memeorandum: WFB: A Celebration — Saddened by the news of our beloved … (William J. Bennett/National Review)

10:10 AM ET, February 28, 2008

Top Items:

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?

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.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, toohotfortnr, protein wisdom, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Brilliant at Breakfast, The RBC, Riehl World View, AMERICAblog, The Reaction, CNN and Cincinnati Enquirer

Attaturk / Firedoglake:

The “Race Card” let us count the ways — There are a few themes developing that should be called out now for what they are. — First, the racist junk that right-wing radio. blogs, and conservative interest groups are going to throw out. That somehow a black candidate secretly hates …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Hullabaloo

Eric Zorn / Change of Subject:

Middle-name calling is way over the line — How bad — how ugly, how far over the line of decency — is it to invoke Barack Obama's middle name in attacking him? — It's so ugly and so far over the line that not even Alan Keyes in his most overwrought, spittle-flecked moments did it during …

Discussion: The Swamp and Don Surber

Juan Cole:

Barack Hussein Obama, Omar Bradley, Benjamin Franklin and other Semitically Named American Heroes — At Cincinnati, Bill Cunningham, according to the LAT, who “introduced presidential candidate John McCain at a rally here today accused Barack Obama of sympathizing with 'world leaders …

Discussion: Swampland and Spin Cycle

CTV.ca:

Obama staffer gave warning of NAFTA rhetoric — Barack Obama has ratcheted up his attacks on NAFTA, but a senior member of his campaign team told a Canadian official not to take his criticisms seriously, CTV News has learned. — Both Obama and Hillary Clinton have been critical …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, NO QUARTER, Below The Beltway, Sister Toldjah and QandO

New York Times:

Going First Most of the Time — WASHINGTON — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sounded almost put upon. — “Can I just point out that in the last several debates, I seem to get the first question all the time,” she said to Brian Williams of NBC News, a moderator of Tuesday night's debate between Mrs. Clinton and Senator Barack Obama.

Discussion: Fact Checker and Political Punch

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:
Obama's Sotto Voce To Canadians: I'm Demagoguing On NAFTA

Discussion: PoliGazette and Macsmind

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.

Washington Post:

Clinton Campaign Pours Resources Into Two Crucial Primaries — Aides to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), coming to terms with the idea that she must win contests in both Texas and Ohio next week or face enormous pressure to drop out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination …

Discussion: The Caucus and Politics Plus

Joe Klein / Swampland:
McCain's Iraq Fantasia

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Carpetbagger Report, Associated Press, MSNBC and Eschaton

Adam Nossiter / New York Times:

Louisiana Governor Pierces Business as Usual — BATON ROUGE, La. — Downstairs, legislators gnashed their teeth, while upstairs at the Capitol here this week, the new governor claimed victory against the old customs down below. — Six weeks into the term of Gov. Bobby Jindal …

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and The RBC

New York Times:

Early Obama Commitment on Money Becomes Target — Just 12 months ago, Senator Barack Obama presented himself as an idealistic upstart taking on the Democratic fund-raising juggernaut behind Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. — That was when Mr. Obama proposed a novel challenge aimed at limiting …

Discussion: AMERICAblog and Matthew Yglesias

Chris Bertram / Crooked Timber:

Mankiw's 10 principles of economics — Well, I thought it was worth passing on ....

Discussion: Megan McArdle and Discourse.net

Michael Cohen / democracyarsenal.org:

Color Me Unimpressed — As many of you are aware the New York Philharmonic performed yesterday in Pyongyang, North Korea. A beautifully written piece in the FT provides some fascinating detail to the event. It sure seems like it was a nice moment - but as for breaking down barriers between countries …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and FP Passport

Jerusalem Post:

Abbas: Armed ‘resistance’ not ruled out — PA President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday said that he does not rule out returning to the path of armed “resistance” against Israel and took pride in the fact that he had been the first to fire on Israel and that his organization had trained Hizbullah.

Discussion: ThreatsWatch and Israel Matzav