Today’s edition of quick hits.
* This morning, the McCain campaign insisted there was nothing wrong with using pictures of Gen. David Petraeus, without his permission, in their fundraising solicitations. This afternoon, McCain himself admitted the campaign was wrong and said it “will not happen again.”
* As for McCain ignorance about how many U.S. troops are still in Iraq, the senator and his campaign refuse to acknowledge the error, and insist his confusion about the basics in Iraq is really just a semantics debate.
* Bob Dole unloaded on Scott McClellan today, telling the former White House Press Secretary via e-mail that he is a “miserable creature” who is “spurred on by greed.”
* On a related note, McClellan is sorry about all the things he said about Richard Clarke and his book. Clarke has accepted McClellan’s apology.
* McClellan would, by the way, be “happy to talk” to Congress “if I am asked to testify.”
* Which segues nicely to this encouraging development: “Twenty former U.S. attorneys, both Republicans and Democrats, urged a federal judge Thursday to intervene in a constitutional battle over whether two White House officials should be forced to testify before Congress about the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. The former top prosecutors, including two who served under President Bush, argue in court papers that the judge should reject the Bush administration’s assertion of blanket immunity for presidential chief of staff Joshua Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers in the congressional investigation.”
* Quote of the Day, from Steve M.: “Can’t right-wing pundits and bloggers at least pretend that they’re not following marching orders (probably Blackberried over from krove@outofjail.com) to hammer away at certain phrases? Especially when the phrases have, outside of Wingnuttia, exactly zero resonance?”
* No wonder the Bush gang tried to hide the truth: “The Bush administration, bowing to a court order, has released a fresh summary of federal and independent research pointing to large, and mainly harmful, impact of human-caused global warming in the United States… Most of the findings, like the spread of warmth-loving pests and the inevitable loss of low-lying lands to rising seas, are not new. But the report included new projections of how the poor, elderly and communities with lagging public-health and public-works systems will face outsize health risks from warming.”
* Fascinating report on negative campaigning over the last several months. (thanks to T.C. for the tip)
* The McCain lobbyist controversy just keeps on giving: “Before Rick Davis began serving as John McCain’s campaign manager, his lobbying firm had a pretty cosmopolitan set of clients. For example, Ukranian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, who has several business links to Iran. To be sure, there’s a good crowd of lobbyists in Washington who work for international firms with ties to Iran. But Davis isn’t just any lobbyist. He’s a lobbyist-turn-presidential campaign manager who just a couple weeks ago was drawing up rules on how to build a wall between lobbyists and McCain’s political operatives.”
* Dennis Hastert is, of course, joining a lobbying firm. Conservatives aren’t at all happy that it’s a transgender-family lobbying firm. (thanks to K.W. for the tip)
* Democracy for America has a scholarship program. I’m voting for Tammy.
* I guess Minnesota officials expect GOP leaders to drink a whole lot at the Republican National Convention.
* I’d almost forgotten that today is “Thomas Friedman: ‘Suck On This’ Day.”
* Over the course of the last year, some political figures have seen their stature and reputation rise, and others have seen the opposite. I feel confident that no one has done more to ruin their standing and eminence than Geraldine Ferraro. She’s just completely fallen apart, and has fallen so far from her role as a respected party leader. How sad.
* And finally, as great as “An Inconvenient Truth” was, I’m not sure how I feel about it being made into an opera.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.