memeorandum: Sotomayor's Public Image At Risk, Early (Marc Ambinder/The Atlantic Politics …)

4:30 PM ET, May 5, 2009

Top Items:

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Groups push for first gay justice — President Barack Obama is looking to advance diversity with his pick to replace retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter — and early speculation has focused on whether he'll pick a woman, or perhaps the first Hispanic justice.

Discussion: Townhall.com, Josh Gerstein's Blog, CNN and Don Surber

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Jeffrey Rosen, TNR and the anonymous smears against Sonia Sotomayor — (updated below- Update II) — Jeffrey Rosen's New Republic smear of Sonia Sotomayor's intellect and character — based almost exclusively on anonymous, gossiping “sources” — is such a model of shoddy, irresponsible …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Dallas Morning News, culturekitchen and Unqualified Offerings

Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Sotomayor's Public Image At Risk, Early

Discussion: TalkLeft, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Plank

ABCNEWS:
Obama's Potential Supreme Court Nominees

Discussion: The Swamp

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Conservatives Move To Set Tone on Court Fight

Discussion: Politics Daily, DISSENTING JUSTICE, NewsBusters.org and Congress Matters

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Cookie Cutters — Chris Matthews, speaking for oppressed white …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and Lawyers, Guns and Money

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:
A Litmus Test That Counts

Discussion: Commentary, American Prospect, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and TalkLeft

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias: Sonia Sotomayor and Affirmative Action

James R. Carroll / Courier-Journal:

Bunning blames McConnell for GOP losses — WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim Bunning today renewed his attacks on his fellow Kentucky Republican, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, accusing him of selfishness and being responsible for lost GOP seats in the Senate.

Discussion: Scorecard's Blog, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, MyDD, Ben Smith's Blog, MSNBC and Swing State Project

Chris Cillizza W / Washington Post:

Ridge May Run for Specter's Senate Seat — Former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge (R) is seriously considering a 2010 bid for the Senate seat held by Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter and will make his decision in the next two weeks, according to several sources familiar with his thinking.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Balloon Juice, GrassrootsPA, Democracy in America, Salon and TPMDC

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Just Too Cocky — Last week Arlen Specter's election as a Democrat in 2010 seemed more or less a given. The big man in Pennsylvania politics (Ed Rendell) and the big man in US politics (Barack Obama) both put down their finger and said they were behind him. — But the certainty of that outcome now seems genuinely in doubt.

Discussion: TalkLeft and Obsidian Wings

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Sestak: We Don't Need The GOP's Benedict Arnolds

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Plum Line, Talking Points Memo, D-Day, The Note and The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Matt Lewis / Townhall.com:
Can Tom Ridge Win a Republican Primary in PA?

Discussion: TPMDC and The Corner

Mark Silva / The Swamp:
Joe Sestak: ‘Inclined’ to tackle Specter

Discussion: The Opinionator, Democracy in America and The Plum Line

Mike Celizic / MSNBC:

Miss California: I'll fight on despite racy photos — Carrie Prejean claims foes of her same-sex marriage views released them — With partially nude photos of her popping up on Web sites questioning her Christian credentials, Miss California USA Carrie Prejean has fired back …

Discussion: The Dirty's Fresh Dirt, Flopping Aces, Liberal Values, American Power, AmSpecBlog, Pam's House Blend, The Other McCain and Redhot

Teddy Davis / ABCNEWS:
California Gay Marriage Backers Poised to Try Again in 2010

Discussion: Townhall.com

Jeremy Olshan / New York Post:

PHANTOM AIR FARCE PICTURES — The $328,835 snapshots of an Air Force One backup plane buzzing lower Manhattan last week will not be shown to the public, the White House said yesterday. — “We have no plans to release them,” an aide to President Obama told The Post, refusing to comment further.

