memeorandum: Strauss-Kahn's Lawyers Suggest Credibility Issues on Accuser (John Eligon/New York Times)

10:35 PM ET, May 26, 2011

Top Items:

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Romney, Palin Lead Reduced GOP Field for 2012 — PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney (17%) and Sarah Palin (15%) now lead a smaller field of potential Republican presidential candidates in rank-and-file Republicans' preferences for the party's 2012 nominee. Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich …

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:

Palin's “Exploratory” Campaign: A Nationwide Bus Tour — DES MOINES, Iowa — In a move designed to propel her closer to a presidential run, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will set out on a bus tour of the country on Sunday, making stops at symbolic sites along the way.

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Electoral Consequences of the Rapture — Voters nationally are evenly divided on Barack Obama's job performance at 48% approving and 48% disapproving. Despite the mixed feelings toward him he leads Mitt Romney by 7 at 49-42, Newt Gingrich by 14 at 51-37, and Sarah Palin by 17 at 54-37 in hypothetical match ups.

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Liberal Values, GOP 12 and The TrogloPundit

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Wisconsin looks good for Obama

Discussion: JSOnline, Daily Kos, GOP 12 and TPMDC

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Sarah Palin to embark on bus tour as presidential speculation builds

Discussion: SarahPAC, Wall Street Journal, Pat Dollard, National Review, Ben Smith's Blog and The Daily Dish

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

DNC chairwoman doesn't drive American — The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) appears to drive a foreign car, despite criticizing Republican presidential candidates for supposedly favoring foreign auto manufacturers. — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Top of the Ticket, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and RedState

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
DNC chief attacks GOP field on American ‘exceptionalism’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Nice Deb, Ben Smith's Blog and The Note

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
DNC Chair: Republicans Are Waging a ‘War on Women’

Discussion: TPMDC, LifeNews.com and AmSpecBlog

Walter Russell Mead / Via Meadia:

The Dreamer Goes Down For The Count — I had never thought there were many similarities between the pleasure-loving Charles II of England and the more upright Barack Obama until this week. Listening to his speeches on the Middle East at the State Department, US-Israel relations …

Discussion: Haaretz, American Prospect, Eunomia, Mondoweiss, Transterrestrial Musings, Wake up America, FrumForum and Commentary Magazine

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Invoking Hitler, Allen West Accuses Obama Of ‘Conscious, Nefarious, And Malicious Intent’ To Destroy Israel

Discussion: The Daily Pulp and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Doug Saunders / Globe and Mail:
On Israel, Harper stands alone at G8 summit

Discussion: Politics, Weasel Zippers, Jihad Watch and The Daily Dish

Corey Boles / Washington Wire:

Sen. Rand Paul Delays Renewal of Patriot Act Provisions — Sen. Rand Paul has single-handedly stopped the extension of three key provisions of the Patriot Act until after they expire at midnight Thursday. Unless he folds. … The Senate voted to end debate on the measure, but Sen. Paul …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Left Coast Rebel, Outside the Beltway and The Maddow Blog

Scott Wong / The Politico:
Patriot Act clears House, Senate

Discussion: CNN and The Note

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Rand Paul's Controversial Gun Records Amendment May Get Patriot Act Vote After All

Discussion: The Politico, Emptywheel, Hot Air, Danger Room and Associated Press

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Sarah Palin to tour East Coast, New Hampshire — Sarah Palin is launching a nationwide bus tour starting Sunday in Washington, a Palin source has confirmed to POLITICO. — The first stop will be at the annual Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally. Palin will then travel up the East Coast …

Discussion: CNN, Philly.com and Althouse

Aharding / CNN:
Fox News: No change in Palin status

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Ben Child / Guardian:
Sarah Palin likened to Joan of Arc in two-hour documentary film

Discussion: Big Government, Politics, Firedoglake, Yglesias and Washington Post

Patricia Sellers / Fortune:

Mark Zuckerberg's new challenge: Eating only what he kills (and yes, we do mean literally...) — Last year Mark Zuckerberg set out to learn Chinese. Now he's determined to get in touch with his food. If the goats, lobsters and chickens of Silicon Valley aren't trembling, they should be.

Discussion: Gawker, Runnin' Scared, Althouse, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Vox Popoli and Gothamist, more at Techmeme »

JSOnline:

Dane County judge strikes down collective bargaining law — By Jason Stein and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel — Madison - A Dane County judge has struck down Gov. Scott Walker's legislation repealing most collective bargaining for public employees.

Discussion: WisPolitics Budget Blog, National Review, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Firedoglake, POWIP, Hot Air, The Volokh Conspiracy, The Hill, Wonkette and Pajamas Media

Fuel Fix:

Dick Cheney: Arab uprisings unlikely to disrupt oil flows for long — Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he doesn't think the “Arab Spring” will significantly cut the flow of oil to world markets, but the Middle East is far different when he sought cooperation for the liberation of Kuwait in 1991.

