memeorandum: A trip to Africa — Along with expected stops in Russia and Italy … (Ben Smith/Ben Smith's Blog)

1:40 PM ET, May 16, 2009

Top Items:

Don't Wince. Fight! — Dick Cheney, Most Valuable Republican. — When accused of being too aggressive on behalf of the United States at the United Nations, Daniel Patrick Moynihan was fond of repeating a French proverb: “Cet animal est fort méchant, / Quand on l'attaque il se défend.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Commentary, AmSpecBlog and Think Progress

Orange County Register:

Steyn: Pelosi's tortured press performance — Let's just cut to the chase and handcuff Cheney and Pelosi to a radiator in a CIA safe house somewhere. — Recommend — Uh-oh. Nancy Pelosi's performance at her press conference re: waterboarding has raised, according to The Washington Post …

Discussion: Think Progress

Mike Madden / Salon:

Cheney's torture trap for Democrats — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 14, 2009. — You might have thought getting torture back in the news would be a bad move for any Republican; after all, it was the Bush administration that authorized the torturing.

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, Wake up America, Stop The ACLU, RedState, Open Left, protein wisdom, PoliGazette, Hot Air and Talking Points Memo

Victor Davis Hanson / The Corner:

Yes, Nancy, There Really Is a God Nemesis — There is an odd sense among Democrats that nemesis simply does not exist. A once-vein-bulging Al Gore who barnstormed the country slurring President Bush by calling him a liar now seems baffled about the precedent he set of a vice president …

Discussion: The Anonymous Liberal and PoliGazette

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Pelosi May 2002 Statement Casts Further Doubt On Her Claims

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Strata-Sphere, Don Surber, USS Neverdock and neo-neocon

Washington Post:
CIA Chief Panetta Rebuts Pelosi's Charges on Interrogation Briefings

Discussion: Neptunus Lex, ThreatsWatch and Media Blog

USA Today:
Al Gore joins Cheney-Obama feud

Discussion: Don Surber and Opinion L.A.

Washington Post:

Republican Governor of Utah Selected to Be Envoy to China — Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. (R) will be introduced today as President Obama's choice as ambassador to China, a source familiar with the decision said last night. — Huntsman, 48, was mentioned this spring as a potential Republican contender …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and Washington Monthly

The Politico:

Huntsman chosen ambassador to China — President Barack Obama named Republican Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. as his pick for ambassador to China, likely removing one of his strongest potential challengers in the 2012 presidential campaign from the running. — In an unusual Saturday …

Discussion: Political Punch, The Swamp, Hot Air, Little Green Footballs, The Page, Ben Smith's Blog, In The Agora and Balloon Juice

Robert Gehrke / Salt Lake Tribune:

Huntsman to accept ambassadorship to China — Announcement Saturday » Gary Herbert to become Utah governor — Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will resign from office to accept a nomination to become the ambassador to China. — Sources tell The Salt Lake Tribune that an announcement is scheduled for Saturday.

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, KTVX-TV, KUTV-TV, The Moderate Voice, Michelle Malkin and MyDD

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Huntsman to China, 2012 Aspirations Fade

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, MSNBC, No More Mister Nice Blog and Newshoggers.com

CNN:
Utah governor named China envoy

Discussion: Pajamas Media

Associated Press:
AP Source: Obama to Name Utah Gov Envoy to China

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Obama abroad: Ghana, Italy, Moscow — The president, with an avowed goal of reengaging the United States in international diplomacy on a wide array of fronts, will add Africa to his travels abroad this summer. — The White House, in announcing today the date of a trip to Moscow …

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

A trip to Africa — Along with expected stops in Russia and Italy, Obama will visit Africa in July — a month after his trip to Egypt. — It's a bit more international travel than some had expected, with the understanding that his domestic focus would leave Secretary of State Clinton the international profile.

Jonah Lehrer / New Yorker:

DON'T! — The secret of self-control. — In the late nineteen-sixties, Carolyn Weisz, a four-year-old with long brown hair, was invited into a “game room” at the Bing Nursery School, on the campus of Stanford University. The room was little more than a large closet, containing a desk and a chair.

Discussion: The Daily Dish and Joanne Jacobs

Ryan Powers / Think Progress:

O'Reilly: Americans should be able to go out in public without being harassed by people with cameras. — After the Wednesday edition of the O'Reilly Factor, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly complained on his daily “O'Reilly Factor Post Game Show” that, in his view, today's technology means “we don't have any privacy at all.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, D-Day and Daily Kos

Adam Lisberg / NY Daily News:

Mayor Bloomberg's campaign has spent whopping $18.7 million to date on re-re-election … Mayor Bloomberg's campaign team says he isn't trying to buy the election - but new records show he has put an $18.7million down payment on a bid to acquire a third term.

Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:

Pelosi, detainee photos on talk-show agendas — This week's Sunday shows will be filled with chatter on enhanced interrogation techniques, focusing on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) accusation that the CIA lied to her during classified briefings and President Obama's decision not to release photos of possible detainee abuse.

Discussion: Firedoglake

Wall Street Journal:

Obama Aims to Trim Party's Money Gap With GOP — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is taking up a new role for the Democratic Party: Fund-Raiser-in-Chief. — This Sunday, following his commencement speech at Notre Dame, he headlines a $15,000-a-couple event in Indianapolis.

Discussion: The Page

Michael Stokes Paulsen / Weekly Standard:

Obama's Injustice Department — The irresponsible Office of Professional Responsibility. — Government lawyers in the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) appear to have leaked to the press parts of a confidential—and classified—draft report concerning the actions of Bush administration lawyers.

Discussion: Power Line