The Morning Quickie.

A. M. Rosenthal, former executive editor of The New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner, is dead at 84; RIP.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls Israel "a tyrannical regime that will one day will be destroyed"; if he was speaking about their government and not the Israeli people, then yeah, I can see why he said that (if he even said it). Oh, by the way, White House: he said he's ready to negotiate with you and whomever else over Iran's nuclear program...but somehow I have this feeling that'll also get translated into "the great Satan blah blah".

Jeb Bush is trying to score some good karma, it seems: Gov. Jeb Bush has written Bay County's sheriff urging him to fire the former supervisor of a juvenile boot camp where guards roughed up a 14-year-old boy who later died.

Another top Bush official--this time, David Safavian--is under indictment; he'll face trial for allegedly making false statements and obstructing investigations into his dealings with Abramoff when Safavian was chief of staff to the head of the General Services Administration.

NSA stymies Justice Department spying probe; the NSA refused to give them what they needed for their investigation, so the Justice Department just gave up.

Bush and the GOP are losing their core supporters--the conservative base; issues like immigration reform, same-sex marriage, abortion, and out-of-control spending are to blame....

....and yet, when it appears that the Dems may actually have a chance this November, they prove that they're doing everything within their power to ruin their chances: Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and the leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have clashed angrily in recent days in a dispute about how the party should spend its money in advance of this fall's midterm elections.

The US is under pressure now from both advisors at home and overseas to talk to Iran; as Madeleine Albright said, ""In diplomacy, you make your opportunities. Acting in a dismissive way doesn't get you anywhere."

Rove revamps the Republican strategy; "Rather than defend Bush, Rove will seek to rally the Republicans' conservative grassroots by painting Democrats as the party of tax increases, gay marriage, secularism and military weakness. That's where the national message money is going to be spent."

Rove and his buddy, Harriet Miers, let conservative activists and Senate staff know that the Bush administration will soon send the names of more than 20 judicial nominees to Capitol Hill for confirmation.

Tags: [A. M. Rosenthal], [A. M. Rosenthal, former executive editor of The New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner, is dead at 84], [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad], [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls Israel a tyrannical regime that will one day will be destroyed], [Gov. Jeb Bush], [Gov. Jeb Bush writes letter to Bay County sheriff urging him to fire the supervisor of the boot camp where a teen was beaten to death], [David Safavian], [another top Bush official is indicted], [Safavian will face trial for allegedly making false statements and obstructing investigations into his dealings with Abramoff], [NSA stymies Justice Department spying probe], [NSA wouldn't release information to the Justice Department, thus hampering their investigation], [Bush and the GOP are losing their core supporters--the conservative base], [Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean], [Howard Dean], [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee], [Howard Dean and the leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have clashed angrily in recent days in a dispute about how the party should spend its money in advance of this fall's midterm elections], [US is under pressure now from both advisors at home and overseas to talk to Iran], [Karl Rove], [Rove revamps the Republican strategy], [Republicans' conservative grassroots], [Harriet Miers], [Rove and Bush administration to prepare more than 20 judicial nominees to Capitol Hill for confirmation]