memeorandum: G.O.P. Candidates Criticize Slur by Conservative Author (Adam Nagourney/New York Times)

1:15 AM ET, March 4, 2007

Top Items:

G.O.P. Candidates Criticize Slur by Conservative Author — Three of the leading Republican presidential candidates on Saturday denounced one of their party's best-known conservative commentators for using an antigay epithet when discussing a Democratic presidential contender at a gathering of conservatives here.

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:

Romney tops conservative straw poll — WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney won the most support for the Republican presidential nomination in a straw poll of GOP activists attending an annual conference. — Despite his record of inconsistency on some social issues, the former Massachusetts governor got 21 percent …

Discussion: PoliPundit.com, Iowa Voice, Taegan Goddard's … and Ace of Spades HQ

John Edwards '08 Blog:

Hate words and you — When Miss Coulter spoke about John at the conservative convention in Washington yesterday, she used a word that she intended as a nasty and derogatory suggestion. John and I have long ago shrugged off the vile words of this person. When she made a joke about the exact moment …

Discussion: Pam's House Blend, Riehl World View and Ezra Klein

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Romney Loses The Straw Poll — No, Really — Governor Mitt Romney won the straw poll results at the CPAC event, one of the last stories of the conference. He outstripped Rudy Giuliani and left John McCain in the dust, but CPAC attendees will understand the real story behind those numbers:

Discussion: The American Mind, Bluey Blog, Eunomia, Patrick Ruffini, seejanemom and CPAC Bloggers

Washington Times:

Romancing the conservatives — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday delivered a faultlessly tailored appeal to more than 1,000 grass-roots conservative activists hungry for a renewed commitment to limited government. — Addressing the 34th annual Conservative Political Action Conference …

Discussion: Hot Air, Texas Rainmaker and Daily Kos

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
But Did Ginger Rogers Wear Flip-Flops?

Discussion: The American Street and Rising Hegemon

Redstate: Rudy vs. Romney: That's the End Result of CPAC

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters: Three Leading GOP Campaigns Condemn Coulter's Remarks

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Giuliani, Romney, McCain camps denounce Coulter's attack on Edwards

Discussion: Bluey Blog

Candace Rondeaux / Washington Post:

Expert on Soviet Intelligence Shot in Adelphi — Federal and local law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Prince George's County that critically injured a prominent intelligence expert who specializes in the former Soviet Union. — Paul Joyal, 53, was shot Thursday …

Discussion: Samizdata.net, At-Largely, Secular Blasphemy and digg

wtopnews.com:

Expert on Russian Intelligence Shot Outside Home — ADELPHI, Md. - Police are investigating a shooting that wounded a prominent intelligence expert. — Fifty-three-year-old Paul Joyal was shot Thursday night outside his house in the 2300 block of Lackawanna Street in Adelphi.

Lydia Cornell / The Official Website of Lydia Cornell:

ANN COULTER'S CRIMINAL INTENT — Just a few hours ago, my friend Dan Borchers — a conservative Christian who is writing a book about Ann Coulter's "extermination speak" — was bodily wrestled out of CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) by four of Ann Coulter's bodyguards.

Discussion: Orcinus, The Mahablog, Macsmind and The American Mind

Media Matters for America:
NY Times' Nagourney compares hatemonger Coulter to Sen. Clinton

Discussion: All Spin Zone and Democrats.com

Adam Nagourney / The Caucus:
Fallout Over Coulter's Anti-Gay Remark

Discussion: AMERICAblog, TPMCafe blogs, digg, MyDD and skippy the bush kangaroo

The Blotter:

Afghanistan: US forces attack suspected al Qaeda hideout — Christopher Isham and Gretchen Peters Report: — For the past two days, U.S. and NATO forces have been conducting a major attack against a compound in a remote area of Eastern Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden or another senior al Qaeda leader …

Discussion: Riehl World View and QandO

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Breaking: U.S. forces attack senior AQ leader's hideout in Afghanistan?

Discussion: The Political Pit Bull

Brian Braiker / Newsweek:

Rudy's Rise — 'America's mayor' has pulled ahead of the other GOP candidates in the early stages of the White House race, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. — Grinning From Ear to Ear: Giuliani seemed to be enjoying himself while making calls to local radio stations in Florida on Feb. 22

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Joe Klein / time-blog.com:

Since you asked — A left-wing extremist exhibits many, but not necessarily all, of the following attributes: —believes that the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of monumental stupidity, but a consequence of America's fundamental imperialistic nature.

Discussion: Horses Mouth, Whiskey Fire, Booman Tribune, TPMCafe blogs, Liberal Values, driftglass, Matthew Yglesias, Decision '08 and CorrenteWire

Ezra Klein:
Joe Klein and the Extremists

Discussion: Oliver Willis

Robert D. Novak / New Hampshire Union Leader:

Another Hillary defector — WASHINGTON - Greg Craig, a Washington super-lawyer with close ties to the Clintons, is supporting Sen. Barack Obama for President. — Craig was a White House special counsel defending President Bill Clinton in the Senate impeachment trial.

Discussion: The Agonist, Liberal Values and Wizbang

New York Times:

Doubts Rise as States Hold Sex Offenders After Prison Terms — The decision by New York to confine sex offenders beyond their prison terms places the state at the forefront of a growing national movement that is popular with politicians and voters. But such programs have almost never met …

Discussion: TalkLeft and Bring it On!

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:

Bill Maher is Sorry the Assassination Attempt on Dick Cheney Failed — In 2002, ABC made the decision to not renew Bill Maher's contract after he made some disgraceful comments on his program "Politically Incorrect" concerning America's military response to 9/11.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice, Reason Magazine, MsUnderestimated, Hot Air, Classical Values, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Neocon Express, The Impolitic and Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler

Jeff Goldstein / protein wisdom:
Non-representative "libertarian" …

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House

Bing West / SWJ Blog:

Iraq Trip Report — Based upon a February 2007 trip revisiting locales in Anbar and Baghdad that I had tracked for years, permit me to offer the following observations. — Overview. What is shaping up in Iraq? There are four ongoing wars. 1) Shiite mafias in the south, 2) …

Discussion: QandO