memeorandum: Obama as Reagan — Rod fears that a President Obama … (Mark Krikorian/The Corner)

4:40 PM ET, January 29, 2008

Top Items:

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: McCain Lead Widens As Primary Election Day Dawns in Florida — Giuliani, Huckabee tied in battle for distant third place — UTICA, New York - Arizona Sen. John McCain's lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is growing wider as the Republican campaign ends …

Discussion: MiamiHerald.com, Pajamas Media, Outside The Beltway, MyDD, The Moderate Voice, Taegan Goddard's … and Firedoglake

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

McCain Accused Of Gay Baiting In Anti-Romney Attack — On the eve of the Florida Republican primary, Sen. John McCain launched a robo-call campaign attacking his rival Mitt Romney that some gay rights groups say amounts to gay baiting. — The call, which comes at the end of a hotly contested election …

Discussion: Marc Ambinder and Outside The Beltway

Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:
Final Morning of Florida Polls

Discussion: Donklephant and PoliGazette

Adam C. Smith / St. Petersburg Times:
Crist endorsement is surprising, risky

Discussion: TIME and Riehl World View

Marc Ambinder:
Romney's Major Florida Advantage

Discussion: National Review, Jonathan Martin's Blogs and Hot Air

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
McCain sends out harsh robocall hitting Mitt from right

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, AMERICAblog, Pam's House Blend, The Caucus and The Page

John Hood / The Corner: Summed Up In A Phrase

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Clinton, Obama steal Bush's final show — All eyes were on Democratic presidential frontrunners Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) Monday night as spectators and pundits followed their every move during President Bush's final State of the Union address.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Open Left, Total Information Awareness, Ben Smith's Blogs, DownWithTyranny!, New York Times, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Tom Watson, Comments from Left Field, The Swamp, Truthdig, The Moderate Voice, The Page, FP Passport and The Democratic Daily

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Kennedy Mystique — Something fundamental has shifted in the Democratic Party. — Last week there was the widespread revulsion at the Clintons' toxic attempts to ghettoize Barack Obama. In private and occasionally in public, leading Democrats lost patience with the hyperpartisan style of politics …

Discussion: Neptunus Lex, Ross Douthat, Fausta's blog, Hot Air, michellemalkin.com, NY Daily News and Matthew Yglesias

Los Angeles Times:

Kennedys for Clinton — She stands for Democrats and for the nation, these family members say. — This is a wonderful year for Democrats. Our party is blessed with the most impressive array of primary candidates in modern history. All would make superb presidents.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Sister Toldjah, The Carpetbagger Report, NY Daily News, GregsOpinion.com, Middle Earth Journal, HillaryClinton.com, NO QUARTER, The Page, KnoxViews, MSNBC and The RBC

Carl Hulse / New York Times:

For Democrats, a Gleeful State of the Union — WASHINGTON — Democrats never seemed so elated about the prospect of a major speech by President Bush. Or of having it finished. — “I think everybody is ready to turn the page,” said Representative Mark Udall, Democratic of Colorado …

Discussion: Slog, Political Radar, The Crone Speaks and The Swamp

John Milburn / Associated Press:
Obama wins backing of Kansas governor

Discussion: Associated Press, The Fix and Ben Smith's Blogs

Matthew Yglesias:
A Surge of Applause — SOTU tea-leaf reading: … And there you have it.

Discussion: Firedoglake

New Hampshire Union Leader:

Hillary's word: It's worth nothing — COURTING VOTERS in Iowa and New Hampshire, last August Sen. Hillary Clinton signed a pledge not to “campaign or participate” in the Michigan or Florida Democratic primaries. She participated in both primaries and is campaigning in Florida.

Discussion: Political Machine, UrbanGrounds and The Field

Marc Ambinder:

Tonight: Clinton Parties In Florida — Note: polls close in Florida at 7...and 8. This event begins at 7. — Will this really help her? She is going to be overshadowed tonight by the GOP contest. This is would be like the New England Patiots celebrating a pre-season victory. Weird.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Spin Cycle and Liberal Values

Anne Applebaum / Slate:

Where Did All Those Gorgeous Russians Come From? — THE SAME PLACE AS THE UNGLAMOROUS ASSEMBLY-LINE WORKERS. — There was a particular historical moment, round about 1995 or so, when anyone entering a well-appointed drawing room, dining room, or restaurant in London was sure to encounter a beautiful Russian woman.

Discussion: protein wisdom and The American Scene

Washington Post / The Trail:

Richardson's Choice — SANTA FE, N.M. — Gov. Bill Richardson's phone has been ringing off the hook. Sen. Hillary Clinton called Sunday night. That was followed by a call from former president Bill Clinton, then a call from Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who's supporting Clinton.

Discussion: The New Republic, Liberal Values, New York Times, Left in the West, Comments from Left Field, Donklephant, The Caucus, Balloon Juice, Slog and TPM Election Central

Confederate Yankee:

Media Still Trying to Martyr Obama — We've covered this ground before. For reasons they will not openly disclose, media worldwide are hooked on the possibility that Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama will be assassinated. — As noted by Mark Finkelstein this morning on Newsbusters …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Huffington Post, Instapundit.com and TVNewser

Cernig / The Newshoggers: Sick Of The “American Idol” Presidential Race

James Glanz / New York Times:

An American Builder's Failures in Iraq Are Found to Have Been More Widespread — Rebuilding failures by one of the most heavily criticized companies working in Iraq, the American construction giant Parsons, were much more widespread than previously disclosed and touched on nearly every aspect …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, American Street, TPMmuckraker, Prairie Weather and Connecting.the.Dots

Rich Lowry / The Corner:

Robert Kagan on the McCain/Romney Surge Controversy — Robert Kagan, a McCain advisor, writes in response to this post:

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Commentary

Mark Krikorian / The Corner:

Obama as Reagan — Rod fears that a President Obama would be the Democrats' Reagan, transforming politics for years to come and moving the country significantly to the left. (Obama himself, of course, essentially made the same comparison in his Reagan comments.)

Discussion: The Democratic Daily and Crunchy Con

Pam / Pam's House Blend:

The fantasy of a ‘post-racial’ election — I am so sick of hearing “post-racial” bleated in the MSM over and over, seemingly in a desperate attempt to see Barack Obama's successes so far in garnering diverse support as a sign that somehow, voters are looking beyond race.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Feministe

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:

‘Pell Grants for Kids’ = Vouchers — In 2001, when the White House decided it would work with congressional Dems on No Child Left Behind legislation, Dems made one thing perfectly clear: no vouchers. Plenty of ideas were on the table, but there was simply no way Dems would support …

Discussion: PERRspectives Blog, Washington Monthly, Blog entry, Think Progress and Eduwonk.com

Robert Nolin / South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Primary day glitches few but frustrating — South Florida voters took to the polls in force Tuesday, setting the stage for what may be a record turnout for a primary election, deciding a make-or-break race for Republican presidential hopefuls and the fate of property tax reform.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Political Machine, MyDD and Sister Toldjah