memeorandum: Making (Some) Progress in Iraq (New York Times)

11:00 AM ET, February 14, 2008

Top Items:

Obama's Lead in Delegates Shifts Focus of Campaign — WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama emerged from Tuesday's primaries leading Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton by more than 100 delegates, a small but significant advantage that Democrats said would be difficult for Mrs. Clinton …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Washington Post, American Spectator, Prairie Weather, Brilliant at Breakfast, New York Daily News Blogs and Digg

Wall Street Journal:

Clinton Team Seeks to Calm Turmoil — MCALLEN, Texas — With Spanish music blaring, Sen. Hillary Clinton campaigned across South Texas yesterday with a more populist message, as her new campaign manager sought to reshape a campaign that has lost eight straight primaries in a week.

Discussion: TIME, NewsBusters.org and Political Punch

New York Times:

Knocked Off Balance, Clinton Campaign Tries to Regain Its Stride — SAN ANTONIO — The Texas and Ohio presidential primaries, on March 4, have become must-win contests for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, her advisers say. So why is she just opening campaign field offices across those states?

Discussion: The Corner, Washington Post, MSNBC, Commentary, Blue Crab Boulevard, TIME, The Nation and State of the Day

Foon Rhee / Boston Globe:

Clinton counts on superdelegates — WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton will take the Democratic nomination even if she does not win the popular vote, but persuades enough superdelegates to vote for her at the convention, her campaign advisers say. — The New York senator …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Balloon Juice, The Carpetbagger Report, QandO, Outside The Beltway, Shakespeare's Sister and Digg

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

CLINTON TO FIGHT FOR EVERY DELEGATE — From NBC's Domenico Montanaro — The Clinton campaign is not about to give up anything without a fight. — Strategists said in a conference call with reporters the campaign will go after delegates wherever they can be found — including in Michigan and Florida.

Discussion: Oliver Willis, Matthew Yglesias, Political Machine, Hold Fast, Brendan Nyhan, The Democratic Daily, MyDD and Left in the West

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
POLITICAL GENIUS WALKING AMONG US

Discussion: Digg

New York Times:

Making (Some) Progress in Iraq — Good news is rare in Iraq. But after months of bitter feuding, Iraq's Parliament has finally approved a budget, outlined the scope of provincial powers, set an Oct. 1 date for provincial elections and voted a general amnesty for detainees.

Discussion: Ross Douthat, The Strata-Sphere and The Long War Journal

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Even The New York Times Notices Progress

Discussion: Redstate

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

McCain and Obama Take Their Senatorial Rivalry Into the Presidential Race — WAUKESHA, Wis. — Their tempest began well before their bids for a presidential nomination. — When Senator John McCain claimed victory for a round of primaries on Tuesday, it was little surprise that he skipped …

Discussion: Hold Fast

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Candidates' Earmarks Worth Millions — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure more than $340 million worth of home-state projects in last year's spending bills, placing her among the top 10 Senate recipients of what are commonly known as earmarks, according to a new study by a nonpartisan budget watchdog group.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, The Caucus and New York Times

Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
Obama: McCain 'Traded Principles for his Party's Nomination'

Discussion: Don Surber, The Huffington Post, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, The RBC and Crooks and Liars

Talal Al-Khatib / Political Radar:

McCain Adviser Won't Fight Obama — ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: On Wednesday, a top adviser to John McCain said more definitively than he has in the past that he will step down from the Arizona senator's presidential campaign if the presumed GOP nominee faces Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in the general election.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Fix, The RBC, Jules Crittenden, Outside The Beltway, NPR, Comments from Left Field, The Swamp, PoliPundit.com and Truthdig

John King / CNN:
Money higher priority than VP for McCain

Discussion: Wonkette

Satyam / Think Progress:

Maverick Fails The Test: McCain Votes Against Waterboarding Ban — Today, the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill to the floor, which contained a provision from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) establishing one interrogation standard across the government.

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
Senate Passes Ban On Waterboarding, Other Techniques

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Captain's Quarters, Associated Press, MSNBC and On Deadline

Patrick Yoest / CQ Politics: Intelligence Bill Including Interrogation Restrictions Faces Bush Veto

Sara Robinson / Orcinus:

The Cult of Obama — Every political news outlet, from the networks to the blogs, is abuzz today with the question: Is the Obama phenomenon a cult? — People — particularly Hillary partisans — are eagerly putting this idea out there. I want to make it very clear before I get started …

Discussion: Oliver Willis, Liberal Values, Middle Earth Journal, A Blog For All, Outside The Beltway, PSoTD and Booman Tribune

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Hardbrawl — Last fall, as network executives, members of Congress and other hotshots gathered beneath a massive tent at Washington's Decatur House to celebrate the 10th anniversary of “Hardball,” Chris Matthews began to address the crowd.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, TVNewser and Romenesko

Angela K. Brown / Associated Press:

Texas Ban on Sex Toy Sales Is Overturned — FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned a statute outlawing sex toy sales in Texas, one of the last states — all in the South — to retain such a ban. — The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Texas law making …

Discussion: Comments from Left Field

Steven Kreytak / Austin American-Statesman:
Court strikes down Texas ban on sex toys

Discussion: Obsidian Wings, PoliBlog (TM), PoliGazette, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Feministe, The Reaction, TBogg and Pandagon

Daniel Henninger / Real Clear Politics:

Obama at the Top — Hillary Clinton probably didn't watch the stem-winder speech that Barack Obama delivered Tuesday night after cleaning her clock in the Potomac primaries. If not, she should. — It was tiresome. — The speech was classic Obama. Beautifully written and beautifully delivered …

Discussion: Slog

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

Be My Political Valentine — Are you in love with a staffer on Capitol Hill, someone who works at a think tank, or just a plain, old political wonk? Well, then today's your lucky day because you can show them that you really do understand their weird obsession with monetary policy …

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Ethics Panel Admonishes Craig for Conduct in Sex Sting — Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) was rebuked yesterday by the Senate ethics committee over his conviction for disorderly conduct in an airport men's restroom, with the panel concluding that he committed the offense and citing him for actions …