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USA Today:
Poll: Electability key among Democrats — WASHINGTON — Democratic voters increasingly are focused on nominating the most electable presidential candidate, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama fares better than New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton against prospective Republican rivals.
Discussion:
Reuters, Nashuatelegraph.com, protein wisdom, Washington Times, The Moderate Voice, The Fix, MSNBC, New York Times, Political Machine, The Huffington Post, Pollster.com, Greatscat!, Los Angeles Times, QandO, Des Moines Register, NY Daily News, Quad City Times, Taylor Marsh, Blue Crab Boulevard, Washington Post, Associated Press, TPM Election Central, Obama HQ, The Ruckus and The Mahatma X Files
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Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
The Two Words That Strike Fear Into The GOP — They aren't Hillary Clinton, nor are they Ron Paul. The two words that will haunt the early primary states are "brokered convention", and we may be heading towards it. At Heading Right, I review the McClatchy analysis of what looks to be a Rudy Giuliani slide.
David Yepsen / Des Moines Register:
Don't rule out surges by Edwards, Thompson — There's a lot of buzz about the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for Democratic caucus votes in Iowa. And there's also a lot of talk about the fight between Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee on the Republican side.
John Amato / Crooks and Liars:
Chris Matthews dismisses Carol Hunter of the Des Moines Register because of Hillary Clinton endorsement — Chris Matthews' obsession with Hillary Clinton in recent weeks got even more bizarre after he attacked Carol Hunter for endorsing Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party because she's a woman.
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
GOP Senator Smith Defends Lott's Segregationist Comments — But He Condemned Them At The Time — This is kind of fun. The Huffington Post reported today that GOP Senator Gordon Smith defended Trent Lott's 2002 segregationist comments on the floor of the Senate during a send-off for the retiring Lott this morning:
Discussion:
Think Progress, Anne Schroeder's Blogs, MyDD, The Carpetbagger Report, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and BlueOregon
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David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:Gordon Smith's warm embrace of Trent Lott's warm embrace …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
John Hawkins / Right Wing News:
New Fred Thompson Video: Kill. Protect. Punch. — If Fred wants to win the election, all he has to do is put this in constant rotation in Iowa and his victory would be guaranteed...or he would actually drop into last place. One or the other.
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Reuters:
New York Times in Iraq: "Blackwater shot our dog" — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Iraq is investigating another deadly shooting incident involving its Blackwater bodyguards — this time of the New York Times's dog. — Staff at the newspaper's Baghdad bureau …
Discussion:
Think Progress, Sweetness & Light, Gawker, Wonkette, Redstate, JammieWearingFool, On Deadline and Brave New Films blog
Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
Romney Attended Planned Parenthood Fundraiser in 1994 — ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Mitt Romney attended a fund-raising reception for Planned Parenthood in 1994 in conjunction with a $150 donation his wife made to the organization — notwithstanding Romney's contention that he had …
Stephen Labaton / New York Times:
F.C.C. Eases Media Ownership Rule — WASHINGTON — By the narrowest of margins, the Federal Communications Commission adopted proposals by its chairman to tighten the reins on the cable television industry while loosening 32-year-old restrictions that have prevented a company from owning …
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John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Dems consider ousting Byrd as appropriations chair — A group of Senate Democrats has begun quietly exploring ways to replace the venerable Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, believing he's no longer physically up to the job …
Rsinderbrand / CNN Political Ticker:
Elder Bush nixes Clinton trip idea — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President George H.W. Bush has shot down his successor Bill Clinton's idea of a diplomatic mission under a Hillary Clinton presidency that would send him and other notables abroad to assure other nations that "America is open for business and cooperation again."
Discussion:
Washington Wire, The Campaign Spot, Wonkette, The Anchoress, Political Machine, Ian Schwartz and THE REACTION
Matthew Yglesias:
Stay Classy, Bob Kerrey — It's hard to express how odious I find Bob Kerrey. His behavior as a Senator was entirely discreditable, and it's hard to see that he's done anything good in his life in non-Senator roles. Keeping it up, he's now following up on his "Barack Hussein Obama" …
Tim Arango / New York Times:
Case Lays Bare the Media's Reliance on Iraqi Journalists — Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photographer who had a hand in The Associated Press's 2005 Pulitzer Prize for photography before being jailed without charges by the United States military, finally had a day in court last week.
Mike Soraghan / The Hill:
Hoyer says Congress may not be able to patch AMT — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) hinted Tuesday that Congress may not be able to stop a big tax increase from hitting 23 million Americans. — Hoyer, pressed on whether Congress would resolve disputes over the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), said, "Maybe."
Anne Applebaum / Washington Post:
A Stanton For the Saudis — "A court in country X sentenced a black man who had been severely beaten by white men to six months in jail and 200 lashes." — How would you react if you read that in a newspaper? Shock, horror, anger at the regime in country X, no doubt.
Mary Katharine Ham / TownHall Blog:
The Worst Debate in Western History, Remixed — After Fred Barnes called last week's moderator Nurse Ratched, I threw this together for fun, putting Carolyn Washburn's words in the good nurse's mouth. Creepy isn't she?
MBA Announcement / Media Bloggers Association:
Newsweek and MBA create a Ruckus on Newsweek.com — in - MBAMajorNews - MBANewsweek - MBAPressRelease — MEDIA BLOGGERS ASSOCIATION JOINS WITH NEWSWEEK TO LAUNCH 'THE RUCKUS,' A NEW GROUP POLITICS BLOG — THE RUCKUS FEATURES GUEST BLOGGERS FROM THE LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER-PLUS KEY PRIMARY STATES
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Captain's Quarters, Beltway Blogroll, The Ruckus and Outside The Beltway
Charles Paul Freund / American Spectator:
A Brutalist Bargain — How many dollars does it take to change a light bulb? Well, if the defunct bulb you're replacing has been illuminating the Third Church of Christ, Scientist in downtown Washington, you could be looking at a bill of up to $8,000. That's because unscrewing a blown bulb …
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