memeorandum: Candlelight by Daylight — Illustrating the old adage … (Noah Pollak/Commentary)

8:25 AM ET, January 26, 2008

Top Items:

CLINTON TRIES TO REINSTATE MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA'S DELEGATES. — This is a very, very, very big deal. From the Clinton campaign: … This is the sort of decision that has the potential to tear the party apart. In an attempt to retain some control over the process and keep the various states …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Edge of the American West, The Trail, michellemalkin.com, Outside The Beltway, Redstate, QandO, Say Anything, Riehl World View, Blue Crab Boulevard, Liberal Values, The Opinionator and Lawyers, Guns and Money

CNN:

Bill Clinton: John McCain and Hillary are ‘very close’ — (CNN) — If Hillary Clinton and John McCain become their party's presidential nominees, the general election race is likely to be a love-fest. — At least according to Bill Clinton. — Campaigning in Spartanburg, South Carolina …

Discussion: Political Punch, URGENT AGENDA, Flopping Aces, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, The Politico, Truthdig and Wall Street Journal

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

NO WAY — The Clinton camp really needs to be shut down on this new gambit of theirs to muscle the party and the other candidates into seating the Michigan and Florida delegate slates. — And let me be very clear about what I mean. It was very debatable decision whether the DNC …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, the talking dog, D-Day, Donklephant, The Reaction and Matthew Yglesias

HillaryClinton.com:

Statement by Senator Hillary Clinton on the Seating of Delegates at the Democratic National Convention — “I hear all the time from people in Florida and Michigan that they want their voices heard in selecting the Democratic nominee. — “I believe our nominee will need the enthusiastic support …

Discussion: TPM Election Central, Rolling Stone, Emptywheel, Wizbang and PoliGazette

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

MORE ON DELEGATES — Not surprisingly there's been an avalanche of heated emails in response to my post about the question of whether delegates from Florida and Michigan should be seated at the Democratic National Convention. Oddly enough most of the people who wrote in from Michigan …

Discussion: TalkLeft

Big Tent Democrat / TalkLeft:

Obama And Edwards Are On The FL Ballot Too — After railing against Hillary Clinton for her UNENFORCEABLE call to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations (Josh Marshall calls it an attempt to “muscle” the Party, what muscle is not at all clear) and lambasting Clinton for not taking …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Marc Ambinder:

Clinton. Obama Spar Over Florida Delegates — Sen. Hillary Clinton pledged today to work to seat Florida and Michigan's delegates at the Democratic National Convention, thereby negating the penalties meted out by the Democratic National Committee. — It's true that the party's eventual nominee …

Discussion: Associated Press and MyDD

Karl / protein wisdom:
Dems 2008: Clinton backs seating MI, FL delegates, heads explode

Discussion: Outside The Beltway and JustOneMinute

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Exclusive: Sen. Bill Nelson To Endorse Hillary Clinton

Discussion: TPM Election Central and The Page

Deborah Charles / Reuters:

Bill Clinton again wagging finger, raising eyebrows — SPARTANBURG, South Carolina (Reuters) - The resurgence of the old Bill Clinton, flushing with anger and wagging his finger as he fights for his wife's presidential bid, has cast a shadow over her campaign and could mar his new image as a global statesman.

Discussion: Cold Fury, Don Surber, PunditGuy, Wonkette and Salon

Zogby:

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Polls: Obama Solidifies Lead as Election Day Looms in South Carolina; McCain Holds Narrow Lead Over Romney in Florida; Others Far Back — 1/23-25 — 1/22-24 — 1/21-23 — 1/20-22 — Obama — 41% — 38% — 39% — 43% — Clinton — 26% — 25%

Discussion: MyDD

SurveyUSA:
UPDATED: So It's All Settled Then: Obama Will Win Tomorrow's SC Primary.

Discussion: Open Left and Taegan Goddard's …

Mark Blumenthal / Pollster.com:
SOUTH CAROLINA: WHY SO MUCH VARIATION?

