memeorandum: Democrats join Republicans in questioning Obama's policy on Israel (Peter Wallsten/Washington Post)

12:05 PM ET, May 25, 2011

Top Items:

Raymond Hernandez / New York Times:

Democrat Wins G.O.P. Seat; Rebuke Seen to Medicare Plan — Democrats scored an upset in one of New York's most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party's plan to overhaul Medicare.

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Six Months After Midterm Disaster, Hopeful Signs for Democrats — Here's what I wrote two weeks ago about the special election in New York's 26th Congressional district, which was won by the Democrat Kathy Hochul Tuesday night: … Ms. Hochul, with most of the vote counted, has 48 percent of the total, so she has met this threshold.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Weekly Standard, The Monkey Cage, Examiner, Salon, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Mahablog, Blue Mass Group and Moe_Lane's blog

Chris Lee Resignation / Buffalo News:

Hochul takes House seat in stunner — Kathleen Courtney Hochul, the Erie County clerk and longtime Democratic figure who defied political experts giving her little chance of success, ground out a stunning and surprisingly comfortable victory Tuesday in the special election for the predominantly Republican 26th Congressional District.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Nation, AMERICAblog News, Outside the Beltway, 24Ahead, The Batavian, Gothamist, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Hill

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:

G.O.P. on the Defensive as Voters Resist Medicare Plan — WASHINGTON — When they proposed just last month to overhaul Medicare, House Republicans were confident that the wind of budget politics was at their backs and that the country's looming fiscal problems provided justification …

Discussion: Minnesota Independent, The Reaction and Hullabaloo

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Warning shot: 4-point Dem. victory in heavily GOP district where Medicare was issue — Ryan video tries to shift debate to ‘Saving Medicare’ — Geithner's #PlaybookBreakfast livestream —RAHM MAY TESTIFY AT BLAGO II: ChiTrib p. 1 tease, “Sources: Emanuel, Blagojevich to testify …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, RedState and FrumForum

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Ryan: Medicare played role in defeat

Discussion: Healthwatch, The Politico, The Maddow Blog, The Gateway Pundit and Ballot Box

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
After Dem win in NY special election, group eyes NH race

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Ben Smith's Blog and Taylor Marsh

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
A surprisingly productive May for Democrats

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling: NY-26 does mean something

Emptywheel:
Obama Misses the Lesson in NY-26

Discussion: Firedoglake and Corrente

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

Obama miscues on toast — Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and U.S. President Barack Obama during a state banquet in Buckingham Palace, London, on Tuesday May 24, 2011. — AP Photo — LONDON - It was all going so well. — But when the time came for President Obama to deliver his toast …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, AmSpecBlog and Salon

Political Punch:

Awkward Moment During Obama Toast to Queen — The president and the orchestra at Buckingham Palace this evening were a bit out of synch. — When the president toasted the Queen the orchestra misunderstood a pause and what seemed to be a cue from the president for “God Save the Queen” to begin playing.

Discussion: The Daily What, Outside the Beltway, Yourish.com, Nice Deb, All American Blogger, The Gateway Pundit, Sister Toldjah, Moonbattery, Michelle Malkin, theblogprof, The Lonely Conservative and Pajamas Media

Paul Bedard / US News:
Royals, Obamas Sip $1,000 Vino

Discussion: The Note, Ben Smith's Blog and The Politico

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Good news: Obama botches toast to the queen

Discussion: Mediaite and Freedom's Lighthouse

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:
Rep. Bachmann: Obama ‘too busy gallivanting around Europe’

Discussion: GOP 12

James Hill / ABCNEWS:

John Edwards: U.S. Green-Lights Prosecution for Alleged Campaign Law Violations Tied to Affair Cover-Up — Former Sen. John Edwards speaks at a campaign rally Jan. 26, 2008, in Columbia, S.C. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images) — The United States Department of Justice has green-lighted the prosecution …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Hill, New York Times, The Note, Patterico's Pontifications, Ben Smith's Blog, Michelle Malkin, USA Today, Mediaite, Scared Monkeys, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Gateway Pundit, Pajamas Media, Don Surber, Gawker, JammieWearingFool and FrumForum

CBS News:
Report: John Edwards set to be indicted

Discussion: National Review, WRAL-TV, William K. Wolfrum Chronicles, iOwnTheWorld.com and TalkLeft

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico: John Edwards may face criminal charges

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:

Palin's Secret Weapon: New Film to Premiere in June — Shortly after Republicans swept last November to a historic victory in which Sarah Palin was credited with playing a central role, the former Alaska governor pulled aside her close aide, Rebecca Mansour, to discuss a hush-hush assignment …

