memeorandum: Driller Instinct — Blaming environmentalists for high energy prices … (Paul Krugman/New York Times)

2:05 PM ET, June 20, 2008

Top Items:

The Two Obamas — God, Republicans are saps. They think that they're running against some academic liberal who wouldn't wear flag pins on his lapel, whose wife isn't proud of America and who went to some liberationist church where the pastor damned his own country.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice, Macsmind, American Spectator, Shakesville, Wonkette, The Strata-Sphere, PoliGazette, The New Republic, Comments from Left Field, Commentary, Althouse, The American Scene, TIME.com, marbury and alicublog

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

MCCAIN BREAKING THE LAW IN PLAIN SIGHT — I mentioned earlier today that it was quite a thing to see John McCain denouncing Barack Obama for breaking his word on public financing when McCain himself is at this moment breaking the law in continuing to spend over the spending limits he promised …

Discussion: The Opinionator, Matthew Yglesias, The Carpetbagger Report, Firedoglake, The Jed Report and The Mahablog

Washington Post:

The Politics of Spare Change — BARACK OBAMA isn't abandoning his pledge to take public financing for the general election campaign because it's in his political interest. Certainly not. He isn't about to become the first candidate since Watergate to run an election fueled entirely …

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, Hot Air, Fact Checker, Outside The Beltway, Guardian, New York Post, NY Daily News, Sweetness & Light, OpenSecrets.org, MSNBC, TBogg, neo-neocon and Redstate

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Niccolo Obama — I can't say I care and see no reason why public financing is somehow morally superior to hundreds of thousands of small donors. But if you want to see a Democrat prepared to take a short-term hit in order to score a real long-term advantage over his opponent, Obama's your man:

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, Spin Cycle and Marc Ambinder

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:

Obama More Cynical Than Bill Clinton? Brooks Says Maybe — David Brooks pronounces himself stunned by the depths of Obama's ruthlessness and cynicism in response to yesterday's public financing announcement. Brooks makes several valid points, but I think he's wrong to be so shocked (or …

Leslie Wayne / New York Times:

Obama's Decision Threatens Public Financing System — From the moment that the public financing system was created in the wake of the Watergate crisis, it was viewed as an imperfect way to rid politics of the excesses of special-interest money. — But now, with the decision by Senator Barack …

Discussion: The Swamp, USA Today, The Caucus, Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, TPM Election Central, Comments from Left Field, marbury, Capitol Briefing, TIME.com, The Trail and EconoPundit

Jonah Goldberg / The Corner: Brooks & Obama — From a longtime liberal reader:

The Politico:
Politico's guide to Obama's opt-out

Discussion: techPresident, The Next Right, Lynn Sweet, USA Today, The Caucus and The Washington Independent

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

What Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Fred Hiatt mean by “bipartisanship” — It's bad enough watching the likes of Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emanuel and a disturbingly disoriented Nancy Pelosi eviscerate the Fourth Amendment, exempt their largest corporate contributors from the rule of law …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Post, Crooks and Liars, TalkLeft, First Draft, Balloon Juice, Progress Illinois, Democracy in America, Julian Sanchez, Shakesville, Martini Revolution and Daily Kos

Daniel W. Reilly / The Crypt's Blogs:

House passes FISA update — The House passed a sweeping overhaul of the nation's electronic surveillance laws on Friday, breaking a months-long deadlock on the controversial issue. — The update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act passed 293 to 129.

ACLU:
House Approves Unconstitutional Surveillance Legislation

Discussion: Think Progress, ACLU Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, Associated Press and PointOfLaw Forum

Ryan Singel / Threat Level:
Dems Agree to Expand Domestic Spying, Grant Telecoms Amnesty

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Techdirt, Media Blog and Digg

Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:
FISA Debate In The House

Discussion: The Raw Story and Julian Sanchez

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Ghosts in the GOP attack machine — In a web video emailed to supporters Thursday, Barack Obama explained that he was opting out of the public financing system because John McCain is “not going to stop the smears and attacks from his allies running so-called 527 groups who will spend millions …

Discussion: New York Times, doubleplusundead, Salon, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Prairie Weather, The Sundries Shack and TPM Election Central

Rick Klein / ABCNEWS:

Obama Poised for Huge Cash Edge — Democrats Could Swamp McCain With $500 Million in Final Two Months — Sen. Barack Obama's decision to forgo public financing for his presidential campaign clears the way for him to outspend Sen. John McCain by 3-to-1 or substantially more in the general election …

Discussion: Power Line, The Swamp, neo-neocon and Below The Beltway

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Obama out of system, but not out of character

Discussion: The Swamp, Political Radar, BuzzFlash.org, Commentary, TIME.com and Associated Press

CNN:

McClellan says he can't rule out Cheney in CIA leak — WASHINGTON (CNN) — A former Bush spokesman said Friday he did not think the president knew about the leak of a CIA agent's identity, but refused to give the same assurances about Vice President Dick Cheney.

Discussion: The News Buckit

Ali / Think Progress:
Lamar Smith Compares McClellan To Judas, Declares 'It's Hard …

Discussion: Austin American-Statesman and Hoffmania!

Associated Press:
McClellan: Bush should tell all on CIA leak

Discussion: The LA Times President … and Top of the Ticket

Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
Former aide: Bush should tell all on CIA leak

Discussion: U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Political Machine and Sweetness & Light

Michael Barbaro / City Room:

Bloomberg Criticizes ‘Whisper Campaign’ Around Obama — BOCA RATON, Fla. — Injecting himself directly into the presidential campaign and speaking before one of its most crucial constituencies, Jewish voters, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Friday morning forcefully rejected what he called a …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The New Republic and TIME.com

New York Post:

CABLE GUYS LUST FOR TIM'S JOB — TIM Russert's body wasn't even cold in the ground before MSNBC anchors Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann started jockeying for his job, sources claim. — Matthews was heard loudly discussing what seemed to be his strategy for landing Russert's “Meet the Press” …

Discussion: Redstate, Hot Air, Gawker and JammieWearingFool

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

Exclusive: MoveOn To Close Its 527 In Response To Obama's Candidacy — MoveOn, the advocacy group supporting Barack Obama, has decided to permanently shutter its 527 operation, partly in response to the Illinois Senator's insistence that such groups should not spend on his behalf during the general election …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs and TIME.com

Alexis Madrigal / Wired Science:

Mars Phoenix Tweets: “We Have ICE!” — There is water ice on Mars within reach of the Mars Phoenix Lander, NASA scientists announced Thursday. — Photographic evidence settles the debate over the nature of the white material seen in photographs sent back by the craft.

Discussion: Boston Globe and Little Green Footballs

Kenneth Chang / New York Times:
White Patches Found in Mars Trench Are Ice, Scientists Say

Discussion: Below The Beltway

Julia Hoppock / Political Punch:

McCain Double-Talk on Immigration? — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., met Wednesday evening with Hispanic Republicans in Chicago. — In an Associated Press story about the meeting, one quote jumped out at me: “He's one John McCain in front of white Republicans.

Discussion: Las Vegas Sun, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Hot Air, 2008Central.net, michellemalkin.com and Real Clear Politics

Telegraph:

Martha Stewart refused entry to the UK — Martha Stewart has been refused a visa to Britain because of her criminal convictions for obstructing justice, the Daily Telegraph has learned. — The lifestyle guru, convicted four years ago in the US for obstructing justice …

Discussion: Gawker, Don Surber and LewRockwell.com Blog