Top Items:
Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
Obama Damps Down Racial Controversy — ABC News' David Wright, Andy Fies, and Sunlen Miller Report: Sen. Barack Obama told ABC News Monday there is nothing in Sen. Hillary Clinton's record that would give him any cause for concern about her in terms of racial politics.
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama, putting out the fire — Carrie Budoff Brown has some key quotes from an Obama avail this afternoon in Reno, where he tried to put to rest the racially-charged name-calling. … His surrogates and a spokeswoman have, it's worth noting, participated in the recent round of criticism of the Clintons …
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
Clinton booed at MLK rally in New York — NEW YORK, N.Y. — Dogged by continuing racial tensions around her presidential campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton drew a smattering of boos on Monday when she spoke at a religiously tinged Martin Luther King Jr. rally put together by a union organizing predominantly black security workers.
Christopher Hitchens / Slate:
The Case Against Hillary Clinton — WHY ON EARTH WOULD WE CHOOSE TO PUT THE CLINTON FAMILY DRAMA AT THE CENTER OF OUR POLITICS AGAIN. — Seeing the name Hillary in a headline last week—a headline about a life that had involved real achievement—I felt a mouse stirring in the attic of my memory.
Discussion:
the talking dog, Viking Pundit, Weekly Standard, Riehl World View, Captain's Quarters and New York Times
Matt Bai / The Caucus:
The Clintons and History — WASHINGTON — There's an old joke people here in the capital like to tell about Charles E. Schumer, the New York senator, and over the years I'm sure it's been used to describe other politicians, as well: The most dangerous place to stand in Washington …
Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Obama Tries to Stop the ‘Silliness’ — (Photo: Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times) — RENO, Nev. - As he campaigned in northern Nevada on Monday, Senator Barack Obama said he was concerned that a heated discussion of racial issues in the presidential campaign could divide the Democratic Party.
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Judge To NBC: You Can't Control Your Own Content — A solution in search of a problem found a judge in search of some understanding of the concept of private property and free speech. Both converged in Las Vegas through the efforts of Dennis Kucinich to force his way into the NBC Democratic debate.
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Anjeanette Damon / Inside Nevada Politics:
New Poll: Democratic race in Nevada a dead heat — A new poll by the Reno Gazette-Journal shows a neck-and-neck three-way race among Democrats for Saturday's caucus. On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. John McCain has taken his first lead in Nevada of the election season, and Mitt Romney …
Discussion:
Pollster.com, The Reaction, Washington Wire, The Huffington Post, The Agonist, The Fix, Open Left, MSNBC, Boston Globe, Daily Kos, Las Vegas Sun, The Caucus, MyDD and CANNONFIRE
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San Francisco Chronicle:
Green Party holds presidential debate in San Francisco — (01-13) 20:01 PST San Francisco — Withdraw from Iraq immediately. Eliminate the No Child Left Behind law. Legalize marijuana. — Those were just some of the goals stated by candidates at the Green Party presidential debate Sunday in San Francisco.
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Carla Marinucci / San Francisco Chronicle:
Chelsea Clinton steps into California spotlight to rally for mother
Chelsea Clinton steps into California spotlight to rally for mother
Discussion:
MyDD
Michael Hirsh / Newsweek:
Bothersome Intel on Iran — In public, President Bush has been careful to reassure Israel and other allies that he still sees Iran as a threat, while not disavowing his administration's recent National Intelligence Estimate. That NIE, made public Dec. 3, embarrassed the administration …
Discussion:
Buck Naked Politics, Israel Matzav, Heritage Foundation, Hullabaloo, democracyarsenal.org, THE CUNNING REALIST, BuzzFlash.org, Cliff Schecter, Think Progress, SteveAudio, Emptywheel, Corrente, The Newshoggers, Make Them Accountable, Wall Street Journal, The Carpetbagger Report and RADAMISTO
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Spengler / Asia Times:
Indiana Jones meets the Da Vinci Code — Islam watchers blogged all weekend about news that a secret archive of ancient Islamic texts had surfaced after 60 years of suppression. Andrew Higgins' Wall Street Journal report that the photographic record of Koranic manuscripts …
Tim B. / Tim Blair:
A VISIT TO THE INFIRMARY — Feeling poorly for some time. Saw a doctor a few weeks ago, who sent me to a specialist, who booked me into hospital for tests. — It's cancer. — Major abdominal surgery next week. If all goes well, the remaining non-cancerous section of me will be home by early-mid February.
Matthew Duss / American Prospect:
TODAY'S GO-TO VILLAINS. — Via Steve Clemons, a good short doc on Hollywood's vilification of Arabs. — Among the many offensive images and representations in the program, the clip from Back to the Future is particularly ridiculous. The year was 1985, Muammar Khaddafi was being sold …
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Thom Shanker / New York Times:
Iraq Defense Minister Sees Need for U.S. Security Help Until 2018 — FORT MONROE, Va. — The Iraqi defense minister said Monday that his nation would not be able to take full responsibility for its internal security until 2012, nor be able on its own to defend Iraq's borders from external threat until at least 2018.
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
McCain faces little incoming fire — KALAMAZOO, Mich. — His opponents aren't going after him. There isn't a single third-party group hammering him in broadcast TV or radio ads. Even anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform, a longtime adversary, is taking it easy on John McCain this time around.
Discussion:
Daily Pundit