memeorandum: That List Of “Democrats And Indys” Backing McCain? It's A Bit Of A Sham. (TPM Election Central)

9:40 AM ET, June 18, 2008

Top Items:

Michelle Obama Looks for a New Introduction — Michelle Obama's eyes flicker tentatively even as she offers a trained smile. As her campaign plane arcs over the Flathead Range in Montana, she is asked to consider her complicated public image. — Conservative columnists accuse …

Discussion: Steve Sailer's iSteve Blog, Hot Air, Michelle Obama Watch, Althouse, Brilliant at Breakfast, Comments from Left Field, TalkLeft, The Huffington Post and Gawker

CBN.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Obama Expresses ‘Deep Disappointment’ in McCain's Silence on Wife Attacks — In a one-on-one interview with The Brody File, Barack Obama says he is deeply disappointed that John McCain has not spoken out against the attacks leveled against his wife.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, TIME.com, Salon and Macsmind

International Herald Tribune:
Michelle Obama to get subtle makeover

Discussion: Shakesville and Lynn Sweet

NY Daily News:

Hil and Obama, together again: First joint appearance to rally her donors — Hil and Obama, together again — Hillary Clinton will join Barack Obama for a joint appearance in Washington next week to persuade her donors to begin giving to the Democrats' nominee, the Daily News has learned.

Discussion: Gawker, The Democratic Daily, NO QUARTER, Taylor Marsh, The Sundries Shack, Wake up America, TPM Election Central and TIME.com

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

‘Danger Signs’ as Clinton Supporters Resist Obama — Democratic Candidate Leads but Still Struggles to Win Over Key Groups — Sen. Barack Obama has emerged from his bruising battle for the Democratic presidential nomination with only a six point lead over Sen. John McCain and claiming …

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, Flopping Aces, Political Punch and Redstate

Jason Horowitz / New York Observer:
McCain Campaign Makes ‘Sept. 10’ Argument About Obama, Clarke Calls It the ‘Big Lie’

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Big Lizards, The Trail, Redstate, Power Line, Washington Monthly, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, John McCain Report blog, Lynn Sweet, The Jed Report and Spin Cycle

Julia Hoppock / Political Punch:
Obama Pushes Back on McCain Camp Terrorism Attacks

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Seminal, MSNBC, Sadly, No!, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Anonymous Liberal, Marc Ambinder, Flopping Aces and Redstate

Bill Sammon / Examiner: Obama advisers say bin Laden can appeal to U.S. courts

Michelle Malkin:

Hey, Associated Press: You owe me at least $132,125! — The Internet firestorm over the Associated Press's heavy-handed attempt to bully bloggers over fair use article excerpts has been absolutely schadenfreude-licious. Now, it's time to turn the tables. If your blog or blog commenters …

Discussion: Power Line, QandO, bRight & Early and Ali Eteraz

Tim Conneally / BetaNews:

AP sets up a toll booth for bloggers citing its stories — The AP's disharmony with bloggers may have only just begun, as the alternative it's now offering to being served with takedown notices involves paying an up-front sum for excerpting online articles — as few as five words.

Patterico's Pontifications:

Irony Alert: AP Attacks Blogs for Quoting Their Stories, Then Quotes Even More Extensively from Blogs — So the AP has been threatening bloggers who quote their stories: … Even after an AP spokesman acknowledged that the organization's tactics were “heavy-handed,” they still didn't really back off:

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, SIVACRACY.NET, Bill Hobbs, mathewingram.com/work, Slashdot, Legal Blog Watch, The Volokh Conspiracy and snapped shot

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Bush Will Seek to End Offshore Oil Drilling Ban — WASHINGTON — President Bush, reversing a longstanding position, will call on Congress on Wednesday to end a federal ban on offshore oil drilling, according to White House officials who say Mr. Bush now wants to work with states to determine where drilling should occur.

Discussion: The Swamp, The Carpetbagger Report, Real Clear Politics, Today's Ideas & Actions, Think Progress, TIME.com and Angry Bear

Warren P. Strobel / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Documents confirm U.S. hid detainees from Red Cross — WASHINGTON — The U.S. military hid the locations of suspected terrorist detainees and concealed harsh treatment to avoid the scrutiny of the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to documents that a Senate committee released Tuesday.

Discussion: New York Times, Firedoglake, Newshoggers.com, The Huffington Post, American Street and PoliGazette

Tom Lasseter / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Militants found recruits among Guantanamo's wrongly detained

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Firedoglake

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Vulgarian at the Gate — In the razor-close and nationally important Senate race in Minnesota, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman is presented with a unique political problem. Should he raise in his ads the issue of comedian Al Franken's offensive vulgarity?

Discussion: Blue Girl, Red State, Whiskey Fire, The Radio Equalizer and TBogg

New York Times:

Mr. Bush v. the Bill of Rights — In the waning months of his tenure, President Bush and his allies are once again trying to scare Congress into expanding the president's powers to spy on Americans without a court order. — This week, the White House and Democratic and Republican leaders …

Richard Fernandez / Pajamas Media:

Obama's Shifting Positions on Iraq: A Rezko Connection? — The time line of Obama's flip-flops on Iraq just happens to correlate to his friend's business dealings in that country. — Barack Obama's position on Iraq has shifted significantly over the last six years.

Discussion: The Belmont Club and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Washington Post:

Mr. Zebari's Message — SEN. BARACK OBAMA told Iraq's foreign minister this week that he plans to visit the country between now and the presidential election. We think that's a good thing, not because Sen. John McCain has been prodding the candidate to do it but because it will give …

Discussion: The Campaign Spot and Commentary

Tennessee Center for Policy Research:

For Immediate Release: June 17, 2008 — Gore's personal electricity consumption up 10%, despite “energy-efficient” home renovations — NASHVILLE - In the year since Al Gore took steps to make his home more energy-efficient, the former Vice President's home energy use surged more than 10% …