Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The Senate now has 100 members again, as Republican John Barrasso, a surgeon and conservative Wyoming legislator, was appointed to replace the late Craig Thomas. He sounds like he’ll be fairly predictable: “I believe in limited government, lower taxes, less spending, traditional family values, local control and a strong national defense,” the orthopedic surgeon and state senator from Casper wrote in his application. He also said he has “voted for prayer in schools, against gay marriage and have sponsored legislation to protect the sanctity of life.”
* Bill Mercer, the U.S. Attorney for Montana who was pulling double duty as the principal associate deputy attorney general in DC, has been pending in the Senate as the nominee for Associate Attorney General. Today, he withdrew his nomination.
* Drudge and Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) insist that Sens. Clinton and Boxer are going to upend the talk-radio industry through congressional legislation. As is often the case, Drudge and Inhofe are wrong.
* Dick Cheney won’t abide by the executive branch’s rules on classified materials because he’s the President of the Senate. Fine. Then how about Cheney following the Senate’s rules?
* Tim Grieve: “Just hours after the U.S. military reported that 14 more American troops had been killed in Iraq, outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Peter Pace said Thursday that ‘if you’re trying to define’ the success of the surge ‘in terms of level of violence, you’ve really put yourself on the wrong metric.'” Next thing we’ll hear, the White House will say U.S. casualties are “just a number.” Oh wait, the White House already did that.
* Habeas reform is coming to the House. (And I have to say, it’s encouraging to see Dems taking a firm stand on this in both chambers, especially after last year’s craven vote.)
* Peggy Noonan’s confused about the meaning of the word “landslide.”
* Bush’s former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman is the latest to take the shine off Rudy Giuliani’s 9/11 halo.
* E.J. Dionne explains that it’s the country, not the Dems, that is moving to the left.
* That report about the absurd advantage the far-right enjoys on talk radio seems to have touched a nerve among right-wing activists. (On a related note, Ed Schultz wants to know what more he needs to do to get on more stations. It’s a good question.)
* There have been plenty of dumb op-eds on the Plame leak scandal, but this one is the dumbest of the dumb. Christy Hardin Smith responded well.
* Speaking of dumb op-eds, Melinda Henneberger had a real jaw-dropper today, explaining why Dems should give up on abortion rights. There are several excellent responses to choose from.
* The top Romney aide under investigtion for illegally impersonating a police officer has taken a leave of absence from the campaign. That’s probably for the best.
* CNN’s Glenn Beck and conservative blowhard Michael Graham think it’s funny to joke about acts of violence against Hillary Clinton. Where’s the Secret Service?
* Halliburton? Accused of accounting irregularities? You don’t say.
* Comparing Obama to the Swiftboat liars is truly insane.
* The Hill: “House Judiciary Committee Democrats warned yesterday they would pursue a contempt of Congress motion if the White House fails respond to subpoenas for testimony and documents related to the firings of U.S. attorneys last year. The deadline for a response is Thursday, June 28.”
* And finally, Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly recently told his audience that he won’t offer coverage of the war in Iraq because daily bombings and casualties are “meaningless.” In response, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann put together a montage of the kind of “news” that O’Reilly finds “meaningful.” Trust me; I think you’ll enjoy this one.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.