memeorandum: Smoke and Fire: Why France Was Silent About Strauss-Kahn's Womanizing (Bruce Crumley/Time)

11:25 AM ET, May 19, 2011

Top Items:

Gerry Mullany / New York Times:

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns From I.M.F. — Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned Wednesday as head of the International Monetary Fund after explosive allegations that he had sexually attacked a cleaning lady in a midtown Manhattan hotel room. — “It is with infinite sadness that I feel compelled today …

Discussion: Bloomberg, USA Today, Wonk Room, Outside the Beltway, POWIP, iowahawk, New Atlanticist, The Other McCain, New York Post, TalkLeft, Scared Monkeys, The Reaction, American Spectator and NBC New York

Telegraph:

Dominique Strauss-Kahn: IMF head ‘hired prostitutes from Manhattan madam’ — Dominique Strauss-Kahn hired prostitutes from the “Manhattan Madam” who infamously also served Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former Governor of New York, she claimed on Wednesday night.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Runnin' Scared and Jezebel

Bruce Crumley / Time:

Smoke and Fire: Why France Was Silent About Strauss-Kahn's Womanizing — IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, at a news conference during the IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington on April 16, 2011 — When news of the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn broke in France, Emmanuel Pierrat remembered …

Discussion: Don Surber, Taylor Marsh, ABCNEWS, American Spectator, Sky Dancing, The Huffington Post and Instapundit, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

A Favorite Emerges for Helm of I.M.F. — PARIS — The French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, was on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos this January when her usual smile turned into a frown. Next to her, Robert E. Diamond Jr., chief executive of Barclays and one of the most powerful bankers …

Discussion: This Just In, New York Magazine, Time, The Page and FrumForum

Howard Schneider / Washington Post:
Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigns as head of IMF

Discussion: Hot Air, The Foundry, Outside the Beltway, The BLT and Pajamas Media

New York Times:
Lawyers Push for Bail to Free I.M.F. Leader From Rikers

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Gothamist, Law Blog, City Room and FrumForum

Jonathan Ferziger / Bloomberg:

Arab Spring Spurs Israel to Ice Peace Plan Before Obama Meeting — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been preparing to greet President Barack Obama at the White House tomorrow with a proposal to resurrect Middle East peace talks, advisers said. — That was until Palestinian …

Discussion: The Agonist

Ed Henry / CNN:
Stakes high — again — for Obama speech

Discussion: News Desk and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
5 things to watch in Barack Obama's Mideast speech

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, Top of the Ticket, Pirate's Cove, Washington Post and White House Dossier

New York Times:
Focus Is on Obama as Tensions Soar Across Mideast

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post, Global Public Square and New York Times

Jason Burke / Guardian:
Osama bin Laden praises Arab spring in posthumously released tape

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, Wonkette, Politics Plus, New York Magazine and AMERICAblog News

Nia-Malika Henderson / Washington Post:

Moderate Jon Huntsman, possible 2012 candidate, tests the waters in today's GOP — View Photo Gallery — Who's in and who's out?: Republicans are beginning to announce whether they will pursue a bid for the presidency. — Jon Huntsman Jr. sets off Thursday on his first campaign …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Note, Washington Monthly, Concord Monitor and Outside the Beltway

First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Now this is change — Previewing Obama's speech …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Washington Post

Washington Post:
New Hampshire, meet Jon Huntsman

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Swampland, GOP 12, Taegan Goddard's … and The Caucus

The Politico:
Jon Huntsman's hype faces New Hampshire test

Discussion: CNN, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, GOP 12, The Week Magazine, Fox News and Outside the Beltway

Jonathan Capehart / Washington Post:

Cornel West on Obama is no better than a birther — Anyone who knows me, and knows me well, knows that I have little patience for the “Blacker than thou” crowd. These are the self-appointed guardians of what it means to be black — a decidedly limited and ignorant perspective …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Booman Tribune, Sky Dancing, The only adult in the room, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, NewsReal Blog, Adam Serwer and AlterNet

Krissah Thompson / Washington Post:
Cornel West's criticism of Obama sparks debate among African Americans

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Suburban Guerrilla, msnbc.com, The Nation and The Reaction

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post:

GOP Donors Deserting Newt Gingrich … WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich's catastrophic first week as an official Republican primary candidate may knock him out of the race before it even gets started. And if he stays in, fundraising will now be much more difficult, and that could hasten his exit, Republican sources said.

