Top Items:
Susan Saulny / New York Times:
Thompson Declares His Candidacy for President — After months of false starts, staff shake-ups, and questions about the seriousness of his intention to run for president, Fred Thompson rolled out his presidential candidacy this evening with a two-pronged, guerrilla-style entry into the race …
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Open thread: Fred announces on Leno; Update: Web announcement video now live; Update: Leno announcement video added — Late night for the big A. If you're staying up for it, feel free to sound off. If you just can't be bothered, Geraghty has a sneak peek at the transcript.
Discussion:
Stop The ACLU, Roger L. Simon, Riehl World View, Infidels Are Cool, Washington Times and IMAO
Fox News:
Thompson, Immigration Top Questions at Republican Primary Debate — WASHINGTON — The eight Republican presidential candidates took some light-hearted jabs at Fred Thompson on Wednesday night, saying they welcome him into the contest for the GOP nomination but wondered why he chose to join the race now.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Liberty Pundit, Associated Press, The Fix, Daily Kos and Lonewacko
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Fred Thompson finally announces run — At 7:57 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, while taping "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" for broadcast later in the evening, Fred Thompson finally said: "I'm running for president of the United States." — The studio audience gave him thunderous applause.
Larry Johnson / NO QUARTER:
Staging Nukes for Iran? — Why the hubbub over a B-52 taking off from a B-52 base in Minot, North Dakota and subsequently landing at a B-52 base in Barksdale, Louisiana? That's like getting excited if you see a postal worker in uniform walking out of a post office.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Newshoggers, At-Largely, Suburban Guerrilla, The Democratic Daily, Discourse.net, The Agonist, On Deadline and Rook's Rant
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Sidney Blumenthal / Salon:
Bush knew Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction — Salon exclusive: Two former CIA officers say the president squelched top-secret intelligence, and a briefing by George Tenet, months before invading Iraq. — (Clockwise from top left) Naji Sabri, George W. Bush, Colin Powell and George Tenet.
Squawkbox.tv / riverbendblog.blogspot.com:
Baghdad Burning — ... I'll meet you 'round the bend my friend, where hearts can heal and souls can mend... Leaving Home... Two months ago, the suitcases were packed. My lone, large suitcase sat in my bedroom for nearly six weeks, so full of clothes and personal items, that it took me …
Spencer S. Hsu / Washington Post:
GAO Criticizes Homeland Security's Efforts to Fulfill Its Mission — Hobbled by inadequate funding, unclear priorities, continuing reorganizations and the absence of an overarching strategy, the U.S. Homeland Security Department is failing to achieve its mission of preventing and responding …
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Pajamas Media:
LIVE FREE OR DEBATE — PJM's Vodkapundit Stephen Green liveblogged the debate with martini glass in hand. — Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers — 6:49pm First martini down. Going to run upstairs to pour a second one before things get started.
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Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Jones Report: Iraqi Security Forces Not Ready — Logistical Self-Sufficiency Is at Least Two Years Away — Iraq's Interior Ministry is "dysfunctional," filled with sectarianism and corruption, according to an independent assessment of the Iraqi security forces to be published tomorrow.
Discussion:
Eschaton, The Reaction, Daily Kos, Hot Air, Liberty Street, RADAMISTO, Prairie Weather and Truthdig
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Democrats Newly Willing to Compromise on Iraq — With a mixed picture emerging about progress in Iraq, Senate Democratic leaders are showing a new openness to compromise as they try to attract Republican support for forcing at least modest troop withdrawals in the coming months.
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Breaking: GOP Senate Leader McConnell Says Craig Won't Resign If Cleared — Crazier and crazier. Now GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell has gone and said at a press conference and said that Larry Craig won't be resigning if he's ultimately exonerated of the charges against him.
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New York Times:
Clinton Donor Fails to Appear in Court Again — The mystery of Norman Hsu, the wealthy Clinton donor who turned out to be a fugitive from justice, took a bizarre twist yesterday when Mr. Hsu, who skipped out after pleading no contest in a California fraud case 15 years ago, disappeared yet again.
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, Captain's Quarters, Clayton Cramer's BLOG, michellemalkin.com and Media Blog
Atrios / Eschaton:
Outsourcing All My Work To Big Media Matt — TEH BLOGGURZ ARE TEH STUPIDDDDDZZZZ!!!!!! — The idea that beltway journalists are uniquely experienced or informed about anything other than what it's like to be a beltway journalist is absurd, and of course says quite a bit about what beltway journalists actually know about the world.
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Peterhamby / CNN Political Ticker:
Richardson to bloggers: 'I make no apologies' — FLORENCE, South Carolina (CNN) — At a campaign stop Wednesday at Horne's Country Buffet, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson struck back at prominent liberal blogs that yesterday called Richardson a "buffoon" …
Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly:
THE MYTH OF AQI....Who's responsible for the violence in Iraq? According to George Bush, the most dramatic and destabilizing attacks come from al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group supposedly responsible for the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samara last year and for a spectacular truck bomb attack in Tal Afar five months ago.
Shaila Dewan / New York Times:
Despite DNA Test, Prosecutor Is Retrying Case — Kennedy Brewer was locked up for 15 years even though DNA tests in 2002 failed to show his DNA on a rape victim. Such cases are usually dropped. He greeted his mother after leaving jail. — The scene in the tiny Noxubee County jail …
Discussion:
TalkLeft