memeorandum: Senator McConnell leaves House Republican budget twisting in the wind (Alexander Bolton/The Hill)

6:00 PM ET, May 19, 2011

Top Items:

Obama Backs Deal Based on 1967 Lines — WASHINGTON — Seeking to harness the seismic political change still unfolding in the Arab world, President Obama on Thursday publicly called for the borders prevailing before the 1967 Israeli-Arab war to be the baseline for a settlement …

Discussion: Via Meadia, The Daily Caller, Guardian, Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, JustOneMinute and The Daily Dish

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Obama ‘disrespected’ Israel, threw it ‘under the bus,’ says Romney — President Obama “disrespected” Israel and threw it “under the bus” in a wide-ranging speech on the Middle East on Thursday, GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney charged. — Romney strongly criticized Obama, who …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Ben Smith's Blog, GOP 12, Freedom's Lighthouse, The Hill, Pajamas Media and FrumForum

NationalJournal.com:

Obama: ‘The Status Quo is Not Sustainable’ — Following is President Obama's Middle East speech, as prepared for delivery: — I want to thank Hillary Clinton, who has traveled so much these last six months that she is approaching a new landmark - one million frequent flyer miles.

Discussion: Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Caucus, Jihad Watch, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, Politics, Atlas Shrugs, Questions and Observations, The Other McCain and Mediaite

Fox News:

Netanyahu Rejects Obama Call for Palestinian State Based on 1967 Borders — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly rejected President Obama's call Thursday for Israel to pull back to the borders that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War, calling those lines militarily “indefensible.”

Discussion: The Jawa Report, AmSpecBlog, POWIP, Daled Amos, Freedom's Lighthouse, RedState, Pajamas Media and Wall Street Journal

The Atlantic Online:

Nothing New in the Idea That '67 Borders Should Guide Peace Talks (UPDATED) — I'm amazed at the amount of insta-commentary out there suggesting that the President has proposed something radical and new by declaring that Israel's 1967 borders should define — with land-swaps — the borders of a Palestinian state.

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway and The Daily Dish

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 Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh and The Agonist

Associated Press:
Obama says Palestine must be based in 1967 borders

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Pajamas Media

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:
Obama alters U.S. policy, tells Israel to start with '67 borders

Discussion: Wonk Room, Hot Air, The Foundry, Weasel Zippers, Firedoglake, The Daily Caller and Moe Lane

Alexander Marquardt / ABCNEWS:
Obama Mideast Speech Faces Disappointed and Disillusioned Arab World

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Post, Guardian, CNN, New York Magazine and Political Punch

Laura Meckler / Wall Street Journal:
Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel

Discussion: The Daily Dish, National Review, Washington Post, Salon, Washington Wire, neo-neocon and Mondoweiss

Simon Wiesenthal Center:
SWC: Israel Should Reject a Return to 1967 ‘Auschwitz’ Borders

Discussion: Haaretz

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Sen. Graham: Obama's call for return to 1967 borders a ‘mistake’

Discussion: FrumForum

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire: Obama's Speech on the Middle East

Josef Federman / The Republic:
Israeli leader reacting to Obama speech: West Bank pullout would leave Israel indefensible

Discussion: Conservatives4Palin and Newshoggers.com

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
After Obama speech, Israel rejects return to 1967 borders

Discussion: The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama's Cairo II speech: Cheering democratization ... in general; Update: No, Obama didn't …

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Dish and Jihad Watch

Meredith Shiner / The Politico:

Senate GOP filibusters Goodwin Liu — Senate Republicans staged the first successful filibuster of a judicial nominee since 2005 on Thursday, dealing a blow to the Obama administration on the long-stalled nomination of Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senator McConnell leaves House Republican 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 …

Discussion: The Politico, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress and msnbc.com

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Sen. Grassley Accuses Asian-American Judicial Nominee Of Holding ‘Communist’ Chinese Worldview

Discussion: The Politico, Daily Kos and Wonk Room

Sen. Mitch McConnell / Judicial:
Why the Senate should reject Goodwin Liu

Discussion: The Note and Moe Lane

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
After Calling Judicial Filibusters Unconstitutional, Republican Senators Line Up Behind Judicial Filibuster

Discussion: Democrats.senate.gov, People For the American Way, Yglesias, Washington Monthly and Blue Mass Group

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate hands Obama his first defeat on a judicial nominee

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The BLT and AMERICAblog News

Morgen / Verum Serum:
In Liu of Victory... Defeat, finally, for Goodwin Liu's nomination …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, LifeNews.com, Nice Deb, DownWithTyranny! and Pajamas Media

