memeorandum: U.S. war costs in Iraq up: report (Richard Cowan/Reuters)

8:30 AM ET, January 24, 2008

Top Items:

Romney Leads in Ill Will Among G.O.P. Candidates — TAMPA, Fla. — At the end of the Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire this month, when the Democrats joined the candidates on stage, Mitt Romney found himself momentarily alone as his counterparts mingled, looking around a bit stiffly for a companion.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Shakespeare's Sister, Big Lizards, PrestoPundit, JustOneMinute, Riehl World View, Pam's House Blend, Wonkette, MSNBC and American Thinker

The Buzz:

St. Pete Times Poll: Bye-bye Rudy? — It's Mitt Romney vs. John McCain in the final stretch of Florida's crucial Republican primary. — A new St. Petersburg Times poll shows the former Massachusetts governor and Arizona senator neck and neck among Florida Republicans, while Rudy Giuliani's Florida-or-bust strategy has been a bust.

Discussion: The Fix, Hot Air, The Caucus, PoliGazette, American Power, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The Trail, Donklephant, Sister Toldjah, Boston Globe, The Reaction, The Politico and Q: The Florida Politics Blog

MiamiHerald.com:
Poll: Giuliani slips to third in Florida

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Shakespeare's Sister and Spin Cycle

Doyle McManus / Los Angeles Times:
Times poll finds Clinton holding on to lead

Discussion: Washington Monthly and American Power

Agence France Presse: McCain wins Louisiana caucus: preliminary results

Marc Ambinder:
The Best Pollster in Florida, Rob Schroth, Has New Numbers

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Outside The Beltway, protein wisdom, American Power and The Politico

Chuck Todd / MSNBC: Let the sunshine in — If the other GOP candidates don't stop McCain now, they never will

CNN:

Bill Clinton gets upset with CNN reporter — (CNN) - Bill Clinton became visibly upset Wednesday over comments by a prominent South Carolina Democrat that compared the former president's actions on the trail to those of infamous Republican strategist Lee Atwater.

Discussion: Fausta's blog, Real Clear Politics, PoliGazette, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, Wonkette, The Plank, The Democratic Daily and The Corner

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Obama radio: 'She'll say anything' — Obama's out with his own harsh South Carolina spot, trying to turn her attacks on him into a character issue, with a dose of the issues: … 60 Obama Radio Script “Anything Radio" — Barack: I'm Barack Obama, running for President and I approve this message.

Discussion: Change of Subject, The Page, The Swamp, TPM Election Central, TalkLeft and Liberal Values

Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:

AP Interview: Hill defends Bill on stump — WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton, defending her husband's increasingly vocal role in her presidential effort, sidestepped questions about whether Bill Clinton's suggestion that Barack Obama had put a “hit job” on him was language befitting a former president.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:

Bill Clinton Accuses Obama Camp of Stirring Race Issue — KINGSTREE, S.C. — Former President Bill Clinton defended himself Wednesday against accusations that he and his wife had injected the issue of race into the Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina, and he accused Senator Barack Obama …

Discussion: The Politico, michellemalkin.com, Right Wing News, Liberal Values, The Hill and Trailhead

Washington Post:
Some in Party Bristle At Clintons' Attacks

Discussion: Riehl World View

CNN:
Obama backer: Bill Clinton suppressing vote

Discussion: skippy the bush kangaroo and Truthdig

Anne E. Kornblut / The Trail:
Bill Clinton Unloads on Press

Discussion: Wizbang, NewsBusters.org, TPM Election Central and Say Anything

Charles Babington / Associated Press:
Bill Clinton: Race, gender key in S.C.

