Top Items:
David Stout / New York Times:
Gonzales Denies Any Attempt to Pressure Ashcroft — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales denied today that he tried as White House counsel in March 2004 to influence then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was hospitalized and semi-alert after undergoing gall bladder surgery.
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Think Progress:
Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs — In his testimony today before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was asked by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) to address inaccuracies in his 2006 testimony in relation …
Andrew Cohen / Bench Conference:
Gonzo on the Hill: A Comedic Tragedy — Forget about the politicization of the Justice Department. Forget about the falling morale there. Forget about the rise in violent crime in some of our biggest cities. Forget about the events leading up to the U.S. Attorney scandal and the way he has handled the prosecutor purge since.
Washington Post:
Gonzales Denies Pressuring Ashcroft — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today defended a dramatic nighttime visit to the hospital bed of his predecessor, John D. Ashcroft, in March 2004, saying that he had no intention of taking advantage of Ashcroft while he was recovering from surgery.
Ed Tibbetts / Quad City Times:
Clinton takes Obama to task over statements — TODAY: (Updated 12:25 p.m.) Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton today called rival Barack Obama's statement that he would meet with the leaders of several countries antagonistic to the United States "irresponsible" and "naive."
Discussion:
Eschaton, The Atlantic Online, Comments From Left Field, The Carpetbagger Report, Liberal Values, Political Punch and MSNBC
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Rick Klein / ABCNEWS:
Clinton: Obama 'Irresponsible and Naive' — Democratic Front-Runners Tangle After Monday Night's Debate — Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., said today that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, made comments that were "irresponsible and frankly naive" …
Michael J. Totten:
In the Wake of the Surge — BAGHDAD - 82nd Airborne's Lieutenant William H. Lord from Foxborough, Massachusetts, prepared his company for a dismounted foot patrol in the Graya'at neighborhood of Northern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiyah.
David Brooks / New York Times:
[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: A Reality-Based Economy — The neopopulist story line about skyrocketing inequality and the tides of globalization is incredibly simple-minded.
Discussion:
Brendan Nyhan, Commentary, Grasping Reality …, bustardblog, Ezra Klein, The Atlantic Online, Dohiyi Mir and Norwegianity
RELATED:
Keith L. Alexander / Washington Post:
Outsourcing the Picket Line — Carpenters Union Hires Homeless to Stage Protests — The picketers marching in a circle in front of a downtown Washington office building chanting about low wages do not seem fully focused on their message. — Many have arrived with large suitcases …
Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Bush Insists Al Qaeda in Iraq Threatens U.S. — President George W. Bush argued forcefully today that an Al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq is linked tightly to the central Al Qaeda leadership, and that for American forces to leave Iraq without defeating the terror group would be "dangerous for the world and disastrous for America."
New York Times:
Spitzer Aides Cited for Use of Police to Tarnish Bruno — Gov. Eliot Spitzer's aides, including one of his closest advisers, improperly used the State Police to gather information about the governor's chief rival, Joseph L. Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, in an effort to plant …
Discussion:
New York Post, Attytood, The Agitator, A Chequer-Board of Nights …, Pajamas Media and Redstate
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Collamore out as Thompson manager — Tom Collamore, the former Altria lobbyist who had been running Fred Thompson's campaign, has resigned and will be replaced by Randy Enwright. Enwright is a Florida political hand with ties to former Gov. Jeb Bush. Also coming on board in a leadership capacity …
Discussion:
The Corner
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Further politicization of the U.S. military's public statements — In light of the decision last week by Gen. David Petraeus to choose Hugh Hewitt, of all people, to interview him, and in light of the post I wrote concerning Gen. Petraeus' three-year history of dubious and seemingly partisan claims …
Discussion:
Eschaton, BLACKFIVE, The Carpetbagger Report, TalkLeft, Shakespeare's Sister, UrbanGrounds, Outside The Beltway and The Reaction
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Diplomats Received Political Briefings — White House aides have conducted at least half a dozen political briefings for the Bush administration's top diplomats, including a PowerPoint presentation for ambassadors with senior adviser Karl Rove that named Democratic incumbents targeted …
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Depends On What The Definition Of Program Is — I was only half awake this morning when I read Christy Hardin Smith's liveblogging of the latest atrocious Gonzales testimony, so I couldn't be sure that he was actually still lying about the Ashcroft hospital visit.
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