Top Items:
Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Democrats Criticize Iraq in 1st Debate — ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidates criticized President Bush over the Iraq war Thursday night in the first debate of their campaign, and urged him to reconsider his threat to veto legislation to begin withdrawing U.S. troops.
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David Weigel / Reason Magazine:
Getting Pumped for the Mike Gravel Inaugural — The Democrats held their first all-presidential candidate debate tonight in South Carolina. I wasn't there, but an MSNBC web camera was, and it beamed the debate into the comfort of Reason HQ in DC. My impressions: — Joe Biden underperformed.
Logan Murphy / Crooks and Liars:
Democratic Candidate Debate:Gravel - "Some Of These People Frighten Me"
Democratic Candidate Debate:Gravel - "Some Of These People Frighten Me"
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Timmeh's Tool Time Redux — Everyone has their favorite moment from the Bill Moyers documentary last night, this was mine: … After sitting in the Libby trial with jaw-dropping incredulity as Russert admitted he'd spilled his guts to the FBI when they first contacted him and then later refused …
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Digby / Hullabaloo:
Why Didn't They Call Me? — A little highlight from the Moyers show — here's the King of the Kewl Kids going all Sergeant Shultz when asked to explain how he got used and discarded like a wet kleenex by Dick Cheney: … But lest you think that Russert is some sort of prima donna who waits for the phone to ring, he later said:
David Sirota / WorkingForChange:
Washington Reporters In Meltdown, Damage-Control Freak Out Mode
Washington Reporters In Meltdown, Damage-Control Freak Out Mode
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Rich Noyes / NewsBusters.org:
CNN's Ware: Troop Pullout Debate Is 'Delusional,' Would Hand Iraq to al Qaeda — Left-wing blogs loved it when CNN's Michael Ware rebuked Senator John McCain a few weeks ago, after McCain suggested he could safely walk through areas of Baghdad. But this morning on CNN …
Discussion:
Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, Ace of Spades HQ, TAPPED, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Liberty Street, Donklephant, The Right Angle and Confederate Yankee
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Joe Lieberman / Washington Post:
One Choice in Iraq — Last week a series of coordinated suicide …
One Choice in Iraq — Last week a series of coordinated suicide …
Discussion:
Democracy Project, The Reaction, Unqualified Offerings, Hot Air, PoliPundit.com, The Washington Note, Booman Tribune, Captain's Quarters, Shakesville, Ezra Klein, The Corner, Matthew Yglesias, TalkLeft, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Cliff Schecter, Redstate, Gateway Pundit, Blue Crab Boulevard, Jules Crittenden, The Strata-Sphere, The Mahablog, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, State of the Day, First Read, Neptunus Lex and Rising Hegemon
Associated Press:
Iraqi spokesman criticizes Senate vote — BAGHDAD - An Iraqi government spokesman criticized the U.S. Senate vote to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1. — "We see some negative signs in the decision because it sends wrong signals to some sides that might think of alternatives …
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Senate passes Iraq spending bill; Update: Iraqi spokesman criticizes
Senate passes Iraq spending bill; Update: Iraqi spokesman criticizes
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, The Jawa Report, CNN Political Ticker, Flopping Aces, Gateway Pundit and Ace of Spades HQ
American Thinker:
Jessica Lynch was on Capitol Hill to talk about her experience in Iraq as a POW and subsequently as a media darling. This article from the Charleston Daily Mail typifies the coverage given to this topic by the media for years now. It portrays Lynch as a victim of military propaganda that pushed her forward as a hero.
Discussion:
protein wisdom, Sister Toldjah, Little Green Footballs, Flopping Aces, The Jawa Report, Hot Air and Wizbang
Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Army Officer Accuses Generals of 'Intellectual and Moral Failures' — An active-duty Army officer is publishing a blistering attack on U.S. generals, saying they have botched the war in Iraq and misled Congress about the situation there. — "America's generals have repeated the mistakes of Vietnam in Iraq …
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Day By Day: Crossing A Line? — Today's panel of Day by Day uses blackface on Hillary Clinton to make a political point about her pandering to the African-American community by changing the cant and accent of her speech to sound more "black". Rick Moran of Right Wing Nut House criticized Chris Muir …
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CBS News:
Tenet: "Slam Dunk" Comment Misused — Ex-CIA Director Explains Phrase He Says Bush Administration Has Dishonorably Clung To — (CBS) Ex-CIA Director George Tenet says the way the Bush administration has used his now famous "slam dunk" comment — which he admits saying in reference to making …
Discussion:
Political Animal
Victor Davis Hanson / Real Clear Politics:
Is the War on Terror Over? — Do we still need to fight a war on terror? — The answer seems to be no for an increasing number in the West who are weary over Afghanistan and Iraq or complacent from the absence of a major attack on the scale of 9/11. — The British Foreign Office …
MSNBC:
Senate OKs Iraq bill with timetable for pullout — President Bush has vowed to veto $124 billion war funding legislation — April 26: NBC's Chip Reid reports on the Iraq war spending bill, which includes a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. — Today show — INTERACTIVE
Discussion:
NION, The Moderate Voice, About U.S. Politics, On Deadline, The Democratic Daily and The Carpetbagger Report
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Paul Begala / The Huffington Post:
David Broder Is a Gasbag — One of the few regrets I have in life is that I allowed Ann Devroy of the Washington Post to talk me into apologizing for calling David Broder "a gasbag" in 1995. My admiration for Devroy trumped my contempt for Broder. Ann, sadly, is gone, but Broder remains.
Jihad Unspun:
Islamic State Of Iraq: The Cross Worshippers And Their Henchmen Plans Have Collapsed — The Islamic State of Iraq has issued a statement that speaks to the utter collapse of America's so-called "new security plan" and the upheaval that is taking place in the US Congress over how to extract itself from the Iraqi quagmire.
Real Cities:
Bush administration targeted another top federal prosecutor — WASHINGTON - The Bush administration considered firing the former U.S. attorney in Minnesota, but he left his job voluntarily before the list of attorneys to be ousted was completed, two congressional aides said Thursday.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Mike Penner / Los Angeles Times:
Old Mike, new Christine — During my 23 years with The Times' sports department, I have held a wide variety of roles and titles. Tennis writer. Angels beat reporter. Olympics writer. Essayist. Sports media critic. NFL columnist. Recent keeper of the Morning Briefing flame.
Tom Tomorrow / The Huffington Post:
What They Said — I was planning to mark the fourth anniversary of the start of the war by looking back at some of the more remarkable statements pundits made at the time. But I'm a weekly cartoonist, and this month I just had too many other ideas clamoring for my limited space …
Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:
Baghdad's Fissures and Mistrust Keep Political Goals Out of Reach — U.S. military commanders say a key goal of the ongoing security offensive is to buy time for Iraq's leaders to reach political benchmarks that can unite its fractured coalition government and persuade insurgents to stop fighting.