memeorandum: Big Gains for Iraq Security, but Questions Linger (New York Times)

3:05 PM ET, June 21, 2008

Top Items:

Caren Bohan / Reuters:

Obama says Republicans will use race to stoke fear — JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said on Friday he expects Republicans to highlight the fact that he is black as part of an effort to make voters afraid of him.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Sister Toldjah, Macsmind, Boston Globe, baldilocks, Right Wing Nut House, Let Freedom Ring, Fausta's blog, GINA COBB, Flopping Aces, JammieWearingFool, doubleplusundead, PrestoPundit, The Other McCain, PoliGazette and NO QUARTER

ABCNEWS:

Sparks Fly at Black Caucus Meeting — Just What Was Said Between the Presumptive Democratic Nominee and Clinton-Supporting Congresswoman? — A Thursday afternoon meeting between Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus grew tense and emotional for a moment …

Discussion: NO QUARTER, CANNONFIRE, Atlas Shrugs, Wake up America, Hot Air and Raw Story

Karl / protein wisdom:

Barry O plays the race card, nurses his grudges — The general election is in November, but for Barry O, it is not too soon to start dealing the race card: … He made similar comments to his fatcat San Francisco donors in conjunction with his claim that people in small-towns in flyover country …

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

John McCain may lag in money, but RNC out-raises the DNC by 5 times — Led by chairman Mike Duncan, the Republican National Committee ended May with 13 times more money in the bank than its Democratic counterpart and raised five times as much money in the same time frame.

Discussion: The Swamp, Political Machine, Macsmind, Wake up America, HillBuzz and JammieWearingFool

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Who's playing the race card? Update: Audio added

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:

Obama alienates the editors — For most voters, Barack Obama's shift away from public financing is not as big a deal as the mounting death toll in Iraq, surging gas prices — or even what they're going to make for dinner tonight. — But Obama's announcement Thursday that he would become …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Dish and TIME.com

Jeanne Cummings / The Politico:

McCain closes the cash gap against Obama — For the first time in the campaign, Republican John McCain in May raised about the same amount of money, $22 million, as Democrat Barack Obama. — McCain also closed the gap in the amount of cash the two parties' presumptive presidential nominees …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, MyDD, PoliBlog (TM), QandO and The Other McCain

Media Matters for America:
“Media Matters”; by Jamison Foser

Discussion: Newshoggers.com and The Sideshow

M. Duss / Think Progress:

Report: Scalia's Claim That Released Gitmo Prisoners Have Killed Americans Is An ‘Urban Legend’ — A new report from the Seton Hall University School of Law explodes the myth that some 30 detainees released from Guantanamo Bay prison have “returned to the battlefield” against American forces.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Michael Abramowitz / Washington Post:

White House Dismissed Legal Advice On Detainees — Senior lawyers inside and outside the Bush administration repeatedly warned the White House that it was risking judicial scrutiny of its detention policies in Guantanamo Bay if it did not pursue a more pragmatic legal strategy that considered the likely reaction of the Supreme Court.

Discussion: Commentary, Prairie Weather and Newshoggers.com

Washington Post:
White House Refuses To Release Documents On Air-Quality Policy

Discussion: Obsidian Wings

NY Daily News:

Barack's seal, with a dis from Team Mac — Yes, he can. But, really: Oh, no, he didn't! — Barack Obama's presidential campaign raised eyebrows and elicited snickers Friday when it unveiled the Obamamania version of the presidential seal. — At a meeting with Democratic governors in Chicago …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Sweetness & Light and Don Surber

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Barack Obama gets his own nifty Great Seal; all he needs now is votes

Discussion: The Room, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Power Line and Redstate

Alexander Marquardt / CNN:
When the Obama logo and presidential seal collide

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, Taylor Marsh, Flopping Aces, Macsmind, The Democratic Daily, JammieWearingFool, Pat Dollard, Your Right Hand Thief, liza's blog and The Caucus

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Obama's support for the FISA “compromise” — (updated below) — In the past 24 hours, specifically beginning with the moment Barack Obama announced that he now supports the Cheney/Rockefeller/Hoyer House bill, there have magically arisen — in places where one would never have expected to find them …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Political Punch, Technology Liberation Front, The Raw Story and The Trail

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: Obama 46%, McCain 44% — Race about tied for second straight day — PRINCETON, NJ — At the start of the long summer in which John McCain and Barack Obama will hone their messages and strive to fill their campaign coffers before the crucial fall campaign season …

Discussion: The Swamp and The Other McCain

Susan Page / USA Today:
Poll: Split electorate nudges Obama ahead

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

Mcjoan / Daily Kos:

Obama's Statement on FISA — Via e-mail. … In an interview today on Bloomberg's “Political Capital with Al Hunt” (no link yet), Sen. Reid said he would attempt to remove the amnesty provision in the bill. … That effort should be helped by Obama's opposition to the provision.

Discussion: Think Progress, Daily Kos, Center for American Progress, Balloon Juice, The Huffington Post, CNN, The Carpetbagger Report, TalkLeft and Emptywheel

Darcy Burner / Open Left: Retroactive immunity: frustration and disappointment

Balkinization:
Why Obama Kinda Likes the FISA Bill (But He Won't Come Out and Say It)

Discussion: TalkLeft, Discourse.net, Buck Naked Politics, Obsidian Wings, UT Documents, Liberal Values, Hullabaloo and MyDD

Alayna Demartini / The Columbus Dispatch:

Science teacher dissed evolution — He taught creationism, report says — A Mount Vernon teacher undermined science instruction in the public school district by discrediting evolution in his classroom and focusing on creationism and intelligent design, an investigation has found.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, On Deadline, The New Republic and Obsidian Wings

Doug Whiteman / Associated Press:
Ohio board votes to ax teacher accused of branding

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Corrente

New York Times:

Big Gains for Iraq Security, but Questions Linger — Baghdad residents in Abu Niwas Street park on the Tigris River. Violence in all of Iraq is the lowest since March 2004, but the improvements are fragile. More Photos > — BAGHDAD — What's going right? And can it last?

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, Washington Post, JustOneMinute, abu muqawama and TIME.com

Mary C. Curtis / Washington Post:

The Loud Silence Of Feminists — Michelle Obama has become an issue in the presidential campaign even though she isn't running for anything. An educated, successful lawyer, devoted wife and caring mother has been labeled “angry” and unpatriotic and snidely referred to as Barack Obama's “baby mama.”

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Althouse and Michelle Obama Watch