Top Items:
Molly Ball / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
THE NEVADA CAUCUS: Poll: Nevada going to Clinton, Romney — Obama picks up no ground; Giuliani fades — Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney have comfortable leads in Nevada going into Saturday's presidential campaign caucuses, according to a new Review-Journal poll.
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Zogby:
Reuters/Zogby Polls: McCain Retains South Carolina Lead; Clinton Leads Obama in Nevada — South Carolina — Arizona Sen. John McCain is holding on to his lead in South Carolina as the Republican primary election there approaches, a new Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby three-day telephone tracking poll shows.
Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
The martyrdom of John McCain — COLUMBIA, S.C. - The national media thinks John McCain is under siege again, and his campaign is only too happy to help reporters file their stories. — At a rally Thursday, outside McCain's headquarters just down the street from the state capitol here …
Michael Cooper / New York Times:
Confederate Flag Takes Center Stage Once Again — COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Republican presidential candidates on Thursday moved to appeal to different types of conservative voters before the South Carolina primary, with Mike Huckabee using colorful language to declare the Confederate flag …
Discussion:
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San Francisco Chronicle:
Mauling survivor said he yelled at tiger — (01-17) 18:05 PST SAN FRANCISCO — One of the two survivors of the San Francisco Zoo tiger attack that left a 17-year-old dead told the victim's father that the three had yelled and waved at the animal while standing atop the railing of the tiger's exhibit …
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Weekly Standard:
Misjudging McCain — He was right about the nuclear option. — JOHN MCCAIN HAS COME UNDER HEAVY FIRE from conservatives critical of his alleged apostasies. To be sure, several of his stances—on tax cuts, illegal immigration, campaign-finance reform—stand at odds with the current mainstream of American conservatism.
Discussion:
TownHall Blog
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USA Today:
Military: 75% of Baghdad areas now secure — About 75% of Baghdad's neighborhoods are now secure, a dramatic increase from 8% a year ago when President Bush ordered more troops to the capital, U.S. military figures show. — The military classifies 356 of Baghdad's 474 neighborhoods in the …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
50 WAYS TO BE A LOSER — I know I've been hitting on the Rudy collapse story for a while. But it's just so vast there are a lot of points to cover. Remember that the Rudy ‘plan’ (which on many levels is a phony anyway) was to plan for a knockout blow on February by winning big states like California.
Discussion:
Rasmussen Reports
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Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Obama Debuts New Act in Vegas — LAS VEGAS (AP) - The White House campaign has brought a new act to Vegas. Barack Obama has stepped up his campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton, and he's trying to use humor to bring her down before this weekend's Democratic presidential caucus.
Discussion:
The New Republic
Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
Callous Conservative — After watching Fred Thompson debate his Republican rivals, I have often wondered why he is not in the top tier of candidates. He seems to have John McCain's honesty, without his razor-sharp edges, and Mitt Romney's conservatism, without his jaw-dropping inconsistencies.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The Corner, Ross Douthat, The American Scene, Postmodern Conservative, The Opinionator and Eunomia
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
Chris Matthews Backs Off ‘Nasty’ Remark on Clinton — Under pressure from feminist groups and his own bosses at MSNBC, Chris Matthews apologized yesterday for remarks about Hillary Clinton that he now admits sounded “nasty." — For 10 days, the “Hardball” host had doggedly insisted …
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, Gateway Pundit, RealClearPolitics, NewsBusters.org, Hot Air and Romenesko
New York Post:
THE NEW ‘LEPERS’ — THE TIMES' TROUBLE WITH VETS — I'VE had a huge response to Tuesday's column about The New York Times' obscene bid to smear veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan as mad killers. Countless readers seem to be wondering: Why did the paper do it?
Jackie Kucinich / The Hill:
McCain hit by Hammer on the Hill — Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) lambasted Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) Thursday for “betraying” the conservative movement. — During a private luncheon with Republican chiefs of staff on Capitol Hill, DeLay — who has criticized McCain for years …
Judicial Watch:
Judicial Watch Releases Records Re: Hillary's Health Care Reform Plan — Internal Memos Detail Creation of Government “Interest Group Database” to Collect Personal Data on Health Care Debate Activists — (Washington, DC) - Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates …
Christopher Hitchens / Wall Street Journal:
The Perils of Identity Politics — Let us give hearty thanks and credit to Rudy Giuliani, who has never by word or gesture implied that we would fracture any kind of “ceiling” if we elected as chief executive a man whose surname ends in a vowel. — Yet actually, it would be unprecedented …
David Brooks / New York Times:
How Voters Think — People in my line of work try to answer certain questions. Why did Hillary surge after misting up in New Hampshire? Why have primary victories produced no momentum for the victors? Why did John McCain win among Republicans who oppose the Iraq war in both New Hampshire and Michigan …