Top Items:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Clinton tops 2008 rivals, gets $530M in earmarks — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has won tens of millions of dollars more in federal earmarks this year than her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, even though two of them have significantly more Senate seniority.
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Taegan Goddard's …, Los Angeles Times, Outside The Beltway and QandO
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Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:
Clinton Gets an Instant Chance to Wield a New Weapon — It used to be that when a campaign had an argument with a news report, it put out a mass e-mail message disputing the offending item. That was a huge technological leap from the fax machine. — Now even e-mail may be growing quaint.
NPR:
Editor's Note: The Tale of the Tip — · It started as an aside in a longer interview, but it became an Internet sensation within hours. — Anita Esterday, a waitress at the Maid-Rite in Toledo, Iowa, told NPR's David Greene in a report that aired on Morning Edition Thursday that …
Discussion:
The Swamp, The Reaction, protein wisdom, RealClearPolitics, Blue Crab Boulevard and Hotline On Call
Washington Post:
On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers — Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) took on his two principal rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, arguing that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) cannot appeal to independents and Republicans as effectively as he can and asserting …
New York Times:
Kerik's Corruption Case Dogs Giuliani — The scene outside the old Victorian-style courthouse in Dubuque on Thursday morning showed that the indictment of Bernard B. Kerik is at the very least a big distraction for Rudolph W. Giuliani's presidential campaign.
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NY Daily News:
Rudy Giuliani won't say if he'd pardon Kerik as President — BY MARY RAE BRAGG in Dubuque, Iowa, and DAVID SALTONSTALL in New York — Rudy Giuliani refused to say if he'd consider pardoning his old friend Bernie Kerik - who was indicted Thursday on federal corruption charges - if elected President.
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
What happened to the Senate's "60-vote requirement"? — Every time Congressional Democrats failed this year to stop the Bush administration (i.e., every time they "tried"), the excuse they gave was that they "need 60 votes in the Senate" in order to get anything done.
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Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Mukasey Wins Vote in Senate, Despite Doubts — The Senate confirmed Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general Thursday night, approving him despite Democratic criticism that he had failed to take an unequivocal stance against the torture of terrorism detainees.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Swamp, Yahoo! News, The Texas Blue, Outside The Beltway, The Heretik, Law Blog, PoliBlog (TM), Liberty Pundit, Donklephant, The Glittering Eye, At-Largely, Unqualified Offerings, Corrente, DownWithTyranny!, michellemalkin.com, Buck Naked Politics, ScrappleFace, Wake up America and The Agonist
Washington Post:
Bhutto Detained at Home — Police Also Detained Over 5,000 Opposition Party Members Throughout Pakistan — Security officials barricaded former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto inside her home behind barbed wire, concrete blocks and armored cars on Friday morning, and turned out in force …
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Karl Rove / Opinion Journal:
A Failure to Lead — The Democratic Congress is more interested in acting out than in taking positive action. — This week is the one-year anniversary of Democrats winning Congress. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid probably aren't in a celebrating mood.
Discussion:
At-Largely, The American Street, Sister Toldjah, Blue Crab Boulevard and Don't Go Into The Light
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Peggy Noonan / Opinion Journal:
Things Are Tough All Over — But Mrs. Clinton is no Iron Lady. — The story as I was told it is that in the early years of her prime ministership, Margaret Thatcher held a meeting with her aides and staff, all of whom were dominated by her, even awed. When it was over she invited …
Discussion:
Bookworm Room, No More Mister Nice Blog, Betsy's Page, Don Surber and Blue Crab Boulevard
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Atrios / Eschaton:
Stop the Madness — I had wondered if there was a bit of an overreaction by me and others to Obama's Social Security language which was why I tried to explain our hypersensitivity to the issue. Turns out there was no overreaction. Obama is peddling — the "social security crisis" narrative.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns and Money
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Jonathan Singer / MyDD:
Extremely Disappointing Language from Obama on Social Security
Extremely Disappointing Language from Obama on Social Security
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report
David Brooks / New York Times:
History and Calumny — Today, I'm going to write about a slur. It's a distortion that's been around for a while, but has spread like a weed over the past few months. It was concocted for partisan reasons: to flatter the prejudices of one side, to demonize the other and to simplify …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, TalkLeft, The Atlantic Online, The Mahablog, Bark Bark Woof Woof, QandO and INSTAPUTZ
The Prowler / American Spectator:
Huckabee's Salvation — Dr. James Dobson, who has largely been made irrelevant to the 2008 Republican presidential race, has apparently found his man, and according to an adviser, is ready to change the landscape of the Republican nomination race. — "He is the leader of the evangelical …
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Josh White / Washington Post:
Waterboarding Is Torture, Says Ex-Navy Instructor — A former Navy survival instructor subjected to waterboarding as part of his military training told Congress yesterday that the controversial tactic should plainly be considered torture and that such a method was never intended for use …
John Distaso / New Hampshire Union Leader:
Gardner willing to wait out Michigan on primary — CONCORD - Secretary of State William Gardner was unconcerned yesterday about an unexpected delay in Michigan and said he will wait out lawmakers and political party officials in that state before setting the date of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
Fisnik Abrashi / Associated Press:
59 schoolchildren killed in Afghan blast — KABUL, Afghanistan - Dozens of schoolchildren and five teachers were among those killed in a suicide attack in northern Afghanistan earlier this week — the country's deadliest since the fall of the Taliban — the government said Friday.