memeorandum: Iraq's main Sunni bloc suspends government talks (Wisam Mohammed/Reuters)

9:35 AM ET, May 28, 2008

Top Items:

Exclusive: McClellan whacks Bush, White House — Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a surprisingly scathing memoir to be published next week that President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” …

Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:

Ex-Press Aide Writes That Bush Misled U.S. on Iraq — Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated “political propaganda campaign” led by President Bush and aimed at “manipulating sources of public opinion” …

Discussion: Firedoglake, TownHall Blog, CNN, The Corner, TIME.com, The Aristocrats, Associated Press and Swampland

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:

In Ex-Spokesman's Book, Harsh Words for Bush — PHOENIX — President Bush “convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment,” and has engaged in “self-deception” to justify his political ends, Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary, writes in a critical new memoir about his years in the West Wing.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, American Street, The Carpetbagger Report, Top of the Ticket, BAGnewsNotes, Wonkette and AMERICAblog

Ken Herman / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Bush misled U.S. on Iraq, former aide says in new book — Scott McClellan's ‘What Happened’ delivers tough criticism of president, advisers — WASHINGTON — In a book due out Monday, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan offers a blistering review of the administration …

Discussion: Blogs of War

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard Blog:
The Coming Resurrection of Scott McClellan

Discussion: TBogg and StephenBainbridge.com

Roger Simon / The Politico:

Dems seek to avoid meltdown — Those people who believe all problems have solutions may be unfamiliar with the inner workings of the Democratic Party. — On Saturday, the party's Rules and Bylaws Committee will try to solve a big problem, in order to avoid a huge problem in order to prevent a train wreck.

Discussion: Washington Wire and Political Perceptions

Bob Cusack / The Hill:

Obama urges supporters not to demonstrate at crucial DNC meeting — Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) campaign is urging its supporters not to demonstrate at Saturday's highly anticipated Democratic National Committee (DNC) meeting on how to handle the delegates of Florida and Michigan.

Discussion: TIME.com

Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:

Dem lawyers: Fla., Mich. can't be fully restored — WASHINGTON - A Democratic Party rules committee has the authority to seat some delegates from Michigan and Florida but not fully restore the two states as Hillary Rodham Clinton wants, according to party lawyers.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Don Surber, Moue Magazine and AMERICAblog

Marc Ambinder:

The RBC Meeting: A Preview — On Saturday, amid intense press coverage and protests generated by Clinton allies, the Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws committee will meet to decide the status of several challenges to the RBC's earlier decision to penalize Florida and Michigan for their calendar violations.

David Boaz / Wall Street Journal:

Our Collectivist Candidates — On Sunday Barack Obama urged graduates of Connecticut's Wesleyan University to devote themselves to “collective service.” This is not an unusual theme for a commencement address. But it was interesting how long he went on discussing various kinds …

Discussion: EconLog and The Volokh Conspiracy

StrategyPage:

Al Qaeda Discusses Losing Iraq — Al Qaeda web sites are making a lot of noise about “why we lost in Iraq.” Western intelligence agencies are fascinated by the statistics being posted in several of these Arab language sites. Not the kind of stuff you read about in the Western media.

Discussion: Hot Air, TigerHawk, The Strata-Sphere, Pat Dollard, The Jawa Report and Nice Deb

Susan Crabtree / The Hill:

FBI interviews Arizona staffers — Federal agents interviewed staffers for likely Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) as part of their corruption case against Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.). — U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Diane J. Humetewa and fellow prosecutors disclosed …

Stephen Adams / Telegraph:

John Bolton to be target of citizen's arrest at Hay Festival — John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, faces a citizen's arrest when he addresses an audience at the Hay Festival in Wales this evening. — George Monbiot, the journalist and activist …

Scott W. Johnson / Weekly Standard:

The Kennedy-Khrushchev Conference for Dummies — Remedial history for Barack Obama. — BARACK OBAMA FIRST VOWED to meet unconditionally with the leaders of America's foremost enemies in the YouTube Democratic candidates' debate on July 23, 2007. Since then he has reaffirmed and expanded …

Discussion: Power Line and Pat Dollard

Haig Simonian / Financial Times:

UBS tells unit staff to avoid US visits — UBS has told members of its former private banking team responsible for rich US clients not to travel to America. — The Swiss bank has also made lawyers available to the more than 50 bankers involved, many of whom have left UBS since it decided …

Discussion: Forbes, Talking Points Memo, The RBC and RADAMISTO

Jonathan Larsen / MSNBC:
McCain housing policy shaped by lobbyist

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Carpetbagger Report, AMERICAblog, Washington Monthly, American Street and RADAMISTO

Wisam Mohammed / Reuters:

Iraq's main Sunni bloc suspends government talks — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's main Sunni Arab political bloc said on Wednesday it had suspended talks to rejoin the Shi'ite-led government after a disagreement with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki over a cabinet post.

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Political Byline and American Street