Top Items:
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
White House Conference Call On Executive Privilege (Update: Executive Privilege Analysis) — The White House hosted a blogger conference call to discuss the issues surrounding the Bush administration's use of executive privilege in the probe of the firings of eight federal prosecutors.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Balloon Juice, The Impolitic, QandO, bustardblog, The Newshoggers and GregsOpinion.com
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David Stout / New York Times:
White House Backs Gonzales on Testimony — The White House offered a vigorous defense of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today, insisting that he had not given misleading testimony to Congress, but that national security factors prevented further clarification for now.
The Raw Story:
White House calls bloggers to push privilege — At the urging of top conservative bloggers, the White House set up a Friday morning conference call to promote its message on the subject of executive privilege, RAW STORY has found. "The White House hosted a blogger conference call to discuss …
Carrie Budoff / The Politico:
'No more confirmations of Bush high court nominees' — New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush "except in extraordinary circumstances."
Discussion:
Power Line, Comments From Left Field, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Redstate, Wizbang, Townhall.com and Gateway Pundit
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Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Another Thompson resignation — Another aide to Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting resigned last night, two sources close to the campaign confirm. Tom Frechette had been effectively serving as campaign manager Tom Collamore's deputy. Collamore was removed from his post Tuesday and given a "senior adviser" role.
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Kombiz Lavasany / Democratic National Committee:
Rough Seas Ahead For Thompson — The Fred Thompson campaign has seen some tough times lately, confronted with his record as a lobbyist and the subsequent cover-up. That was followed by staff problems at the very top of the campaign. — But rather than kick a man when he's down, we decided to throw him a life vest.
Digby / Hullabaloo:
Frederick of Hollywood and the Tiny Silicone Penis — I have been reading a fascinating book called "The Wimp Factor " by Stephen J Doucat that thoroughly examines the strange phenomenon of anxious Republican masculinity and the way it's informing our politics.
Discussion:
Cliff Schecter
Ana Marie Cox / Time:
Will the G.O.P. Say No to YouTube? — The sequel to the self-styled "ground-breaking" YouTube debate on CNN may be history before it even begins. — The Rudy Giuliani campaign has cited scheduling conflicts in saying it will skip the Republican version of this week's Democratic debate …
Discussion:
New York Times, Townhall.com, Patrick Ruffini, Washington Post, The Corner, Daily Kos and TIME: Swampland
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CNN Political Ticker:
Clinton seeks 'cleavage' cash — WASHINGTON (CNN) - Few political fundraising e-mails have ever carried the subject header "cleavage," but White House hopeful Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign sent a solicitation to supporters Friday with the attention-grabbing header in order to decry …
Discussion:
New York Times, WIMN's Voices, Wonkette, New York Times, The Carpetbagger Report, All Spin Zone, Washington Times and MSNBC
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Washington Post:
Let the Cleavage Conversation Begin — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign has sent out a fundraising letter calling a Washington Post fashion writer's column on Clinton's cleavage "grossly inappropriate" and asking donors "to take a stand against this kind of coarseness and pettiness in American culture."
Discussion:
The Democratic Daily, Taylor Marsh, Don Surber, Jules Crittenden, NewsBusters.org, Hot Air and Balloon Juice
Andres Oppenheimer / MiamiHerald.com:
Obama goofed by not including caveat — One in an occasional series on presidential candidates' views about Latin America. — I was not terribly surprised when Sen. Barack Obama said in the Democratic presidential debate Monday that he would sit down with Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez if elected president.
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Rusty / The Jawa Report:
Kos: Tillman Murdered for Chomsky Admiration, Antiwar Views — It's about time someone finally connected Noam Chomsky to Pat Tillman's death. Another Kos diarist goes off the deep end. This time with help from the AP which leads yet another story about the tragic death of Pat Tillman with this:
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Edwards: "They want to shut me up" — MyDD flags an intense minute and a half from John Edwards in Creston, Iowa, yesterday in which he heatedly tells an audience that the attention to trivia (I assume the reference here is to his haircuts) is "not an accident" and that "they want to shut me up" …
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Faiz / Think Progress:
Chickenhawk Congressman Smears Military Expert — Center for American Progress military expert Lawrence Korb testified before the House Armed Services Committee this morning, challenging escalation proponents to have the courage of their convictions and call for a draft if they would like the surge to continue indefinitely.
Discussion:
Buckeye State Blog
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David S. Cloud / New York Times:
U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia — The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to total $20 billion over the next decade at a time when some United States officials contend that the Saudis …
Phillip Carter / INTEL DUMP:
Review: "No End In Sight" — On Tuesday, I attended a screening of the new Iraq documentary "No End in Sight" in Los Angeles which was co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress and USC's Center for Public Diplomacy. (The movie is reviewed today in the New York Times.)
Discussion:
TalkLeft
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A. O. Scott / New York Times:
In the Beginning: Focusing on the Iraq War Enablers
In the Beginning: Focusing on the Iraq War Enablers
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
UPI:
Your Thoughts — Let him claim executive privilege and ignore the subpoena. — More good press for Sicko and more bad press for the Bush administration which has far more legal issues to worry about than Michael Moore. — SO I GUESS MICHAEL IS ABOVE THE LAW.
Discussion:
Cliff Schecter
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