Discussion: The RBC and Blue Crab Boulevard

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Obama tries risky strategy vs. ‘Clintons’

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and JustOneMinute

Marc Ambinder:
Bill Clinton Bitches Out The Media

Discussion: Trailhead and Spin Cycle

Azi Paybarah / New York Observer:

Source at Fund-Raiser: Edwards Calls McCain ‘Crazy’ and Says Hillary Thinks There's More on Rezko — Before John Edwards let David Letterman mess up his hair on the Late Show last night, the former Senator was at a private fund-raiser in midtown Manhattan, also attended by Kevin Bacon …

Discussion: Donklephant, Spin Cycle, The Caucus, TPM Election Central and Wonkette

Matt / Think Progress:

John Gibson Mocks ‘Weirdo’ Heath Ledger's Death: ‘He Found Out How To Quit You’ — Opening his radio show with funeral music yesterday, Fox News host John Gibson callously mocked the death of actor Heath Ledger, calling him a “weirdo” with a “serious drug problem.”

Discussion: News Hounds, The Reaction, City Room, The Carpetbagger Report, Gawker, Althouse, My Two Sense, Pam's House Blend, Carpetbagger, Los Angeles Times and Daily. Gay. News.

Benny Avni / New York Sun:

‘Paradigm Change’ Is Seen as Arabs Flee Gaza — UNITED NATIONS — Washington, Cairo, and Jerusalem are expressing “concern” regarding the flow of hundreds of thousands of Gazans into Egypt, testing border agreements that have existed since Israel completely withdrew from the heavily populated strip in 2005.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and ShrinkWrapped

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:

John Edwards on FISA — John Edwards: … Well...yes. And that includes candidates, you know, leaving the campaign trail to do their jobs. Which Obama and Clinton can — and should — do. South Carolina is an hour and a half plane ride away. — Get thee to DC and filibuster, Senators.

Discussion: D-Day, Crooks and Liars, DownWithTyranny!, Open Left, Buck Naked Politics, The Sideshow and Salon

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

RNC chairman provides numbers, strategy to defeat top Democrats — Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Mike Duncan believes Republicans can beat either of the two top Democrats racing for their party's nomination. — For Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Duncan says it comes down to trust.

Discussion: Riehl World View

Bob Owens / Pajamas Media:

STUDY ON BUSH'S IRAQ DECEPTION AND LIES: FULL OF DECEPTION AND LIES — The headline-grabbing report released by two non-profits, Iraq: The War Card—Orchestrated Deception on the Path to War charged that the Bush administration issued “hundreds of false statements” on Iraq.

Discussion: Scholars and Rogues and Done With Mirrors

Dan Froomkin / Washington Post:
935 Iraq Falsehoods — A nonprofit group pursuing old-fashioned …

Discussion: Think Progress, NewsBusters.org, News Hounds, The Huffington Post, MoJoBlog, The Lede, The Reaction, Associated Press and CNN

Khaled Abu Toameh / Jerusalem Post:

‘Hamas staged some of the blackouts’ — On at least two occasions this week, Hamas staged scenes of darkness as part of its campaign to end the political and economic sanctions against the Gaza Strip, Palestinian journalists said Wednesday. — In the first case, journalists who were invited …

Discussion: Ynetnews, Israel Matzav and Israellycool

C.J. / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Franken didn't exactly leave 'em laughing in Northfield — Franken apparently had more fun than senior history major Peter Fritz. — Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Al Franken didn't exactly leave 'em laughing in Northfield. — Earlier this month Franken was at Carleton College …

Discussion: Power Line, Captain's Quarters and SCSUScholars

TVNZ:

Venezuelan troops seize food — Venezuela's top food company has accused troops of illegally seizing more than 500 tonnes of food from its trucks as part of President Hugo Chavez's campaign to stem shortages. — The leftist Chavez this week created a state food distributor and loosened …

Discussion: The Belmont Club

David Rogers / The Politico:

Bush budget won't fully fund Iraq war — The White House confirmed Wednesday that its new budget next month will not request a full year's funding for the war in Iraq, leaving the next president and Congress to confront major cost questions soon after taking office in 2009.

Discussion: Truthdig