Now that Sarah Palin has dropped her resignation bomb, the rest of the Web is spending a lovely Friday afternoon trying to figure out why. Matt Cooper has some theories, here. Friends Palin tell Politico's Mike Allen she plans to remain in the public eye, but hasn't decided anything about 2012. Is this a clue?

Balz talks to a lot of people, and no one has a firm theory about the resignation.

Halperin has 10 possible factors, most of which come down to money.

An Alaska blogger lists some possible reasons

Stromberg says this was a foolish move.

Alaska Democrats think she's crazy.

Bill Kristol thinks she's crazy like a fox.

And, of course, if you haven't read Purdum's Vanity Fair piece, it's definitely worth the hour of your life to read it.

 

Another one of Mark Sanford's relationships is on the rocks today. This time it's his publisher. Sanford had a contract with Sentinel, a conservative publisher owned by the Pengiun Group, for a book titled "Within Our Means". Today a spokesperson announced that Sentinel and Sanford had made a "mutual decision" to go their separate ways. Sanford, who made headlines earlier in the year for wanting to refuse stimulus money for his his state, had planned to write about fiscal conservatism. It's unclear if Sanford will seek another publisher, or how far he'd gotten in writing the novel. We're just glad he wasn't planning to writing about family values.

Here's more from President Obama's interview this morning with the Associated Press’s Jennifer Loven: On Russia, Obama was asked why he plans to meet with former Russian President Vladimir Putin in addition to talks with current leader Dmitry Medvedev....

Obama gave a wide ranging interview to the Associated Press today, where he finally spoke about Michael Jackson's death."I'm glad to see that he is being remembered primarily for the great joy that he brought to a lot of people through his extraordinary gifts as an entertainer," Obama said, adding that his briallinace "was paired with a tragic and in many ways, sad personal life." He brushed off the notion that African Americans were disappointed that he hadn't issued a formal statement after the entertainer's death last week. "I know a lot of people in the black community and I haven't heard that," Obama told the AP. He also mentioned that has a lot of Jackson tunes on his iPod.  

Vice President Joe Biden just landed in Baghdad in a surprise two-day visit to Iraq. According to the White House, Biden is there to meet with U.S. military officials and troops and will sit down with Iraqi political leaders including President Jalal...

No U.S. metropolitan area has been immune from the financial crisis, but the impact has been highly uneven: some cities are already starting to show signs of recovery; others--notably in Florida, California, and Ohio--are still mired in the downturn. 

5.1  Percentage unemployment rate in Provo, Utah, the country's lowest.
17.5  Percentage unemployment rate in Modesto, California, the country's highest.
25  Percentage of the "Strongest 20 metro areas" that lie in Texas, with Austin, Dallas, and El Paso in the top five. 
70  Percentage of the "Weakest 20 metro areas" that lie in California and Florida, with Tampa; Stockton, California; and Sacramento, California, all in the bottom five.

By Lennox Samuels

Iraqi oil minister Hussain Al-Shahristani was expecting to score a second triumph on the day American combat troops withdrew from his nation's cities. But by the time bidding to develop eight Iraqi oil and gas fields ended, he had only one potential deal in hand. Shut out of Iraq's hydrocarbon industry for more than three decades, foreign oil companies nevertheless declined to pursue development contracts that were seen to be advantageous to Iraq, but not so good for them.

BP and CNPC of China agreed to produce oil at the 17-billion-barrel Rumaila field, accepting the government's offer of $2 a barrel for each additional barrel the consortium extracts. The joint venture had sought $3.99 a barrel. Reps from other companies, including Exxon, Shell and 30 others from 18 countries sat impassively, apparently underwhelmed by the potential payoff. Shahristani made clear that Big Oil would be paid a flat fee for their efforts and would be allowed no ownership stake in any field.

For some, the government's posture was hubris. Analysts said Shahristani provided oil companies little incentive to bid, asking companies to spend heavily on development for very little return. "They clearly went too far in not allowing any kind of reasonable profit," said Sam Ciszuk, an energy analyst with IHS Global Insight Middle East, in London. "There are huge risks - not only financial, but legal and political."

