memeorandum: Cantor demands spending-cut ransom for Missouri aid (Steve Benen/Washington Monthly)

2:35 PM ET, May 24, 2011

Top Items:

An Anti-Israel President — The president's peace proposal is a formula for war. — Say what you will about President Obama's approach to Israel—or of his relationship with American Jews—he sure has mastered the concept of chutzpah. — On Thursday at the State Department …

Discussion: Algemeiner.com, Wake up America, Sense of Events, Wonk Room, theblogprof, Israel Matzav, Betsy's Page, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Confederate Yankee and The Daily Dish

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Harry Reid rebukes Barack Obama's Israel speech — The most powerful Democrat in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), on Monday night publicly rejected President Barack Obama's decision to use a recent speech to lay out aspects of a potential peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

Discussion: Hot Air, Ben Smith's Blog, The Hill, USA Today, The Daily Dish, Pajamas Media, RealClearPolitics Video Log, White House Dossier, FrumForum and Washington Post

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Jewish GOP official blasts DWS — The top official at a Republican Jewish group blasted Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz for an “unprecedented and inappropriate” effort to quell partisan debate over Israel in a private meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday at which both were present.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Maen Rashid Areikat / The Politico:
A Palestinian perspective — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

Discussion: Right Wing News

Aaron David Miller / The Politico:
Obama's undue pressure on Israel?

Discussion: AmSpecBlog

Move Over / MOVEOVERAIPAC:
Protesters Confront Netanyahu Inside AIPAC Gala

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and Mediaite

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — King: Giuliani ‘very close’ to joining GOP presidential race — Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose presidential campaign fizzled in 2008, is leaning toward another race for the White House, according to a close associate. New York Republican Rep. Peter King …

Discussion: WMUR, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Gawker, The Note, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Shakesville, New York Magazine, Betsy's Page, The Raw Story, GOP 12, Pundit Press, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Iowa Caucuses and ABCNEWS

Rich Lowry / National Review:

The Republican Field: Is This It? — How's this for an impressive Republican lineup? — A likable former governor and TV personality; a two-term governor with an unmatched fiscal record; another former governor with the best education-reform credentials in the country; a rising star in the House …

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Ben Smith's Blog and Taegan Goddard's …

Marc Ambinder / NationalJournal.com:

What Obama's Political Team Thinks of the Republican Field — Romney seems the most formidable, they think, while relieved that Daniels got out. — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, shown here in 2010, is the most likely GOP opponent and one of the toughest, according to those close to the president.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
For Republican Hopefuls, the Bush Primary Is Well Under Way

Discussion: Daily Kos

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Cantor demands spending-cut ransom for Missouri aid — The scenes out of Joplin, Missouri, are just horrific. The death toll from the deadliest single U.S. twister in generations stands at least 116 people, and rescue workers continue a frantic search for survivors.

Discussion: Boston Globe, Emptywheel, Mediaite, Associated Press, The Politico and Oliver Willis

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:

Cantor Says Congress Won't Pay For Missouri Disaster Relief Unless Spending Is Cut Elsewhere — Firefighters and rescue workers who arrived in Joplin, MO, found that the deadly tornado that hit the state Sunday had left a “barren, smoky wasteland” in its path.

Discussion: Washington Times, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, WALV-TV, AmeriCares News … and CNN

Russell Berman / The Hill:
House GOP to hold ‘clean’ vote to raise $14.3T debt ceiling

Discussion: National Review and FrumForum

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Republicans plan symbolic vote on debt ceiling

Discussion: Ballot Box, CNN and Taylor Marsh

Jonathan Strong / The Daily Caller:

What a top aide to Sarah Palin really thinks about Mitt Romney, Bristol Palin, Erick Erickson and more — A series of messages forwarded to The Daily Caller show a top aide to former Alaska Gov. and possible presidential candidate Sarah Palin mocking top political figures and even her boss's own daughter, Bristol Palin.

Discussion: The Note, RedState, Salon, Riehl World View, Hot Air, The Politico, GOP 12 and Moe Lane

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Don't talk to strangers, Palin edition — There's no more dangerous place for a political staffer than the anonymous wilds of online comments sections. And while much of Sarah Palin's political infrastructure grew up online at Conservatives4Palin, one of her top aides, Rebecca Mansour …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, The Other McCain, Conservatives4Palin, FrumForum, Riehl World View, The Daily Caller and The Note

David Brooks / New York Times:

Britain Is Working — In 1920, Winston Churchill's mother held a dinner for M. Paul Cambon to celebrate the end of his 20 years as the French ambassador to Britain. One of the guests asked Cambon what he had seen in his two decades in London. — “I have witnessed an English revolution …

Discussion: Yglesias, The New Republic, The Enterprise Blog, Los Angeles Times, Marbury, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Guardian, Washington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

