Top Items:
Ron Fournier / Associated Press:
ON DEADLINE: Mitt Won, Authenticity Lost — WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney's victory in Michigan was a defeat for authenticity in politics. — The former Massachusetts governor pandered to voters, distorted his opponents' record and continued to show why he's the most malleable — and least credible — major presidential candidate.
Discussion:
The New Republic, Attytood, Outside The Beltway, The Carpetbagger Report, DownWithTyranny!, NewsBusters.org and RADAMISTO
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Ross Douthat:
Where's The Outrage? — David Frum, on how Romney won Michigan: … He's absolutely right. But note that in the context of the Michigan primary, the weakness of the Huckabee/McCain economic message seems to have been that it wasn't, well, liberal enough.
Zogby:
Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: McCain Leads in South Carolina, Huckabee a strong second — UTICA, New York - Arizona Sen. John McCain is the leader in the South Carolina Republican primary race with 29% support, a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby tracking poll shows. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee …
Andrew Malcolm / Los Angeles Times:
Ron Paul, Dr. No-body, beats Rudy and Fred — again — Well, he's hanging in there. Not only that, but Rep. Ron Paul thumped two reputed Republican heavyweights in the Michigan primary — former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. — Who'd have predicted that a couple of months ago?
John Whitesides / Reuters:
Obama, Clinton tied in 2008 Democratic race — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama has erased a once substantial deficit to climb into a virtual tie with Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential race, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.
Hannah Strange / Times of London:
Obama and Clinton tied nationally, say polls
Obama and Clinton tied nationally, say polls
Discussion:
The Swamp
Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Obama best choice for Democrats — Or do they prefer a re-run of 'It came from Little Rock'? — As state Democrats prepare to hold their Saturday caucuses, cynical Republicans might well encourage them to choose Sen. Hillary Clinton, figuring her high “negatives” — the unusual number …
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Associated Press:
Bill Clinton paints Obama as ‘establishment’ candidate — SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — Bill Clinton, who carried Nevada in two general elections, urged voters Tuesday to buck labor endorsements for Sen. Barack Obama and support his wife in Saturday's hotly contested presidential caucuses …
Hillary Clinton / CNN:
Potentially troubling news for Clinton in Michigan ‘win’
Potentially troubling news for Clinton in Michigan ‘win’
Discussion:
Captain's Quarters, Washington Post, HorseRaceBlog, Open Left, The Campaign Spot, Stumper, The Daily Background, Hot Air, Las Vegas Sun, The New Republic, Independent Liberal, Comments from Left Field, the talking dog, Outside The Beltway, The Strata-Sphere, Detroit Free Press, MichiganLiberal, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, UrbanGrounds, BitsBlog, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Politico, New York Times, PunditGuy and MSNBC
Developing Intelligence:
“The Diebold Effect”: Hillary's Votes Higher From Diebold Machines Even Controlling for Demographics (education, income, population, etc) — In contrast to exit pre-election polls, the final vote tally from the NH democratic primary shows a surprise victory for Hillary Clinton.
Discussion:
Ars Technica, Winds of Change.NET, Secular Blasphemy, The Impolitic, Classical Values, Hot Air and AMERICAN DIGEST
Reason:
Who Wrote Ron Paul's Newsletters? — Libertarian movement veterans, and a Paul campaign staffer, say it was “paleolibertarian” strategist Lew Rockwell — Ron Paul doesn't seem to know much about his own newsletters. The libertarian-leaning presidential candidate says he was unaware …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The Daily Dish, Commentary, The New Republic, Orcinus, The Corner, Hot Air, TIME, Brendan Nyhan and PoliGazette
Pete Yost / Associated Press:
White House reused e-mail tapes — WASHINGTON - The White House has acknowledged recycling its backup computer tapes of e-mail before October 2003, raising the possibility that many electronic messages — including those pertaining to the CIA leak case — have been taped over and are gone forever.
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Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
CNN's John King responds — Over the weekend, I wrote about an adulating interview which CNN's John King conducted with John McCain while riding on the storied Straight Talk Express bus. The interview was broadcast on “Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer. In that post, I printed all of the …
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, DownWithTyranny!, Firedoglake, Comments from Left Field, The Sideshow and TalkLeft
James Glanz / New York Times:
Iraqi Spending to Rebuild Has Slowed, Report Says — Highly promising figures that the administration cited to demonstrate economic progress in Iraq last fall, when Congress was considering whether to continue financing the war, cannot be substantiated by official Iraqi budget records …
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
FRIED SQUIRREL: I'M LOVING IT! — Mike Huckabee explains how he'll appeal to SC voters by explaining how he and his crew ate fried squirrel made in a popcorn popper in college ...
Senator Hillary Clinton / New York Times:
The Democratic Debate in Las Vegas — The following is a transcript of the Democratic debate in Las Vegas, as provided by the Federal News Service. — DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE PARTICIPANTS: — FORMER SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC) SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL) — MODERATORS:
The Independent:
Robert Fisk: Bloody reality bears no relation to the delusions of this President — As a bomb explodes in Beirut and Israel kills 19 in Gaza raids, Bush takes his Middle East peace mission to Saudi Arabia (and signs off $20bn weapons deal with repressive regime)
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
CLINTON HATRED. — of last night's debate. Edwards never even makes an appearance. Obama, who Andrew is deeply committed to, hardly even qualifies as a walk-on character. Instead, it's Clinton. It's Clinton and Clinton and Clinton and Clinton. At 9:30 we learn that “Just like Bush, she cannot talk about her own weakness.”
Associated Press:
Ex-Congressman, U.N. Delegate Indicted as Part of Terrorist Fundraising Ring — WASHINGTON — A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an Al Qaeda and Taliban supporter …
Thomas E. Ricks / Washington Post:
High-Profile Officer Nagl to Leave Army, Join Think Tank — One of the Army's most prominent younger officers, whose writings have influenced the conduct of the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq, said he has decided to leave the service to study strategic issues full time at a new Washington think tank.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, TIME: Swampland, INTEL DUMP, abu muqawama, Neptunus Lex and toohotfortnr