Top Items:
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 Politico, Marc Ambinder, The Trail, Hot Air, Boston Globe and Q: The Florida Politics Blog
RELATED:
Ben Adler / The Politico:
Ron Paul continues to best Giuliani — Ron Paul, the Texas congressman frequently dismissed as a long shot candidate with no real chance at winning the Republican presidential nomination, has won nearly twice as many total votes to date as Rudy Giuliani, a candidate still widely viewed as a strong contender.
Shaun McKinnon / Arizona Republic:
Poll: Clinton and McCain well ahead in Arizona
Poll: Clinton and McCain well ahead in Arizona
Discussion:
The Caucus
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.
RELATED:
Dick Morris / Real Clear Politics:
How Clinton Will Win the Nomination by Losing S.C. — Hillary Clinton will undoubtedly lose the South Carolina primary as African-Americans line up to vote for Barack Obama. And that defeat will power her drive to the nomination. — The Clintons are encouraging the national media …
Discussion:
Booker Rising
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
New Negative Hillary Ad In South Carolina Hits Obama For Calling GOP …
New Negative Hillary Ad In South Carolina Hits Obama For Calling GOP …
The Onion:
Bill Clinton: 'Screw It, I'm Running For President' — CHARLESTON, SC—After spending two months accompanying his wife, Hillary, on the campaign trail, former president Bill Clinton announced Monday that he is joining the 2008 presidential race, saying he “could no longer resist the urge.”
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Obama's Clinton Education — One of our favorite Bill Clinton anecdotes involves a confrontation he had with Bob Dole in the Oval Office after the 1996 election. Mr. Dole protested Mr. Clinton's attack ads claiming the Republican wanted to harm Medicare, but the President merely smiled …
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Your Harry Reid-led Senate in action — (updated below - Update II) — Harry Reid — who has (a) done more than any other individual to ensure that Bush's demands for telecom immunity and warrantless eavesdropping powers will be met in full and (b) allowed the Republicans all year …
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Markos Moulitsas / The Hill:
Scare tactics — Stuck in traffic on Sept. 11, smoke from the burning Pentagon wafting past, Royce C. Lamberth called the FBI to help get him to his office. As the top judge on the FISA court, Lamberth was in charge of approving government requests for NSA telephone surveillance.
Times of London:
Exclusive: Hamas ‘spent months cutting through Gaza wall in secret operation’ — James Hider of The Times at the Rafah border crossing — As tens of thousands of Palestinians clambered back and forth between the Gaza strip and Egypt today, details emerged of the audacious operation …
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New York Times:
Palestinians Topple Gaza Wall and Cross to Egypt — RAFAH, Egypt — Thousands of Palestinians streamed from the Gaza Strip into Egypt on Wednesday after a fence at the Rafah border crossing was toppled, going on a buying spree of fuel, medicine, soap, cigarettes and many other supplies …
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
“Legendary” GOP Strategist Launches Hillary Namecalling Effort — A couple of days ago, a group called Citizens United Not Timid filed papers with the IRS as a “527” organization. Then we saw that Roger Stone had signed on as the group's “assistant treasurer." Uh oh.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, Washington Times, Feministing, The Right's Field, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and Shakespeare's Sister
RELATED:
CNN:
Hunter endorses Huckabee — WASHINGTON (CNN) — California Rep. Duncan Hunter, a former presidential candidate, announced Wednesday he is endorsing Mike Huckabee's White House bid. — “I got to know Governor Huckabee well on the campaign trail,” Huckabee said in a statement.
Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:
ABC News Badly Mischaracterizes Obama's Alleged “Testy Exchange” With Reporter — Okay, this is really a bad one. Late yesterday, ABC News posted a story called: “Is Bill Clinton getting in Obama's head?" — The piece reported that Obama had had a “testy exchange” with New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny …
Discussion:
Political Radar, FOX Embeds, DC Download, Jack and Jill Politics, TalkLeft, Riehl World View, TPM Election Central and MoJoBlog
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Gore for same-sex marriage — Not sure what prompted this, but Al Gore has quietly released a video with a forceful endorsement of equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. It pushes the Democratic establishment that much closer to a position he now shares with Eliot Spitzer and some other leading Dems …
Redstate:
The Senate GOP Leadership Embraces the Minority — The Senate GOP has been having its retreat. This is the first retreat since Lamar Alexander (R-TN) was named Chairman of the Conference. In this position, Alexander is charged with developing the GOP agenda and controlling the message.
Discussion:
Tapscott's Copy Desk
RELATED:
Ana Marie Cox / TIME: Swampland:
Romnibus: If A Dog Gets Out in the Woods, and No One Hears It... Number three question on the Romnibus today — after “When's lunch?” and “Where's the power strip?": “Why isn't that video of Romney jive-talking at an MLK parade getting more play? Shouldn't it be a 'macaca moment'?”