And life-threatening, he could have added. A just-released United Nations report states that most of Iraq's oil fields are mined. The Ministry of Defense bans non-military de-mining operations, meaning the oil companies will not be able to use civilian contractors to clear any land mines. "One wonders whether oil companies actually thought about this issue at all," a U.N. official told NEWSWEEK. "It might take years before they even set foot on the fields.

The companies' cool response could put a damper on Iraq's economic-development plans, which hinge on oil. Dependent on crude, Iraq has seen its budget decrease as per-barrel prices have dipped. The loss in revenue even threatens funding for the Army and National Police, which have inherited responsibility for security in urban areas with American combat forces gone. "They need to learn to make better deals," says a Western consultant to the Maliki government, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Shahristani said he expected production on the eight fields to yield $1.7 trillion over 20 years. But the Western companies would realize only a fraction of that. Given the lack of enthusiasm, the oil minister ended Tuesday's session early. Matters could get worse still: Even the BP/CNPC is no sure thing. No contracts have been signed and there's no guarantee that the deal will go forward, Ciszuk told NEWSWEEK. "Nobody's popping champagne corks in London," he said.

At the opening of the session at Al-Rasheed Hotel, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was bullish. "Today we - Iraq, the Iraqis - and the entire world will witness a round which might be unique of its kind in the region," he stated. It appears he and his cabinet should not count their oil barrels before they are filled.

Call him what you will—ridiculous, heroic, a clown—but beginning next week, Al Franken will officially be known as Senator. Despite the disadvantage of getting a late start, having a fresh face will make him the newest object of attention on Capitol Hill. Other members will want to meet him and anxious staffers will ask for photos. But that's small peanuts. For lobbyists, there are few things more valuable than pushing a crisp business card into the palm of a new member with a blank slate.

Lobbying by nature is a competitive sport—there's only so much time and money to be divvied out. In Washington, the value is highest, where national legislation or federal contracts can translate into big money for interest groups that have an issue to push. Add to the equation Franken's untimely arrival in the midst of huge debates on climate change and health care and the price for Franken's ear will be high. So how does Washington's massive lobby machine break in the Senate's newest addition?

(More after the jump)

More

When President Obama met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time last April, both men called for a new day in relations between the two countries. Obama said he wanted to push the “reset” button, while Medvedev called for an end to the “drift” in the U.S./Russian dynamic. They pledged to forge a more pragmatic relationship than their predecessors, George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, who bonded personally even as ties between Russia and the U.S. sank to new lows. Obama did not want to be “buddy buddy” with Medvedev, a senior administration official told reporters at the time. The White House, according to the official, wanted to forge something “more substantial,” a rapport of “candor and frankness” that would produce real results.

As Obama prepares for his first visit to Russia next week, the boundaries of that new relationship will face its first real test. Obama and Medvedev are expected to announce some progress toward the renegotiation of a crucial arms control treaty that aims to cut down on nuclear weapons stockpiles. But despite all the conciliatory talk these past few months, the two sides continue to face significant differences over several issues, including how to rein in Iran’s nuclear ambitions and a proposed U.S. missile shield in Europe. In recent weeks, the Russians have suggested that Obama will not reach his goal of reducing nuclear arms unless he drops the U.S.’s missile defense plans. But on Wednesday, the White House signaled in some surprisingly tough talk that it would offer no such concessions on that issue or another hot topic for the Russians: a U.S.-backed push to add former Soviet states Ukraine and Georgia to NATO, a move Moscow strongly opposes.
 
Asked in a briefing what “reassurances” Obama might give Medvedev on those two issues, Michael McFaul, the president’s top adviser on Russia, unloaded. “We’re definitely not going to use the word reassure in the way we talk about these things,” McFaul told reporters. “We’re not going to reassure or give or trade anything with the Russians regarding NATO expansion or missile defense… We don’t need the Russians.” They would be no concessions on those issues “in the name of reset.” McFaul insisted.

More

It's still up in the air whether the worst of the financial crisis has passed. In the here and now, the undeniable--and more immediate--question is over how to strengthen the lax financial regulations that toppled the first domino.

