memeorandum: Guest worker program survives (Nicole Gaouette/Los Angeles Times)

11:55 AM ET, May 23, 2007

Top Items:

Democrats Pull Troop Deadline From Iraq Bill — Congressional Democrats relented Tuesday on their insistence that a war spending measure set a date for withdrawing American combat troops from Iraq. Instead, they moved toward a deal with President Bush that would impose new conditions on the Iraqi government.

Discussion: AMERICAblog, MSNBC, TIME: Swampland, The Carpetbagger Report, Chicago Tribune, Taylor Marsh, BAGnewsNotes, Ice Station Tango and rubber hose

Shailagh Murray / Washington Post:

Democrats Relent On Pullout Timetable — Democrats gave up their demand for troop-withdrawal deadlines in an Iraq war spending package yesterday, abandoning their top goal of bringing U.S. troops home and handing President Bush a victory in a debate that has roiled Congress for months.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Informed Comment, All Spin Zone, AMERICAblog, Daily Kos, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Reaction, The Atlantic Online, Guardian, Jules Crittenden, The Heretik, On Deadline, CNN, Salon and About U.S. Politics

Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Defections now likely on Iraq bill

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Los Angeles Times

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Today's Must Read — An ideologue, yes, but an ideologue acting on orders or on her own? — When Monica Goodling goes before the House Judiciary Committee this morning, that will be the central question. — No one can read the two profiles of Goodling in The Los Angeles Times …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, NO QUARTER, Slate, Eschaton and The Reaction

CNN:

Justice aide who took the Fifth to testify in attorney firings … (CNN) — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' former link to the White House will testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday, speaking out for the first time on her role in the controversial U.S. Attorney firings.

Discussion: PoliBlog (TM) and TalkLeft

Looseheadprop / Firedoglake: Older and Wiser Heads

Former Gonzales Aide / Washington Post:
Officials Describe Interference by Former Gonzales Aide

Discussion: Law Blog and Think Progress

New York Times:

Senate Votes to Keep Temporary Worker Program — A comprehensive immigration bill survived a significant test on Tuesday as the Senate voted to keep a provision that would let hundreds of thousands of temporary foreign workers enter the country each year. — If the guest worker program …

Discussion: Campaign for America's …, JURIST and Hot Air

Elana Schor / The Hill:
Guest-worker program dodges its first bullet

Discussion: Heading Right and Captain's Quarters

Nicole Gaouette / Los Angeles Times:
Guest worker program survives

Discussion: Washington Post

David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:

DEMOCRATS FIND ETHICS OVERHAUL ELUSIVE IN HOUSE — House Democratic leaders pushing a promised lobbying overhaul are facing resistance from balky lawmakers and fending off accusations that a prominent member is flouting new ethics rules. — The Democratic leaders were forced to scrap …

Discussion: Wonkette, The BLT, Associated Press and Sirotablog

Michael Brady / Keeping the Majority Accountable …:
Freshmen fail first ethics test

Discussion: Washington Post and The Hill

Elizabeth Williamson / Washington Post:
Democratic Leaders Find House Ethics Bill a Tough Sell

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Michael Cooper / New York Times:

Political Memo: Giuliani Above the Fray as McCain and Romney Skirmish — The contrast could hardly be more striking. Senator John McCain and Mitt Romney have been mixing it up on the trail with increasing intensity ever since their feisty exchange at the last Republican debate.

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, The Moderate Voice, MSNBC and TIME

Washington Post:

McCain Turns Focus To His Fundraising — As the Senate debate over immigration raged yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had breakfast, brunch and lunch fundraisers in Houston before heading north to gather money at a supporter's home in Dallas and, later, from young professionals at a gourmet Mexican restaurant.

Discussion: The Politico and The Caucus

Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:

Bush: Bin Laden ordered non-Iraq attacks — WASHINGTON - Seeking to rally support for the war, President Bush released intelligence asserting that Osama bin Laden in 2005 ordered creation of a terrorist unit to hit targets outside Iraq, including the United States.

Discussion: MSNBC, The Carpetbagger Report, CNN, Democratic Underground …, The Impolitic, Brilliant at Breakfast, Michael P.F. van der Galiën, Sadly, No!, AMERICAblog, Republic of Sestakastan and Rising Hegemon

Ed Henry / CNN:

White House: Bin Laden wanted Iraq as a new base … WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush on Tuesday declassified intelligence showing in 2005 Osama bin Laden planned to use Iraq as a base from which to launch attacks in the United States, according to White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and The Reaction

Alan Cooperman / Washington Post:

Survey: U.S. Muslims Assimilated, Opposed to Extremism — Unlike Muslim minorities in many European countries, U.S. Muslims are highly assimilated, close to parity with other Americans in income and overwhelmingly opposed to Islamic extremism, according to the first major, nationwide random survey of Muslims.

Discussion: USA Today, Guardian, Unqualified Offerings, Jihad Watch, Salon and PewResearch.org

Ace / minx.cc:
A Day of Shocks: Media Spins or Ignores Disturbing Finding …

Discussion: Salon, Voice of America, National Review, International Herald Tribune, Captain's Quarters and Lawyers, Guns and Money

CNN:

U.S. checking if body found in river is missing soldier … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraqi police found the body of what they said was a Western-looking man, apparently dressed in U.S. military uniform, floating in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad on Wednesday, an official said.

Discussion: The Fourth Rail, Associated Press and Hot Air

Associated Press:
Iraqis in Hunt for Missing GIs Find Body in U.S. Uniform

Discussion: Jules Crittenden and Pajamas Media

Joe Strupp / Editor and Publisher:

McClatchy's D.C. Bureau Claims It's Barred From Defense Secretary Plane — NEW YORK Staffers at McClatchy's Washington, D.C., Bureau — one of the few major news outlets skeptical of intelligence reports during the run-up to the war in Iraq — claims it is now being punished for that coverage.

Discussion: mediabistro.com

Ann Scott Tyson / Washington Post:

New Strategy for War Stresses Iraqi Politics — U.S. Aims to Oust Sectarians From Key Roles — Top U.S. commanders and diplomats in Iraq are completing a far-reaching campaign plan for a new U.S. strategy, laying out military and political goals and endorsing the selective removal …

Discussion: QandO, toohotfortnr, Sic Semper Tyrannis 2007, The Strata-Sphere, Daily Kos, Democratic Underground …, Middle Earth Journal, Outside The Beltway, The Impolitic and Oliver Willis

The Blotter:

Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran — Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report: — The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

New York Post:

WOLFOWITZ AND GAL PAL SPLIT UP — PAUL Wolfowitz has really had a bad couple of weeks. He not only lost his job, he lost his girlfriend, too. — Wolfowitz, one of the architects of the Iraq war, was pushed out as president of the World Bank over a controversial pay and promotion package …

Discussion: Carry on America

Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:

House backs limits on attorney picks — Washington - Congress cleared legislation Tuesday that would curb President Bush's power to appoint prosecutors indefinitely, resolving one controversy linked to the firing of federal prosecutors. — The 306-114 vote gave the House's blessing …

Discussion: Think Progress and PoliBlog (TM)