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12:00 AM ET, February 8, 2008

Top Items:

Mark Halperin / The Page:

Transcript of Romney's Speech Withdrawing From the Race — Governor Romney's Address to the Conservative Political Action Committee - February 7, 2008 — I want to begin by saying thank you. It's great to be with you again. And I look forward to joining with you many more times in the future.

Discussion: The Plank, The New Republic, TBogg, Shakespeare's Sister, The RBC, Done With Mirrors, No More Mister Nice Blog, Matthew Yglesias, The Heretik, GINA COBB, Democratic Strategist, Wake up America, SFGate, Political Machine and FP Passport

Krooney / The Page:

Romney Quits Race — Says time of war is not the right time to continue GOP fight: “I feel I have to stand aside.” — Read full remarks from CPAC conference here. … AP: Decision effectively cedes nomination to McCain. — Obama, kicking Romney as he heads out the door, criticizes him for saying Democrats are soft on terror.

Discussion: The Caucus, PoliBlog (TM), The Moderate Voice, Inside Charm City, Moue Magazine, Bookworm Room, Democratic Strategist, Hot Air, bastard.logic, The Opinionator, Wizbang, Wake up America, Hotline On Call, Redstate, TVNewser, michellemalkin.com and Outside The Beltway

Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:

Randi Rhodes Airs Unhinged Anti-Romney Skit — ‘KILLING RAMPAGE’ — Rhodes Skit Says Romney Supporters Will Kill Innocent People — *** EXCLUSIVE To The Radio Equalizer *** — Apparently unable to learn from past mistakes, or just too unhinged to know better, Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, You Decide 08!, Power Line, Hot Air and NewsBusters.org

John King / CNN:

GOP sources: Romney to suspend campaign — (CNN) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will suspend his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, GOP sources tell CNN. — Romney had won 270 delegates in through the Super Tuesday contests, compared with front-runner John McCain's 680.

Discussion: The Fix, Captain's Quarters, Hot Air, New York Times, The Carpetbagger Report, American Street, Buck Naked Politics, Citizen Orange, Burnt Orange Report, Washington Wire, Middle Earth Journal and The Strata-Sphere

New York Times:
Romney Drops Out of Presidential Race

Discussion: The Politico, Think Progress, The Crypt's Blogs, Commentary, American Street, The Swamp, The Carpetbagger Report and Jonathan Martin's Blogs

PERRspectives Blog:
Mitt Romney's Greatest Hits

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Byron York / The Corner:
Romney Pulling Out? …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Boston Globe, You Decide 08!, Pajamas Media, The Truth Laid Bear, TIME, Hot Air, Classical Values, Redstate, Wonkette and Weekly Standard

Howard Fineman / Newsweek:
Burying Mitt — Romney failed because he ran as something he's not.

Discussion: HorseRaceBlog and Liberty Pundit

Terry Frieden / CNN:

Mukasey won't investigate ‘waterboarding’ — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Attorney General Michael Mukasey told lawmakers Thursday he will not open a criminal investigation into the CIA's acknowledged use of “waterboarding” on terror suspects. — House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers …

Discussion: Muckraker, The Heretik, Comments from Left Field, Bad Attitudes and Truthdig

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:

MARK THIS DAY — Attorney General Michael Mukasey is back on the Hill today, testifying to the House Judiciary Committee. Paul Kiel is covering it at TPMmuckraker. — So far, he's dropped two big bombshells. DOJ will not be investigating: — (1) whether the waterboarding, now admitted to by the White House, was a crime; or

Discussion: Emptywheel, Hold Fast, The Carpetbagger Report, Hullabaloo and The Newshoggers

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Justice Dept. ‘Cannot’ Probe Waterboarding, Mukasey Says

Discussion: PERRspectives Blog

Real Clear Politics:

John McCain's CPAC Speech — ARLINGTON, VA — U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released the following remarks by John McCain as prepared for delivery: Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. It's been a little while since I've had the honor of addressing you, and I appreciate very much your courtesy to me today.

