memeorandum: BOB DOLE DEFENDS JOHN MCCAIN IN LETTER TO RUSH LIMBAUGH (John McCain/You Decide 08!)

1:00 PM ET, February 5, 2008

Top Items:

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: McCain Dominates GOP Races; Dems Locked in Tight Contests As Super Tuesday Polls Open — UTICA, New York - The final day of polling before Super Tuesday was one of hardening positions in key races across the country, the latest Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby survey work shows.

Discussion: TalkLeft, MSNBC, Reuters, American Street, Wonkette, Raising Kaine and PrestoPundit

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

THE POLLS — There's one guarantee I can make right now about tonight's results. They are going take make either Zogby or SurveyUSA look like complete fools. Which one I'm not completely sure, but definitely one of them. — Consider this spread. Zogby has his final California number as Obama 49%, Clinton 36%.

Discussion: The New Republic, MyDD, Shakespeare's Sister and The Sideshow

Election Projection:

Super-Duper-Mega-Jumbo Tuesday predictions and results — We have arrived at the biggest day in the history of primaries. Almost half of these United States are conducting their primaries or caucuses today. Over 1000 delegates are at stake on the Republican side and twice that are being contested on the Democratic side.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, michellemalkin.com, Washington Post, Outside The Beltway, Wizbang, Confederate Yankee, Macsmind and Redstate

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

8 Questions Super Tuesday Could Answer — Will Either Race End Today? — 1) Democratic strategist Bill Carrick put it best: “To paraphrase Churchill,” he wrote in an e-mail, “the Democrats are at the end of the beginning and the Republicans are at the beginning of the end.”

Discussion: Salon, Greatscat! and The Carpetbagger Report

Michael Barone / US News:
A Super Tuesday Guide

Discussion: The Swamp, protein wisdom, The Other McCain and You Decide 08!

Chris Bowers / Open Left:
Super Delegates To Determine Nominee

Discussion: protein wisdom, Pajamas Media, The Sirens Chronicles, The Campaign Spot, The Opinionator, Balkinization, Vox Popoli, Wake up America, MyDD, The Strata-Sphere, Donklephant, Buckeye State Blog, Booman Tribune, The Mahablog, Easter Lemming Liberal News, Cogitamus and The Reaction

Josh Gerstein / Latest Politics:

Limbaugh Defends Clinton and Obama on Iraq — Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is so exasperated about Senator McCain's surge in the Republican presidential contest that he is coming to the defense of Senators Clinton and Obama. — On Mr. Limbaugh's program today, he said people should not be rushing …

Discussion: Think Progress, No More Mister Nice Blog, Buck Naked Politics, Donklephant, Angry Bear, RADAMISTO, The Politico and Jonathan Martin's Blogs

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Limbaugh on McCain: It's Better to Be Right All the Time — It may be the best sideshow in presidential politics: the nation's top radio talker trying to take down the Republican front-runner in today's Super Tuesday showdown. — Rush Limbaugh has been relentless in his criticism of John McCain …

Discussion: NY Daily News, DownWithTyranny!, Political Machine, MSNBC, PBD, The Carpetbagger Report, Center Face, New York Post and CNN

Byron York / The Corner:
Mitt: Get Out of Here, Bob. Mac: How Dare You

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Hot Air and Sister Toldjah

Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
Limbaugh: McCain Out to Destroy GOP for 2000 S.C. Defeat

Discussion: Chuck for, The Page, Middle Earth Journal, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Gateway Pundit, PoliBlog (TM), michellemalkin.com and Commentary

John McCain / You Decide 08!:
BOB DOLE DEFENDS JOHN MCCAIN IN LETTER TO RUSH LIMBAUGH

Discussion: Washington Wire and The Radio Equalizer

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:
Limbaugh's McCain Derangement Syndrome

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Wonkette, NewsBusters.org and Riehl World View

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Super Tuesday Viewer's Guide — Tonight promises an embarrassment of riches for political junkies. With 24 states holding either a Democratic or Republican vote for president, there is — dare we say it! — too much to read and watch. — As always, The Fix aims to cut through the clutter for our community of readers.

Discussion: politburo diktat 2.0

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Voting Begins in a Grab for Delegates, and an Edge

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Associated Press, USA Today, MSNBC, Power Line and On Deadline

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Cooper Concerns — I'm not a Hillary-hater. She's been an outstanding senator. She hung tough on Iraq through the dark days of 2005. In this campaign, she has soldiered on bravely even though she has most of the elected Democrats, news media and the educated class rooting against her.

Discussion: The Newshoggers, TalkLeft, NY Daily News, MSNBC, abu muqawama, Redstate, Betsy's Page, Commentary, Bats Left Throws Right and Bark Bark Woof Woof

Bruce Fein / Washington Times:

Power of the purse purloined? — Jan. 28, 2008, is a date that will live in congressional infamy. Congress surrendered the power of the purse over national security affairs to the White House. — President Bush appended a signing statement to the National Defense Authorization Act …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Think Progress and rubber hose

Roger Simon / The Politico:

Picking up, putting aside the poor — Some political moments are so bizarre that you have to believe they actually are sincere. — One such moment came this weekend, when Barack Obama mocked John Edwards in a speech. — Obama had done it before, but that was before Edwards suspended his campaign last Wednesday.

Discussion: Iddybud Journal

John R. Bolton / Wall Street Journal:

Our Politicized Intelligence Services — Today, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee (and Thursday on the House side) to give the intelligence community's annual global threat analysis. These hearings are always significant …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Commentary, The Corner and On Deadline

Marc Ambinder:

Delegates In California: A Caution — If, in many congressional districts in California, a Democrat does not receive more than 62% of the vote, he or she will receive the same number of delegates from that CD as the he or she who finishes second. (Only Clinton and Obama will earn viability — above 15% in those CDs.)

Discussion: D-Day, Cogitamus and Calitics

Andy Worthington:

Afghan who died at Guantánamo was anti-Taliban hero — Today the New York Times runs an exclusive front page article by Carlotta Gall and myself, Time Runs Out for an Afghan Held by the U.S., exposing the bitter truth about Abdul Razzaq Hekmati, a 68-year old detainee who died of cancer …

Discussion: New York Times, Donklephant, Empire Burlesque, cab drollery and The Guantánamo Blog

Reuters:

Ex-Bush aide Rove to join Fox News Channel — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Karl Rove, the strategist behind President George W. Bush's ascendancy to the White House, will join Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Channel as a contributor starting with Super Tuesday, the network said.

Discussion: Political Machine

Fred Kaplan / Slate:

What's Really in the U.S. Military Budget? — MUCH MORE THAN THE OFT-CITED $515.4 BILLION. — It's time for our annual game: How much is really in the U.S. military budget? — As usual, it's about $200 billion more than most news stories are reporting.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Balloon Juice, D-Day, Washington Monthly and Firedoglake