| 11:41 PM: | McClellan Recounts Administration's Missed Chances After '04 Election. Believe it or not, even after a week of wall-to-wall media coverage, there's still grist to mull over from the new Scott McClellan memoir, "What Happened." Washington Post. | |
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| 10:45 PM: | Editorial: Mr. Rove Talks, but Doesn’t Answer. The House Judiciary Committee should see that Karl Rove testifies about his role in the Justice Department’s decision to prosecute Don Siegelman. NYT. | |
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| 10:45 PM: | At primaries' end, American Indians in rare focus. Often paid scant attention in U.S. presidential elections, Native Americans are taking an unusually high profile in the final stretch of the Democratic primary campaign. Reuters. | |
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| 10:11 PM: | Clinton camp converging on New York Tuesday, and shedding staff. Two Clinton staffers tell my colleague Amie Parnes that Clinton's advance staff received calls and emails this evening from headquarters. Ben Smith. | |
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| 10:10 PM: | Op-Ed Columnist: What Obama Left Out. Barack Obama’s speech at Wesleyan University about public service tellingly failed to mention the military as an admirable form of service. NYT. | |
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| 10:10 PM: | Clinton Wins Puerto Rico. And Clinton wins big time , 68-32. Contrary to rumors, she won't be in New York for election day on Tuesday, she'll be in Washington. Open Left. | |
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| 8:41 PM: | Clinton: Committed Superdelegates Can Still Change Their Minds. Even with her decisive victory in the Puerto Rican primary Sunday, by some estimates Sen. Hillary Clinton still needs to win more than 80% of the remaining superdelegates to have a prayer of winning the nomination. WSJ. | |
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| 7:05 PM: | Priced to Move. CQ Politics: "Like clothing stores clearing out their spring lines, this year's unsuccessful presidential campaigns are trying to unload their leftover T-shirts, bumper stickers and key chains..." Political Wire. | |
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| 7:02 PM: | Australia ends Iraq combat operations. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally and one of the first countries to commit troops to the war in Iraq five years ago, ended combat operations there Sunday. AP. | |
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| 7:01 PM: | The Math. With the deal on Michigan and Florida in place, the new "magic number" for the Democratic presidential nomination is 2,118. Political Wire. | |
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| 6:06 PM: | Not With A Bang But A Whimper. Is this how the Clintons end? My Sunday Times column thinks the unthinkable: Yes, I've thrown a little salt over my shoulder, crossed myself a few times and said 10 decades of the rosary. Andrew Sullivan. | |
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| 6:05 PM: | Post PR delegate update. Clinton wins by a wide margin in PR, 68-32 with just 2% remaining. About 360K total voted. CNN is projecting the 55 delegates go 38 for Clinton and 17 for Obama. Here's the latest delegate totals... MyDD. | |
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| 6:04 PM: | Clinton hopes for switches. Blog: Hillary Clinton reiterated Terry McAuliffe's suggestion that her campaign might court Obama's superdelegates. Ben Smith. | |
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| 4:51 PM: | Clinton ponders next move in marathon race. The race all but over, Hillary Rodham Clinton is determining how to end her historic candidacy with her dignity intact and future secure. AP. | |
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| 4:50 PM: | Clinton: "The people... have chosen [their] candidate" Speaking to supporters after her victory in Puerto Rico's Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton gives an assessment of the race that might surprise some people. Salon. | |
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| 4:50 PM: | Clinton’s Balancing Act. In her victory speech in Puerto Rico, Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to steer clear of direct criticism of Barack Obama, while also trying to convey to superdelegates that they should choose her in their final analysis. NYT. | |
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| 4:49 PM: | Clinton: Keep Fighting. As is becoming customary in her victory speeches, Hillary Clinton closed out her campaign on Puerto Rico with an address that was, at-once, an appeal for contributions, an elevator pitch to undecided superdelegates and rallying cry for supporters. WSJ. | |
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| 4:48 PM: | Clinton math. In the immediate aftermath of Puerto Rico's primary, Hillary Clinton's campaign made some counterintuitive arguments about turnout and the popular vote. Salon. | |
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| 2:36 PM: | In new ad, Clinton camp pushes popular vote. The spot is running in the two states that will hold primaries on Tuesday. Salon. | |
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| 2:09 PM: | Obama Would Do The Same as Kerry in Swing States. According to an early analysis of state polls, CQ Politics says Sen. Barack Obama would run "about the same" as Sen. John Kerrry did against President Bush in 2004 in the 11 "swing states" where the winner's margin was less than five percent. Political Wire. | |
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| 2:09 PM: | Obama Gets Fired up and Ready to Go (Again) in Mitchell, South Dakota. Land of Lincolner — for the first time in weeks — tells crowd anecdote about his now-famous trip to Greenwood, South Carolina. Time. | |