Economists say when recovery eventually comes, the resulting growth will likely be a product of a new regulatory structure devised by the world's governments. But the world's a big place. Government leaders may generally agree on a broad global framework of investing and trade restrictions, but getting each national government to play ball in actually setting and enforcing the regulations makes for tricky business.

[MORE AFTER THE JUMP]

More

Our Beijing bureau chief, Melinda Liu, is in town and mentioned to me yesterday that the Chinese authorities are cracking down on "virtual" currencies. What's a virtual currency, you ask? In online multiplayer games like World of Warcraft, players collect loot in order to buy weapons and armor for their characters, and to advance through the game. For many, this is a very, very serious pastttime -- as evidenced by this teen's reaction when his mother canceled his WoW account.

Some players are so serious, in fact, that they'll pay real-life cash for the virtual gold. When clever entrepreneurs figured this out, they started hiring people to work in "virtual sweatshops," playing WoW and similar games for hours at a time, collecting loot to later sell on virtual currency exchanges. This has started to worry Chinese officials, says The New York Times:

The coin of fantasy realms have already moved markets here. So-called QQ coins — a form of currency produced by the Chinese Internet giant Tencent — have sometimes risen sharply in value against China’s official currency, the renminbi, alarming officials at the nation’s Central Bank.

[MORE AFTER THE JUMP]

More

How much does Jon Favreau get paid to write President Obama’s speeches? According to a list of salaries released today by the White House, Obama’s chief speechwriter makes $172,200 a year—the top salary possible in the West Wing. Favreau, who is paid...

Amid the heartbreaking turmoil of her personal life, South Carolinians appear more enamored than ever of their first lady, Jenny Sanford. As Newsweek's Kathy Deveny noted, Mrs. Sanford's response to her husband's teary press conference and public confession of infidelity seemed pitch perfect to most women. She played neither the humilated victim nor the scorned wife. Rather, Jenny projects an image of loving mother, prepared to forgive but not to compromise her principles. The reaction of South Carolina's women to Jenny's statement and interview has prompted the Palmetto Family Council, conservative Christian organization, to launch "Stand With Jenny", a petition showing support for the First Lady. They'd received so many emails and phonecalls from constituents who were angry with Sanford but proud of his wife that they wanted to provide a space for the community to both vent frustration and offer consolation. The petition calls Sanford "inspiring" and "an example to women everywhere of biblical motherhood." The Palmetto Family Council hopes the petition will "encourage her and thank her for her strength, her courage, her commitment to her family, and her example." A spokesperson told your Gaggler that the online petition already had over 1000 signatures by this morning, and the number is still growing. (Warning: the petition requires you to submit an email and home address. I can't guarantee you won't end up on unwanted mailing lists if you sign it.)

Congress is on recess this week for the July 4 holiday. But the quiet in Washington has only amplified a flap between some members of congress and administration officials over an allegedly "suppressed" report from the Environmental Protection Agency. The document, which hasn't been released in its entirety (an incomplete draft is here), supposes that global temperatures have actually decreased over the past decade, essentially undercutting the key cause of global warming. Al Carlin, the EPA employee who authored the report, has only fanned the flames. He appeared twice on Fox News (which has been covering the story regularly according to media watchdog Media Matters) to not-so-subtly suggest an EPA internal conspiracy fueled by the environmental movement. Sen. James Inhofe, the ardent climate-change denier from Oklahoma, immediately jumped on the story, seeing an opportunity to validate all those years he railed against the "faulty science" of global warming. Inhofe immediately called for a criminal investigation into the matter to hold the EPA accountable. (Sensing a slight overreaction, he later backpedaled, saying he wasn't qualified to call for criminal proceedings.)

Neither scientists nor administration officials are swayed much by Carlin's or Inhofe's claims. For one -- and the EPA is quick to point out -- Carlin isn't an environmental researcher, he's an economist. What's more, the report was entirely his idea to research and produce. EPA officials never asked him to do it, hence why they didn't give it top billing when he finished. "Claims that this individual's opinions were not considered or studied are entirely false,'' the EPA said in a statement. "The individual in question...was not part of the working group dealing with this issue.'' Climate scientists have also taken to a respected science blog to point out shaky scientific ground on which Carlin built his claims.

