What I'm reading this morning

1. In the latest Time, Joe Klein claims that the US decision on "whether or not to negotiate, now that the Iranian government has disgraced itself in the eyes of the world, is sure to be a defining moment for the Obama Administration." 
2. The Commerce Department reports that the GDP fell at a 5.5% annual rate in the first quarter of 2009 signaling that "the US economy just went through its worst two quarters in more than 60 years." 
3. President Obama, in his bid to reach compromise on healthcare reform, may be willing to turn back on a campaign promise not to tax health benefits.  Meanwhile, Karl Rove writes that "Health care may actually be an issue that helps resurrect the GOP" in today's Wall Street Journal.  Rove puts into perspective Obama's approval ratings, policy proposals, and success outlook for the summer. 
4. North Korea vows a "fire shower of nuclear retaliation" would follow any provocation by the U.S. as thousands of North Koreans gather in Pyongyang to denounce the U.S.  Just yesterday, Obama renewed economic sanctions on North Korea. 
5. Elliot Abrams writes that in calling for a total settlement freeze, Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama are reneging on America's previous agreements with Israel. 
6. What broader implication does Sanford's affair hold for the state of the GOP?  Will Republicans be able to mount a strong opposition and comeback?
7. Judge Sotomayor's critics say she is a racial extremist and an activist judge.  But Adam Cohen reports that Sotomayor's record on civil rights cases indicates that her critics have it all wrong.