memeorandum: The Real Struggle in Iran and Implications for U.S. Dialogue (George Friedman/STRATFOR)

4:05 AM ET, July 1, 2009

Top Items:

Why Coleman lost — The Republican Party put an inordinate amount of faith in Norm Coleman's long-shot legal challenge, spending a million bucks on the idea that he'd catch a break in court. — But like dominoes, each Coleman legal challenge failed, one after another, ruling after ruling …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

The Politico:

Coleman concedes race to Franken — Republican Norm Coleman has conceded to Democrat Al Franken in the Minnesota Senate race, ending one of the longest Senate races in American history and clearing the way for Democrats to hold a 60-seat supermajority in the Senate.

Discussion: The Sundries Shack, Liberal Values, Macsmind, ABCNEWS, Guardian, The Note, Air America Media blogs, American Power, Glenn Thrush's Blog, QandO, The Moderate Voice and PoliBlog

Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:

Minnesota Supreme Court Rules On Coleman's Appeal: He Lost, Franken Won The Election — The Minnesota Supreme Court has handed down its much-expected ruling in the heavily-litigated Minnesota Senate race from 2008 — and it's a unanimous one — deciding against Republican former …

Discussion: Right Pundits, Election Law, The Reaction, Talking Points Memo, Guardian, Jules Crittenden, Fausta's Blog, The Confluence, MyDD, Political Byline, The Washington Independent, The Impolitic, Washington Monthly, Raw Story and ATTACKERMAN

Pat Doyle / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

State Supreme Court rules for Franken, 5-0 — The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today that Democrat Al Franken won the U.S. Senate election and said he was entitled to an election certificate that would lead to him being seated in the Senate. — “Affirmed,” wrote the Supreme Court …

Discussion: Think Progress, Liberal Values, Salon, City Pages, The BLT, Townhall.com and Wonkette

New York Times:

Franken's Victory Bolsters Democratic Grip in Senate — After nearly eight months of waiting, almost 20,000 pages of legal briefs, and millions of dollars in election costs, Al Franken emerged Tuesday as the next United States senator from Minnesota, ending one of the most protracted election recount battles in recent memory.

Discussion: MoJo Blog Posts and Obsidian Wings

Scott / Power Line:
Al Franken wins

Discussion: The Other McCain

Ed Hornick / CNN:
Franken ‘thrilled’ after court declares Senate victory

Discussion: The Nation, JONATHAN TURLEY, Newshoggers.com, Dependable Renegade, Balloon Juice and Needlenose

Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
Court Rules Franken Has Won Senate Race; Coleman Concedes

Discussion: Time, Campaign Silo, Swampland, Firedoglake, Undiplomatic, MinnPost, Joe. My. God., Hotline On Call, RedState and The Impolitic

Brian Bakst / Associated Press:
Minn. court rules for Franken in Senate fight

Discussion: Washington Post, Ezra Klein, Pundit & Pundette and And So it Goes in Shreveport

Michelle Malkin:
Franken-fied: Make way for (another) clown; Update: Coleman statement added

Discussion: Hot Air, TwinCities.com, GayPatriot, Tom Watson, thelcabroadside.wordpress.com, Taylor Marsh, Real Clear Politics and Stop The ACLU

Reuters:
Minnesota court rules Democrat Al Franken won Senate seat

Discussion: DCist, Associated Press, Welcome Back to Pottersville, Think Progress, Truthdig, The BRAD BLOG, Brilliant at Breakfast and Above the Law

mncourts.gov:
OPINIONS NOW AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING IN ADOBE PDF FORMAT

Discussion: Minnesota Independent, culturekitchen and Hullabaloo

Shira Toeplitz / Roll Call:
Coleman Concedes; Franken to Be Seated

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

And The Story The MSM Still Won't Touch — Todd recounts it: — But there were ominous signs—indications of an erratic nature. This is the third thing McCain could have discovered about Palin—a woman, after all, who kept a pregnancy secret for seven months, flew all the way home …

Discussion: The Other McCain, The Daley Gator, JammieWearingFool, Upturned Earth and American Power

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Palin story sparks GOP family feud — A hard-hitting piece on Sarah Palin in the new Vanity Fair has touched off a blistering exchange of insults among high-profile Republicans over last year's GOP ticket - tearing open fresh wounds about leaks surrounding Palin and revealing …

Discussion: Right Pundits, Hot Air, msnbc.com and Ta-Nehisi Coates

Todd S. Purdum / Vanity Fair:

It Came from Wasilla — Despite her disastrous performance in the 2008 election, Sarah Palin is still the sexiest brand in Republican politics, with a lucrative book contract for her story. But what Alaska's charismatic governor wants the public to know about herself doesn't always jibe with reality.

