memeorandum: Some Democrats fear Clinton's wealth and ‘imperial image’ could be damaging in 2016 (Philip Rucker/Washington Post)

9:55 AM ET, June 23, 2014

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Iraqi military facing ‘psychological collapse’ after losses, desertions — Iraqis prepare to fight militants — After militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria took Mosul and other Iraqi cities, the government issued a call for volunteers to join the army. Many Iraqis answered.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Guardian and Eschaton

New York Times:

Iraq's Military Seen as Unlikely to Turn the Tide — BAGHDAD — As Iraqi Army forces try to rally on the outskirts of Baghdad after two weeks of retreat, it has become increasingly clear to Western officials that the army will continue to suffer losses in its fight with Sunni militants and will not soon retake the ground it has ceded.

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show, The Week and American Power

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Kerry in Baghdad to Urge Iraqis to Form New, Inclusive Government

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

Justin Sink / The Hill: Kerry in Iraq to rally factions

Alissa J. Rubin / New York Times:
Militants Take Major Border Post; Kerry Hints U.S. Is Open to a New Premier

Discussion: The Other McCain, Associated Press and Business Insider

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
Kerry Hints That U.S. Would Support New Leader for Iraq

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Liberaland

Matthew Boyle / BREITBART.COM:

QUESTIONS MOUNT ABOUT EFFORT TO DRIVE DEMOCRAT VOTES FOR COCHRAN — CLEVELAND, Mississippi — “I still think the slaves should get their 40 acres and a mule,” LeeRoy Carter, a black preacher who's working to get out the vote among black Democrats for Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) for the GOP primary runoff, told Breitbart News on Thursday.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

New York Times:

Conservatives Plan to Use Poll Watchers in Mississippi — WASHINGTON — As Senator Thad Cochran, the veteran Republican, fights for his political life in Mississippi by taking the unexpected step of courting black Democrats, conservative organizations working to defeat him are planning …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Here are the 12 most competitive Senate races in the country

Discussion: Hot Air

Hunter Walker / Business Insider:

Hillary Clinton Says She Isn't ‘Truly Well Off’ — Hillary Clinton's multimillion dollar fortune has caused some negative headlines during the media tour for the release of her new book “Hard Choices,” which is widely seen as a prelude to a potential 2016 presidential campaign.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Weasel Zippers and The Right Scoop

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Some Democrats fear Clinton's wealth and ‘imperial image’ could be damaging in 2016

Discussion: ABC News, Weasel Zippers, Betsy's Page, Hot Air and Mediaite

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Sotomayor on Clinton and Costco

Discussion: CNN

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Hillary Clinton says she's unlike the ‘truly well off’

Discussion: OnPolitics

Ed Pilkington / Observer:
Hillary Clinton interview: will she or won't she run for president in 2016?

Discussion: CNN, OnPolitics, RedState, Washington Post, Independent Journal Review, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Politico, The Week and Fox News

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Conservatives and Climate Change — On Sunday Henry Paulson, the former Treasury secretary and a lifelong Republican, had an Op-Ed article about climate policy in The New York Times. In the article, he declared that man-made climate change is “the challenge of our time,” …

Discussion: Marginal REVOLUTION, naked capitalism, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Weasel Zippers and Power Line

Drudge Report:

BOOK: HILLARY HAS BAD HEART — A new provocative work by bestselling author Ed Klein claims Hillary Clinton's health problems are much more severe than she has publicly revealed! — “She had managed to keep her medical history secret out of fear that, should it become public …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Ed Driscoll, Power Line and New York Post

Edward Klein / New York Post:
Clinton bristled at Benghazi deception: book

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Althouse, Weasel Zippers, NO QUARTER USA NET, CANNONFIRE and No More Mister Nice Blog

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

THE ABSOLUTIST … - ARCHIVE - WORLD CUP - DAILY COMMENT - AMY DAVIDSON - ANDY BOROWITZ - JOHN CASSIDY - MARIA KONNIKOVA - RICHARD BRODY - SHOP

Discussion: Business Insider

Abby W. Schachter / Greensburg Tribune-Review:

Your bedroom instead of a dorm room — President Obama gets points for properly assessing the problem with student loan debt. He acknowledges that too many students earning a bachelor's degree (71 percent) graduate with debt that is so burdensome (averaging $29,400) that many delay important milestones …

Discussion: Moe Lane

David Tovar / Walmart Corporate:

Fact Check: The New York Times “The Corporate Daddy” — We saw this article in The New York Times and couldn't overlook how wildly inaccurate it is, so we had some fun with it. I hope you will too. — Here are the links we mentioned in our edits: — 1. Associate story re …

Discussion: AEIdeas and The Daily Caller

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

Egyptian Court Convicts 3 Al Jazeera Journalists — CAIRO — A judge on Monday convicted three journalists of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood to broadcast false reports of civil strife in Egypt. — Two of the journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison, and the third was given 10 years …

Discussion: Guardian, The Week, Gawker, Outside the Beltway and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Jedediah Purdy / The Daily Beast:

God Save the United States From This Anti-Democratic Court — Operating on elitism and mystique, America's highest court is increasingly a threat to our ideal of self-government—leading to an important debate about how to fix it. — Should a self-respecting democracy have a Supreme Court like ours …

Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:

Welcome to Dave Brat's America: Majority Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy says Kill the Export-Import Bank — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL ECONOMY KEVIN MCCARTHY CORPORATE WELFARE CRONYISM EXPORT IMPORT BANK DAVE BRAT — House Majority Leader-elect Kevin McCarthy says Congress should let the Export-Import Bank expire …

Discussion: Moe Lane

Elliott Abrams / Politico:

The Man Who Broke the Middle East — There's always Tunisia. Amid the smoking ruins of the Middle East, there is that one encouraging success story. But unfortunately for the Obama narratives, the president had about as much as to do with Tunisia's turn toward democracy as he did with the World Cup rankings.

Discussion: Instapundit