If Kim Jong Il thought detonating a nuclear weapon would get President Obama's attention, he failed to calculate that Obama had a weapon of his own that he could fire more or less at his discretion that would obliterate coverage of the "Dear Leader" in the U.S. media.

Obama fired that weapon first thing this morning, after many news reports over the weekend suggested the pick wouldn't come until later in the week.  And with the leak, and the subsequent announcement in an hour or so, Obama is changing the subject and once again demonstrating his sophisticated understanding of message managment and the power of the media.

For one brief moment I thought that The Wall Street Journal editorial Millionaires Go Missing would never bring up the possibility that, actually, Maryland's millionaires did not flee en masse for lower-tax states. They're still in The Old Line State. They're just not millionaires anymore, thanks to the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Yes, the chronicler of the American Dream did eventually mention a non-tax-related cause for the decline in seven-digit tax returns, albeit two-thirds into the piece. Given the severity of economic meltdown, the surprise is that they're down only a third.

Although just 38% approve of the job she's doing as governor, a Detroit News/WXYZ poll finds 51% of registered voters in Michigan think Jennifer Granholm would make a good Supreme Court Justice (May 18-21, 600 RV).

Democrats would favor her selection by a 72%-24% margin, while an equal number of Republicans are against it -- 73%-24%. Of independents, 48% favor her selection, and 42% oppose it.

President Barack Obama is poised to announce his appointment to replace retiring Justice David Souter as soon as today. Much speculation has focused on Granholm as a potential pick, and she remains on most short lists along with four or five other prospects.

A statement from the President on North Korea's nuclear test, issued around 2am Eastern time this morning:

Today, North Korea said that it has conducted a nuclear test in violation of international law.  It appears to also have attempted a short range missile launch.  These actions, while not a surprise given its statements and actions to date, are a matter of grave concern to all nations.  North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security.

By acting in blatant defiance of the United Nations Security Council, North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community.  North Korea⿿s behavior increases tensions and undermines stability in Northeast Asia.  Such provocations will only serve to deepen North Korea's isolation.  It will not find international acceptance unless it abandons its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.

The danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities warrants action by the international community.  We have been and will continue working with our allies and partners in the Six-Party Talks as well as other members of the U.N. Security Council in the days ahead.

President Obama e-mailed more than 100,000 supporters of the Democratic National Committee and Obama's own Organizing for America in Connecticut to show his support for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) -- a potentially vulnerable incumbent in 2010.

In the message, Obama thanked Dodd for his "extraordinary efforts" on the credit card reform bill the president signed this afternoon at the White House.

"But today -- thanks to the extraordinary efforts by your senator, Chris Dodd -- I signed a bill that restores a sense of fairness and transparency to the credit card insutry," Obama writes in the e-mail. "As Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Dodd was the driving force behind this bill."

Obama then asks supporters to send Dodd a thank you note for his "exceptional service," including their name, e-mail address, home address and phone number.

For the third time in two days, a new poll shows Terry McAuliffe leading his Democratic primary opponents -- State Sen. Creigh Deeds and former State Del. Brian Moran -- in the race for governor of Virginia. Today, a new PPP poll shows McAuliffe ahead of both candidates by 9 points, with close to a third of June 9 primary voters still undecided.

Deeds, who was endorsed today by the Washington Post, has jumped ahead to tie Moran for second place and enjoys the highest favorability rating (42%) among the three candidates. More people have an unfavorable opinion of McAuliffe (36%) than Deeds (16%) or Moran (20%).

McAuliffe 29 (-1 vs. last poll, May 5)
Moran 20 (nc)
Deeds 20 (+6)
Und 31 (-5)

A second Virginia governor race poll released today, this one by Daily Kos/Research 2000 (May 18-20, 600 LV, MoE +/- 5%), shows Republican Bob McDonnell leading the three Democrats vying for the party nomination. The Daily Kos poll also shows Terry McAuliffe leading Brian Moran and Creigh Deeds by double digits in the Democratic primary race.

Some of the numbers in the SurveyUSA poll released earlier today were significantly different than the Daily Kos survey. Deeds' 13% in the Dem primary in this poll were half what he got in the SUSA poll, while the McAuliffe and Moran numbers were practically identical.

For the general election, McAuliffe performed the best against McDonnell in the SUSA poll, while Moran performs best in this one.

Dem Primary
McAuliffe 36
Moran 22
Deeds 13

General Election
McDonnell 42 - Moran 35 - Und 23

McDonnell 44 - McAuliffe 34 - Und 22

McDonnell 45 - Deeds 32 - Und 23

Can I please have some unique synergy with Jesse Jackson Jr. so he can pay me an extra quarter of a million dollars out of his campaign fund?

Terry McAuliffe leads the Virginia gubernatorial Democratic primary field by double digits, according to the latest poll from SurveyUSA (May 17-20, 502 Dem LV, +/- 4.5%). McAuliffe and Brian Moran's numbers stayed the same since the last poll released at the end of April, but State Sen. Creigh Deeds shot ahead of Moran. The primary takes place June 9.

McAuliffe 37 (-1 vs. last poll, April 28)
Deeds 26 (+4)
Moran 22 (nc)

The survey also looks ahead to the general election and tests each Dem against GOP nominee Bob McDonnell, the former state attorney general. Deeds and McAuliffe both trail McDonnell by 6 points, while Moran trails by 10 points (May 17-20, 1692 RV, +/- 2.4%).

Deeds has faced McDonnell before, losing by 323 votes in the 2005 attorney general race.

McDonnell 46 - Deeds 40 - Und 15

McDonnell 46 - McAuliffe 40 - Und 13

McDonnell 47 - Moran 37 - Und 16

In advance of President Obama's speech tomorrow which, per Robert Gibbs today, may include a modification of the administration's position on closing Guantanamo Bay, House Minority Leader Boehner has released the following statement:

"An overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress have supported efforts to block the Administration from closing the Guantanamo Bay prison until it defines a clear plan for dealing with the dangerous terrorists housed there.  Like a solid majority of Americans, Republicans strongly oppose releasing terrorists from the Guantanamo Bay facility or transferring them to the United States, and we believe that governors and state legislatures should pre-approve the transfer or release of any terrorist detainee into their respective states if this Administration chooses to act on its own.

“Director Robert Mueller made clear today that the FBI has serious concerns about bringing terrorists like the mastermind of the September 11th attacks into federal prisons.  The President tomorrow has an opportunity to outline a comprehensive strategy for keeping America safe, including how he will keep all of the terrorists at the Guantanamo prison off American soil.  The decision to close this terrorist prison without a clear alternative was a regrettable one, and I hope the President will reconsider it as he did on the detainee photos and military commissions.  Doing so will send a powerful message to the American people and the rest of the world about his determination to keep our nation safe.”