memeorandum: McCain: Romney favored Iraq withdrawal (Liz Sidoti/Associated Press)

5:55 PM ET, January 26, 2008

Top Items:

Is the right right on the Clintons? — Hillary's campaign tactics are causing some liberals to turn against the couple. — Something strange happened the other day. All these different people — friends, co-workers, relatives, people on a liberal e-mail list I read — kept saying the same thing …

John O'Connor / The State:

Signs pointing to record turnout — If voters surge, party could share winner's momentum — Good weather and an attractive slate of candidates have South Carolina Democrats expecting record turnout for today's presidential primary, continuing a trend seen in other early-voting states.

Discussion: The Palmetto Scoop, The Trail, MyDD, Wonkette, The Caucus, Donklephant, QandO, MSNBC, The Strata-Sphere and New York Times

Bob Herbert / New York Times:

Questions for the Clintons — Charleston, S.C. — Joseph P. Riley Jr. has been mayor of this historic and often tense city since the mid-1970s. He's a Democrat, highly respected and has worked diligently to heal racial wounds that have festered in some cases for hundreds of years.

Discussion: Election Central, Taylor Marsh, JustOneMinute, Horses Mouth, Brendan Nyhan, The Mahablog, Prairie Weather, Norwegianity, Heading Right and Talking Points Memo

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

THE PROBLEM WITH BILL 2.0 — I've been trying for several days now to sort out my reactions to the increasingly bitter turn of the Democratic nomination race. So let share with you my thoughts about where we are. — As I told you at the time, I thought most of the charges that the Clintons …

Discussion: TalkLeft

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

Surge in Early Balloting Shifts Florida Races — BOCA RATON, Fla. — A surge of early voting by Florida Democrats and Republicans has startled officials here and injected additional complexity into the state's presidential primaries on Tuesday. — Democratic candidates are not overtly campaigning …

Discussion: The Politico, Ben Smith's Blogs, DownWithTyranny!, Hot Air and Prairie Weather

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Spinning South Carolina, II — Clinton puts out a memo from Howard Wolfson this morning that pushes the expectation that she will lose, and includes a reminder that she fought for “each and every vote." — There's also a note on the importance of delegates (funny how whoever is losing …

Discussion: Donklephant, TownHall Blog, MyDD and Open Left

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: Washington Wire, Commentary, Talking Points Memo, Taegan Goddard's …, Pajamas Media, SurveyUSA, Sister Toldjah, The Moderate Voice, Wake up America, Scared Monkeys, MyDD, Reuters and Pollster.com

Michael Graham / Boston Herald:

It's no-win for Barack — Clintons marginalize him as black candidate … Well, the media finally got the negative, slash-and-burn, “dirty politics” South Carolina primary they've been looking for. — They just weren't looking for it from the Democrats.

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Mark Halperin / The Page:

Clinton Camp Memo on South Carolina, Florida, Feb. 5 States — To: Interested Parties — From: Howard Wolfson, Communications Director Re: South Carolina, Florida, and February 5 — The Obama campaign has been so confident of winning South Carolina that six months ago they flatly predicted victory in the Palmetto State.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Spin Cycle, Associated Press, TIME: Swampland, Slog and Political Machine

Amy Chozick / Wall Street Journal:
To Truly Win in Carolina, Obama Needs Large Margin

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Colbert I. King / Washington Post:
Billary's Adventures in Primaryland

Discussion: Firedoglake and The Carpetbagger Report

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Rules? The Clintons Don't Need No Stinkin' Rules!

Discussion: A Blog For All, Right Wing Nut House, The Moderate Voice, Associated Press, Outside The Beltway, Macsmind, The Carpetbagger Report, The Newshoggers and The Corner

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
A Stress-Filled Week Shows Obama With a Blend of Humor and Fire

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Pollster.com, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC and Brendan Nyhan

Chris Frates / The Politico:
Clinton pursues selective strategy in S.C.

Discussion: Riehl World View, About.com US Politics and New York Times

CNN: Obama, Edwards have a lot on the line in South Carolina

Scott W. Johnson / Weekly Standard:

He Didn't Give at the Office — Remember that picture of Yasser Arafat, blood donor? — Charles Enderlin is the France 2 Jerusalem correspondent who broadcast the incendiary account of the death of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Dura at the hands of Israeli troops operating in the Gaza Strip in September 2000.

Discussion: Hot Air, Solomonia, Israel Matzav, Captain's Quarters, Democracy Project and Gateway Pundit

The Big Trunk / Power Line:
HE DIDN'T GIVE AT THE OFFICE

Discussion: Reuters and Pajamas Media

Mark Steyn / The Corner: If it doesn't bleed, it still leads

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:

McCain: Romney favored Iraq withdrawal — SARASOTA, Fla. - John McCain accused Mitt Romney of wanting to withdraw troops from Iraq, drawing immediate protest from his Republican presidential rival who said: “That's simply wrong and it's dishonest, and he should apologize.”

Discussion: Jonathan Martin's Blogs, TownHall Blog and Riehl World View

Gail Collins / New York Times:
Heeere's Rudy!

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

New York Times:

Société Générale's Sales May Have Incited Market Plunge — PARIS — As panic swept European markets on Monday, word spread that a big hedge fund was in trouble and dumping stocks. — Someone was selling, all right — Société Générale.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Big Picture and Grasping Reality …

CBS News:

“Clean” Movie Maven Arrested For Teen Sex — Utah Man Who Sold R-Rated Films Shorn Of Skin Arrested For Sex With 14-Year-Old Girls — (CBS) A Utah retailer of family-friendly tapes and DVDs - Hollywood films with the “dirty parts” cut out of them - has been arrested for trading sex with two 14-year-old girls.

Discussion: Cliff Schecter