Top Items:
Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
U.S. Central Command Charts Sharp Movement of the Civil Conflict in Iraq Toward Chaos — A classified briefing prepared two weeks ago by the United States Central Command portrays Iraq as edging toward chaos, in a chart that the military is using as a barometer of civil conflict.
Discussion:
Dick Polman's American Debate, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, TAPPED, Political Animal, Outside The Beltway, The Belgravia Dispatch, Bring it On!, The Peking Duck, The Agonist, Daily Kos, Matthew Yglesias, Global Guerrillas, The Heretik, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Donklephant, Needlenose and On Deadline
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The Daily Dish:
Abandoning An American Soldier — While the media is obsessed parsing the ad libs of someone on no ballot this fall, something truly ominous has just happened in Iraq. The commander-in-chief has abandoned an American soldier to the tender mercies of a Shiite militia.
Kirk Semple / New York Times:
Iraqi Demands Pullback; U.S. Lifts Baghdad Cordon — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki demanded the removal of American checkpoints from the streets of Baghdad on Tuesday, in what appeared to be his latest and boldest gambit in an increasingly tense struggle for more independence from his American protectors.
Discussion:
Political Animal, Taylor Marsh, Informed Comment, AMERICAblog, Bull Moose, the talking dog, FP Passport, Democrats.com and The Heretik
Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake: On Iraqi Orders, Bush Abandons American Soldier To Al-Sadr's Militia
The Free Press, Mankato, MN:
Kerry cancels Mankato appearance — The dueling rallies scheduled for Mankato today on behalf of Republican congressman Gil Gutknecht and Democratic challenger Tim Walz lost some of their pizzaz Tuesday night when Sen. John Kerry pulled out of the Democratic rally.
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Baltimore Sun:
Governor race a tossup … The Maryland governor's race is a virtual tie less than a week before Election Day, as Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s relentless attacks on Mayor Martin O'Malley's record on crime and schools have eroded the Democrat's support in the Baltimore suburbs, a new poll for The Sun shows.
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Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Letter from Mike Stark — The following is a letter to NBC29 from Mike Stark, the man who was tackled for a comment he made at Senator Allen's campaign stop in Charlottesville on Tuesday. — My name is Mike Stark. I am a law student at the University of Virginia, a marine, and a citizen journalist.
Discussion:
Dependable Renegade
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John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
Polling Right-Of-Center Bloggers On The 2006 Election — Right Wing News emailed more than 230 right-of-center bloggers to ask them about the 2006 election. The following 62 blogs responded. — The Absurd Report, Ankle Biting Pundits (Patrick Hynes), Annika's Journal, The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler …
New York Times:
North Korea Will Resume Nuclear Talks — North Korea agreed Tuesday to resume nuclear disarmament talks, a first sign of easing tensions since the country's nuclear test this month. But the talks have dragged on inconclusively for three years, and the chances for rolling back the country's …
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Ezra Klein:
What's Wrong With The Press Corps? — This. Greenwald comments: … It's not just unseemly, it's unprofessional. The point of journalism, of punditry, of analysis, is that it's independent. That doesn't mean it's not ideological, or even totally non-partisan, but that it's not written to attract external approval.
Discussion:
Unclaimed Territory, Crooks and Liars, Outside The Beltway, Eschaton, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Daily Kos and Media Blog
John Whitesides / Reuters:
House control in range for Democrats-Reuters poll — WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Democrats are ahead in races for 12 of 15 key Republican-held seats in the U.S. House one week before the Nov. 7 elections, placing them within striking range of winning control of the chamber, according to Reuters/Zogby polls released on Wednesday.
Rasmussen Reports:
Partisan Trends: Dems Peaking at the Right Time — In the final full month before Election 2006, the number of people identifying themselves as Republicans has fallen to its lowest level since we began reporting this measure of partisan trends in January 2004.
Robert J. Samuelson / Washington Post:
What if We're to Blame? — "Towering over Presidents and [Congress] . . . public opinion stands out, in the United States, as the great source of power, the master of servants who tremble before it." — James Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," 1888 — The problem of American democracy is (of course) democracy.
Discussion:
Blue Crab Boulevard
John Cole / Balloon Juice:
This Is No Fun — I just thought I would go on record stating that the last few weeks and months have really sucked for me. I spent my whole life in the GOP- starting in 1984 with county meetings, going to Teenage Republican camp (my friends called it Hitler Youth Camp …
Tom Brown / Reuters:
Alleged al Qaeda agent Padilla claims torture — MIAMI (Reuters) - Lawyers for alleged al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla have asked a Florida judge to dismiss the terrorism case against him, saying he was tortured and force-fed psychedelic drugs while held at a U.S. military brig for more than 3-1/2 years.
Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
Pelosi's Unintelligent Choice — If Democrats win control of the House next week, Nancy Pelosi's first test as speaker will arrive long before the 110th Congress convenes. Her choice to head the House intelligence committee — unlike other House committees, this one is left entirely …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Barone Blog, Blue Crab Boulevard, Riehl World View and Brendan Nyhan
Washington Post:
House Democrats Propose More Spending for Military and Education — GOP Says Plan Would Imperil Efforts to Balance Budget — As part of their midterm election push, House Democrats are promoting a wide-ranging legislative agenda that would add tens of billions of dollars a year …
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
Dems hold record 15-point edge over GOP — NBC/WSJ poll: Worst may be over for Republicans after Foley sex scandal … WASHINGTON - — Mark Murray — The final pre-election NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll suggests that Democrats continue to have a significant advantage heading …
Agence France Presse:
Nearly half of Americans uncertain God exists: poll — Nearly half of Americans are not sure God exists, according to a poll that also found divisions among the public on whether God is male or female or whether God has a human form and has control over events.