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POLL SHOWS OPPOSITION TO IRAQ WAR AT ALL TIME HIGH — Americans now view the war in Iraq more negatively than at any time since the war began, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. — Six in 10 Americans say the United States should have stayed out of Iraq and more than three …
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, WorkingForChange, DownWithTyranny!, Sirotablog, Prairie Weather, Taylor Marsh and Pollster.com
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Dem Leadership: If We'd Confronted Bush On Iraq, White House Would Have Criticized Us — With the House set to vote on the no-timelines Iraq War funding bill later today, The New York Times provides a glimpse into the thinking among top Dems that led to the current proposal: … Oooooooooooooo, scary!

CBS Poll: 76% Say War's Going Badly — Record Number In CBS/NYT Survey Say Getting Involved In Iraq Was A Mistake — (CBS) As President Bush and Congress hammer out an Iraq war funding bill, a CBS News/New York Times poll shows the number of Americans who say the war is going badly has reached a new high …

The Capitulation Bill: "Obviously it's a good move" — The crazy thing about the fight is that Democratic insiders are convinced that capitulation is the right strategy. They actually believe that this will put pressure on the Republicans in the fall, and that standing up to Bush is a bad idea.


News Analysis: On War Funds, Democrats Saw No Option but to Cede Ground to Bush — Congressional contortions over the Iraq spending bill could end up with most House Democrats momentarily occupying the position they were so desperate to vacate: the minority.
Discussion:
MyDD, JustOneMinute, The Politico, Shakesville, Jules Crittenden, MSNBC and Republic of Sestakastan

Democrats Set Stage for Next War Debate — Before deciding to blink in the long standoff over war spending and troop withdrawal, House Democrats convinced themselves President Bush is scoring only a short-term victory. — The House is expected to send to the Senate late Thursday …

GOP slams Pelosi in new ad campaign
Discussion:
Capitol Briefing, Whiskey Fire, Bob McCarty Writes, Michael P.F. van der Galiën and Wizbang

Bush In Line of Fire — ABC's Ann Compton reports: An outdoor news conference in perfect spring weather, with birds chirping loudly in the magnolia trees, is not without its hazards. — As President Bush took a question Thursday in the White House Rose Garden about scandals involving his Attorney General …
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Sen. Whitehouse: Gonzales May Be Guilty Of Obstruction Of Justice
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, Capitol Briefing, The Blue State, Salon and Faithful Progressive


Press Conference by the President — THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Thank you, all. Good morning. — Today, Congress will vote on legislation that provides our troops with the funds they need. It makes clear that our Iraqi partners must demonstrate progress on security and reconciliation.
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, The Carpetbagger Report, Eschaton, First Draft, CFR.org, Wizbang and Truthdig
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Improvement in Iraq: Trust Joe Klein and his secret sources
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Instapundit.com, TIME: Swampland, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, TalkLeft and Michael P.F. van der Galiën

QUESTIONS FOR OUR LIBERAL FRIENDS — Bruce is a big boy, and certainly doesn't need me to help him out, but let's talk about Iraq for a moment. Because I have questions for people like Oliver Willis to which I'm curious to hear the answers. And I'm not asking in a snarky way. I'm honestly interested.
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Cheney Attempting to Constrain Bush's Choices on Iran Conflict: Staff Engaged in Insubordination Against President Bush — There is a race currently underway between different flanks of the administration to determine the future course of US-Iran policy. — On one flank are the diplomats …


Torture, Al-Qaeda Style — Drawings, tools seized from Iraq safe house in U.S. military raid — In a recent raid on an al-Qaeda safe house in Iraq, U.S. military officials recovered an assortment of crude drawings depicting torture methods like "blowtorch to the skin" and "eye removal."
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, No More Mister Nice Blog, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Iowa Voice and Hot Air

A Bill That Earned Its Doubters — Compromise is incessantly praised, and it has produced the proposed immigration legislation. But compromise is the mother of complexity, which, regarding immigration, virtually guarantees — as the public understands — weak enforcement and noncompliance.
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Raid on spy's home 'reveals details of Chirac's secret £30m bank account' — LONG-STANDING rumours that the former French president Jacques Chirac holds a secret multi-million-euro bank account in Japan appear to have been confirmed by files seized from the home of a senior spy.

Despite Campaign, Familiarity With Candidates Has Not Changed Substantially — Giuliani remains most positively evaluated; Clinton and Romney least so — PRINCETON, NJ — Despite the remarkably early start on this year's presidential campaign and the high-visibility presence of the major candidates …
Discussion:
Outside The Beltway
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Morgue Data Show Increase In Sectarian Killings in Iraq — More than three months into a U.S.-Iraqi security offensive designed to curtail sectarian violence in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, Health Ministry statistics show that such killings are rising again.

The Bitter End — Democrats are right to push for an end to the Iraq war. But don't expect the troops to be grateful. In 2003, an optimist could hope that the United States would establish a liberal democracy in Iraq. Four years into the war in Iraq, an optimist can hope that a "surge" …