memeorandum: Obama to do gospel tour with radical right singer who crusades … (John Aravosis/AMERICAblog)

1:05 AM ET, October 21, 2007

Top Items:

A tale of two polls — It could be an episode of Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story." Mitt Romney was announced from the podium Saturday afternoon as the winner of the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Straw Poll," narrowly edging Mike Huckabee. — But it turns out that the 5 …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Oliver Willis and TIME: Swampland

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Perkins: Giuliani supports marriage amendment — Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, told The Hill Saturday that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) would support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. — Perkins said Giuliani told him in a private meeting …

Discussion: The Politico, Unqualified Offerings, Pam's House Blend, alicublog and AMERICAblog

Mark Silva / The Swamp:

Religious right straw-victors: Romney, Huckabee — by Mark Silva, updated with full results — Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and a late-comer to the anti-abortion cause, claimed a narrow victory today in a straw poll of Christian conservative voters assembled in Washington and collecting votes from members online.

Discussion: CNN, Macsmind, DownWithTyranny!, Washington Post, The Caucus, Connecting.the.Dots and The Carpetbagger Report

Jamiecnn / CNN Political Ticker:

Huckabee likens abortion to a holocaust — (CNN)-Speaking before a gathering of Christian conservative voters, GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said legalized abortion in the United States was a holocaust. — "Sometimes we talk about why we're importing so many people in our workforce," the former Arkansas governor said.

Discussion: MyDD, The Right's Field, Macsmind, Cliff Schecter and Paul Krugman

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Romney wins Values Voters Straw Poll — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney increased his already growing credibility with evangelical Christians on Saturday afternoon with a surprise win in the Family Research Council's "2008 American Values Straw Poll."

Discussion: Reason Magazine and TIME: Swampland

Michael Luo / New York Times:

Religious Right Divides Its Vote — After an earnest appeal for acceptance from Rudolph W. Giuliani, Christian conservatives ended their two-day summit here on Saturday still divided about which of the Republican presidential candidates to marshal their collective might behind.

The Corner:
And the Winner Is Huckabee — By a Lot [Byron York]

Discussion: Redstate, Daily Kos, MSNBC and Hot Air

Jamiecnn / CNN Political Ticker:
Romney wins in conservative voters poll

Discussion: Riehl World View

Mike Allen / The Politico:
Giuliani asks Values Voters to trust him

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Stop The ACLU, Truthdig and The Swamp

Erick Erickson / The Truth Laid Bear:
Update: Saturday Morning

Discussion: Power Line, Redstate, Captain's Quarters and National Review

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:
Poll finds Thompson appeals to churchgoers

Discussion: Right Wing News and Say Anything

Steve Benen / Talking Points Memo:
Thompson's fall from grace

Discussion: The Reaction, New York Times, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Michael Luo / New York Times:
For 3 Candidates, a Test on Religion

Discussion: Reuters, BitsBlog, CNN Political Ticker, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, The Carpetbagger Report and The Swamp

David M. Kennedy / New York Times:

Malefactors of Megawealth — Paul Krugman is a justly renowned professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University. His abundant accolades include the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded biannually to an outstanding economist under the age of 40 — a distinction said to be predictive of …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and PrestoPundit

Mark Thoma / Economist's View:

New York Times Review of "The Conscience of a Liberal" — Here is a review of Paul Krugman's new book, The Conscience of a Liberal from David Kennedy. The review appears in the New York Times. When you start, as David Kennedy does, with the premise that "maybe Krugman is not really an economist" …

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Ezra Klein, Grasping Reality … and Angry Bear

Robert Borosage / Firedoglake: FDL Book Salon Welcomes Paul Krugman

John Aravosis / AMERICAblog:

Obama to do gospel tour with radical right singer who crusades against "the curse of homosexuality" — From the NYT: … Yes, sucking up to anti-gay bigots and joining them on stage - no, giving them a stage - is certainly defying conventional wisdom as to how a Democrat becomes president.

Discussion: Pacific Views, Open Left, Agitprop, Weasel Zippers and The Caucus

Earl Ofari Hutchinson / The Huffington Post:

Obama Should Repudiate and Cancel His Gay Bash Tour, and Do it Now — Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama ripped a page straight from the Bush campaign playbook with his announced upcoming three date barnstorm tour through South Carolina with notorious gay basher, gospel singer Donnie McClurkin.

Del Simmons / FreeSpeech.com:

Obscure, violent left-wing blogger threatens murder for hire! — Sadly, Mr. Chuck Adkins of Lincoln Park, Michigan has now taken his rude behavior a step too far. Tonight I posted a respectful comment (no profanity or anything) to his blog asking him to explain to me how Limbaugh had "mocked" the Frost kid.

Discussion: BitsBlog, Chuck Adkins and Cold Fury

Lisa W. Foderaro / New York Times:

Old Enough Now to Ask How Dad Died at War — LANCASTER, N.Y. — CamerynLee was only 3 years old when her father, Lance Cpl. Eric J. Orlowski, a Marine Corps reservist, was killed in an accidental shooting during the first days of the Iraq war. Now 8, she is suddenly hungry for information …

Discussion: Cliff Schecter

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:

State Department Struggles To Oversee Private Army — The State Department Turned to Contractors Such as Blackwater Amid a Fight With the Pentagon Over Personal Security in Iraq — Last Christmas Day in Baghdad, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad received a furious phone call from Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.

Discussion: Think Progress

Hillel Italie / Associated Press:

J.K. Rowling Outs Hogwarts Character — NEW YORK (AP) - Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night …

Discussion: Pam's House Blend, Buck Naked Politics, Brilliant at Breakfast, The World Wide Rant and IMAO

New York Times:

In Pakistan Quandary, U.S. Reviews Stance — The scenes of carnage in Pakistan this week conjured what one senior administration official on Friday called "the nightmare scenario" for President Bush's last 15 months in office: Political meltdown in the one country where Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and nuclear weapons are all in play.

Discussion: All Spin Zone and DownWithTyranny!