Top Items:
New York Times:
Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations — When the Justice Department publicly declared torture "abhorrent" in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Charnel House — It seems, from an article in tomorrow's Times …
Charnel House — It seems, from an article in tomorrow's Times …
Discussion:
Balkinization
Reid Wilson / RealClearPolitics:
Exclusive: Paul Tops $5 Mil For Quarter — Texas Congressman Ron Paul, an anti-war libertarian making his second run at the White House, will report having raised $5.08 million in the third quarter. The number, which rivals those of John McCain and Bill Richardson, was boosted thanks …
Discussion:
Reason Magazine, MSNBC, techPresident, Unqualified Offerings, Captain's Quarters, Donklephant, The Politico, Hot Air and Outside The Beltway
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The Atlantic Online:
Ron Paul Raises Five Times As Much As Huckabee — Oh me of little faith. Ron Paul cannot be dismissed as a gadfly; the chance for him to outperform expectations rises exponentially with additional million dollars he raises. 5.08m is real money. There must be, within the Republican Party, a vein of anti-war libertarian sentiment.
Discussion:
blog.ronpaul2008.com, Eunomia, Beliefnet, Open Left, All Spin Zone, The Van Der Galiën Gazette and race42008.com
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Huckabee's Money — UPDATE, 2:15 pm: Huckabee's numbers seem …
Huckabee's Money — UPDATE, 2:15 pm: Huckabee's numbers seem …
Discussion:
The Caucus
Eric Pianin / The Fix:
Sen. Pete Domenici Expected to Retire — Veteran Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) is expected to announce tomorrow that he will retire from the Senate in 2008, according to several informed sources, a decision that further complicates an already difficult playing field for Republicans next November.
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Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Early On, Thompson Fails to Spark Excitement in Iowa — Twenty-four minutes after he began speaking in a small restaurant the other day, Fred Thompson brought his remarks to a close with a nod of his head and an expression of thanks to Iowans for allowing him to "give my thoughts about some things."
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CNN Political Ticker:
Fred Thompson's wife shakes off 'trophy wife' criticism — WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeri Thompson, wife of GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson, shakes off the "trophy wife" label critics have tagged her with for being 24 years younger than her husband. — "It's hard not to be defensive," …
Discussion:
TBogg
Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
Is That A Fat Lady I Hear Singing? — Pills Limbaugh just keeps diggin' and diggin'. I've been delighted to see that it's been all over cable news today, and Wes Clark has been promoting the move to get Limbaugh off Armed Forces Radio Network. Since that letter from Harry Reid et. al. condemning Rush …
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Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: Crazed by Rush, Wes Clark calls for political discourse to be rated — He doesn't say who'll be doing the rating but he digs the idea of Congress yanking Rush Limbaugh off of Armed Forces Radio so presumably they'd be okay to head that up, too. The point he's ostensibly trying …
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
Another Fred gaffe — From NBC's Joel Seidman — More gaffes from Fred Thompson: Not only has he misspoken or said he didn't know about Terri Schiavo, or the controversy about oil drilling in the Everglades, or that he was unaware that a federal judge had ruled that lethal injection procedures …
Nicole Belle / Crooks and Liars:
The Daily Show: Chris Matthew's "Book about Sadness" — Chris Matthews has always puzzled me as a talking head. There's always been this strange disconnect between his embarrassingly slavish adulation of political figures (please, don't make me repeat the glimmering GWB, the manly-smelling Fred Thompson, etc.
Darin Murphy / The Huffington Post:
Weak Has a Face, and It's Pelosi's — If there was any doubt before, which there wasn't, it's gone now. Watching Nancy Pelosi on The View yesterday morning provided the final proof that the backbone of the House is only as strong as its speaker. Her body language said it all.
Satyam / Think Progress:
White House Retaliates Against UK For Withdrawal: 'British Forces Have Performed Poorly' In Iraq — This week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that he would reduce British presence in Iraq from 5,500 troops to 4,500 by Christmas. The Guardian reports today that Brown will cut …
Discussion:
The Independent, Guardian, The Reaction, The Newshoggers, The Debatable Land, Liberty Street, Dependable Renegade, Hullabaloo, The Gate and Oliver Willis
Rebecca Traister / Salon:
The 9/11 backlash against women — Terror swept women back into the kitchen, argues Susan Faludi, and tore open the worst scar in American history. But it's Bruce Springsteen who makes the fear so real. — It may be pop culture heresy to rope together Susan Faludi's new book …
Eric Kleefeld / Election Central:
McCain: "I Don't Know" If Mormons Are Christians — John McCain's remarks about America being founded in the Constitution as a Christian nation have opened him up to getting a lot more questions about his religion — and the religions of other candidates. — At a meeting with the Spartanburg …