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Kristol: Liberal Media and GOP Hacks vs. Palin — Lefty journalist Todd Purdum has a hit piece in the new Vanity Fair on Sarah Palin. You don't have to be a big Palin fan to recognize the article is full of dubious claims, and is dependent on self-serving stories provided on background …

Discussion: Politics Daily, The Other McCain, Pundit & Pundette, The Daily Dish, NewsBusters.org, No More Mister Nice Blog, Townhall.com, Conservatives4Palin.com and The Campaign Spot

Associated Press:

AP NewsBreak: SC gov admits additional liaisons — COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Tuesday that he saw his Argentine mistress more times than previously disclosed, including what was to be a farewell meeting in New York chaperoned by a spiritual adviser soon after his wife found out about the affair.

Discussion: Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Campaign Spot, The Politico, Right Pundits, Shakesville, Don Surber, Michelle Malkin, Washington Wire, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, AmSpecBlog, Hotline On Call, Real Clear Politics and GOP 12

Associated Press:

AP Newsbreak: SC gov ‘crossed lines’ with women — COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says he “crossed lines” with a handful of women other than his mistress — but never had sex with them. — The governor says he “never crossed the ultimate line” with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur …

Discussion: Brilliant at Breakfast, Politics Daily, skippy the bush kangaroo, D-Day, pandagon.net and Hotline On Call

Associated Press:

S.C. Gov. Admits ‘Crossing Lines’ With Other Women — Mark Sanford: Argentine Lover My ‘Soul Mate;’ Also, Claims He's Trying To Fall Back In Love With Wife — CBS News Interactive: Political Scandals — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ― South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and The Moderate Voice

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Mark Sanford reveals he met with his mistress 7 times and calls her his “soul mate”

Discussion: Jesus' General

Jeffrey Young / The Hill:

Wal-Mart backs health benefits mandate — With Wal-Mart's endorsement of a legal requirement that all employers provide health benefits to their workers, the nation's largest employer has broken from the business community. — The so-called employer mandate is adamantly opposed …

Discussion: Wonk Room, The Treatment, Clusterstock, Reason, Donklephant, Think Progress and The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
CAP, Wal-Mart, SEIU Join Forces in Support of Employer Mandate

Discussion: Clusterstock, distributedrepublic … and Economix

Michelle Malkin:
Not a surprise: SEIU & Wal-Mart unite behind Obamacare

Discussion: Top Stories from CQ, Associated Press and Don Surber

Martin Wolf / Financial Times:

The cautious approach to fixing banks will not work — With one bound the banks are free, or so it seems. Already, the panic of the autumn of 2008 is fading. The period within which lessons can be learnt and changes made is closing. Yet without radical changes, another crisis is certain.

Discussion: MoJo Blog Posts

Edmund L. Andrews / New York Times:
Banks Balk at Agency Meant to Aid Consumers

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Business Channel and Clusterstock

Anne Flaherty / Associated Press:
Administration sends Congress consumer legislation

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and The Daley Gator

Rasmussen Reports:

42% Say Climate Change Bill Will Hurt The Economy — Americans have mixed feelings about the historic climate change bill that passed the House on Friday, but 42% say it will hurt the U.S. economy. — A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 19% believe …

Discussion: YID With LID, Tim Blair, Scared Monkeys, Weekly Standard and Blue Crab Boulevard

James Pethokoukis:
Pelosi, a vision in white — but not green

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications

Glenn Garvin / MiamiHerald.com:

Nothing so shocking about this coup — The greatest tourist attraction in Central America has always been politics. Diplomats stop by every few years, take a couple of snapshots of what's going on at the presidential palace, and then profoundly declare their opinions, devoid of context or history.

Discussion: Fausta's Blog, Hot Air, New York Times and Flopping Aces

Bridget Johnson / The Hill:
White House backing of Zelaya starts to draw criticism

Discussion: Hot Air and RealClearPolitics Video Log

Jeff Bercovici / DailyFinance:

Vibe magazine shutting down — Vibe magazine, the urban-music magazine founded in 1993 by Quincy Jones, is the latest victim of the media recession. Multiple sources both within and outside the magazine confirmed that it is shutting down. — Reached for comment, chief financial officer Angela Zucconi …

Discussion: Gawker, The Other McCain, Media Decoder and Pop & Hiss

Richard Perez-Pena / Media Decoder: Vibe Magazine To Close Down Immediately

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

More Americans See Democratic Party as “Too Liberal” — More believe Democratic Party's, rather than Republican Party's, views are about right — PRINCETON, NJ — A Gallup Poll finds a statistically significant increase since last year in the percentage of Americans who describe …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys

Bob Woodward / Washington Post:

Key in Afghanistan: Economy, Not Military — CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — National security adviser James L. Jones told U.S. military commanders here last week that the Obama administration wants to hold troop levels here flat for now, and focus instead on carrying out the previously approved strategy …

Discussion: The Page, The Washington Independent, The New Republic and MyDD

Matt Corley / Think Progress:

Bachmann Lies About Census' American Community Survey, Claims It Doesn't Ask About Citizenship — As ThinkProgress has previously noted, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has been fearmongering about the 2010 Census and bragging that she plans to break the law by refusing to answer it.

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Dump Michele Bachmann