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Mitch Daniels Not Only Took ObamaCare Funds, He Pushed Similar Reforms … Mitch Daniels , Health Care Reform , Medicaid , Daniels Affordable Care Act , Daniels Obama Policy , Daniesl Obamacare , Health Care Indiana , Indiana Health Care , Mitch Daniels Health Care , Mitch Daniels Mandate , Politics News

Discussion: msnbc.com, RedState, National Review, CNN and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: CNN, Comments on, Washington Monthly, Left Coast Rebel, GOP 12 and The Daily Caller

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:
Daniels to decide '12 bid by month's end

Discussion: GOP 12, FrumForum and Swampland

Gail Collins / New York Times:
The Year of Living Adulterously

Discussion: The Note, Washington Monthly, Prairie Weather and Balloon Juice

Wall Street Journal:

Stephen Colbert's Free Speech Problem — The comedian runs up against campaign-finance law in an attempt to lampoon the Supreme Court. — Comedy Central funnyman Stephen Colbert, like most of his friends and allies on the left, thinks that last year's Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC is, literally, ridiculous.

Discussion: Human Events, Hot Air, Patterico's Pontifications, Michelle Malkin, Ben Smith's Blog, Cold Fury, Betsy's Page and Election Law

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Nancy Pelosi: 'We have a plan. It's called Medicare.' — “It is a flag we've planted that we will protect and defend. We have a plan. It's called Medicare.” — That's from Nancy Pelosi, who called me from Wisconsin, where she's holding events today defending Medicare in Paul Ryan's back yard.

Discussion: National Review, The Confluence, Daily Kos, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality …, TalkLeft, Hullabaloo, Taylor Marsh and Eschaton

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Palin: Pelosi telling ‘tight-faced lie’ on healthcare reform law waivers — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) on Wednesday accused House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of telling a “tight-faced lie” in saying she had nothing to do with healthcare reform waivers granted to companies in her district.

Discussion: The Politico, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Media Matters for America, Speaker and The Gavel

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: IMF, Gothamist, Time, This Just In, Taylor Marsh, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, TalkLeft, FrumForum and The Page

Telegraph:
Dominique Strauss-Kahn: IMF head ‘hired prostitutes from Manhattan madam’

Discussion: New York Times, ABCNEWS, Gothamist, Reuters, Patterico's Pontifications, NO QUARTER, Jezebel, Runnin' Scared, The Wrap and Daily Mail

Gerry Mullany / New York Times:
Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns From I.M.F.

Discussion: Time, NationalJournal.com, rubber hose, USA Today, City Room, Outside the Beltway, POWIP, Hot Air, New Atlanticist, The Daily Caller, Scared Monkeys, Newshoggers.com, The Other McCain, The Reaction and American Spectator

Harold Hongju Koh / Opinio Juris:

The Lawfulness of the U.S. Operation Against Osama bin Laden — [Harold Hongju Koh is the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State.] — I write in response to those who have raised questions regarding the lawfulness of the recent United States operation against Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Discussion: The Hill, SWJ Blog, The Volokh Conspiracy and Lawfare

Steve / Teapot Party Blog:

Willie Nelson Changes His Tune — The Teapot Party began two days after Willie Nelson was arrested for marijuana possession in Texas on Nov. 28. He sent me an email suggesting the need for an alternative to the Tea Party - the “Teapot” Party. I started the Facebook page and and within 48 hours …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The Daily Caller, Left Coast Rebel, Hit & Run, TPMDC and Hotline On Call

TMZ.com:

Botox Mom: I MADE IT ALL UP FOR MONEY! — The woman who went on “Good Morning America,” claiming she injected her 8-year-old daughter with Botox, now swears under oath ... she made the entire story up for a few hundred bucks. — TMZ has obtained a sworn declaration written by Sheena Upton …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, Gawker, Wizbang, TVNewser, newsfeed.time.com, Styleite, Jezebel and TIME Healthland

Derek Wallbank / MinnPost:

What Bachmann is thinking about as she considers a run for president — Michele Bachmann at the 2011 Time 100 Gala ceremony in April. — WASHINGTON — As she mulls over a run for the White House, Rep. Michele Bachmann says she is spending time reading books about presidential campaigns …

Discussion: The Blotter, Ben Smith's Blog, GOP 12, Derek Wallbank, National Review, A plain blog about politics and Gawker

Amazon.com:

Amazon.com Now Selling More Kindle Books Than Print Books — Kindle with Special Offers for only $114 is already the bestselling member of the Kindle family — (NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon began selling hardcover and paperback books in July 1995. Twelve years later in November 2007 …

Discussion: Guardian, L.A. Times Tech Blog and Harry's Place, more at Mediagazer »

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: The Other McCain, The Daily Beast, Taylor Marsh, ABCNEWS, The Moderate Voice and CNN