gramm — From a reader: … Me: Fair enough. My own excuse is that this is one of these stories that I somehow missed until late in the day, not sure why that is. Anyway, this is just another example of why I've always wanted Phil Gramm to be president of the United States and why that can never, ever, happen.

Discussion: The Jed Report

Ben / Think Progress:
Barnes Defends Gramm: Americans Are ‘Whining All The Way Through’ The Bad Economy

Discussion: Wonkette, BuzzFlash.org, The Caucus and Pajamas Media

Wonk Room:
What Kind Of Economist Is Phil Gramm?

Discussion: Think Progress

Bill Scher / The Huffington Post:
Phil Gramm Is Conservatism

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, The Washington Independent, Sadly, No!, Grasping Reality …, Right Wing Nut House and Jonathan Martin's Blogs

Washington Wire:

Hagel to Join Obama on Iraq Trip — Susan Davis reports on the presidential race. — The buzz this week that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska is planning to join Sen. Barack Obama on an up-coming visit to Iraq is correct, two sources with knowledge of the trip confirmed Friday.

Discussion: Comedy Central, The Carpetbagger Report, Marc Ambinder, Blue Girl, Red State, Hotline On Call and TIME.com

Martha Raddatz / ABCNEWS:

Obama's Iraq Withdrawal Plan May Prove Difficult — U.S. Commanders in Iraq Warn of Security Dangers, See Logistical Nightmare — Whatever nuance Barack Obama is now adding to his Iraq withdrawal strategy, the core plan on his Web site is as plain as day: Obama would “immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq.

Discussion: Commentary, Austin Bay Blog, The Strata-Sphere, The Glittering Eye and TIME.com

Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
OBAMA vs. THE BRASS....If this Martha Raddatz piece at ABC News …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, democracyarsenal.org and Hot Air

Matthew Mosk / Washington Post:

Donors Asked To Give for Two — The fundraising machine Sen. Barack Obama is relying on to overwhelm Sen. John McCain this fall has shown signs of wear in recent weeks, as Internet contributions have slowed and efforts to recruit top donors to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign have been beset by lingering tensions.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, Newsweek Blogs, Political Buzz, The G Spot, TIME.com, MyDD, Spin Cycle, Redstate, protein wisdom and Prairie Weather

Michael Luo / The Caucus:
Lax on Its List of ‘Bundlers,’ the Obama Campaign Names Names

Discussion: New York Times, Ben Smith's Blogs, Comedy Central and Daily Kos

Matthew Yglesias: The Cash Machine — The Washington Post reports that Barack Obama …

Los Angeles Times:

McCain's broken marriage and fractured Reagan friendship — Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, walks with former first lady Nancy Reagan. Mrs. Reagan endorsed the Republican presidential candidate Tuesday, March 25, 2008 in Bel Air, Calif.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, Spin Cycle, Daily Kos, The Carpetbagger Report, The BRAD BLOG, Reproductive Health, Blue Girl, Red State, Bucks Right, The Corner, Cogitamus, Wonkette, The Other McCain and TIME.com

John O. McGinnis / Wall Street Journal:

Who Will Be President? — An obscure government agency will soon decide whether citizens can get hold of information essential to modern democratic decision making. On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission began to analyze whether to create a safe harbor for prediction markets in the U.S. …

Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:

Como Se Dice? Obama Clarifies Comments Over Foreign Languages — ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: Sen. Barack Obama reiterated his belief Friday that America's children to learn a foreign language, firing back against criticism he received from some conservative groups who suggested …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Campaign Spot and TIME.com

Erik Kirschbaum / Reuters:

Germany denies Bush thwarted Obama speech — BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government denied on Friday that Washington had put any pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel to block a proposed speech by U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama in Berlin in late July.

Matthew Yglesias:

By Request: Does This Blog Suck? Do All Blogs Suck? — DeliciousPundit asks “What'd you think about David Appell's smackdown of you?” — The only thing I have to say to defend myself from those charges is that I don't think the post was really about why I suck, it was about why the punditsphere …

Discussion: Open Left, MoJoBlog, Donklephant, Achenblog and The Glittering Eye

Noah Shachtman / Danger Room:

Attack of the Photoshopped Missiles (Updated) — Iran's propagandists aren't only ones who can photoshop a missile launch. We know how to do that on the intertubes, too. Here's an updated sample... Are We Lumberjacks?:

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Neptunus Lex and FP Passport

Amanda / Think Progress:

After Voting Against Equal Pay Legislation, McCain Claims He's ‘Committed To Equal Pay For Equal Work’ — Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) participated in a town hall meeting in Wisconsin. During the discussion, he claimed that he is a strong supporter of equal pay for women and other workers:

Discussion: Wonk Room, The Carpetbagger Report, Hullabaloo, TIME.com, Center for American Progress and Feministing

Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:

Jonah Goldberg, Call Your Publisher — Conservative book editor Adam Bellow has a (subscriber-only) essay in World Affairs about book publishing and the cuurrent state of conservative intellectuals. I don't agree with all that much of it, but his candor is admirable.

Jerusalem Post:

Iraq denies IAF using its airspace — Iraq denied on Friday reports claiming the Israeli Air Force has been practicing for a possible attack against Iran in its airspace. — “As the Ministry of Defense, we haven't observed any IAF warplanes practicing in Iraqi airspace,” …

Discussion: Newshoggers.com and The Raw Story

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

McCain ad: “God's Children” — Team McCain has its latest ad out today, taken from a New Hampshire debate in June 2007, when John McCain soliloquized on the contributions of Hispanic citizens and residents to our efforts in Vietnam and Iraq. Titled “God's Children”, the ad matches imagery to McCain's impromptu salute: