Top Items:
Drudge Report:
DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION — Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, insiders reveal. — The Democratic National Committee has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination.
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Michael Calderone / The Politico:
Wallace: Dems are 'fools' to boycott Fox — When Chris Wallace replaced Tony Snow as the host of "Fox News Sunday" in December 2003, the network appeared to take a more moderate approach to Sunday talk. — Unlike Snow, a former Republican speechwriter, Wallace's broadcasting résumé …
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Poll: Huckabee would lose to top Democrats — WASHINGTON (CNN) — While presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is surging in new polls of GOP candidates, a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday shows he would lose to all three leading Democratic candidates by double digits in hypothetical contests.
The Corner:
Edwards the Conqueror — Forgive me for thinking this new CNN poll is a little weird. It shows Democrats winning a lot of presidential matchups, which is not weird, but it shows the strongest Democrat against any Republican candidate is...John Edwards. Which is a little weird.
Discussion:
CNN Political Ticker
Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
Huckabee to Romney: Grow Up, This Isn't Third Grade — (And even if it was, no one would like you...) — Just to pick up on what I wrote about last night and earlier today, Huckabee held a longish press conference here this morning after canceling some local events due to weather.
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The Washington Post / The Trail:
Huckabee Picks Up Minuteman Founder Endorsement
Huckabee Picks Up Minuteman Founder Endorsement
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
The Politico:
Liberal views could haunt Obama — When Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was seeking state office a dozen years ago, he took unabashedly liberal positions: flatly opposed to capital punishment, in support of a federal single-payer health plan, against any restrictions on abortion …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Megan McArdle, The Caucus, Tom Watson, Matthew Yglesias, MyDD, HillaryClinton.com, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Obsidian Wings, QandO, Deadline USA, MSNBC, Say Anything and TIME
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
House Democrats Pull Budget Offer — The GOP Is Negotiating In Bad Faith, Obey Says — A Democratic deal to give President Bush some war funding in exchange for additional domestic spending appeared to collapse last night after House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.) …
Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
Bush: I Didn't Know About CIA Tape Destruction — ABC News' Martha Raddatz Reports: In an exclusive interview with ABC News President Bush said Tuesday he did not know about the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations. — The President said he was told just a few days ago.
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New York Times:
Destruction of C.I.A. Tapes Cleared by Lawyers
Destruction of C.I.A. Tapes Cleared by Lawyers
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, The Corner, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Captain's Quarters, The Newshoggers, Political Machine, Think Progress, The Swamp, Neptunus Lex, Buck Naked Politics, Don Surber, The Strata-Sphere, Macsmind, Center for American Progress, Hullabaloo, Shakespeare's Sister, The Anchoress, Prairie Weather, Talking Points Memo and Firedoglake
The Corner:
Road to Damascus — Jonah: I have pretty much decided for Ron Paul myself. I am sympathetic to many of the reservations you have posted, but every piece of serious policy analysis I read confirms to me that our country has gone too far down a wrong path—a path that leads to nothing I recognize as conservatism.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish
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Jason Clayworth / Des Moines Register:
U of I prof heckles Clinton — Iowa City, Ia. — A University of Iowa professor dressed as a robot interrupted Bill Clinton at a campaign stop here late Monday, screaming for an apology before security escorted him from the building. — The professor, Kembrew McLeod …
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
Abolish the CIA — DESTROYING THE INTERROGATION TAPES AMOUNTS TO MUTINY AND TREASON. — It seems flabbergastingly improbable that President George W. Bush learned of the National Intelligence Estimate concerning Iranian nuclear ambitions only a few days before the rest of us did …
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, The Newshoggers, QandO, Macsmind, The Corner, The Strata-Sphere and Eric Black Ink
Matthew Yglesias:
Walling Iraq — A couple of days ago, I was rereading Fred Kaplan's January piece "Mission Impossible: Bush's Smart New General Can't Save Iraq" and was struck by this passage: … This is about what I took from George Packer's article on the "Lesson of Tal Afar" as well …
Discussion:
The Debatable Land
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Barry Hertz / network.nationalpost.com:
Teen girl in critical condition after alleged dispute over hijab — A 16-year-old girl is in critical condition after being choked by a man believed to be her father, apparently after a dispute with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab, the Islamic headscarf worn by some Muslim women.
Peter Wallsten / Los Angeles Times:
Huckabee does a flip-flop on Cuba — The GOP candidate now supports a trade embargo against the island nation, a stance sure to satisfy hard-line Cuban exiles. — MIAMI — As governor of Arkansas five years ago, Mike Huckabee joined a bipartisan chorus of politicians who concluded …
Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
Ex-Pentagon Aide Says U.S. Abandoned Quick Iraq Transition — A former top Pentagon official blamed the Bush administration's top official in Iraq for abandoning a plan for a quick transition to Iraqi leadership in the summer of 2003 and instead keeping the U.S. government in control of the country for more than a year.