memeorandum: Blackwater and the Administration of Justice (Scott Horton/Harper's)

12:30 PM ET, January 21, 2008

Top Items:

GOP Field Readies for True Test In Florida — The Top Candidates Finally Go All-Out In a Closed Primary — Riding the momentum from his weekend victory in South Carolina, John McCain turned his attention Sunday to Florida and the high-stakes primary there that will test whether …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Time, Captain's Quarters, DownWithTyranny!, Political Machine, The Caucus, Riehl World View and MSNBC

John Fund / Wall Street Journal:

Base Runner — Huckabee tries but fails to win the votes of non-evangelicals. — Mike Huckabee tried his best to expand beyond his evangelical base in South Carolina and appeal to what his campaign called “Joe Six Pack” voters. Mr. Huckabee was the only candidate to pander to devotees …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Corner, Transterrestrial Musings and Betsy's Page

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Accessibility Opens Doors For McCain — SPARTANBURG, S.C. — As the JetBlue charter from Michigan touched down in South Carolina, I strolled up to John McCain's front-row seat — none of his aides batted an eye — and asked if he would continue to chat with reporters around the clock if he won the Republican nomination.

The Corner: The Weak Frontrunner — I still believe that McCain …

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:
Huckabee: McCain-lover, Mitt-killer

Discussion: michellemalkin.com

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Republican Field Rides Full Force Into Florida Test

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, TIME and Hold Fast

Julie Bosman / New York Times:
After His Loss in Nevada, Edwards Keeps Marching

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, John Edwards '08 Blog, Greenville News, MSNBC, Brendan Nyhan, TPM Election Central and Political Machine

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

Obama faces off against both Clintons — ATLANTA - Illinois Sen. Barack Obama launched Sunday what his top aides described as a more aggressive bid to challenge “unbelievable falsehoods” pressed last week in Nevada by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hill, Agence France Presse, Comments from Left Field, Deadline USA, Truthdig, Political Machine, Liberal Values, The Huffington Post, Blue Crab Boulevard and Talking Points Memo

baldilocks:

It's On! (UPDATED: Video) — Other that the Kenya post—set last night to automatically post early this morning—I wasn't going to post today. However, this is bit of politicking is too delicious not to comment upon. In an interview that will run on ABC's “Good Morning America” …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Hot Air and The Glittering Eye

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Video: Obama Pushes Back Aggressively Against Bill Clinton

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, The Carpetbagger Report and Talking Points Memo

Reuters:
EXCLUSIVE: Barack vs. Bill: Obama Hits Ex-Prez Over ‘Troubling’ Attacks

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Debunking the Reagan Myth — Historical narratives matter. That's why conservatives are still writing books denouncing F.D.R. and the New Deal; they understand that the way Americans perceive bygone eras, even eras from the seemingly distant past, affects politics today.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The Huffington Post, Matthew Yglesias, Hullabaloo, American Power, Hold Fast, The Sideshow, The Heretik, Prairie Weather, Make Them Accountable, Brilliant at Breakfast, Middle Earth Journal and Economist's View

Pam / Pam's House Blend:

Obama addresses homophobia, anti-Semitism and xenophobia in MLK Ebenezer Baptist Church speech — Today Barack Obama zeroed in on equal opportunity bigotry — and why everyone should strive to not only elevate the political discourse, but to be honest about the base instincts, words and deeds that divide, not unite.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hold Fast, New York Observer, The Carpetbagger Report, Middle Earth Journal, The RBC, UrbanGrounds and New York Daily News Blogs

CNN:

S.C. debate to highlight Democratic fight for black vote — MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (CNN) — The top three Democratic presidential candidates face off in a Monday night debate in South Carolina, with the hearts and minds of African-American voters on the line.

Discussion: TalkLeft and Hullabaloo

Obama'08:
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: The Great Need of the Hour

Discussion: Weekly Standard, MyDD, TalkLeft, Hold Fast, TPM Election Central, AMERICAblog, D-Day, Matthew Yglesias and The Democratic Daily

siena.edu:

Rudy Falls Behind McCain; Hillary Still Has 2-to-1 Lead — Spitzer Favorable Rating Edges Positive; Sees Gain in Job Performance — Voters Overwhelmingly Support Property Tax Cap and S-CHIP Expansion; — Also Support Higher Education Endowment with Lottery Sale or Lease

Discussion: Political Radar and TPM Election Central

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post: Poll: Giuliani Loses Lead In New York

Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:

Frontline Blogger Covers War in Iraq With a Soldier's Eyes — Michael Yon was not a journalist, and he wasn't sure what a blogger was. He had been in uniform but not in combat, and he wanted to keep it that way. He went to Iraq thinking he would stay for a month, and maybe find a way to write about the war after he got home.

Discussion: Michael Yon, Power Line, JammieWearingFool, TigerHawk and QandO

New York Times:

Stocks Plunge in Europe and Asia on U.S. Recession Fear — PARIS — Global stock markets plunged on Monday as fears spread that the turmoil in United States mortgage markets is spreading. Indexes in Europe fell as much as 7 percent after a huge selloff in Asia.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, Publius Pundit and The Agonist

Thereisnospoon / Daily Kos:

UPDATED (2): Widespread Cheating & Vote Suppression by Clinton Campaign in Clark County, NV — [UPDATE 2: Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe has now made the accusation in the Atlantic, with over 200 separate allegations of irregularities at caucus sites.

Discussion: Personal Democracy Forum, Captain's Quarters, Heading Right, PoliGazette and QandO

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Today's Must Read — We spent a good deal of time in the 2006 elections tracking the activity of third party groups on the right, groups with anonymous names like the Economic Freedom Fund. Funded by the most part by millionaire home-builder (and former Swift Boat patron) Bob Perry …

Discussion: Washington Post

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

Republicans Closing The Congressional Gap — After a disastrous 2006 election, Republicans lost control of Congress for the first time in twelve years. After a disastrous 2007 session, Democrats may have given Republicans a window of opportunity to take it back.

Discussion: Macsmind

Rasmussen Reports: Generic Congressional Ballot

Confederate Yankee:

The Scott Thomas Beauchamp “ Shock Troops” Military Investigation, Statements 13-24 — Documents released by the Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base Florida, in relation to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests files for documents relating …