The whole episode shines more than a bit of light on the palpable tension in Washington over the climate debate, certain to escalate this summer as the Senate discusses the cap and trade bill the house passed last week. The bill, in its current state, would set a limit to carbon emissions and would auction off permits to pollute. But it'll be far from easy to pull through. Democrats will need to assemble at least 60 votes to overcome an almost-certain filibuster, meaning lots of brokering in the coming weeks. With all things up in the air, only one thing seems already clear: how Sen. Inhofe will be voting.

Funnyman Ray Romano resumes his role this weekend as the voice of Manny, the worrywart woolly mammoth whose whingeing made hits out of Ice Ages 1 and 2. Now, in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Manny and the rest of his prehistoric gang will be in 3-D for the first time. Talk about evolution.

NEWSWEEK's Nicki Gostin sat down with the star for a chat—excerpts:

So you’re promoting Ice Age 27, right?
Yeah, feels like it.

So I guess you really enjoyed making it.
No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s been a long time. It’s been eight years that we’ve been doing them. As long as they keep them interesting, then we’ll keep doing them.

Is it the easiest work you’ve ever done in your life?
No!

What’s wrong with that question?
It is convenient because you go to work and you don’t have to get dressed up, you don’t have to coerce Patty Heaton to kiss you in any scene, you don’t have to put on makeup, you don’t have to wait for lights. But it’s also different because you’re not working with any other actors. You’ve got to emote, get angry, while you’re standing in front of a microphone without moving left to right. Technically, it takes a lot of getting used to. Look, yeah, you’re not working yourself into the ground like you do in a sitcom, so in that sense it is easier.

Your character, Manny, becomes a dad. Bring back memories?
Yeah. When we recorded the scene when the baby’s born, it gets a little emotional, and I had to draw on what happened in my real life when my daughter was born. Then of course Manny thinks he knows how to be a father and he really doesn’t yet; he’s learning as he goes, and that’s all the same. I was a fumbling idiot.

Did you ever drop your daughter?
No, but when I went to pick up [my wife and daughter] at the hospital, I parked my car in a tow-away zone and I came out with my newborn in my arms and the car that was supposed to be right there was gone. So we had to take a cab back to Queens.

Was your wife ready to divorce you?
Luckily, she was still medicated. The epidural hadn’t worn off yet. My daughter’s first ride was on the meter. We had to pay 50 cents extra to have her in the car.

Your daughter must be dating by now.
Yes! I’m not as neurotic about it as my wife is. This is what I don’t get. My daughter shares everything with my wife, every conversation with her boyfriend. I remember when I was 18 and dating; I didn’t come home and tell my mom, ‘Ma, you’re never going to believe what she said today.’ But my wife gets to hear all of it and she reacts to all of it. I’m like, just relax, it's teenage love. She’s also at college. She just finished her first year.

Was that weird?
Yeah, especially for my wife because we have three boys and we took over the house. My daughter was my wife’s only ally. It was like when we pulled out of Vietnam and the Viet Cong took over.

Do you see your Everybody Loves Raymond costars?
I do. I just got back from Vegas with Brad Garrett.

I thought you two hated each other.
Why would you think that?

Because he threatened to quit Raymond over money.
That’s just business. That had nothing to do with me—that was with the network. We play a card game once a month and we do charities together. And every couple of months I play Vegas, and half the time I’m with Brad and the other half I’m with Kevin James.

Didn’t you discover him?
People think because he did a thing on my show that I discovered him, but he had a development deal before he was even on my show.

So he doesn’t owe you.
No, no. I’m going to be riding his coattails when he becomes a big movie star, which he’s about to do.

So what else have you been doing?
I’m filming a new series for TNT. It’s coming in December. I co-created it. It’s called Men of a Certain Age. It’s about three friends who are experiencing a crossroads in life. When you start wondering what’s next, who you are.

TNT is no swearing right?
You can swear. You can’t say the F word.

But you can say the S word?
Yes, you can.

So we will be hearing a cursing Ray Romano.
You don’t know how many times, nine years on Raymond, I wanted to say, "You’re full of s---, Debra!"

