Top Items:
Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
An Obama Refrain Bears Echoes of a Governor's Speeches — CHICAGO — Senator Barack Obama adapted one of his signature arguments — that his oratory amounts to more than inspiring words — from speeches given by Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts during his 2006 campaign.
Discussion:
Lynn Sweet, Channel '08, American Spectator, Wonkette, TIME, TownHall Blog, Jules Crittenden, MSNBC, Big Head DC and Hot Air
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Big Head DC:
Obama Caught Plagiarizing 2006 Speech? — Big Head DC has discovered alarming similarities between a speech made by Sen. Barack Obama on February 16 while campaigning for president in Wisconsin and an October 2006 speech made by Deval Patrick, the current Democratic governor of Massachusetts.
Matthew Mosk / Washington Post:
System Worries Clinton Backers — Supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are worried that convoluted delegate rules in Texas could water down the impact of strong support for her among Hispanic voters there, creating a new obstacle for her in the must-win presidential primary contest.
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Hilzoy / The Daily Dish:
Competence — From the Washington Post (emphasis added, and stolen from publius): … When I read this, I dissolved in giggles after the first sentence. It was that part about the Texas delegate selection rules “creating a new obstacle for her” that got me. In what sense are the Texas rules a “new obstacle?”
Discussion:
The New Republic, Eschaton, Comments from Left Field, The Caucus, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Balloon Juice
Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
How Evangelical Leaders Blew It — Dan Gilgoff does a post-mortem on how the evangelical movement managed to allow John McCain to win the Republican Party nomination over two candidates more amenable to their cause. Gilgoff focuses on their failure to back Romney, and makes it plain …
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Daniel Gilgoff / USA Today:
Why the Religious Right is stuck with McCain — The lukewarm support for Mitt Romney left a void that evangelical preacher Mike Huckabee was only too happy to fill. The result: A GOP nominee who strays far from the flock. — As co-founder of the blog Evangelicals for Mitt …
William Kristol / New York Times:
Democrats Should Read Kipling — Browsing through a used-book store Friday — in the Milwaukee airport, of all places — I came across a 1981 paperback collection of George Orwell's essays. That's how I happened to reread his 1942 essay on Rudyard Kipling.
Mark Schmitt / American Prospect:
WOULD YOU MAKE A “PLEDGE” WITH THIS MAN? — The first great skirmish of an Obama-McCain general election has broken out over a matter of such arcane policy-wonkery that until this weekend, you would find it only here at TAPPED: the precise relationship between a loan and public financing …
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Edwin Chen / Bloomberg:
Former President Bush Endorses McCain's Candidacy — Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) — Former President George H.W. Bush endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain today, saying he is best prepared to succeed his son and has the “right values and experience to guide our nation forward.”
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Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:McCain Facing Delicate Choice: A Role for Bush
Discussion:
Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Oliver Willis, TIME, Don Surber, Alternate Brain and The Ruckus
Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:
Why Torts Trumped Terrorism — A closed-door caucus of House Democrats last Wednesday took a risky political course. By 4 to 1, they instructed Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call President Bush's bluff on extending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to continue eavesdropping on suspected foreign terrorists.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Captain's Quarters, Pirate's Cove, Emptywheel, PrairiePundit, Jules Crittenden and Blue Crab Boulevard
David Brown / Washington Post:
USDA Orders Largest Meat Recall in U.S. History — The Agriculture Department has ordered the largest meat recall in its history — 143 million pounds of beef, a California meatpacker's entire production for the past two years — because the company did not prevent ailing animals from entering …
RELATED:
Michael J. Totten:
The Dungeon of Fallujah — “This is not Norway here, and it is not Denmark.” - Lebanese Forces militia leader Bashir Gemayel. — FALLUJAH - Next to the Joint Communications Center in downtown Fallujah is a squalid and war-shattered warehouse for human beings. Most detainees are common criminals.
Ari Kaufman / American Thinker:
America's Three Worst Presidents — Presidents Day has taken a deep back seat these days on our holiday calendar to the point that not only do schools go on as scheduled, but so do many state and government offices. This is not surprising in 2008, and many revel in it.
Discussion:
Right Wing Nut House
Timothy J. Burger / Bloomberg:
Obama Bought His Home With No Rezko ‘Discount,’ Seller Affirms — Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) — The couple who sold Barack Obama his Chicago home said the Illinois senator's $1.65 million bid “was the best offer” and they didn't cut their asking price because a campaign donor bought their adjacent land …
Discussion:
MSNBC
Ben Smith / The Politico:
More Obama and Patrick — Mike Allen has more on a pretty striking borrowing, seen in the videos below. — Also, I'd be interested in how others hear this, but it's striking to see Obama deliver the same lines, almost verbatim, as another politician; it really gives you a sense of what's …
Discussion:
The New Republic
Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:
It's All Uphill From Here — It was 15 degrees outside on a wind-whipped Pennsylvania Avenue as Hillary Clinton, smile firmly fixed in place, made an early-morning stop for a primary she didn't have a prayer of winning. — Inside the high-ceilinged office of the National Council of Negro Women …
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