memeorandum: Obama's Surge Deflates Forum and Talk of a Bloomberg Run (New York Times)

1:15 PM ET, January 8, 2008

Top Items:

Women Are Never Front-Runners — THE woman in question became a lawyer after some years as a community organizer, married a corporate lawyer and is the mother of two little girls, ages 9 and 6. Herself the daughter of a white American mother and a black African father — in this race-conscious country …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Firedoglake, TalkLeft, Don Surber, Too Sense, The Daily Dish, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Corner, The Huffington Post, Fausta's blog, Althouse, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Gawker, Taylor Marsh, Brian Beutler, QandO and Whiskey Fire

Jose Antonio Vargas / The Trail:

Dartmouth Students Walk Out on Bill — HANOVER, N.H. — About thirty minutes into Bill Clinton's nearly two-hour stop here at Dartmouth College, a steady stream of students started walking out of the venue. — Moments later, Clinton — his voice hoarse, sometimes cracking …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Captain's Quarters, Heading Right, michellemalkin.com, Daily Kos, Jack and Jill Politics, MSNBC, Blue Crab Boulevard, Prairie Weather and Gateway Pundit

CNN:

Candidates chase undecided voters as N.H. goes to polls — DIXVILLE NOTCH, New Hampshire (CNN) — Candidates vying for their parties' presidential nominations zigzagged across New Hampshire on Tuesday, trying to sway undecided voters before they cast ballots in the first-in-the-nation primary.

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Even Conservative Media Chorus Sings Obama's Praises — Barack Obama, now the media's odds-on favorite to win the White House, is drawing effusive praise from the chattering classes. — “You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by this. . . . This is a huge moment,” one commentator wrote.

Discussion: The Caucus, Booman Tribune, The Democratic Daily, Macsmind, RealClearPolitics, Buck Naked Politics and Althouse

Thomas Sowell / Real Clear Politics:
Remember, We're Choosing a President

Discussion: A Blog For All, Dr. Sanity and GINA COBB

Jim Tankersley / The Swamp:
Surge of a different kind for Obama

Discussion: The Hill

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Steinem: Vote For Hillary Or You're Sexist

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times: Record N.H. Turnout Is Predicted

David Brooks / New York Times:
McCain and Obama — Salem, N.H. — Both Barack Obama …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, The Mahablog, Britain and America and Brian Beutler

Josh Gerstein / Latest Politics:
President Clinton Sees Post-Iowa ‘Tidal Wave,’ Faults Press for Obama ‘Fairy Tale’

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

Frank Donatelli / The Hill: McCain vs. Obama

E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
A Candidacy's Prose and Cons

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The Caucus, ScrappleFace and Eunomia

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Huckabee vows to defy birthright citizenship — Mike Huckabee wants to amend the Constitution to prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens, according to his top immigration surrogate — a radical step no other major presidential candidate has embraced.

Discussion: The Corner, The Sundries Shack, The Daily Dish, PoliPundit.com, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Say Anything and Confederate Yankee

Mark R. Levin / The Corner:

You Have to Be Kidding Me — Now, I know most of the Republican candidates have changed certain of their positions. But I have to say, when I read this story this morning, I was floored. — Heading into South Carolina, where illegal immigration appears to be the biggest issue among Republicans …

Discussion: Rasmussen Reports, Middle Earth Journal, Hot Air and The State

Mark Blumenthal / Pollster.com:

LOOKING FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE EXIT POLLS? — Looking for leaked exit poll results from New Hampshire? Sorry to disappoint, but whatever their merits, we are unlikely to see any such leaked results until moments before the polls close. — In past years, the network consortium that conducts …

Discussion: Democratic Strategist and Riehl World View

Christian Schneider / The Wisconsin Policy …:

The Woman Who Changed the World — With Barack Obama's meteoric rise topping the news these days, many people have forgotten the bizarre series of events that paved the way to his stunning ascendance. It's especially interesting given that some personal and minor details …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, UNCoRRELATED, No Runny Eggs, American Power, No More Mister Nice Blog and JammieWearingFool

James W. Ceaser / Weekly Standard:
Incorrect Change — The campaign's new theme. — Manchester, NH

Discussion: Power Line

New York Times:

Obama's Surge Deflates Forum and Talk of a Bloomberg Run — NORMAN, Okla. — He arrived here for what seemed like it could be a big moment. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, eyeing a third-party presidential bid, joined Republican and Democratic elders at a forum to denounce the extreme partisanship …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, NY Daily News, D-Day, New York Post, Associated Press, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Liberal Values, Captain's Quarters, The Carpetbagger Report, QandO and Truthdig

Washington Post:

See No Good — AT SATURDAY'S New Hampshire debate, Democratic candidates were confronted with a question that they have been ducking for some time: Can they concede that the “surge” of U.S. troops in Iraq has worked? All of them vehemently opposed the troop increase when President Bush proposed …

Discussion: Opinion Journal, Weekly Standard, Captain's Quarters, Say Anything, Political Machine, The Strata-Sphere, Flopping Aces and Blue Crab Boulevard

Jackie Calmes / Wall Street Journal:

Clinton Braces for Second Loss; Union, Senators May Back Obama — NASHUA, N.H. — With Barack Obama strongly favored — even within Hillary Clinton's camp — to win a second straight victory in today's New Hampshire Democratic primary, both rivals are looking to the next battle grounds.

Discussion: Time, Captain's Quarters, New York Times, New York Post, Taegan Goddard's …, The Carpetbagger Report, The Caucus, TIME, SamSederShow.com and The Moderate Voice

James Quinn / Telegraph:

US recession is already here, warns Merrill — The US has entered its first full-blown economic recession in 16 years, according to investment bank Merrill Lynch. — Merrill, itself one of Wall Street's biggest casualties of the sub-prime crisis, is the first major bank to declare …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Donklephant, PoliGazette, The Big Picture and The Supreme Irony of Life

Pat Grossmith / New Hampshire Union Leader:

Large voter turnout reported — MANCHESTER - Long lines of people formed inside some polls this morning minutes after they opened at 6 a.m. for the New Hampshire presidential primary. — Louise Gosselin, Ward 6 moderator, said election officials expected about 150 people to vote each hour at St. Pius X on Candia Road.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and TPM Election Central

Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:

Seriously, Is Matt Lauer Serious? — This morning, theToday Show host interviewed Mitt Romney with hostility and Hillary Clinton with protective understanding. He asked Mitt if he's a liar buying the election and he asked Hillary about her emotions, both aired near the top of the show, Romney was live, Hillary was taped.

Discussion: Hot Air, Vox Popoli, Flopping Aces and Riehl World View