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Mike Allen / The Politico:
Obama claims delegate lead — In a surprise twist after a chaotic Super Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) passed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in network tallies of the number of delegates the candidates racked up last night. — Clinton was portrayed in many news accounts …
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Washington Post:
Clinton and Obama Trade Victories — N.Y. Senator Withstands Push By Surging Rival in Key Battlegrounds — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won victories over Sen. Barack Obama in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York last night, giving her presidential campaign a crucial boost.
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: A DEM SPLIT DECISION — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — *** A split decision: The Clinton and Obama campaigns engaged in a furious game of spin before Super Tuesday, but Obama might have put it best when he said on TODAY and Morning Joe yesterday that it would end up being a split decision.
The New Republic:
Who Won Super Tuesday? — It's hard to say, but if you put a gun in my head, I'd say John McCain and (very slightly) Hillary Clinton, but the elections revealed weaknesses in McCain and in both of the leading Democratic candidates. McCain blunted Mitt Romney's challenge, but he failed consistently to win over conservative voters.
Harold Meyerson / American Prospect:
THE DEMOCRATIC RACE FROM HERE. — Now that the dust is settling …
THE DEMOCRATIC RACE FROM HERE. — Now that the dust is settling …
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Democrats' Identity Politics Getting More Sharply Defined
Democrats' Identity Politics Getting More Sharply Defined
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politburo diktat 2.0
Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:
Democrats' Votes Display a Racial Divide
Democrats' Votes Display a Racial Divide
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michellemalkin.com
Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:
The Repudiation of Rove — John McCain had a surprising but pleasant evening last night — watching Mitt Romney go down to defeat in nearly every contest and encountering a newly victorious but ultimately unnominatable Mike Huckabee all across the Bible Belt.
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Tapscott's Copy Desk:
Now we see if McCain really wants conservatives
Now we see if McCain really wants conservatives
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Captain's Quarters
Michael Levenson / Boston Globe:
After tough Tuesday, Romney forces to meet on next steps
After tough Tuesday, Romney forces to meet on next steps
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AMERICAblog
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
SUPERDELEGATES. — I really, really hope the Democratic primary doesn't come down to superdelegates — the privileged class of delegate that gets to vote however they want, and were created to ensure that party elites didn't lose too much control over the process.
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Washington Monthly
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Through June — David Plouffe, on a conference call with reporters …
Through June — David Plouffe, on a conference call with reporters …
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D-Day
Thomas B. Edsall / The Huffington Post:
Super Tuesday Fallout: Where The Race Goes From Here — Hillary Clinton's strength among core Democratic constituencies — women, Latinos and working class whites — pushed her to victory in the mega-state primaries of California, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts on Tuesday, slowing …
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Jed Babbin / Human Events:
McCain Didn't Close the Deal — John McCain's strong showing in the February 5 primaries wasn't enough to close the deal. He could have done it by winning enough delegates to be the prohibitive favorite or — conversely — by Mitt Romney making so poor a showing that he would be unwilling to fight on.
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Faiz / Think Progress:
Buchanan: John McCain ‘Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi’ — On the NBC Today Show, liberal radio host Rachel Maddow, conservative pundit Pat Buchanan, and Democratic strategist Paul Begala discussed the importance of “change” in the upcoming election. Voters want a “clean break from Bush,” argued Maddow.
Shamanic / The Newshoggers:
Man I'm tired.... Do we have a new president yet? I feel like last night should have decided the whole thing, but apparently not. — A couple more thoughts: first, from what I've heard pundits say and in various media accounts, the calendar on the Dem side was more or less the product …
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Comments from Left Field
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Mark Steyn / The Corner:
The Morning After — I think John O'Sullivan is right. There was an explicit anti-Romney vote in the South. A mere month ago, in the wake of Iowa and New Hampshire, I received a ton of e-mails from southern readers saying these pansy northern states weren't the “real” conservative heartland …
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
NRCC probe scares GOP — Top House Republicans were told in recent days that a former employee of their campaign committee may have forged an official audit during the contentious 2006 election cycle and that they should brace for the possibility that an unfolding investigation …
Cara DeGette / Colorado Confidential:
Ted Haggard Quits New Life ‘Restoration Team’ — Technically, it only took three weeks of intensive “restoration” a full year ago to make Ted Haggard a “complete heterosexual.” But on Tuesday night, the new pastor of the Colorado Springs megachurch that Haggard founded has announced …
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Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:
Intelligence Chief Cites Qaeda Threat to U.S. — WASHINGTON — Al Qaeda is gaining in strength from its refuge in Pakistan and is steadily improving its ability to recruit, train and position operatives capable of carrying out attacks inside the United States, the director of national intelligence told a Senate panel on Tuesday.
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Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:
Kumbya Convo — Mary Matalin had some creative thinking for John McCain this morning, in conversation with NRO, based on the idea that “McCain still failing to win conservatives anywhere, even where he wins.” — A “trust but verify” strategy for McCain might include:
Robert Perez / Orlando Sentinel:
Confused Florida voters try to cast ballots in Super Tuesday primaries — The problem? Florida had its presidential primary LAST week. — Millions of Americans in 24 states are turning out vote to in Super Tuesday presidential primaries from Georgia to Alaska today.
Jennifer Griffin / Fox News:
Al Qaeda Trains Young Boys as Terrorists, Tapes Show — WASHINGTON — Al Qaeda propaganda tapes released by Multinational Forces-Iraq reveal a possible new trend in the group's terror strategy in Iraq. — The tapes, obtained by FOX News and later released to the media …