memeorandum: ROUND 2....Susie Madrak watches TV so you don't have to: (Kevin Drum/Washington Monthly)

3:25 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: FOX Embeds, politburo diktat 2.0, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Swamp, Taylor Marsh, The New Republic, Too Sense, The Moderate Voice, The Carpetbagger Report, Riehl World View, Prairie Weather, Buck Naked Politics, Booman Tribune, 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, Associated Press, Don Surber, The Campaign Spot, Hot Air, Macsmind, History News Network, Flopping Aces, Riehl World View, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Caucus, Althouse, Patterico's Pontifications, Heading Right and New York Times

Zzaki / Political Radar:
Clinton Surrogate Makes Veiled Reference to Obama's Drug Use

Discussion: Tammy Bruce, The Daily Dish, MoJoBlog, New York Daily News Blogs, TalkLeft and politburo diktat 2.0

Hillary Clinton / CNN:
Clinton backer appears to raise Obama's drug use

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs

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

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

Discussion: The Reaction, TalkLeft, Firedoglake and Balloon Juice

Phillip Elliott / Associated Press:
Clinton blames Obama camp over remark

Discussion: Firedoglake, Wake up America and skippy the bush kangaroo

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: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Taegan Goddard's …, Truthdig 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: TalkLeft

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

National Polls: Clinton And McCain Lead But More Contradictary Than Ever — A new ABC News/Washington Post poll reveals two things: Presidential campaign 2008 is a free for all- and Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama are picking up steam in the battles for their parties' nominations.

Discussion: ABCNEWS and The Reaction

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

POLL: Transformed by Iowa and N.H., '08 Kicks Off as a Free-for-All — McCain and Obama mix up the race (AP Photo) — Iowa and New Hampshire have transformed the 2008 presidential race into a free-for-all, vaulting John McCain past longtime frontrunner Rudy Giuliani in the Republican contest …

Discussion: Riehl World View and Hot Air

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

Discussion: Firedoglake, Shakespeare's Sister, Hot Air and American Power

Randal C. Archibold / New York Times:

Mail-In Voters Become the Latest Prize — LOS ANGELES — The first Tuesday in February, when 22 states hold primaries, may turn out to be the biggest day of the presidential campaign. But for many voters, half or more in some states, the polling place will be the kitchen table …

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, toohotfortnr and TigerHawk

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

Discussion: Norwegianity, Roger L. Simon and toohotfortnr

City Journal:

Abu Dhabi: East Leans West — Each month, 25,000 people from around the globe arrive in the United Arab Emirates, seeking jobs, contracts, and political stability. Walk past the gleaming new skyscrapers, government buildings, fountains, and shopping malls that line the immaculate tree-lined corniche …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit

Mad Kane's Political Madness:

Is Black The New Teflon? — The impression I've been getting lately is that every barb and criticism aimed at Obama is almost bound to be characterized as racist by Obama surrogates. — Isn't there something wrong when a candidate (or commentator) has to fear the racism card each …

Discussion: TalkLeft

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

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Obama: Clinton rewrites history — Obama, during his endorsement from Claire McCaskill, accused Hillary of distorting her words and his and of trying to change her story on Iraq. — Here's the whole thing: … The Clinton campaign backed up Hillary's comments here.

Discussion: TalkLeft