Top Items:
Jennifer Hunter / Chicago Sun Times:
Michelle gets stronger all the time — 'I don't want my girls to live in a country based on fear' — Barack Obama often says that his wife, Michelle, is smarter than he is, stronger than he is, and gives better speeches than he does. — On a trip to Iowa last week, Michelle was a firebrand …
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Greg Sargent / Election Central:
Obama Spokesman Denies Michelle's Speech Was Attack On Hillary — A mini-skirmish erupted this morning in the Democratic Primary after the Chicago Sun Times quoted Michelle Obama saying the following at a recent campaign stop: … The Sun Times claimed that this "could be interpreted" as an attack on the Clintons.
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup Poll:
Congress Approval Rating Matches Historical Low — Just 18% approve of job Congress is doing — PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974.
Discussion:
Hot Air, QandO, Balloon Juice, Salon, The Swamp, Booman Tribune, The Influence Peddler, TIME, JammieWearingFool, About.com U.S. Politics, D-Day, Althouse and Wake up America
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Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
The Party Of Tolerance — How desperate are Louisiana Democrats to hold onto power? They're about to air a television ad attacking the leading Republican candidate for governor for his religious views. The TV spots will accuse Bobby Jindal of being anti-Protestant (via Bryan at Hot Air):
Discussion:
Hot Air
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Rick Moran / Right Wing Nut House:
9/11 TRUTHERS GUT PUNCHED BY HISTORY CHANNEL — In what will surely be seen as a defining moment for the 9/11 truther movement, the History Channel has delivered a blow for sanity and rationalism by airing a superior documentary entitled 9/11 Conspiracies: Fact or Fiction.
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Fred Barnes / Opinion Journal:
Can the GOP Make a Comeback? — The recipe for Republicans is to stop acting like, well, Republicans—that is, Republicans of recent vintage. — It's not particularly visible at the moment, but there is a road to political recovery for Republicans. Chances are they won't get far enough …
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Report: CIA Director Unprepared for al-Qaeda Threat — Former CIA Director George Tenet failed to lead a strategic effort against al-Qaeda before the Sept. 11 attacks, the agency's inspector general concluded in a long-classified report released today. — The report, which Congress ordered …
Discussion:
Danger Room
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Joan Walsh / Salon:
Are Democrats really so lame? — Republicans are on the ropes, but yet another mainstream media star says it's Democrats who are in trouble, thanks to Bush-hating bloggers and billionaires. Here we go again. — The Republican Party is the least respected institution in the U.S today …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, TalkLeft, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Eschaton and Take Our Country Back
Daniel Trotta / Reuters:
Bloomberg says won't run for president — NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he cannot win the U.S. presidency and won't run, the strongest statement to date about his intentions for the 2008 presidential race. — Bloomberg previously had said he had no plans to run …
Discussion:
Ed Driscoll.com
Michael J. Totten:
How to Spy in Iraq — BAGHDAD - American soldiers arrived in Iraq in 2003 with not much of a plan and little idea what to expect. The Iraqi government, military, and police were overthrown and disbanded under de-Baathification. Most Iraqis who knew how to run the country were either sent home or imprisoned.
The Daily Green:
Hurricane Dean: 1 Of 10 Most Intense Atlantic Hurricanes Ever Measured — Early this morning Hurricane Dean, after mercilessly intensifying over deep warm waters in the western Caribbean, slammed the Yucatan Peninsula around Chetumal as a Category 5 hurricane with winds upwards of 165 miles per hour …
Frank Ahrens / Washington Post:
For Wall Street's Math Brains, Miscalculations — Complex Formulas Used by 'Quant' Funds Didn't Add Up in Market Downturn — They are the powerful, cerebral and offstage actors of Wall Street, but the recent turmoil in the financial markets has yanked them into the light.
Nan Aron / Washington Post:
An Unjust Judge — To understand the furor over President Bush's nomination of Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, one should start with the Goode family of Mississippi. — A propane heater exploded in their house, killing their granddaughter. The Goodes sued the manufacturer.
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The Caped Crusader From Vermont — "Sen. Patrick Leahy has a part in the next Batman movie." — Associated Press, Aug. 19. — "Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) holds a media availability on the deadline for subpoenas for documents relating to the ... Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program."
Discussion:
Daily Kos