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress, Crooks and Liars, USA Today, The Politico, TPMDC, Wonkette, Raw Replay, The New Editor, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Salon, The Page and FrumForum

The Note:
Pawlenty Says If He Were President He Would Sign Paul Ryan's Budget

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC, The New Republic, CNN, Washington Monthly, Crooks and Liars, AmSpecBlog, The Maddow Blog and USA Today

David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:

‘Business death penalty’ for hiring illegal workers is upheld by Supreme Court — The 5-3 decision gives states more authority to act against illegal immigrants. Justices rule that states can take away the business licenses of companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Questions and Observations, The Moderate Voice, American Power, Pat Dollard, Wake up America and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Associated Press:
Supreme Court upholds Ariz. law punishing employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants

Discussion: FrumForum

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

House defeats effort to scale down Afghan war in close 204-215 vote — The House on Thursday narrowly shot down an amendment to scale back military operations in Afghanistan. — In a close 204-215 vote, the House rejected a bipartisan amendment from Reps. James McGovern (D-Mass.) …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Charles Hoskinson / The Politico:
Support for Afghan ops wanes

Discussion: CNN

Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin Makes History By Signing Into Law Single Payer Health Care — Last month, the Vermont Senate passed legislation, approved earlier by the House, that would establish a single payer health care system in the state. The legislation would make Vermont …

Discussion: Left in the West, Newshoggers.com and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jon Walker / Firedoglake:
Vermont's Road to Single Payer: HHS Waivers Required; You Can Help

Discussion: Consumer Reports News, delawareonline, Truthdig and Sky Dancing

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

In Britain Obama repeats his error on Israel — President Obama is in Europe, supposedly trying to dissuade the Europeans from participating in the Palestinians' attempt to gain statehood without offering peace to Israel. At his press conference he, no surprise to his critics …

Discussion: The White House and Moe Lane

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis:

Gross Domestic Product, First Quarter 2011 (second estimate); Corporate Profits, First Quarter 2011 (preliminary estimate) — Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 1.8 percent …

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos, Clusterstock and FrumForum

The Atlantic Online:

The Greatest Achievement of the Settlers — The settlers of the West Bank have accomplished a great many things: They have built entire towns on previously-barren hilltops; they have created a network of schools, religious institutions and cultural centers that rival their counterparts in Israel proper.

Discussion: THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Pajamas Media and The Daily Dish

Dave Wedge / Boston Herald:

Barney Frank knocked on his Fannie — Rep admits to helping lover land job at mortgage giant in '91 — U.S. Rep. Barney Frank admitted he helped his ex-lover land a lucrative post with Fannie Mae in the early 1990s while the Newton Democrat was on a committee that regulated the lending giant …

Discussion: Salon

Howie Carr / Boston Herald:
Barney Frank Mae have to find new friends

Discussion: GayPatriot

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Clinton walks back debt remarks — Though many in his party have been furiously warning about the dire consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling, former President Bill Clinton isn't so sure. — “If we defaulted on the debt once for a few days, it might not be calamitous,” …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, United States Senator … and Hullabaloo

The Hill:

GOP forces Senate pro-forma session, blocking Warren recess appointment — GOP opposition is preventing the Senate from completely adjourning for the Memorial Day recess. — GOP opposition is preventing the Senate from completely adjourning for the Memorial Day recess.

Discussion: Pajamas Media

John Eligon / New York Times:

Strauss-Kahn's Lawyers Suggest Credibility Issues on Accuser — The lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn have suggested that they possess information that would undermine the credibility of the hotel housekeeper who has accused their client of sexual assault.

Discussion: New York Magazine, TalkLeft, The Other McCain and pandagon.net

John Eligon / New York Times:

Two New York City Police Officers Acquitted of Rape — Two New York City police officers were acquitted on Thursday of the most serious charges in the rape of a drunken woman who had been helped into her apartment by the officers while on patrol. — The verdict provides some measure …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Gothamist, Runnin' Scared, Feministing, Shakesville, Boing Boing, New York Magazine, Focal Point and Feministe

CNN:

Romney to announce candidacy for president in New Hampshire — (CNN)-Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will formally announce his intentions to seek the GOP nomination for president in 2012 next Thursday, a campaign spokesperson tells CNN. — And the soon-to-be-announced candidate confirmed it himself on Twitter late Wednesday.

Discussion: The Note, The Politico, Conservatives4Palin and Mediaite

Matthew Yglesias / Yglesias:

The Growth And Success Of Post-Jewish Zionism — Tanya Somanader has a post about a curious op-ed from Joe Walsh (R-IL) in which he castigates “most American Jews” for our insufficiently hawkish views on Israel. And over the weekend Dan Webster (R-FL) offered a plausible rebuttal …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, ThinkProgress and Capital J | JTA

The Note:

John Edwards Meets Privately with Bunny Mellon, Potential Witness in Cover Up Case — ABC's James Hill reports: John Edwards, while facing looming criminal indictment, spent the afternoon in Upperville, Virginia, visiting one of the key players in the alleged scheme to cover-up his affair.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

NYSE Tries to Body Slam TPM! — If you're a news editor you'll want to hear this. — The New York Stock Exchange now claims that you have to get their permission (express or implicit) before you use images connected to the New York Stock Exchange. So if you find a wire photo …

Discussion: Yglesias, The Volokh Conspiracy and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »