memeorandum: Setting the Record Straight on a Polarizing Debate (Norm Ornstein/NationalJournal.com)

7:55 PM ET, June 19, 2014

Top Items:

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

The plan for saving Iraq begins by ousting Maliki — What would an effective quick response to the catastrophic civil wars in Iraq and Syria look like? Sometimes in foreign policy, as in sports, it can be useful to visualize the right technique — and then hit the ball.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Dish, The Daily Beast, Lawfare, ParaPundit and AEIdeas

Associated Press:

Iraqi Factions Jockey to Oust Maliki, Citing U.S. Support — BAGHDAD — Alarmed over the Sunni insurgent mayhem convulsing Iraq, the country's political leaders are actively jockeying to replace Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, Iraqi officials said Thursday.

Discussion: New York Times, Taylor Marsh, The Week, ThinkProgress, Unqualified Offerings, Business Insider, Hullabaloo and Washington Post

Economist: How did it come to this? — The crisis in Iraq has roots going far back in history.

Andrew Marszal / Telegraph:
Iraq crisis: Britain and US must not meddle in Iraq, warns Saudi Arabia - live

Discussion: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, Ed Driscoll, The Lonely Conservative, Rush Limbaugh, The PJ Tatler and Reuters

Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Signals Iraq's Maliki Should Go

Discussion: The Independent, Politico, Business Insider, Hot Air, RedState, The Daily Banter, Fox News, Taylor Marsh, Telegraph, National Review and Washington Free Beacon

Max Boot / Los Angeles Times:
Op-Ed Here's what the U.S. can do about Iraq

Discussion: Guardian, The Dish and Informed Comment

Patrick Marley / JSOnline:

John Doe prosecutors allege Scott Walker at center of ‘criminal scheme’ — By Patrick Marley and Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel — Madison — Prosecutors allege that Gov. Scott Walker was at the center of an effort to illegally coordinate fundraising among conservative groups to help …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Signal, Business Insider, Politico, Mediaite, Gawker, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, PoliticusUSA, susiemadrak.com, Liberaland and Daily Kos

Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:
State Prosecutors Allege Scott Walker At Center Of ‘Criminal Scheme’

Discussion: JSOnline

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Dianne Feinstein: Keep Brian Schweitzer ‘away from my husband’ — Attention Brian Schweitzer: Dianne Feinstein's husband may want a word with you. — The former Montana governor had harsh words for the Senate Intelligence chairwoman in a profile published by National Journal on Thursday …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Huffington Post, OnPolitics, National Review, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed, Gawker, Business Insider, The Week, ThinkProgress and The Dish

CNN:

Brian Schweitzer says his ‘gaydar’ goes off when he sees Eric Cantor — (CNN) - Former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer chose an interesting path and offered puzzling critiques since he tossed his name in the hat for a potential presidential run in 2016. — But comments the Democrat …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, Althouse, Weasel Zippers, Poynter, Politico, The Daily Banter, BizPac Review and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The Brian Schweitzer presidential speculation was fun while it lasted

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, Los Angeles Times, Outside the Beltway, Red Alert Politics, Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, Politico, Mediaite and The Week

Rebecca Riffkin / Gallup:

Public Faith in Congress Falls Again, Hits Historic Low — Of major U.S. institutions, Americans most confident in the military — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' confidence in Congress has sunk to a new low. Seven percent of Americans say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, ThinkProgress, Daily Surge, The Week, Bloomberg View, OnPolitics, Political Insider blog, NewsBusters, Washington Post, Booman Tribune and Business Insider

Andrew Dugan / Gallup:
Americans' Confidence in News Media Remains Low

Discussion: Mediaite, Poynter, The Huffington Post and Wall Street Journal, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Fox / Daily Surge:

Hillary Clinton Asked To Inscribe “Hard Choices” To Ambassador Stevens — Jason Mattera caught up with Hillary Clinton at one of the DC stops on her book tour this week, and asked the former Secretary of State if she would mind signing a copy of Hard Choices... but with a twist.

Discussion: Mediaite, Red Alert Politics, The Daily Banter, The Gateway Pundit and Moe Lane

Dan Merica / CNN:
Clinton's memoir: A bestseller, a bomb or both?

Discussion: Politico, New Approach Oregon, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Daily Beast

Kendall Breitman / Politico:

Megyn Kelly to Dick Cheney: Wrong, sir — FOX News' Megyn Kelly had some tough questions for former Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday night, after he and his daughter, Liz, offered a scathing review of the Obama administration's foreign policy. — “In your op-ed [in the Wall Street Journal] …

Discussion: CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, The Federalist, The Mahablog, The Huffington Post, Today, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, The Dish, NewsBusters, National Review, The Raw Story and Independent Journal Review

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Rep. Meeks: Cheney Should ‘Take Care Of His Health And Just Keep His Mouth Shut’

Discussion: Mediaite

Esquire:

EXCLUSIVE: PROSECUTOR IS CLOSING IN ON GOV. CHRISTIE — Indictments against four cronies are near certain, sources say. Only question is if David Samson, Christie's longtime crony, will flip. … Getty Images — “It's over, it's done, and I'm moving on.” — Chris Christie, reassuring potential donors in Utah on June 14th

Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Liberaland

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Republican Congressman Has Interesting Response To 9/11 Truther — “Do you think that Oswald was the only person to shoot Jack Kennedy, our president?” Rep. Pete Sessions replied, when asked a 9/11 truther question by a high school class. — Asked if the government was withholding information …

Discussion: Mediaite

Adam Goldman / Washington Post:

CIA hatched plan to make demon toy to counter Osama bin Laden's influence — For more than a decade, the CIA has deployed drones, satellites, spies, informants and tracking devices to thwart al-Qaeda in Pakistan. — The spy agency also considered a plan to wage war with toys.

Discussion: Gawker, Mediaite, The Verge, The Week, Mashable and Hullabaloo

Alana Goodman / Washington Free Beacon:

Clinton Donor Bans Free Beacon From University of Arkansas Archives — A Hillary Clinton donor who serves as dean of the University of Arkansas libraries has banned the Washington Free Beacon from the school's special collections archives, after the news outlet published revealing stories …

Discussion: Politico, Weekly Standard, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller, The Right Scoop and NewsBusters

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:

House GOP Crowns Kevin McCarthy The Next Majority Leader — House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California will be the next majority leader. — As expected, Republicans elected McCarthy to replace ousted Rep. Eric Cantor once he steps down from the post on July 31.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Booman Tribune and RedState

Kristina Peterson / Wall Street Journal:
Text of Tom Graves Speech Nominating Kevin McCarthy for Majority Leader

Discussion: Political Insider blog and RedState

Joe Coscarelli Follow / New York Magazine:

Bill O'Reilly Uncensored: On Hillary Clinton, the 2016 GOP, and His Fox News Colleagues — Highlights from the <em>Factor</em> host's Upper East Side sit-down with Geraldo Rivera. — Even on New York City's Upper East Side, Bill O'Reilly can draw a packed house of true believers.

Discussion: Mediaite, Politico and The Huffington Post

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Republican Congressman Tells Men: Wives “Desperately” Need Their Husbands To Step Up — “Your children need you. Your woman, your wife, she needs you. It's time that you become a real man.” — Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp talked Thursday about the need for husbands to step up and become …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The PJ Tatler and RedState

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Washington Post, New York Times and Mozilla team up for new Web site comment system — In an unusual partnership, The Washington Post, the New York Times and software developer Mozilla will team up to create digital tools that will make it easier for readers to post comments and photos …

Discussion: Guardian and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Leslie Kaufman / New York Times:
Mozilla to Develop Comments Platform for New York Times and Washington Post

Discussion: The Verge and The Huffington Post

The Hill:

Obama to leaders: Iraq plan won't require congressional vote — President Obama is not close to seeking congressional authorization for airstrikes in Iraq. — After a White House meeting between Obama and the top four leaders in Congress, all sides involved signaled they want to leave options open …