memeorandum: Would It Be Torture If It Was Done to You? (David Bromwich/The Huffington Post)

7:20 PM ET, February 3, 2008

Top Items:

Breaking News: Pro-Clinton push poll erupts in California — Ed Coghlan was just starting to prepare his dinner in the northern San Fernando Valley the other night when the phone rang. The caller was very friendly. He identified himself as a pollster who wanted to ask registered independents …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Truthdig, Liberal Values, Calitics and culturekitchen

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: Tracking Election 2008 — Based on daily polling from Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2008 — PRINCETON, NJ — Two days before the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses, Gallup Poll Daily tracking data show Hillary Clinton (46%) and Barack Obama (44%) in a statistical dead heat …

Discussion: Hot Air, Liberal Values, Open Left, bustardblog and Talking Points Memo

John Wildermuth / San Francisco Chronicle:

State poll shows huge gains by Obama, McCain — A startling surge of support for Barack Obama has catapulted the Illinois senator into a virtual tie with Hillary Rodham Clinton in California's Democratic presidential primary, a Field Poll released Saturday shows.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Moderate Voice, MSNBC, politburo diktat 2.0, All Spin Zone, Commentary, Booman Tribune, The Swamp, The Politico, protein wisdom, Associated Press, Liberal Values, Pajamas Media, Marc Ambinder, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, Dean's World and Washington Post

Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:

Zogby: Obama, Romney Ahead In California — A new Zogby poll in California — a state that may well decide the direction of the Democratic race — shows Barack Obama taking a small lead over Hillary Clinton, within the margin of error. Obama has 45% to Clinton's 41%, with Obama's 20-point …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, American Prospect, Political Machine, TalkLeft, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, rubber hose, Talking Points Memo and Gateway Pundit

Steven Thomma / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Clinton, McCain lead in bellwether Super Tuesday states — WASHINGTON — Republican John McCain leads in all four corners of the country heading into a rush of primaries on Tuesday, while Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were locked in a close struggle for delegates coast to coast …

Discussion: Rasmussen Reports, Hot Air, The Carpetbagger Report and Open Left

Pew Research Center:
McCain's Support Soars, Democratic Race Tightens

Discussion: Hot Air, Talking Points Memo and American Power

CNN:
Romney predicts conservatives will stop McCain

Discussion: The Politico, DownWithTyranny! and CBS News

USA Today:
USA TODAY/Gallup Poll: Clinton 45%, Obama 44%, and McCain surges

Discussion: Associated Press, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather

Evan Thomas / Newsweek:
What These Eyes Have Seen — He's endured the unendurable, and survived.

Discussion: protein wisdom, TBogg, Macsmind and Patterico's Pontifications

Ellen Wulfhorst / Reuters:
Clinton, Obama in dead heat ahead of big vote

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Oliver Willis, GINA COBB, Open Left, Sister Toldjah, Donklephant, You Decide 08!, NY Daily News and All Spin Zone

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:

BULLETIN: California's First Lady Maria Shriver Endorses Barack Obama (UPDATED) — California's first lady Maria Shriver has just appeared as a special surprise guest at the rally for Barack Obama in Los Angeles to endorse him for President. It was aired live on CSPAN. — “I wasn't on the schedule,” she said.

Discussion: The Grand Panjandrum and Los Angeles Times

Scott Martelle / Los Angeles Times:

Breaking News: Maria Shriver endorses Barack Obama — In a dramatic moment at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, California First Lady Maria Shriver just strode out onto a stage that had already seen its share of celebrities — Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder among them — and announced that she was joining …

Discussion: SFGate, The Caucus, My Left Wing and PoliGazette

Kate Michelman / The Huffington Post:

Why I'm Endorsing Barack Obama — The question I have been asking myself and others during my entire life in public policy and throughout this 2008 presidential Campaign — the question which tens of millions of women and men have also been asking — is how do we best bring America together …

Discussion: Political Radar

Mike Tackett / The Swamp:

Oprah, Stevie Wonder, Maria Shriver pitch Obama — LOS ANGELES — Oprah Winfrey was greeted with a rousing ovation that seemed largely composed of women, especially when they responded to Oprah's remarks about women. — Also attending the rally was Michelle Obama, who escorted Stevie Wonder on stage …

Discussion: The Politico

Pam / Pam's House Blend:

The blogs less traveled... So many folks email me or ask me in person how PHB gained its readership. There are lots of factors — * timing: since the launch on July 2004, blogs have grown at an exponential rate; — * blogwhoring or diaries at larger blogs: in the comments at Americablog …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The BRAD BLOG, Yikes!, Vidiot Speak, The Barefoot Bum and litbrit

Carl / The Reaction:

Because I'm B.A.D., ya know it! — Today is the anniversary of a dark day in Blogtopia (© Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo). — One year ago, Atrios (also known as Duncan Hunter), proprietor of the feebly-written (except for his co-bloggers) blog, “Eschaton,” decided to trim his blogroll for...well, his own reasons.

Discussion: The Impolitic, The Garlic, Pen-Elayne on the Web, World-O-Crap, rubber hose, Buck Naked Politics, Writhe Safely, Undeniable Liberalism, The Mahatma X Files, Bark Bark Woof Woof and Ice Station Tango

Blue Gal:
Happy Blogroll Amnesty Day

Discussion: All Spin Zone, Pharyngula, Make Them Accountable, State of the Day, pygalgia, Mike the Mad Biologist, The Largest Minority and Liberal Values

Nicole Belle / Crooks and Liars:

Unbelievable and Assaultive Strip Search on an Innocent Woman — Raw Story: (h/t Existentialist Cowboy)

Discussion: The Newshoggers, ThePoliticalCat, Balloon Juice and Chuck for

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:

The Latest on Gore — According to a source close to Al Gore, multiple people in the former VP's orbit are in touch with him on a regular basis to urge an Obama endorsement. According to this source, Gore's hesitation is three-fold: — 1.) The memory of the ill-fated Dean endorsement looms large for him.

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

Bill Kristol: White women are a problem — The neocon warmonger speaks. With Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton locked in a very good battle leading up to Super Tuesday, Kristol makes this misogynistic quote: — BILL KRISTOL: Look the only people for Hillary Clinton are the Democratic establishment …

Discussion: Media Matters for America, Taylor Marsh and protein wisdom

Matt Stoller / Open Left:

Lipinski Attacks OpenLeft, Pera Donors, With a Barrage of Cliches — Rich Perlstein has a great piece on how we're not about to get beyond the 1960s. Apparently Dan Lipinski's campaign read the article, because here's a flyer they are circulating attacking us as dirty hippies.

Discussion: Washington Post

James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:

Ron Paul Flatlines — Ron Paul's ability to attract enthusiastic support among young people, especially online, has been quite impressive and unexpected. The degree to which that has translated into fundraising capability has been nothing short of spectacular. — But look at the national polling trend lines for the past year:

Discussion: Unqualified Offerings, Donklephant and PoliBlog (TM)