Discussion: Power Line, Dick Polman's American Debate and FP Passport

Redstate:
Liveblogging John McCain

Discussion: TownHall Blog, JOSHUAPUNDIT and Middle Earth Journal

Amanda / Think Progress:

McCain booed at CPAC. — Speaking to a right-wing crowd at CPAC today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was loudly booed when he mentioned his push for comprehensive immigration reform last year. (A position he has since given up.) … Watch it: — This morning, Politico reported that CPAC organizers …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Comments from Left Field, Shakespeare's Sister, Jonathan Martin's Blogs and Brains and Eggs

Anne Schroeder Mullins / Anne Schroeder's Blogs:
CPAC to all CPAC-ers: Don't boo McCain

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Right Wing News, The Sundries Shack, Salon, Wizbang, The Newshoggers, Classical Values, The Carpetbagger Report, Gateway Pundit, The Impolitic and BobKrumm.com

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

Impending Obama Backlash? — There will be a press backlash against media darling Barack Obama eventually, although it may not occur until six months after his inauguration. But here is a straw in the wind from Jake Tapper of ABC: … A cult - oooh, scary!

Joe Klein / Time:
Inspiration vs. Substance

Discussion: bustardblog

Jennifer Parker / Political Punch:
And Obama Wept — Inspiration is nice. But some folks seem to be getting out of hand.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Attytood, Liberal Values, Crooks and Liars, Taylor Marsh, Sister Toldjah, Comments from Left Field, The Democratic Daily, The Corner, Right Wing News, The Osterley Times, Hot Air and The Moderate Voice

This Is London:

BROWN SLAPS DOWN ARCHBISHOP'S CALL FOR ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW TO OPERATE IN BRITAIN — The Archbishop of Canterbury caused consternation yesterday by calling for Islamic law to be recognised in Britain. — He declared that sharia and Parliamentary law should be given equal legal status …

Discussion: Wake up America, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Pajamas Media, Gay Patriot and Blue Crab Boulevard

Johnathan Pearce / Samizdata.net:
The Archbishop of Canterbury is an ass

Discussion: BBC, Dean's World and Telegraph

The Huffington Post:

Whoopi Switches From Obama To Hillary — Yesterday on “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg switched her endorsement from Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton. Whoopi cited Clinton's statement that she would end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Whoopi previously believed that Obama …

Discussion: Tennessee Guerilla Women, TalkLeft and Hot Air

Hotline On Call:

Obama On Romney: An “Ineffective Candidate” — OMAHA, NE — Barack Obama called Mitt Romney's candidacy “ineffective” on the day that the former MA governor exited the presidential race. — Romney, who dropped out of the race for president today in Washington, said in his exit speech …

Discussion: Jihad Watch

Shailagh Murray / The Trail:
Obama Agrees to Debates with Clinton

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Taylor Marsh

Kate Snow / ABCNEWS:

Clinton Campaign Staffers Not Going Without Pay — Staff Had Offered to Go Without Pay to Save Campaign Money But Never Did — So it turns out the Clinton campaign may not be so cash-strapped after all — at least not at this very moment. — After offering on Wednesday to go without paychecks …

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, Political Punch, The New Republic and Taylor Marsh

Peter Baker / The Trail:

Bush Signals Support for McCain — President Bush plans to give an implicit endorsement of onetime rival John McCain's conservative bona fides tomorrow as the Arizona senator seeks to consolidate the party behind his candidacy. — In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in the morning …

Eric Gorski / Associated Press:

Huckabee to Get Evangelical Leader's Nod — James Dobson, one of the nation's most prominent evangelical Christian leaders, is about to endorse former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, The Associated Press has learned. — Dobson, founder of Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Focus on the Family …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, Hot Air and Reasoned Audacity

Craig Offman / NPL Sports:

Jail politicians who ignore climate science: Suzuki — Didn't mean it literally says scientist's spokesperson — David Suzuki has called for political leaders to be thrown in jail for ignoring the science behind climate change. — At a Montreal conference last Thursday, the prominent scientist …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, The Belmont Club, Flopping Aces, GINA COBB, Blue Crab Boulevard and Reason Magazine