memeorandum: Sources: Schwarzenegger in talks to endorse McCain (John McCain/CNN)

1:45 AM ET, January 31, 2008

Top Items:

Gallup Daily: Tracking Election 2008 — Based on daily polling from Jan. 27-29, 2008 — PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama has now cut the gap with Hillary Clinton to 6 percentage points among Democrats nationally in the Gallup Poll Daily tracking three-day average, and interviewing conducted …

Discussion: MyDD, Talking Points Memo, TPM Election Central, Pollster.com, Liberal Values, New York Daily News Blogs, AdAge, Captain's Quarters, The Daily Dish, Open Left, Spin Cycle, politburo diktat 2.0 and Needlenose

Rasmussen Reports:

Election 2008: Massachusetts Democratic Primary — Massachusetts: Clinton 43% Obama 37% — A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Massachusetts Democratic Presidential Primary finds Hillary Clinton attracting 43% of the vote while Barack Obama earns 37%.

Discussion: The New Republic, Donklephant and TPM Election Central

John McCain / CNN:

Sources: Schwarzenegger in talks to endorse McCain — SIMI VALLEY, California (CNN) — Two Republican sources familiar with the conversations tell CNN California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in discussions about endorsing John McCain's presidential bid.

Discussion: Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Associated Press, The Reaction, Washington Monthly, The Trail, michellemalkin.com, Pajamas Media and The Page

MSNBC:

Romney, McCain clash in California — Is Romney pulling back on advertising in Super Tuesday states? — SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - Republican Mitt Romney said John McCain used dirty tricks by suggesting shortly before the Florida primary that the former Massachusetts governor wanted a deadline …

Discussion: The Corner, Real Clear Politics, QandO, Wake up America, The Campaign Spot and Say Anything

Michael Crowley / The New Republic:

Romney's Missed Opportunity — Boy, was that not the momentum-changer Mitt Romney needed. Overall I saw a mostly predictable news-free affair. But Romney looked to me like a rattled and somewhat defeated figure. — Romney was handed one fine opportunity: A question about whether John McCain lied …

Discussion: The Corner and Spin Cycle

The Fact Hub:

Sen. Obama's Speech In Denver, CO Will Contain Four Misleading Attacks On Hillary In One Sentence — Just 24 hours after Sen. Obama asserted he has run a consistently positive campaign, he released excerpts of a speech to be delivered this morning in Denver, CO that distorts Hillary's record …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Caucus, Comments from Left Field, Oliver Willis and TPM Election Central

Associated Press:
Obama says Clinton would be a step back

Discussion: AMERICAblog and Wizbang

Matthew Yglesias:
That's More Like It — Here's Barack Obama talking today in Denver:

Discussion: The Democratic Daily, The Newshoggers, Outside The Beltway and Liberal Values

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:

McCain declines one-on-one debate — NBC invited John McCain and Mitt Romney onto “Meet the Press” Sunday for a final debate before Super Tuesday. Romney, now the underdog and eager for opportunities to take on the frontrunner, immediately accepted. McCain, who appeared on the show …

Discussion: Associated Press, Hot Air, The Swamp, Riehl World View, NY Daily News and Weekly Standard

You Decide 08!:
GIULIANI ENDORSEMENT GIVES MCCAIN VISIBLE BOOST GOING INTO SUPER TUESDAY

Discussion: Political Machine, Gateway Pundit, NW Republican, Wonkette and KABC-TV

CNN:
McCain, Romney spar over Iraq, credentials

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, michellemalkin.com and Gateway Pundit

New York Post:

POST ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA — Democrats in 22 states across America go to the polls next Tuesday to pick between two presidential prospects: Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. — We urge them to choose Obama - an untried candidate, to be sure, but preferable to the junior senator from New York.

Discussion: TalkLeft, Wonkette, TPM Election Central, The Democratic Daily, City Room, Salon, TIME, Boston Globe and Commentary

Karl / protein wisdom:

McCain Derangement Syndrome: A reply to Roger L. Simon — Roger L. Simon, whose blog I usually enjoy, makes some serious errors today: … Put me in the same boat as Elder as to the woman who purportedly denied McCain was a war hero, but Simon manages to start from faulty premises and work …

Discussion: American Power, The Other McCain, The Sundries Shack, RADAMISTO, Hot Air and Stop The ACLU

Roger L. Simon:
McCain Derangement Syndrome - It's Here!

Discussion: Classical Values, Hot Air, Daily Pundit, Riehl World View, Stop The ACLU, The Other McCain, Instapundit.com and BLACKFIVE

David Neiwert / Orcinus:

The Orcinus fundraiser — by Dave — Fund-raisers can be something of a mixed bag — simultaneously inspiring and deflating, especially when you're like me and really don't care for certain things required of people who use them as the revenue sources for their blogs.

Discussion: Lean Left

Asaf Shalev / Daily Californian:

City Council Passes Motions Criticizing Marines Office — Members of the Berkeley City Council showed their opposition to a Marine Corps recruiting office in Downtown Berkeley last night. — Council members supported the two resolutions-one supporting anti-war protests …

Discussion: Move America Forward

Michelle Malkin:
Blood-boiler: Berkeley vs. the troops

Discussion: BLACKFIVE

Digby / Hullabaloo:

It Depends On What The Definition Of Conscience Is — Remember this? … Well, here he is, testifying that, basically, that the ends justify the means: — TPM reports that this way: … It's really hard for me to believe that someone who used to be a federal judge can blow that sophistry …

Discussion: Balkinization, TPMmuckraker, D-Day, Talking Points Memo and American Street

Philip Shenon / New York Times:
Mukasey Will Not Rule Out Waterboarding

Discussion: The Swamp and The Heretik

Rick Klein / ABCNEWS:

Ralph Nader Flirts with Presidential Bid — With Harsh Words for Current Field, Nader Says Candidacy as Urgent as Ever — Ralph Nader has formed a presidential exploratory committee, and said in an interview Wednesday that he will launch another presidential bid if he's convinced …

Discussion: Shakespeare's Sister, The Nation, AMERICAblog, Politics1, The Caucus, Hot Air, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, Salon, Wonkette, the talking dog, Lawyers, Guns and Money, CNN, Outside The Beltway and Boston Globe

New York Times:

An Ex-President, a Mining Deal and a Big Donor — Late on Sept. 6, 2005, a private plane carrying the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra touched down in Almaty, a ruggedly picturesque city in southeast Kazakhstan. Several hundred miles to the west a fortune awaited …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The RBC

Hugh Hewitt / Townhall.com:

The Conservative Reality: A Vote For Huckabee Is A Vote For McCain — Chris Cillizza reports the MSM understanding of what is happening on the GOP side —the repudiation of conservatism: … In fact, the conservative vote has been split in many directions, but now has to decide whether …