memeorandum: How Bush Decided on the Surge (Fred Barnes/Weekly Standard)

12:45 AM ET, January 27, 2008

Top Items:

Caroline Kennedy / New York Times:

A President Like My Father — OVER the years, I've been deeply moved by the people who've told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting …

Discussion: Washington Wire, The Fix, The Daily Dish, Washington Post, The Gun Toting Liberal™, The XX Factor, The Moderate Voice, TalkLeft, Liberal Values, Marc Ambinder, Prairie Weather, Threat Level, PoliGazette, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, Lynn Sweet, Cliff Schecter, The Trail and MyDD

Associated Press:

Obama runs away with SC primary — COLUMBIA, S.C. - Barack Obama routed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the racially-charged South Carolina primary Saturday night, regaining campaign momentum in the prelude to a Feb. 5 coast-to-coast competition for more than 1,600 Democratic National Convention delegates.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Power Line, New York Times, Captain's Quarters, You Decide 08!, The Garlic, The State, Liberal Values, QandO, MyDD, Scared Monkeys, Wake up America, The Heretik, Donklephant, Gateway Pundit, Rising Hegemon, The Democratic Daily and My Two Sense

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

TRY TO EXPLAIN THIS — Here's Bill Clinton this afternoon discounting Barack Obama's expected victory in South Carolina by explaining that Jesse Jackson won the state twice ...

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Obsidian Wings, Wonkette, The Carpetbagger Report, Donklephant and The Reaction

CNN:

Exit polls: Bill Clinton's effect — (CNN) — Bill Clinton's aggressive campaigning in South Carolina in the days leading up to the state's primary may have had a net negative effect among South Carolina's Democratic primary voters, CNN exit polls indicate.

Discussion: The Politico, The Daily Dish, You Decide 08!, Matthew Yglesias, The Stump, Buck Naked Politics, Open Left, Pam's House Blend, Pandagon, Patterico's Pontifications, Truthdig, The Mahablog and Blue Crab Boulevard

Mark Mooney / Political Punch:

Bubba: Obama Is Just Like Jesse Jackson — Said Bill Clinton today in Columbia, SC: “Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here." — This was in response to a question about Obama saying it “took two people to beat him.”

Discussion: Power Line, Redstate, The Corner, The Plank and The Page

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

BILL: ‘MY MESSAGE’ 99.9% POSITIVE — From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli — COLUMBIA, SC — At the end of a week in which he's often been the center of attention, former president Bill Clinton struck a conciliatory note, admitting that he has gotten “hot” defending his wife even as he defended his campaign role.

Discussion: The Stump, Jack and Jill Politics, politburo diktat 2.0, The American Scene and Associated Press

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

Bill Clinton As Victim: Says His Message is “99.99″ Percent Positive — If you say something often enough ("It's a brand new pre-owned car!" “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction!" “Why, honey, that dress doesn't make you look fat!") you might get others — and perhaps yourself — to believe it.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Crooks and Liars, The Left Coaster and Don Surber

Associated Press:

Early highlights from South Carolina Democratic exit poll — Some highlights of preliminary data from exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday: — IT'S THE ECONOMY, AGAIN — Given three choices …

Discussion: Open Left, Reuters, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog, Trailhead, TPM Election Central and Spin Cycle

Krooney / The Page:

HOW HE DID IT — Exit poll results from the AP. — Watch MSNBC announce exit poll results above.

Discussion: The Stump, Firedoglake, Hotline On Call, The Agonist and Blue Crab Boulevard

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

LOOKING AT THE EXIT POLLS — From MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell and Adam Verdugo — The South Carolina Democratic primary has been a bitter, hard-fought contest with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama taking jabs at each other in Monday's televised debate. In the exit polls …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Commentary, The Reaction, Slog, Boston Herald and Classical Values

Chris Bowers / Open Left:

South Carolina Results: Obama Wins Huge — Results can be found at the South Carolina Democratic Party website, and at CNN. — 99% Reporting (projected pledged delegates in parenthesis) — Obama: 55%, 295,091, (25) — Clinton 27%, 141,128, (12) — Edwrds: 18%, 93,552, (8)

Discussion: PERRspectives Blog, The Daily Dish, American Street, Political Machine and protein wisdom

CBS News:

Barack Obama Wins South Carolina Primary — CBS News Projects That Obama Has Defeated Clinton And Edwards In Prelude To Super Tuesday — (CBS/AP) CBS News estimates that Democratic Sen. Barack Obama will win the South Carolina Democratic primary. — Obama reached out for victory …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, The Democratic Daily, Crooks and Liars, Political Radar, The Trail, TalkLeft and Spin Cycle

Rich Lowry / The Corner:
We Shall Overcome—the Clintons

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Marc Ambinder and The Stump

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish: Bill's Advance Spin

Andrew Malcolm / Los Angeles Times:
Thanks a lot, Bill Clinton

Discussion: The Politico and Taegan Goddard's …

New York Times:
Obama Wins South Carolina Primary

Discussion: The Hill, CNN and Daily Kos

Mark Halperin / The Page:
Clinton Camp Memo on South Carolina, Florida, Feb. 5 States

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, TIME: Swampland, Spin Cycle, Slog, Political Machine and The Strata-Sphere

Rick Klein / Political Radar:
Live-Blogging S.C. Democratic Primary Results by Rick Klein

Discussion: Reason Magazine, TIME, The Strata-Sphere, Hot Air and Macsmind

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Large Turnout Among Blacks, Women in S.C.

Discussion: Salon

Bob Herbert / New York Times:
Questions for the Clintons

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Media Matters for America, Election Central, TigerHawk, NewsBusters.org, Washington Post, Horses Mouth, Los Angeles Times, The Mahablog, JustOneMinute and MSNBC

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Spinning South Carolina, II

Discussion: The Stump, Talking Points Memo, Donklephant and MyDD

Michael Scherer / TIME: Swampland:

McCain's Conversation Changer: A Misleading Low Blow — McCain wants the Florida primary to be an election about national security, his best issue. But until Saturday, the contest was humming along as an election more about the economy, Mitt Romney's best issue.

Discussion: James Wolcott's Blog and American Power

Mark R. Levin / The Corner: Did He or Didn't He? — McCain said this about Romney …

New York Times:
McCain Goes on Offensive in Tight Race in Florida

Discussion: Commentary, Political Radar and Power Line

Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
McCain: Romney Favored Iraq Withdrawal

Discussion: Hot Air, michellemalkin.com, American Power, Political Machine, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, TownHall Blog and Riehl World View

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

THEIR SPIN — Just off the AP wire ... I guess they're really broken up about it.

Discussion: QandO

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

RUDY CAMP SHAKEN BY CRIST NEWS — From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger — ORLANDO, FL — Charlie Crist is on the agenda for the Orange County Lincoln Day Dinner, just below Giuliani as the guest of honor. But an endorsement is not on the menu. — Crist did not appear at the dinner …

Discussion: Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The Corner, TownHall Blog, Riehl World View and Hot Air

Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:

The Obama Temptation — I tell you, he almost had me tonight until he talked about the war that shouldn't have been authorized and reminded me there are real policy issues at stake in this election! But listening to his inspirational, rallying speech tonight it's clear and obvious that if he's the nominee, he will be tough to beat.

Discussion: Winds of Change.NET