Discussion: tabithahale's Diary, GOP 12, American Thinker and Ballot Box

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
NBC's David Gregory Defends Medicare Question As Newt Gingrich Spokesman Blasts Media ‘Minions’

Steve Kornacki / Salon:
What the GOP is really trying to tell Newt

Discussion: The Daily Caller, American Spectator, Daily Kos and The Daily Beast

Gail Collins / New York Times:

The Year of Living Adulterously — What is it with Republicans lately? — Nobody wants to run for the presidential nomination. Mike Huckabee said God told him to stay on Fox News. NBC told Donald Trump to stay on “Celebrity Apprentice.” — Whatever happened to putting your country first?

Discussion: The Note and Washington Monthly

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Romney, Daniels feel ‘death hug’ on their healthcare records

Discussion: GOP 12 and The Daily Caller

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

McConnell leaves House GOP budget twisting in the wind — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is leaving Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget plan to its own fate in the Senate by not whipping his GOP colleagues on the vote. — Republican senators say McConnell has made it clear …

Discussion: The Politico, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway and msnbc.com

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Dick Cheney memoir set for Aug. 30 release — Clear a spot on those summer reading lists: Dick Cheney's memoir will be in stores Aug. 30. — And expectations are running high for the 544-page book, finished earlier this month. — “As his vice presidency was novel, Dick Cheney's memoir is unique …

Discussion: CNN and New York Magazine

Associated Press:
Dick Cheney's memoir will have ‘very strong views,’ daughter Liz says

Discussion: Wizbang

Ben Geman / The Hill:

Senate rejects GOP bill to expand, speed up offshore drilling — The Senate on Wednesday rejected Republican-backed legislation intended to speed up and expand offshore oil and gas drilling. — In a 42-57 vote, the Senate failed to move forward with the bill, which was opposed by the White House and most Senate Democrats.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Agence France Presse:

Peter Fonda calls Obama ‘traitor’ at Cannes — CANNES, France — Peter Fonda launched a four-letter attack on US President Barack Obama at the Cannes film festival on Wednesday, calling him a traitor over the handling of the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill.

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, JammieWearingFool, Weasel Zippers and Pajamas Media

Ken Lee / People.com:

Maria Shriver Hires a Divorce Attorney — Maria Shriver, who has split from husband Arnold Schwarzenegger amid a love-child scandal, has hired a divorce lawyer, sources tell PEOPLE. — Prominent Los Angeles family law attorney Laura Wasser is now representing California's former first lady, according to sources close to Shriver.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Beast, ABCNEWS, CNN, The Moderate Voice and RADAR

Julie Mason / The Politico:

Rogue tweet by Secret Service! — How embarrassing, Secret Service! (Gawker image) — Courtesy — Oh, the dangers of social media! Those instant, regrettable outbursts of unvarnished truth and scantily clad photos. Today's victim: the Secret Service!

Discussion: Don Surber, Gawker, Big Journalism, Political Punch, FrumForum and National Review

Catherine Rampell / New York Times:

Many With New College Degree Find the Job Market Humbling — The individual stories are familiar. The chemistry major tending bar. The classics major answering phones. The Italian studies major sweeping aisles at Wal-Mart. — Now evidence is emerging that the damage wrought …

Discussion: Questions and Observations, BackyardConservative, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Mother Jones

Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:

Private Prisons Found to Offer Little in Savings — PHOENIX — The conviction that private prisons save money helped drive more than 30 states to turn to them for housing inmates. But Arizona shows that popular wisdom might be wrong: Data there suggest that privately operated prisons …

Discussion: Yglesias and Unfogged

Alan S. Blinder / Wall Street Journal:

The Debt Ceiling Fiasco — Fights over the budget are normal and proper in a democracy. But threatening to default could have dire consequences for the dollar, interest rates and the economy. — The debt ceiling “crisis” started on Monday when the U.S. government reached the legal limit …

Discussion: The New Republic, Jared Bernstein, Economist's View, Capital Gains and Games blogs and FrumForum