Top Items:
Devlin Barrett / Associated Press:
Clinton: No illegal immigrant licenses — WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday came out against granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, after weeks of pressure in the presidential race to take a position on a now-failed ID plan from her home state governor.
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Patrick Healy / New York Times:
In Las Vegas, Chance for Clinton to Undo Damage — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton heads into tonight's Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas with an opportunity: to try to erase the unflattering image that her chief rivals, and her own mistakes, have helped create.
Peter A. Brown / The Politico:
Immigration is new affirmative action — Immigration is becoming for the 2008 election what affirmative action/racial preferences was 15 years ago — the kind of emotional wedge issue that offers Republicans a way to split rank-and-file Democrats from their leaders.
The Washington Post / The Trail:
Spitzer Drops License Plan, But Damage to Democrats is Done — The Democratic front-runners at last months debate were pressed on the issue of driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. (AP). — After all the hoopla, N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer is dropping his plan to provide drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.
Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org:
Report: Clinton Aides Told Spitzer to Dump Licenses for Illegals
Report: Clinton Aides Told Spitzer to Dump Licenses for Illegals
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
House passes Iraq withdrawal bill — The House tonight passed a $50 billion Iraq funding bill that sets a "goal" of having all U.S. forces out of the country by Dec. 2008, the latest move in the ongoing political struggle over the war. — The "Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act" …
Discussion:
The Strata-Sphere
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Michelle Malkin:
White Flag Dems pass Iraq withdrawal bill — Time to bring it out again... Just about an hour ago, the Dems passed their Iraq withdrawal bill, tying $50 billion in war funding to a demand that President Bush start bringing troops home in coming weeks (never mind that it's already starting) …
David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
House Approves Funds for Military, With Strings
House Approves Funds for Military, With Strings
Discussion:
Salon
Spectator:
The al Durah blood libel — I am in Paris where I have attended the Court of Appeal special session called to witness the 27 minutes of hitherto unseen footage of the 'killing' of Mohammed al Durah which the court had required France 2 to produce. For readers who are unfamiliar with this scandal, I wrote about it here, here and here.
Discussion:
TigerHawk, Augean Stables, The Van Der Galiën Gazette, Israel Matzav, Backspin, Solomonia and Atlas Shrugs
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Backspin:
Dura Discredited — HonestReporting together with Take-A-Pen covered this afternoon's hearing in France where raw footage of the Mohammed Dura was publicly screened for the first time. HonestReporting/Take-A-Pen's Alain Benjamin, who saw the video in court, discussed by phone the proceedings with MediaBackspin editor Pesach Benson.
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Martina Stewart / CNN Political Ticker:
Rep. Dennis Hastert to announce resignation Thursday — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is expected to announce Thursday on the House floor that he is retiring from Congress, a senior aide to the congressman told CNN Wednesday. — The aide said that Hastert …
New York Times:
U.S. Is Looking Past Musharraf in Case He Falls — Almost two weeks into Pakistan's political crisis, Bush administration officials are losing faith that the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, can survive in office and have begun discussing what might come next, according to senior administration officials.
Gretchen Morgenson / New York Times:
Foreclosures Hit a Snag for Lenders — A federal judge in Ohio has ruled against a longstanding foreclosure practice, potentially creating an obstacle for lenders trying to reclaim properties from troubled borrowers and raising questions about the legal standing of investors in mortgage securities pools.
Sidney Blumenthal / Salon:
Goodbye, Mr. Bush — The Republican will to power remains ferocious. It will take a dauntless Democratic leader to win back the White House and restore dignity to the Constitution. — Editor's note: Sidney Blumenthal is joining the Hillary Clinton campaign as a senior advisor, and this is his last column for Salon.
Patrick Ruffini:
I Need 1,165 People Before Midnight — UPDATE: Just realized there are 12 questions on the front page of 10 Questions, so the cutoff for getting asked is 1,165 net positive votes before midnight. I'm at +826 right now. The heat is on. Vote below. — The 10Questions question period is rapidly drawing to a close.
Lily Quateman / The Politico:
Most at NYU say their vote has a price — Two-thirds say they'll do it for a year's tuition. And for a few, even an iPod touch will do. — That's what NYU students said they'd take in exchange for their right to vote in the next presidential election, a recent survey by an NYU journalism class found.