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Douglas Martin / New York Times:
William F. Buckley Jr. Is Dead at 82 — William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn.
Discussion:
James Wolcott's Blog, About Last Night, Spectator, NewsBusters.org, The Corner, On Deadline, American Power, Reason Magazine, The New Republic, Comment Central, The Agonist, michellemalkin.com, Taylor Marsh, Commentary, The Radio Equalizer, Ross Douthat, Wonkette, Below The Beltway, Done With Mirrors and The Moderate Voice
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Kathryn Jean Lopez / The Corner:
William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008) — I'm devastated to report that our dear friend, mentor, leader, and founder William F. Buckley Jr., died this morning in his study in Stamford, Connecticut. — He died while at work; if he had been given a choice on how to depart this world, I suspect that would have been exactly it.
Rick Perlstein / Today's Ideas & Actions:
Why William F. Buckley Was My Role Model — William F. Buckley was my friend. — I'm hard on conservatives. I get harder on them just about every day. I call them “con men.” I do so without apology. And I cannot deny that William F. Buckley said and did many things over the course of his career that were disgusting as well.
National Review:
William F. Buckley, Jr., R.I.P. — Our revered founder, William F. Buckley Jr., died in his study this morning. — If ever an institution were the lengthened shadow of one man, this publication is his. So we hope it will not be thought immodest for us to say that Buckley has had more of an impact …
Discussion:
City Room, The Moderate Voice, The Swamp, Clive Crook, Guardian Unlimited, Redstate, Democracy Project, Bluey Blog and TownHall Blog
Marc Ambinder:
Rove: Don't “Hussein” Obama — No less an authority figure than Karl Rove has warned Republican operatives from demagoguing Barack Obama's middle name. — At a closed door meeting of GOP state executive directors in late January, Rove said the safest way to refer to Obama would be to use his honorific, “Sen. Obama.”
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
ROAD MAP — Hopefully, everyone can now see the McCain strategy for running against Barack Obama. Yes, we have some general points on taxes, culture wars and McCain as war hero who can protect us in ways that flash-in-the-pan pretty boy Barack Obama can't. — But that's not the core.
Tom Humphrey / Knoxville News-Sentinel:
Tenn. GOP stands by “Anti-Semites for Obama” piece
Tenn. GOP stands by “Anti-Semites for Obama” piece
Discussion:
Jonathan Martin's Blogs, DownWithTyranny!, TBogg, Trailhead, Hullabaloo and Marc Ambinder
Michael R. Bloomberg / Bloomberg:
I'm Not Running for President, but ... WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign, you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates — smart, all of them — must know better. They must know we can't fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade.
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Rasmussen Reports:
24% Have Favorable Opinion of New York Times — Just 24% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the New York Times. Forty-four percent (44%) have an unfavorable opinion and 31% are not sure. The paper's ratings are much like a candidate's and divide sharply along partisan and ideological lines.
Discussion:
Power Line, Captain's Quarters, Wake up America, NewsBusters.org and Blue Crab Boulevard
Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:
Christmas!: Barack Obama Cuts A Campaign Ad... For John McCain — I thought this was going to be a negative ad against Barack Hussein Obama. — It is. It's just that he made it himself. — Big props to the Real Revo for this ad. I hate swiping vids usually (except from Hot Air …
Discussion:
Redstate, Marc Ambinder, Stop The ACLU, Wake up America, Wizbang, Blue Crab Boulevard, Don Singleton, TigerHawk and Gateway Pundit
Noah Shachtman / Danger Room:
Air Force Blocks Access to Many Blogs — The Air Force is tightening restrictions on which blogs its troops can read, cutting off access to just about any independent site with the word “blog” in its web address. It's the latest move in a larger struggle within the military over the value — and hazards — of the sites.
Jack Shafer / Slate:
The Times Plagiarizes the Miami Herald — A PAGE ONE STORY LIFTS TWO LINES ABOUT AN ILLICIT DRUG. — The hell wrought on Argentina by the illicit drug “paco” has already become a journalistic staple. The Christian Science Monitor visited the topic on April 5, 2006; the Miami Herald on Aug. 12 …
Advocate:
Obama Makes Gay Ad Buys in Ohio, Texas — The Obama campaign is lavishing some of its cash advantage on the LGBT community with targeted ad buys in Ohio and Texas leading up to the critical March 4 primaries in both states (Rhode Island and Vermont also vote that day).
Bob Kemper / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Lewis says he's supporting Obama — WASHINGTON — Hoping to put an end to a month of confusion and dismay, Rep. John Lewis on Wednesday said he's switching his support from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Discussion:
culturekitchen, Too Sense, The Huffington Post, Washington Wire, MoJoBlog, TalkLeft and Political Machine
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
OBAMA'S SILENCE ON KADDAFI — Can we ignore Sen. Obama's silence about Muammar Kaddafi? — We know that Louis Farrakhan has said positive things about Barack Obama. And he's not the only one. This is the same Louis Farrakhan who has travelled to Libya to meet with and say positive things …
Discussion:
The Newshoggers
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
McCain's Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules Him Out — WASHINGTON — The question has nagged at the parents of Americans born outside the continental United States for generations: Dare their children aspire to grow up and become president?
Jason Horowitz / New York Observer:
Micro Mark — Hillary Clinton's Svengali, Super Micro-Trend Pollster Mark Penn: ‘People Misunderstand,’ He Says Campaign ‘Never About the Small Things,’ And, ‘If We Lose, I Will Take My Share of the Responsibility’ — ‘When you wake, you will have won!’ The Great — Penn-gali with Senator Hillary Clinton and
Rick Klein / Political Radar:
White House Blames Clintons for Document Delay — ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: The White House on Wednesday blamed the Clintons for a month-long delay in the release of some 11,000 pages of records relating to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's years as first lady, despite Sen. Clinton's contention …