memeorandum: CLINTON, OBAMA, IRAQ. (Ezra Klein/American Prospect)

1:20 AM ET, January 14, 2008

Top Items:

Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:

BET Founder Slams Obama in South Carolina — COLUMBIA, S.C. — Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, who is campaigning today in South Carolina with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, just raised the specter of Barack Obama's past drug use.

Discussion: The Swamp, FOX Embeds, The New Republic, The Moderate Voice, JustOneMinute, politburo diktat 2.0, Taylor Marsh, Too Sense, No More Mister Nice Blog, Riehl World View, The Carpetbagger Report, Prairie Weather, Booman Tribune, Buck Naked Politics, CBS News, QandO and The Page

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

NOT BEAN BAG — We seem to be at the point where there are now two credible possibilities. One is that the Clinton campaign is intentionally pursuing a strategy of using surrogates to hit Obama with racially-charged language or with charges that while not directly tied to race nonetheless play to stereotypes about black men.

Discussion: Eschaton, Open Left, TPM Election Central and politburo diktat 2.0

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:

CLINTON, OBAMA, IRAQ. — Just got this e-mail from the Clinton campaign: … On one level, this is true. Barack Obama did not step into the Senate and seek leadership in the anti-war movement. When Elizabeth Edwards said Obama's Senate record showed “a relatively complacent and go-along Senator,” she wasn't necessarily wrong.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Sen. Hillary Clinton / MSNBC:

‘Meet the Press’ transcript for Jan. 13, 2008 — MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: Obama wins Iowa. — (Videotape): — SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL): Thank you, Iowa. — MR. RUSSERT: Clinton wins New Hampshire. — (Videotape): — SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY) …

Discussion: Political Radar, History News Network, The Campaign Spot, Hot Air, Don Surber, Macsmind, Flopping Aces, Riehl World View, Althouse, Ben Smith's Blogs, Wake up America, Patterico's Pontifications, The Caucus, Heading Right, Horses Mouth and New York Times

Hillary Clinton / CNN:

Clinton backer appears to raise Obama's drug use — (CNN) - BET founder and prominent Hillary Clinton supporter Bob Johnson said Sunday he is ‘insulted’ with the Obama campaign's latest criticisms of Clinton, and appeared to take aim at the Illinois senator for his admitted drug use as a young man.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs and The Politico

Gateway Pundit:

It Has Begun... Hillary Takes Credit For Surge She Opposed!! — CAUTION: DON'T READ THIS WITH WHILE EATING... It has begun... Democrats are now taking credit for the surge... A surge they all opposed! — Hillary takes credit for the sucess in Iraq on Meet the Press.

Discussion: Hot Air, protein wisdom, Stop The ACLU, Blue Crab Boulevard and Irish Trojan in Tennessee

Zzaki / Political Radar:

Clinton Surrogate Makes Veiled Reference to Obama's Drug Use — ABC News' Eloise Harper reports: Speaking in Columbia, S.C., BET founder Bob Johnson was introducing Clinton and made a veiled swipe at Barack Obama's past drug use. The last surrogate to talk about Obama and drugs …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, MoJoBlog, TalkLeft and politburo diktat 2.0

New York Times: Clinton and Obama Spar Over Remark About Dr. King

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:
Another Sign Edwards Will Throw Support to Obama

Discussion: protein wisdom and PoliGazette

Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:
Clinton, Obama Clash Over Race Issue

Discussion: Firedoglake and Shakespeare's Sister

Philip Elliott / Associated Press:
Bob Johnson criticizes Obama

Discussion: MyDD and NY Daily News

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Obama Slams Clinton's ‘Meet’ Appearance

Discussion: The Reaction, TalkLeft, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, MSNBC and Balloon Juice

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama: Clinton rewrites history

Discussion: TalkLeft

The Fact Hub:
On Meet the Press, Hillary Examines Sen. Obama On Iraq

Discussion: Sirotablog, Hotline On Call, The Moderate Voice, Washington Times, The Politico, The Democratic Daily, TPM Election Central and Brave New Films blog

Michael Medved / Townhall.com:

PRESIDENTIAL TRIAL HEATS: WHO'S WEAKEST FOR G.O.P? — This weekend, CNN released results of general election trial heats, pitting each of the four leading Republican candidates for President against both of the leading Democrats. — The unmistakable message from this national exercise …

Discussion: Riehl World View

New York Times:

McCain Rises in Fluid G.O.P.; Obama Gains on Electability — WASHINGTON — Republican voters have sharply altered their views of the party's presidential candidates following the early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, with Senator John McCain, once widely written off …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and American Power

CBS News:

CBS Poll: McCain Surges To National Lead — On Democratic Side, Clinton Maintains Double-Digit Lead Over Obama — (CBS) Surging after his win in the New Hampshire primary, Arizona Sen. John McCain has come from behind to now lead the national Republican race, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and TalkLeft

George F. Will / Washington Post:
A GOP Numbers Crunch

Discussion: Firedoglake, Shakespeare's Sister, Hot Air and PoliGazette

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
POLL: Transformed by Iowa and N.H., '08 Kicks Off as a Free-for-All

Discussion: Riehl World View, Taegan Goddard's … and Hot Air

Clark Hoyt / New York Times:

He May Be Unwelcome, but We'll Survive — IN 1972, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, the publisher of The New York Times, was looking for a conservative columnist for his left-leaning Op-Ed page. — At a charity dinner, he wound up sitting next to William Safire, the Nixon White House speechwriter …

Discussion: Think Progress, TigerHawk and toohotfortnr

Timothy Noah / New York Times:
Fathers and Sons — To be neoconservative is to bear almost …

Discussion: Roger L. Simon and toohotfortnr

Ray Duckler / Concord Monitor:

Paul supporters ‘freak out’ town clerk — Vote-counting flub draws ire, threats — January 12. — Jennifer Call's eyes searched the office for nothing in particular. Her arms waved and her fear spilled out. — “This is where I grew up,” Sutton's town clerk said yesterday.

Discussion: Transterrestrial Musings

Keith Bonnell / National Post:

Defiant Levant republishes cartoons — Complaint from Muslims sparks rights hearing — Jim Young, Reuters File PhotoEzra Levant: “To me, this is offensive." — A controversial conservative commentator was unrepentant going into a Human Rights and Citizenship Commission hearing yesterday …

Discussion: Ezra Levant and Jules Crittenden

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The Noxious Fruits of Hate Speech laws

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Corner, Reason Magazine, small dead animals, Liberty Street, Daimnation!, GINA COBB, Jay Currie, Firedoglake, Power Line, Neptunus Lex, Ezra Levant and Atlas Shrugs

Camilla Tominey / Daily Express:

PLOT TO KILL QUEEN FOILED — AL Qaeda terrorists posing as TV crews planned to blow up the Queen by smuggling explosives into last year's Commonwealth summit. — Two huge outside broadcast vans belonging to the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation were seized after a tip-off from intelligence agents.

Discussion: Wake up America, Spectator and The Corner

Tom Hilton / If I Ran the Zoo:

Not-Much Shorter Jonah: “Tom Wolfe Likes It!” — Two of the recurring themes at Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism blog are that (I paraphrase) none of the liberal critics of the book have actually read it; and rather than engage its arguments, liberal critics dismiss the credentials of the author.

Discussion: Orcinus and Sadly, No!