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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:
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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.
Hillel Italie / Associated Press:
Conservative author Buckley dies at 82 — NEW YORK - William F. Buckley Jr. died at work, in his study. Communism had fallen long before. A Republican was in the White House. The word “liberal” had been shunned like an ill-mannered guest. — At the end of his 82 years …
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:
Clive Crook, The Moderate Voice, The Swamp, Guardian Unlimited, City Room, Redstate, Democracy Project and TownHall Blog
Ed Kilgore / Democratic Strategist:
RIP WFB — One usually begins an obituary by quickly identifying …
RIP WFB — One usually begins an obituary by quickly identifying …
Discussion:
The Agitator
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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Tom Humphrey / Knoxville News-Sentinel:
Tenn. GOP stands by “Anti-Semites for Obama” piece — NASHVILLE - Tennessee Republican Chairman Robin Smith says she stands by the state party's use of “Barack Hussein Obama” in party criticism of the Democratic presidential candidate - even though John McCain says it's inappropriate.
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:
Washington Wire, MoJoBlog, TalkLeft, The Swamp, culturekitchen, Too Sense and Political Machine
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Hillary Clinton / CNN:
Lewis switches from Clinton to Obama — (CNN) — Rep. John Lewis has formally switched his support to Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, he told CNN affiliate WSB Wednesday. — The respected voice on civil rights was one of Sen. Hillary Clinton's most prominent African-American supporters.
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.
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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 …
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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
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama also has news for McCain — Obama departed from his regular stump speech today in Columbus to respond to John McCain. — “John McCain may like to say he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but so far all he's done is follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq,” he said.
Discussion:
MSNBC, Sister Toldjah, The Carpetbagger Report, The Trail, Riehl World View, MyDD and The Swamp
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Agence France Presse:
Automated killer robots ‘threat to humanity’: expert … Increasingly autonomous, gun-totting robots developed for warfare could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and may one day unleash a robot arms race, a top expert on artificial intelligence told AFP.
Andrew Romano / Newsweek Blogs:
Expertinent: Why the Obama “Brand” Is Working — Logo at left; ‘Change We Can Believe In’ is written in Obama's signature ‘Gotham’ typeface. — Expertinent is a regular Stumper column featuring interviews with experts on the news of the day. (For more on Obama's branding, check out this addendum.)
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Begrudging His Bedazzling — A huge Ellen suddenly materialized behind Hillary on a giant screen, interrupting her speech Monday night at a fund-raiser at George Washington University in Washington. — What better way for a desperate Hillary to try and stop her rival from running off …
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Greg Sargent / Horses Mouth:
Maureen Dowd: Only Reason Hillary Is Still In Race Is Because Of Media's Benevolence
Maureen Dowd: Only Reason Hillary Is Still In Race Is Because Of Media's Benevolence
Discussion:
Hullabaloo