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| 2:06 PM: | The invisible impeachment. Clinton's Democratic rivals have steered clear of the scandal that tainted a presidency. Politico. | |
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| 2:05 PM: | Puerto Rico turnout expected to be low. Fewer residents of the commonwealth voted than some observers had predicted, and that's bad news for Hillary Clinton. Salon. | |
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| 1:29 PM: | The Puerto Rico Primary. The Puerto Rico "primary" is a crypto-democatic act: We are selecting delegates who will be able to vote at the Democratic Convention even though they won't be able to vote in the general. At last, a political event even more ridiculous the Iowa Republican straw poll--at least, Iowans can vote in November. And yet, there's Terry McAuliffe bloviating on CNN about how this adds to Clinton's popular vote "victory"--a victory only if you count states that violated party rules (Florida), didn't have Obama's name on the ballot (Michigan) or aren't even states (Puerto Rico). This sort of thing is just plain annoying, and divisive. Joe Klein. | |
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| 1:08 PM: | Schneider: A clean sweep for Clinton. It was a clean sweep for Hillary Clinton in Puerto Rico in every demographic group, even those groups that are usually firmly in Barack Obama's camp. CNN. | |
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| 12:57 PM: | New: Calendars & archives. Today's first new feature on newsjunk.com (there may be more, knock wood) — there's now a calendar on the home page, and a system of archive pages. NewsJunk Weblog. | |
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| 12:48 PM: | Schneider: How did Clinton win big? CNN has projected that Hillary Clinton will win big in Puerto Rico. Why did she do so well there? CNN. | |
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| 12:28 PM: | Name recognition helps Clinton in Puerto Rico. Hillary Rodham Clinton had far greater name recognition than Barack Obama in Puerto Rico, giving her a big advantage in the Democratic presidential primary Sunday, according to a poll for The Associated Press and television networks. AP. | |
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| 12:28 PM: | Obama Hits McCain on Veterans Benefits. Sen. Barack Obama used a Sunday morning pancake breakfast with veterans in Sioux Falls, S.D., to once again blast McCain over veteran's issues. ABC. | |
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| 12:27 PM: | Hillary Clinton Wins Puerto Rico. CNN called it as soon as the polls closed. MyDD. | |
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| 11:45 AM: | CNN's Puerto Rico Exit poll. The Page has posted a few numbers from the first wave of interviews from what he describes as "CNN's unilateral" Puerto Rico exit poll. Pollster.com. | |
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| 11:44 AM: | Can Obama remain "churchless?" Barack Obama is a man without a church. The Illinois Senator and likely Democratic Party nominee for the November presidential election against Republican John McCain said on Saturday he had quit his Chicago church in the aftermath of inflammatory sermons that could become a political lightning rod. Reuters. | |
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| 11:43 AM: | We're angry, uneducated and unhealthy. Now what? Which kind of President would you rather have -- one who accepts the world as it is and then maps out a way to win, or one that grouses at how irrational it is. Scripting News. | |
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| 11:42 AM: | Analysis: Obama's sole focus is general election. It's Barack Obama's party now. He beat the ultimate insider at the insider's game. And he's already turned his full-bore attention to the general election contest against Republican John McCain. AP. | |
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| 11:03 AM: | Schneider: Statehood question divides Puerto Rican Dems. An issue unique to Puerto Rico appears to be dividing supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama: whether the current U.S. territory should become a state or not. CNN. | |
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| 10:34 AM: | Schneider: Puerto Rican Dems divided. Puerto Rican Democrats appear to be as divided as those on the mainland, according to CNN's exclusive exit polls. Among Hillary Clinton's supporters there, 72 percent said they would not be satisfied if Barack Obama wins the Democratic nomination. CNN. | |
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| 10:24 AM: | Rove Subpoenaed Again. The House Judiciary Committee yesterday sent former White House political guru Karl Rove a new subpoena to add to his document collection. It makes a matching pair with the subpoena from the Senate Judiciary Committee that he's been ignoring since last August. Washington Post. | |
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| 10:24 AM: | Spokesman: Obama Decision to Leave Church Not Politically Motivated. ABC News' Ben Newman reports: Sen. Barack Obama's decision to cut ties with Trinity United Church of Christ was not politically motivated, Obama's communications director Robert Gibbs asserted this morning. ABC. | |
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| 10:23 AM: | Obama Takes After McCain Again on Veterans Issues. At Sioux Falls, South Dakota pancake breakfast for veterans, Obama once again invokes McCain’s opposition (shared with Bush) to bill expanding veterans benefits. "I don’t understand why he would side with George Bush in opposing a bipartisan bill that does so much to make college affordable for veterans." Time. | |