 

On Monday, NEWSWEEK sits down with the four formidable judges of Project Runway to discuss the long-awaited Season 6 premiere. Got questions for Michael Kors, Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia or Tim Gunn? Throw 'em up in the comments—the juicier, the better.  We'll put the best ones to the panel—stay tuned for video of their responses, and in the meantime, let us know what you'd ask!

Who is advising Mark Sanford these days? That’s what your Gaggler is wondering, considering the embattled South Carolina governor will not stop treating the media as a confessional. In two days of interviews with the Associated Press, Sanford not only...

President Obama heads to the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., today to hold a health care town hall. It’s the second time in a week that Obama has taken questions from the public on reform efforts. Last Wednesday, Obama participated in an ABC News forum on the topic at the White House. Today, Obama will take questions from a live audience, as well as those submitted via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. It’s all a part of Obama’s efforts to use his own political popularity to get health care reform through Congress. This marks a bit of a strategy change for the White House. Initially, Obama tried to take a hands-off approach to the legislation, allowing Congress to take the lead. The plan seemed based on not repeating the mistakes of the Clinton White House which saw its reform efforts go down the tubes in 1993 when it took a heavy-handed approach to the bill, as opposed to letting lawmakers run the show. But Obama is far more popular than Bill Clinton was, and Democrats want the president to share some of their political burden on what will no doubt be a tricky debate. But is Obama doing enough?

Not unlike George W. Bush when he tried to use his own political capital to sell the equally tricky task of reforming Social Security four years ago, Obama is trying to have it both ways. He wants to bank on his enormous popularity to influence the public to pressure Congress to get something done this year, but he also wants to stay above the fray. Obama doesn’t want to get too specific about what he wants and doesn’t want in a bill because he knows what ultimately emerges from Congress will be a test of compromise.

More

For years, American educators have been touting the rise of the "knowledge economy" and shifting focus away from the manual trades, encouraging teens onto the four-year college track in preparation for our supposedly postindustrial society. Meanwhile, cubicle jobs are increasingly going the route of manufacturing work as corporations outsource any task that can be delivered over a wireless connection. And thanks to the financial crisis, that drain is only likely to accelerate. So perhaps it's time to reconsider where the future of work is headed as the century unfolds. It's a subject that's starting to gain traction, first in the writings of Princeton economist Alan Blinder and most recently in a clever book called Shop Class as Soulcraft, by philosopher (and motorcycle repairman) Matthew Crawford.

The Idea: American elites tend to harbor ambivalent feelings about manual labor and the blue-collar trades, which are increasingly identified as jobs of the past, only suitable for low-skilled or immigrant laborers. However, manual trades (construction, repair, and maintenance) are among the few jobs that have proved resilient to global outsourcing. Moreover, as Crawford argues, working with one's hands can potentially be more lucrative and intellectually satisfying than being a low-level cubicle worker.  

[MORE AFTER THE JUMP]

More

Once upon a time there was a Russian gas company named Gazprom, which grew fond of a Nigerian state-owned gas company. After an extended courtship, the two resolved to partner up. A joint venture was born. But what to name it? They pondered, and pondered, and then they decided: Nigaz. No joke.

The Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously ruled Al Franken the winner of the hotly contested Minnesota Senate race this afternoon. Incumbent Norm Coleman had appealed a lower court's decision, primarily arguing that absentee ballots had been improperly handled by electoral officials. Coleman now has the option of appealing to federal courts. He has yet to indicate whether he plans to rest his campaign for the seat. ***UPDATE Coleman has conceded the race to Franken. He won't be lodging a federal appeal.*** On Sunday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty told CNN he was prepared to certify Franken as soon as the ruling was handed down, but he added he would of course follow the direction of the Supreme Court should Coleman take his appeal further. 

