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

10:35 AM ET, January 24, 2008

Top Items:

Some in Party Bristle At Clintons' Attacks — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign aired a new radio ad here Wednesday that repeated a discredited charge against Sen. Barack Obama, in what some Democrats said is part of an increasing pattern of hardball politics by her and former president Bill Clinton.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Wizbang, Norwegianity, Blue Crab Boulevard, Redstate, Real Clear Politics, The Strata-Sphere, Riehl World View and The Australian

William Greider / The Nation:

Slick Willie Rides Again — The Clintons play dirty when they feel threatened. But we knew that, didn't we? — The recent roughing-up of Barack Obama was in the trademark style of the Clinton years in the White House. High-minded and self-important on the surface, smarmily duplicitous underneath …

Discussion: Classical Values and Betsy's Page

Michelle Malkin:

VRWC: Ten years young — Bruce Walker at the American Thinker notes that Sunday is the 10th anniversary of Hillary Clinton's coinage of the infamous term we've come to wear proudly: “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy." Yes, it's been a full decade of bitter Clintonian sniping, acute paranoia …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, American Thinker and Gateway Pundit

John Whitesides / Reuters:

Obama dips, but still has South Carolina lead: poll — FLORENCE, South Carolina (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama's big lead over rival Hillary Clinton slipped slightly but is still substantial two days before South Carolina's presidential primary, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Thursday.

Discussion: New York Daily News Blogs and Political Machine

Beth Fouhy / Associated Press:
AP Interview: Hill defends Bill on stump

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Bill Clinton Accuses Obama Camp of Stirring Race Issue

Discussion: The Politico, Ben Smith's Blogs, TIME, Right Wing News, skippy the bush kangaroo, The Hill, CNN, Trailhead, Liberal Values, TalkLeft and The Democratic Daily

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama radio: 'She'll say anything'

Discussion: Jules Crittenden, Change of Subject, CNN, The Page, TPM Election Central, The Swamp, JustOneMinute, Real Clear Politics, Taylor Marsh and The Plank

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

Discussion: BuzzFlash.org, The RBC and Blue Crab Boulevard

Michael Luo / New York Times:

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: Wall Street Journal, The Swamp, Commentary, DownWithTyranny!, JustOneMinute, Big Lizards, The Carpetbagger Report, Outside The Beltway, Shakespeare's Sister, Say Anything, PrestoPundit, AMERICAblog, Riehl World View, Pandagon, American Thinker and MSNBC

Chuck Todd / MSNBC:

Let the sunshine in — If the other GOP candidates don't stop McCain now, they never will — Republican presidential hopeful John McCain bites his tongue as he answers reporters' questions during a campaign stop in Orlando, Florida. — GOP hopefuls brace for debate

Discussion: Weekly Standard, TIME and American Power

Agence France Presse:

McCain wins Louisiana caucus: preliminary results — WASHINGTON (AFP) — Senator John McCain has won the Republican party's caucuses in Louisiana while longshot candidate Ron Paul took second place, the state party said Wednesday, citing preliminary results.

Discussion: The Trail and protein wisdom

Joy Lin / CBS News:
The Huckabee Puzzle — From CBS News' Joy Lin:

Discussion: Say Anything

Adam C. Smith / St. Petersburg Times:
Times poll: McCain, Romney are neck and neck

Discussion: Washington Post, MyDD and The Page

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

Discussion: NYT, Talking Points Memo, The Carpetbagger Report, NY Daily News, Macsmind, TPM Election Central, The Buzz, QandO, Shakespeare's Sister, Spin Cycle and The Politico

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Jay Rockefeller's unintentionally revealing comments — (updated below) — As the Senate takes up “debate” today over granting the President new warrantless eavesdropping powers and granting immunity to lawbreaking telecoms, the individual who joined forces with Dick Cheney to get this ball rolling …

Discussion: CREDO Action

Courage Campaign:
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's amendments to FISA

Discussion: CREDO Action and Calitics

Jane Hamsher / Firedoglake:
John Edwards on FISA

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Lean Left, D-Day, Crooks and Liars, Washington Post, DownWithTyranny!, The Sideshow, Buck Naked Politics and Open Left

Christy Hardin Smith / Firedoglake:
FISA Battle: Stand And Be Counted

Discussion: CNET News.com and CQ Politics

Daniel W. Reilly / The Crypt's Blogs:
Rockefeller predicts win in FISA fight over telecom immunity

Discussion: The Hill

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

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: Captain's Quarters, QandO, The Belmont Club and Fausta's blog

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: Democracy Project, Scholars and Rogues, Daily Pundit, Done With Mirrors, Instapundit.com and Hot Air

IBDeditorials.com:

The Clintons' Coal-Gate — Scandals: Hillary Clinton calls President Bush's talks with the Saudis about increasing oil output “pathetic." But it's not as pathetic as her co-president husband locking up billions of tons of clean coal in exchange for political contributions.

Discussion: Right Wing News, Doug Ross and Angry Bear

Gabriel Sherman / The New Republic:

The Fifth Columnist — How Bill Kristol landed that ‘Times’ gig. — This fall, New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. launched a search for a new conservative columnist. It had been nearly three years since William Safire had retired from his weekly column in 2005 …

Discussion: Think Progress