memeorandum: FIRST THOUGHTS: ‘CIVIL’ WAR (Domenico Montanaro/MSNBC)

11:05 AM ET, February 27, 2008

Top Items:

RUSSERT'S LOWEST MOMENT (AND THAT'S SAYING A LOT) — I discussed this in the live debate blog. But I think it's worth going back and watching Russert's run of shame here. I would say it was borderline to bring up the issue of Farrakhan at all. But perhaps since it's getting some media play …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Pajamas Media, Althouse, Donklephant, Don Surber, The Reaction, Outside The Beltway, Comments from Left Field and ArchPundit

Senator Hillary Clinton / New York Times:

The Democratic Debate in Cleveland — The following is a transcript of the Democratic presidential debate on MSNBC in Cleveland, Ohio, as provided by the Federal News Service and CQ Transcriptions via The Associated Press. — PARTICIPANTS: — SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL) — MODERATORS:

Digby / Hullabaloo:

How Do We Defeat Tim Russert? — The country wants change. They want Washington to stop all the partisan bickering and they want a different tone. They want their government to be serious and deal with real problems. — Can someone please explain to me how that can possibly happen until something …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Newshoggers, Polimom Says, The Carpetbagger Report, The Mahablog and Attytood

Taylor Marsh / The Huffington Post:

Obama Blows his ‘Sister Soujah’ Moment — Clinton fights for children and families. — She fights for women's rights around the world. — She fights for health care. She fights for veterans' health care too. — After a year in the primary season, Hillary Clinton has found her theme: I'm a fighter.

Discussion: Whiskey Fire

Washington Post:
In a Crucial State, a Contentious Debate

Discussion: New York Times, The Caucus, OPENERS, The Moderate Voice, Marc Ambinder, The Huffington Post, Reuters, Below The Beltway and CBS News

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
The Clang-Fest in Cleveland

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report

Quinnipiac University:

February 27, 2008 - Young Voters Help Obama Narrow Gap In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; McCain Runs Neck And Neck Against Either Democrat — Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, surging among younger voters, has cut Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead among Pennsylvania likely Democratic primary voters …

Discussion: Donklephant

Peter Wallsten / Los Angeles Times:

McCain has edge over Democrats — The GOP candidate is rated ‘strongest leader.’ The survey also shows Obama has a six-point lead over Clinton. — WASHINGTON — As he emerges from a sometimes- bitter primary campaign, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain poses …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Jules Crittenden, Redstate, JammieWearingFool, QandO and PoliGazette

CNBC.com:

Zell Sees Start of Housing Recovery in the Spring — The US economy will avoid recession as the housing market begins to recover this spring, according to billionaire investor Sam Zell. — Speaking on “Squawk Box” this morning, Zell attributed much of the current economic troubles …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Salon, The Raw Story and Say Anything

Duane R. Patterson / Townhall.com:

Hillary's Winning Ways Have Turned Into Whining Ways — Last week, Hillary Clinton waited until well into her debate with Barack Obama to utter the line of the night that cost her the debate. She had a scripted line to use about Barack Obama's change as being something you can Xerox, which fell flat and drew boos from the audience.

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Pajamas Media and Betsy's Page

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 …

Discussion: Horses Mouth, Prairie Weather and Hollywood Elsewhere

NY Daily News:
Goodwin: Too much whining ruined whatever points she scored

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Don Surber and Blue Crab Boulevard

Patrick O'Connor / The Politico:

Boehner tells GOP to get off ‘dead asses’ — House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) challenged Republicans on Tuesday to get off their “dead asses” and start raising money for the National Republican Congressional Committee. — And the Republican leader wasn't the only lawmaker berating …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com and TownHall Blog

Aaron Blake / The Hill:

NRCC failed Rep. Gilchrest, aide contends — A top aide to ousted Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.) criticized the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) on Tuesday for not sharing polling information it had on the race prior to the Feb. 12 primary. — Campaign manager and chief …

Telegraph:

BBC knew of link to failed 21/7 bombers — A BBC producer failed to give police information that would have helped track down the July 21 bombers, the trial was told. — Don't Panic, I'm Islamic, which featured the group paintballing and an interview with Mohammed Hamid, was shown on BBC2 on June 12, 2005.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool and small dead animals

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:

GOP Halts Effort to Retrieve White House E-Mails — After promising last year to search its computers for tens of thousands of e-mails sent by White House officials, the Republican National Committee has informed a House committee that it no longer plans to retrieve the communications …

Discussion: The Hill, Think Progress, MoJoBlog, Shakespeare's Sister, Emptywheel, War and Piece, Prairie Weather and Preemptive Karma

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.”

Discussion: Below The Beltway and The Caucus