Depending on Coleman's actions, Franken may be seated as early as next week, when Congress returns from Fourth of July recess. This would nominally give the Democrats a 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority. But will Franken's presence in the caucus really change things for Senate Democrats? I'm inclined to think no. Why? Because the real 60th vote remains newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter, and it's still unclear to me the degree to which he will actually be a faithful caucus member. So far, he appears to be playing well with his new friends, but his loyalty hasn't really been tested yet. The most telling indicator of his intentions to date was his decision last week to support the inclusion of a public plan in health-reform legislation. This came after weeks of strategically applied grassroots pressure mobilized by pro-public-plan groups. Predictably, Specter is less concerned with the ideological or policy ramifications of his supporting a public plan than with his electoral viability if he doesn't. Specter is increasingly likely to face a serious challenger in the Democratic primary, so he needs to prove to Democratic primary voters that he can be trusted to remain true to his new party label. Franken will indeed add a (undeniably entertaining) 60th voice to the caucus room, but the real 60th vote is still in the hands of Pennsylvania primary voters.

Francisco de Narváez is not the sort of person you'd expect to build a political platform around the idea of normalcy. He’s a Colombian-born businessman with a big black tattoo on his neck who inherited the family supermarket chain back in the '90s, then built it into a business empire, with stakes in agriculture, clothing stores, and even Argentina's leading newspaper, Clarin. Not to mention, in the last four years, he's mysteriously managed to increase his wealth by about 900 percent, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into his business dealings earlier this month (the rumor mill is buzzing about a drug connection).

But voters in Latin America's third-largest economy seem ready to give his brand of normalcy a try.

[MORE AFTER THE JUMP]

More

54% The share of employed Americans who say they will look for a new job once the recession ends. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, 71 percent say they want to make a change once the recovery begins. Source: Adecco North America... More

This morning The Wall Street Journal hosted a breakfast with uber-investor George Soros, the man who "broke the Bank of England" by betting against the pound and earning a billion dollars for himself in the process. Last year, in the midst of a declining market, he came out of retirement to take control of his Soros Fund Management, and was up nearly 10 percent in a year when the S&P 500 shed about 40 percent. Below are selected quotes and ideas:

On the origins of the crisis: A "super bubble" inflated over the last 35 years. Every time it looked set to pop, regulators took drastic action, only to allow it to continue inflating. How can we be confident it's pricked for good this time? "I think the evidence is pretty conclusive."

On the next steps: We are, for the first time, simultaneously concerned about both inflation and deflation. Since September, the Federal Reserve has expanded its balance sheet from $800 billion to about $10 trillion. "You have the makings of runaway inflation." Inflation fears are likely to force the Fed to raise interest rates, which will stomp on the "green shoots," curtail growth, and lead to stagflation. But, strangely, "I think that is the preferable outcome." The alternative is deflation, which would only worsen our "crushing" debt load.

[MORE AFTER THE JUMP]

More

As I noted earlier, the first couple hosted a celebration honoring LGBT Pride Month in the East Room this afternoon. The event comes amid rising tensions between the Obama administration and the gay community, who are disappointed at the lack of attention given to their issues so far this year. For the most part, Obama didn't mince words. He described the gay rights "struggle" as "difficult," "painful," and "heartbreaking." He likened the movement to prior civil-rights battles, drawing parallels with "all those in our history who've been denied the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, who've been told that the full blessings and opportunities of this country were closed to them." He told the by-invitation-only group that he understood their frustrations, and it wasn't for him to advise patience, "any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half century ago."

After listing the steps his administration has taken to further gay rights—signing the memo about extending partner benefits to federal employees, calling on Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, meeting with Matthew Shephard's mother as part of a strategy to address hate crimes, and repealing the HIV travelers ban—Obama turned to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And this is where his words went from unambiguous to murky. Although he acknowledged that "preventing patriotic Americans from serving their country weakens our national security," his plan for ending DADT was unclear. He's apparently working with the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs to develop some sort of strategy, but he didn't give a deadline or outline a process. The upshot? This doesn't really advance the repeal much beyond a campaign promise. There is a bright side for gay-rights activists, though. If you read between the lines, DADT will likely be repealed before the next election (or 2016, depending how bullish you are on Obama's chances). Here's Obama:

I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I've made, but by the promises that my administration keeps...We've been in office six months now. I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration.

I'm thinking those words will be ringing in the gay community for weeks.