The Night Beat: What Larry Craig Won't Talk About on the Daily Show

Marc Ambinder Jun 2 2010, 9:02 PM ET

Good evening.

On the Night Beat:

The Detroit Tigers' Armando Galarraga almost pitched baseball's third perfect game tonight atgainst the Indians. But umpire Jim Joyce blew the call on the final out. So Gallarago was deprived of his spot in history.

Andrew Romanoff's Colorado Senate campaign released an e-mail tonight from Jim Messina, the White House deputy chief of staff, that was allegedly sent to Romanoff last year, as Romanoff was considering a challenge to incumbent Michael Bennet. Romanoff claims that Messina informed him that the White House would support Bennet, and said that if Romanoff was interested in an administration job, there might be some spots open. "Mr. Messina also suggested three positions that might be available to me were I not pursuing the Senate race. He added that he could not guarantee my appointment to any of these positions. At no time was I promised a job, nor did I request Mr. Messina's assistance in obtaining one."

Messina later sent Romanoff an e-mail with three job descriptions: "Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and Caribbean, USAID," "Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency," and another USAID position. Romanoff 's statement makes it clear that a job was never offered in exchange for his not running, but the e-mails suggest that jobs were on the table. No comment from the White House. The story has legs.

A former member of ex-Sen. Larry Craig's staff sent this e-mail to friends about the senator's appearance on The Daily Show tonight. Alas...

"Larry said that the show was fun and is about the Senate. It was done about a month ago after Sen. Bayh announced his retirement. They won't be discussing the past, but will be discussing sticking around after announcing retirement, etc."

Darn.

From President Obama's remarks tonight, on video, to the Korea Society dinner in Washington:

"To our friends from the Republic of Korea who join you tonight, I say this: you and President Lee have shown extraordinary patience and self-restraint. You have shown the world what true strength and confidence looks like. And you have the full support of your friend and ally, the United States of America. In the days ahead, our governments will continue to consult closely, and I look forward to meeting with President Lee this month in Toronto. Together, we will ensure our readiness and deter aggression. We will work with allies and partners to hold North Korea accountable, including at the United Nations Security Council, making it clear that security and respect for North Korea will never come through aggression, but only by upholding its obligations. And as I said during my visit to Seoul and Osan last fall, the commitment of the United States to the security and defense of the Republic of Korea will never waver."

The Pentagon added Army Reserve Col. Margarethe Cammemeyer, who was DADT'd out of the military when her sexual orientation was made public, to its Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. A smart observer notes that this is one of the many "DOD panels that provide symbolism as well as substantive policy guidance." It might also have some advice on the DADT repeal itself. Hurt feelings and rancor among the White House, gay groups, and the Pentagon? Not evident this week. Also note that President Obama issued a memorandum directing agencies to the degree permitted by law, to extend benefits currently available to spouses of federal employees to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees.

Friends of former Rep. Robert Wexler tell associates that the announcement of his nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Israel is imminent. (POLITICO's Laura Rozen first reported the news last week.)

Despite some bumps in form of Congressional opposition, it appears as if Gen. James Clapper, Jr. (ret), the undersecretary of defense for intelligence, remains the White House's leading candidate to be the next Director of National Intelligence. Gen. Clapper is still being vetted. Very quietly, the White House is reaching out to members of Congress whom Clapper rubbed the wrong way at some point -- making the case that he believes in a strong DNI, which will exert its granted and implied authority over the entire intelligence community; and that, particularly given his knowledge of how the military intelligence establishment really operates, he will be in a good position to police potential abuses. (Clapper's senior military assistant was given a promotion to brigadier general and sent off to Afghanistan today.)

An important line from President Obama's speech today in Pittsburgh that you might have missed, courtesy of David Roberts. It is as close to "wonky explanation of the justification for a carbon price as you're ever likely to get from a president."

But the only way the transition to clean energy will ultimately succeed is if the private sector is fully invested in this future -- if capital comes off the sidelines and the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs is unleashed. And the only way to do that is by finally putting a price on carbon pollution.

Now, many businesses have already embraced this idea because it provides a level of certainty about the future. And for those that face transition costs, we can help them adjust. But if we refuse to take into account the full costs of our fossil fuel addiction -- if we don't factor in the environmental costs and the national security costs and the true economic costs -- we will have missed our best chance to seize a clean energy future.

The House of Representatives has already passed a comprehensive energy and climate bill, and there is currently a plan in the Senate -- a plan that was developed with ideas from Democrats and Republicans -- that would achieve the same goal. And, Pittsburgh, I want you to know, the votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months. (Applause.) I will continue to make the case for a clean energy future wherever and whenever I can. (Applause.) I will work with anyone to get this done -- and we will get it done.

Day-two stories in Florida after the arrest of former chairman Jim Greer will focus heavily on Gov. Charlie Crist. Not only does the arrest remind voters that Crist was indeed a Republican and that Greer was Crist's handpicked Chairman, but the affidavit includes a story about Greer controlling access to the governor (p. 6), Greer trying to get the Republican Party of Florida to pay him for a fake Crist for Senate poll (p. 17), and meetings between Greer and the Crist campaign leadership (p. 19). All this suggests a much closer relationship among spending by Greer, the Crist campaign, and the RPOF than has been previously reported.

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