Discussion: Slate, Weekly Standard, White House Watch, Atlas Shrugs, City Room, Clusterstock, Gates of Vienna, Right Wing News, Pajamas Media and Hot Air

Daniel Carty / CBS News:
White House Keeping NYC Flyover Pics Under Wraps

Discussion: Wake up America

Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:

Former Bush Officials Work to Soften Ethics Report on Interrogations — Former Bush administration officials are launching a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to urge Justice Department leaders to soften an ethics report criticizing lawyers who blessed harsh detainee interrogation tactics …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Washington Monthly, Think Progress, Salon, D-Day, Raw Story and The Washington Independent

John Ashcroft / New York Times:
Bailout Justice — I CAN imagine the Treasury secretary's …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TPMMuckraker and Balkinization

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Long Voyage Home — Republicans generally like Westerns. They generally admire John Wayne-style heroes who are rugged, individualistic and brave. They like leaders — from Goldwater to Reagan to Bush to Palin — who play up their Western heritage. Republicans like the way Westerns seem …

Discussion: Washington Post, Will Wilkinson, No More Mister Nice Blog, Cafe Hayek, Brilliant at Breakfast, Guardian and MoJo Blog Posts

Ross Douthat / New York Times:
A Hole in the Center — You can't have a successful political party without centrists.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Balloon Juice, Eunomia and Pajamas Media

John Carney / Clusterstock:

New Allegations Of White House Threats Over Chrysler — Creditors to Chrysler describe negotiations with the company and the Obama administration as “a farce,” saying the administration was bent on forcing their hands using hardball tactics and threats. — Conversations with administration …

Discussion: protein wisdom, JustOneMinute, QandO and Wizbang

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Lauria allegations of threats corroborated

Discussion: SCSUScholars and Moe Lane

Elizabeth Edwards / Time:

How I Survived John's Affair — On May 3, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards acknowledged that a federal investigation had been opened into whether his campaign improperly gave money to a woman with whom Edwards had an extramarital affair. Edwards has denied any wrongdoing by his campaign.

Discussion: NY Daily News, Brilliant at Breakfast, Taylor Marsh, skippy the bush kangaroo, Radio Iowa and Buck Naked Politics

Ben Smith / The Politico: Disgraced Edwards back in the spotlight

Beverley Rouse / Press Association:

Named and shamed: the 16 barred from UK — Sixteen people banned from entering the UK were “named and shamed” by the Home Office today. — Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she decided to make public the names of 16 people banned since October so others could better understand what sort …

Discussion: PoliGazette, Atlas Shrugs, The Moderate Voice, Reason, Right Wing News and JammieWearingFool

Stephen Donald Black / Guardian:
The Home Office list of people banned from the UK

Discussion: Politics Daily

Robert Pear / New York Times:

Schumer Offers Middle Ground on Health Care — WASHINGTON — In an effort to defuse the most explosive issue in the debate over comprehensive health care legislation, a top Senate Democrat has proposed that any new government-run insurance program comply with all the rules and standards that apply to private insurance.

Discussion: Time, The Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Wonk Room, The Foundry and Daily Kos

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Health care activists disrupt hearing

Discussion: Raw Story

The Delaware Business Ledger:

Poll shows Castle thumping Biden in hypothetical Senate race — A poll shows Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Castle topping Democrat Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden in a mythical Senate race. — The poll was conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Scorecard's Blog and Swing State Project

Michelle Malkin:

How to file an FEC complaint against “Specter for the Cure” — Arlen Specter's campaign finance travesty deserves more than just mockery. It deserves action. Here are screenshots of his misleading “Specter for the Cure” website, which is a slimy front to raise campaign funds:

Michelle Malkin:
Another Arlen “Human Ipecac” Specter moment

Discussion: The Corner, PoliTex, Right Wing News and NewsBusters.org

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Palin to WHCD — Taking a break from her present Alaska First posture, Sarah Palin will appear at the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday night, according to — where else — US Magazine. — As US reports it: … post comment | … Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

CNN:
Palin joins GOP rebranding effort, Limbaugh says leaders fear her

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Christian Science Monitor

Associated Press:

Obama, Biden raise some Hell Burgers — President, vice president motorcade to local grill for lunch — ARLINGTON, Va. - It's like this: When you want a burger, you have to have a burger. — In this state of mind, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden took a short …

Discussion: Wonkette

Chris Vanocur / KTVX-TV:

Obama's campaign manager fears Jon Huntsman the most in 2012 … SALT LAKE CITY - (ABC 4 News) - There is one republican presidential candidate that President Barack Obama's campaign manager fears the most in 2012...and his name is Jon Huntsman Jr. — This week for Governor Huntsman, good things are coming in threes.

Discussion: The Fix, MyDD and GOP 12