The Note:
‘Epic’ Sarah Palin Documentary Due Out in June

Discussion: Real Clear Politics and The Politico

Edward Wyatt / New York Times:

Decorum Breaks Down at House Hearing — WASHINGTON — A House committee hearing into the structure of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau disintegrated into heated accusations of lying to Congress on Tuesday, with the panel's chairman accusing Elizabeth Warren of giving misleading testimony …

Discussion: Swampland, Raw Replay, naked capitalism, AlterNet, Washington Wire and Blue Mass Group

Michael McAuliff / The Huffington Post:
Elizabeth Warren Called Liar At CFPB Hearing By Republicans Who Botched Facts On Agency (VIDEO)

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Crooks and Liars, CNNMoney.com, The Nation, Gawker, DownWithTyranny! and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Maya Jackson Randall / Wall Street Journal:
Spat Over New Consumer Bureau

Discussion: Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post:

FreedomWorks' Goal: Stop Mitt Romney In 2012 … WASHINGTON - A top goal of the nation's most influential national Tea Party group is to stop Mitt Romney from winning the Republican nomination for president. — Interviews with top officials at FreedomWorks, a Washington-based organizing hub …

Discussion: Mediaite, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Ben Smith's Blog, The New Republic, Weasel Zippers and GOP 12

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

Poll: More Americans fear higher national debt than default — The debate over whether to raise the legal limit on government borrowing has riveted Americans, with a large majority worried about the potential consequences whether or not Congress votes to allow the national debt to keep rising.

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Monthly, Washington Wire, The Hill, Pew Research Center …, Weigel, Hot Air, The Foundry and Wall Street Journal

Ben White / The Politico:
Dave Camp reassures Wall St. on debt limit

Discussion: Daily Kos

Frances Cronin / BBC:

Egyptian pyramids found by infra-red satellite images — Two new finds are at Saqqara, an older but lesser known pyramid site than Giza — Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt. — More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements …

Discussion: msnbc.com and Outside the Beltway

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate Dems might join rebuff of Obama on Israeli border issue — Senate Democrats are expected to support a resolution intended as a rebuff to President Obama's call for basing Middle East peace talks on the 1967 Israeli-Palestinian borders. — It would be a rare rebuke of the president …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Prairie Weather and JammieWearingFool

Michael Barone / Washington Examiner:

Obama skirts rule of law to reward pals, punish foes — Senior Political Analyst Follow Him @MichaelBarone — Question: What do the following have in common? Eckert Cold Storage Co., Kerly Homes of Yuma, Classic Party Rentals, West Coast Turf Inc., Ellenbecker Investment Group Inc. …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, AmSpecBlog and Sense of Events

David Steinberg / Pajamas Media:

(UPDATED: Uh oh — Lee's wife, Nita Chaudary, behind the “Betray Us” Ad?) Googling Jesse Lee — UPDATE: Lee is married to Nita Chaudary. Here is a CSPAN transcript from Sep. 10, 2007, wherein Chaudary represents — and ardently defends — MoveOn.org for publishing the Petraeus smear ad prior …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Fox Nation, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Lonely Conservative and Weasel Zippers

Jeff Cox / CNBC:

CNBC Anchor Mark Haines Dies Unexpectedly at Age 65 — Veteran journalist Mark Haines, a fixture on CNBC for 22 years, died unexpectedly Tuesday evening. He was 65 years old. — Haines, founding anchor of CNBC's morning show “Squawk Box,” was co-anchor of the network's “Squawk on the Street” …

Discussion: Mediaite, DealBook, Gawker and HotAirPundit

New Scientist:

Rewriting the textbooks: When science gets it wrong — THE business of gaining understanding of the world about us rarely follows a simple path from A to B. False starts, dead ends and U-turns are part of the journey. Science's ability to accept those setbacks with aplomb - to say …

Quinnipiac University:

Florida Voters Turn Thumbs Down On Gov. Scott 2-1, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Say Property Insurance Is Getting Worse — Florida voters disapprove 57 - 29 percent of the job Gov. Rick Scott is doing, the worst score of any governor in the states surveyed by Quinnipiac University …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Peter Wallsten / Washington Post:

Democrats join Republicans in questioning Obama's policy on Israel — Top Democrats have joined a number of Republicans in challenging President Obama's policy toward Israel, further exposing rifts that the White House and its allies will seek to mend before next year's election.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, In the Arena, CNN, The Hill, Salon, White House Dossier and The Daily Dish

Shelby Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Obama's Unspoken Re-Election Edge — This presidency flatters America to a degree that no white Republican can hope to match. — Many of the Republican presidential hopefuls should be able to beat President Obama in 2012. This president has a track record now and, thus, many vulnerabilities.