memeorandum @ 10:50 AM ET, April 19, 2006

10:50 AM ET, April 19, 2006

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McClellan Leaves White House Press Office — WASHINGTON - White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Wednesday he is resigning, continuing a shakeup in President Bush's administration that has already yielded a new chief of staff and could lead to a change in the Cabinet.

Discussion: Power Line

Washington Post:

McClellan Out as White House Press Secretary — Karl Rove Gives Up Policy Oversight to Focus on 2006 Elections — White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan announced his resignation this morning and President's Bush's longtime adviser Karl Rove is scaling back his responsibilities.

Discussion: Wonkette, The Carpetbagger Report and Bark Bark Woof Woof

John O'Neil / New York Times:

Staff Overhaul Continues at White House — The overhaul of the White House staff continued today as Scott McClellan stepped down as the president's chief spokesman and Karl Rove gave up his portfolio as senior policy coordinator to concentrate more on politics and November's midterm Congressional elections.

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister

Terence Hunt / Associated Press:
Bush, After Some Changes, Vows More Coming

Discussion: The Left Coaster

New York Times: Ex-Congressman Is Tapped for Budget Post

David S. Cloud / New York Times:

Here's Donny! In His Defense, a Show Is Born — WASHINGTON, April 18 — It has become a daily ritual, the defense of the defense secretary, complete with praise from serving generals, tributes from the president and, from the man on the spot, doses of charm, combativeness and even some humility.

Discussion: Bark Bark Woof Woof, ScrappleFace and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

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Washington Post:

Why Are They Speaking Up Now? — The retired general officers who have recently called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld want to convince the public that civilian control has silenced military wisdom regarding the war in Iraq. They have chafed at Rumsfeld's authoritarian style …

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, Interesting Times, Center for Sanity, Daily Kos, Wizbang, irishpennants.com, Betsy's Page, Right Wing News, Outside The Beltway, Economist's View and PSoTD

John Batiste / Washington Post:

A Case for Accountability — We have the best military in the world, hands down. We must complete what we started in Iraq, and there is no doubt in my mind that we have the military capacity to do that, provided the political will is there. Our success in Iraq is due to the incredible performance of our servicemen and women.

Discussion: PrairiePundit

Cori Dauber / Rantingprofs: Do You Want Rumsfeld Gone?

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Moving to the Right — Brit Hume's Path Took Him From Liberal Outsider to The Low-Key Voice of Conservatism on Fox News — It was a different era, a different administration and a very different Brit Hume. — Thirty-six years ago, as a long-haired reporter for columnist Jack Anderson …

Discussion: Norwegianity, NewsBusters.org, Greg's Opinion, Betsy's Page, Blue Crab Boulevard, The Democratic Daily Blog, The Sundries Shack, Power Line and Rising Hegemon

Reuters:

Palestinian militants threaten to attack Jews abroad — GAZA, April 17 (Reuters) - Palestinian militants linked to President Mahmoud Abbas's increasingly fractured Fatah movement threatened on Monday to attack Jews overseas to force Israel to release Palestinian prisoners from its jails.

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GINA COBB:
What Palestinians Deliberately Did to 68 Innocent Men, Women and Children

Discussion: Cox & Forkum Editorial …, Security Watchtower and Jihad Watch

Yaakov Katz / Jerusalem Post: IDF arrests father of TA suicide bomber

Andy Sullivan / Reuters:

News outlets resist Scooter Libby subpoenas — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former White House aide fighting perjury charges should not get access to reporters' notes and other newsroom material because they have no relevance to his case, several news outlets told a U.S. judge on Tuesday.

Discussion: TalkLeft

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Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Motions To Quash — Jeralyn Merritt notes the motions …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

China's Rising Need for Oil Is High on U.S. Agenda — WASHINGTON, April 18 — The competition for access to oil is emerging high on the agenda for President Hu Jintao's visit to the White House this week. President Bush has called China's growing demand for oil one reason for rising prices …

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Associated Press:
Bush: 'All options' possible in dealing with Iran

Discussion: The Left Coaster, Sadly, No! and PrairiePundit

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:

GAO Faults Agencies' Sharing of Terror Data — Despite more than four years of legislation, executive orders and presidential directives, the Bush administration has yet to comprehensively improve sharing of counterterrorism information among dozens of federal agencies …

Discussion: Outside The Beltway

Mark Stevenson / Associated Press:

Mexico Harsh to Undocumented Migrants — TULTITLAN, Mexico - Considered felons by the government, these migrants fear detention, rape and robbery. Police and soldiers hunt them down at railroads, bus stations and fleabag hotels. Sometimes they are deported; more often officers simply take their money.

Discussion: blonde sagacity, California Conservative, QandO, Ace of Spades HQ, Kesher Talk, PoliBlog and Flopping Aces

Bob Kemper / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

McKinney report cites assault with 'closed fist' — The official police report on Rep. Cynthia McKinney's clash with a Capitol Hill police officer three weeks ago says the DeKalb County congresswoman struck the officer "in his chest with [a] closed fist." — The "event report" …

Discussion: RightWinged.com, Wonkette, JunkYardBlog, The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta, Blue Crab Boulevard and Wizbang

Wall Street Journal:

Bush's Approval Remains Low, Pessimism Grows, Poll Shows — President Bush's job-approval rating slipped for the third consecutive month and remains near the lowest mark of his presidency, according to a new Harris Interactive poll. — Thirty-five percent of 1,008 U.S. adults surveyed …

Washington Post:

With Friends Like These . . . WITH A LAND mass similar to Maryland's, Equatorial Guinea has the fortune to be Africa's third-largest oil producer. The money from black gold helps to explain how the president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, has bought large homes in France and Morocco …

Discussion: Washington Post, Harry's Place and FP Passport

Mohammed / IRAQ THE MODEL:

Kill us, but you won't enslave us. — Last week we stopped writing for a while and we apologized to our readers saying that we lost a close friend but we didn't want to give more details as we were overwhelmed by an exceptional situation and a huge shock. We also were afraid from writing …

Discussion: Daimnation! and Hyscience