David Brooks' political dream — David Brooks flew to London so now he's an expert on British politics, and in his New York Times column this morning, he explains why “the British political system is basically functional while the American system is not.” Here's the crux of what makes their system so admirable in his eyes:

Discussion: Eschaton and blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Dean Schabner / ABCNEWS:

New Doomsday: Preacher Says It's Still Coming — Harold Camping, the radio evangelist who predicted the apocalypse would begin Saturday, May 21, 2011, said today his understanding of God's plan was just a little off. — Speaking outside the headquarters of his media empire near the Oakland …

Discussion: Gawker and Mediaite

Elizabeth Tenety / Washington Post:
Harold Camping says May 21, 2011 was ‘invisible judgment day,’ world will end October 21, 2011

Discussion: Liberal Values, Religion Dispatches and Pharyngula

Garance Burke / Associated Press:
Preacher says world will actually end in October

Discussion: Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, Blag Hag and Shakesville

Dan Amira / New York Magazine:

President Obama Has No Idea What Year It Is — This is how President Obama signed the guestbook at Westminster Abbey earlier today, where he got a tour from the Very Reverend Dr. John Hall and laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. … It was really nice until he got the date wrong by three years.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Blaze and The Right Sphere

Richard Eden / Telegraph:

Cannes 2011: Peter Fonda encourages his grandchildren to take up arms against President Barack Obama — Peter Fonda, the star of Easy Rider, says he is training his grandchildren to use rifles for a conflict with President Barack Obama. — Lars von Trier, who was banned from Cannes for praising Hitler …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Five Feet of Fury, Confederate Yankee, Maggie's Notebook, Pajamas Media and Moe Lane

Karoli / Crooks and Liars:

GOP Rep. Rob Woodall On Medicare: Suck it up and take care of yourself — At least he's honest. At a town hall meeting, Rep. Rob Woodall lectured a constituent about Medicare, saying she should simply take care of herself. … Because it's just so easy, don't you know? Think about what this guy is really saying.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and Hullabaloo

Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:
Rob Woodall On Medicare: 'When Do I Decide I'm Going To Take Care Of Me?'

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:

Steady Decline in Major Crime Baffles Experts — The number of violent crimes in the United States dropped significantly last year, to what appeared to be the lowest rate in nearly 40 years, a development that was considered puzzling partly because it ran counter to the prevailing expectation …

Discussion: Yglesias, The Atlantic Online, New York Magazine, Marginal Revolution, Modeled Behavior, Chicago Boyz, The Daily Dish, The Awl and Mother Jones

Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:

5 things to watch in the NY-26 vote — Tuesday's special election for a western New York congressional seat is positioned to become the first political measuring stick of the national debate over the Republican plan to rewrite Medicare. Democrat Kathy Hochul is narrowly leading the race …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway, Hotline On Call, The Mahablog and FiveThirtyEight

The Caucus:
Republican Candidate in House Race Acknowledges Missteps

Discussion: Hotline On Call and The Reaction

Peter Rugg / Plog:

Kansas Rep. Pete DeGraaf: Being impregnated during a rape is just like getting a flat tire — Rape is often called the ultimate violation of self. A crime of absolute contempt for personal integrity, leaving the women caught in its wreckage to labor under the trauma for years.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Feministing and Balloon Juice

Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Kansas Lawmaker Says Women Should Plan Ahead For Rape: ‘I Have A Spare Tire’

Discussion: Jezebel, Religion Dispatches and Shakesville

New York Post:

Strauss-Kahn's pals bid to pay off woman's kin — By ORON DAN in Tel Aviv and LAURA ITALIANO and BOB FREDERICKS in NY — Friends of alleged hotel sex fiend Dominique Strauss-Kahn secretly contacted the accusing maid's impoverished family, offering them money to make the case go away since …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, City Room, Pundit & Pundette, Connecting.the.Dots, Law Blog, JammieWearingFool, Hot Air, Gawker and Telegraph, more at Mediagazer »

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

‘Rock and roll dude’ eyes W.H. run — Another Republican is eyeing a late entrance into the presidential primary, and his name is not Jeb, Chris, Paul or Rick. — It's Thaddeus. — In an interview Monday with POLITICO, Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter said he's seriously considering …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Outside the Beltway, The Daley Gator and The Daily Caller

myfoxny.com:

Teens Riot In Manhattan Businesses — MYFOXNY.COM - It's like a flash mob gone bad. Security footage from a Manhattan Dunkin' Donuts shows a group of youths climbing on counters, throwing chairs and throwing tables in a violent attack on workers. — It happened at the Dunkin' Donuts on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village.

Discussion: The Daley Gator, alicublog, UrbanGrounds, The Gateway Pundit and Pat Dollard