Discussion: Hotline On Call, TPM Election Central and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Charles Franklin / Pollster.com: SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC ENDGAME

Julie Bosman / New York Times:
Democrats Make Targeted Appeals in South Carolina

Discussion: The Politico, About.com US Politics and The Volokh Conspiracy

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

The Corruption Of Feminism — A reader transcribed the following conversation on Hardball tonight: … Wow. A proud defense of nepotism over feminism. Or rather, as is the Clintons' wont, a total conflation of feminism with nepotism. I remember similar Clintonian feminists in the 1990s trashing …

Discussion: JustOneMinute and CNN

Dana Goldstein / American Prospect:
WHO STEPPED DOWN AND NAMED ANDREW SULLIVAN KING OF FEMINISM?

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister, Change of Subject, Slog, The Daily Dish, Feministe and The Democratic Daily

Nigel Blundell / Telegraph:

Killer dolphins baffle marine experts — It's hard to visualise but the intelligent and ever-friendly dolphin can also be a determined killer. — New evidence has been compiled by marine scientists that prove the normally placid dolphin is capable of brutal attacks both on innocent fellow marine mammals …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Don Surber

Steven Erlanger / New York Times:

Egypt Tries to Plug Border; Gazans Poke New Hole — GAZA — Egypt tried to restore its border with Gaza on Friday, stationing riot police officers in an effort to block Palestinians from entering. But Palestinians used a bulldozer to knock down another portion of the wall separating Egypt and Gaza.

Discussion: Big Lizards, Slog, Emptywheel, ‘Just World News&rsquo … and FP Passport

Noah Pollak / Commentary:
Candlelight by Daylight — Illustrating the old adage …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Power Line, Pajamas Media and Ed Driscoll.com

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

Fiscal Mantra for McCain: Less Is More — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Senator John McCain said that, if elected, he would do what other presidents had tried but failed to do: cut government spending sharply enough to reduce the budget deficit while lowering taxes at the same time.

Discussion: Marginal Revolution and The Plank

The Huffington Post:

Reid Issues Ultimatum: More Time Or No Wiretaps — At a State of the Union preview speech today at the National Press Club, Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a dramatic ultimatum to President Bush: either sign an extension of the Protect America Act (which sets conditions …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Daily Kos

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:

Late Night Letterman Clip — Barack Obama last night gave his top ten campaign promises on Letterman. But, that's not why I tuned in and it's not the clip below. Right after Obama, T.J. Miller came on. — T.J. was promoting the new movie he is in, Cloverfield — and his fondness for drinking.

The Raw Story:

UPDATE: ‘No way of knowing’ who whispered, MSNBC says — The whisper that could be heard just before an answer from Mitt Romney at Thursday's Republican debate was the result of a microphone malfunction, an MSNBC spokesman tells RAW STORY, but its source remains a mystery.

Discussion: Trailhead, MSNBC, Wonkette, Dirt Rhodes Scholar, AfterDowningStreet.org, Hot Air, RADAMISTO, The Carpetbagger Report, The Jawa Report, JustOneMinute, Daily. Gay. News., NEWSRADIO, CANNONFIRE, Riehl World View and The Strata-Sphere

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
THAT TAXES WHISPER — From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

Discussion: Political Machine, You Decide 08!, The Shotgun, The Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Democrats.com, PoliGazette, Confederate Yankee and Wonkette

Jerome R. Corsi / WorldNetDaily:

McCain aide touts ‘Mexico first’ policy — Skeptics of candidate's immigration stance highlight appointment — The Hispanic outreach director for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign is a dual American-Mexican citizen known for his “Mexico first” declarations to immigrants in the U.S., WND has confirmed.

Discussion: The Corner

Tapscott's Copy Desk:

Why should anybody care about pork? Ask the Captain — Morrisey is hot, folks. He received a thoughtful email from one of his legion of faithful readers posing the question in the headline above and, being the good man that he is, Morrisey replied at length with some observations that are well-worth reading.

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters: Why Pork Matters — I get a lot of e-mail every day …