Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A variety of news reports indicated that Robert Zoellick has been tapped to replace Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank. (More on Zoellick’s background)
* Over the weekend, White House Political Director Sara Taylor announced her departure, citing a desire to work in the private sector. Taylor was one of the Bush campaign’s first employees in 2000 and her departure came as something of a surprise. Though it may or may not be related, Taylor was recently implicated in the U.S. Attorney scandal, with Kyle Sampson testifying that it was Taylor’s idea to bypassing the Senate in replacing Bud Cummins with Rove acolyte Tim Griffin. Taylor is likely to testify in the investigation.
* Speaking of stepping down, Cindy Sheehan, who became an anti-war activist after her son was killed in Iraq, announced yesterday that she will no longer be part of the peace movement. Sheehan made her announcement in a Daily Kos diary.
* Congressional Dems are apparently inching closer to calling for a special prosecutor to be named in the U.S. Attorney scandal, but they’re still waiting for a smoking gun, which would lead to a series of charges. Attorney and former House counsel Stan Brand told Roll Call, “Obstruction, perjury, false statements — that’s always how these things get started.”
* And speaking of special counsels, Dan Froomkin explained today, “Despite all the public interest in the case, Fitzgerald has repeatedly asserted that grand-jury secrecy rules prohibit him from being more forthcoming about either the course of his investigation or any findings beyond those he disclosed to make the case against Libby. But when his motives have been attacked during court proceedings, Fitzgerald has occasionally shown flashes of anger — and has hinted that he and his investigative team suspected more malfeasance at higher levels of government than they were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. In Friday’s eminently readable court filing, Fitzgerald quotes the Libby defense calling his prosecution ‘unwarranted, unjust, and motivated by politics.’ In responding to that charge, the special counsel evidently felt obliged to put Libby’s crime in context. And that context is Dick Cheney.”
* With so many presidential candidates, the WaPo reports that the “U.S. Secret Service expects to borrow more than 2,000 immigration officers and federal airport screeners next year to help guard an ever-expanding field of presidential candidates, while shifting 250 of its own agents from investigations to security details.”
* I really meant to get to David Brooks’ very annoying anti-Gore column today, but I ran out of time. For commentary, MiniPundit has some good insights, as does Mustang Bobby, Attaturk, and Ron Chusid.
* So long, federally-financed abstinence-only education.
* If the U.S. government kept its books like a business, we would have run a $1.3 trillion loss last year.
* Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), one of only four congressional Republicans to break with Bush’s war policy, has an idea for Paul Wolfowitz’s new job: “I would like to suggest…that maybe we give Paul Wolfowitz a new job and send him over [to Iraq] as mayor, since the neocons got us in over there.”
* Who would have guessed that Alaska would become such a hotbed for corruption?
* Remember the U.S. embassy in Baghdad I mentioned last week? Wait until you see the pictures.
* The far-right blogs’ record this year on political scoops reaches 0-for-72.
* Many, many of you emailed me about a suspicious-looking executive order issued by the president on May 9th. TPMM reports exactly what I’ve been hearing from all of my sources — this is routine and not at all alarming.
* And finally, Jerry Falwell may be gone, but his legacy lives on: “A senior Polish official has ordered psychologists to investigate whether the popular BBC TV show Teletubbies promotes a homosexual lifestyle.”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.