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| 10:23 AM: | Preliminary Puerto Rico Exits. First wave of CNN’s unilateral Puerto Rico exit poll suggests continued divide between Clinton, Obama supporters. Clinton voters on if they’d be satisfied if Obama clinches nomination: 72% no, 26% yes. Obama voters on if they’d be satisfied if Clinton clinches nomination: 59% no, 38% yes. Time. | |
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| 10:22 AM: | The Sunday Morning Talk Shows: The Review. I am shocked, shocked to find that politics is going on here! Redstate. | |
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| 9:51 AM: | Rove Rallies GOP, Jabs Obama. The former Bush adviser tells the Minnesota Republican Party at their convention that Obama is someone "far out of the mainstream" and urged the GOP to go after undecided voters. Time. | |
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| 9:09 AM: | Bubba Trouble. Old friends and longtime aides are wringing their hands over Bill Clinton's post-White House escapades, from the dubious (and secretive) business associations to the media blowups that have bruised his wife's campaign, to the private-jetting around with a skirt-chasing, scandal-tinged posse. Vanity Fair. | |
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| 8:52 AM: | Harriet Christian: YouTube Phemonemon, Rorshach Test. I almost fell on Walter Shapiro trying to get out of my seat and follow Harriet Christian as she was being ejected yesterday from the DNC's Rules Committee meeting. Since that time, she's become a YouTube hit(over 260,000 views since yesterday evening) and something of a Rorschach test for how people view what's going on in the Democratic party. Firedoglake. | |
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| 8:50 AM: | Obama can't be too cozy with Detroit mayor. After his preacher problems, Barack Obama doesn't need another association with a charismatic, radioactive public figure. Still, Kwame Kilpatrick, the tarnished mayor of Detroit, is a hard man to avoid completely. AP. | |
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| 8:20 AM: | To The Bank. If it's really true, as many people are saying, that Barack Obama has a "bank" of 2-3 dozen superdelegates prepared to endorse him then wouldn't this weekend be a good time to start making withdrawals? Yglesias. | |
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| 8:19 AM: | Quitters Sometimes Win. The latest trash-talking preacher from Barack Obama's world might have done him a favor, providing an excuse for the Democratic presidential frontrunner to quit his problematic church. Craig Crawford. | |
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| 8:18 AM: | CNN Re-Publicizes Account of Obama Disqualifying All His Opponents from his First Primary Race. On May 30, CNN Newsroom did a televised story, lasting approximately two minutes, about how Barack Obama challenged the petitions of all his opponents in his first primary election, for State Senate in Illinois 13th district. Ballot Access. | |
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| 7:19 AM: | By Tuesday, more Americans may have voted for Senator Clinton. When the voting concludes on Tuesday, more Americans will have voted for Senator Clinton than Senator Obama. The last time the Democrats didn't give the nomination to the candidate who won the most votes was in 1972... Time. | |
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| 7:15 AM: | Puerto Rico Votes. Polls open from 8 am to 3 pm ET 55 delegates are at stake. Time. | |
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| 7:12 AM: | Feinstein wants limits on automated phoning. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports on a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Election Law. | |
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| 5:59 AM: | "This is Barack Obama's party now" "He’s already been winning the outside game. He now won the inside game," says NBC Political Director Chuck Todd. Politico. | |
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| 5:59 AM: | US Treasury chief: no 'quick fix' on oil. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says there is "no quick fix" to high oil prices because it is an issue of supply and demand.... AP. | |
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| 5:59 AM: | Sunday Talking Heads: June 1, 2008. Get the skinny on all the Sunday morning political talk shows. Firedoglake. | |
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| 4:44 AM: | Clinton defies party leaders; eyes Puerto Rico win. Hillary Rodham Clinton, newly defiant against her own party leaders, sought a victory Sunday in Puerto Rico's presidential primary that would give her a toehold on an increasingly slippery path to the nomination.... AP. | |
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| 4:25 AM: | U.S. troop deaths in Iraq at wartime low. Nineteen U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq in May, the U.S. military said on Sunday, the lowest monthly death toll since U.S. forces invaded to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003. Reuters. | |
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| 4:18 AM: | Young Evangelicals Seek Broader Political Agenda. A new generation of evangelical Christians refuses to put politics at the center of its faith and rejects identification with the religious right. NYT. | |
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| 4:18 AM: | Five things to watch in Puerto Rico. A strong victory in P.R. would bolster Clinton’s argument to superdelegates that she has received more votes than Obama and is better equipped to win in a general election. Politico. | |
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| 2:01 AM: | Obama Explains Why He Quit Church. ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., held a long press availability in Aberdeen, South Dakota Saturday night to discuss his resignation from Trinity United church. ABC. | |
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