Top Items:
Nitya / Political Radar:
Clinton Goes Nuclear; Obama Camp Fires Back — ABC News' David Wright, Sunlen Miller, Andy Fies, Eloise Harper, Kate Snow & Nitya Venkataraman Report: Closing in on the March 4 contests, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., debuted a campaign ad on Friday with ominous undertones.
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
New Clinton ad is the scariest of cycle — Clinton is up with the scariest ad of the cycle, one that echoes, in a soft-focus way, some of President Bush's 2004 campaign spots. — It features a child sleeping in bed and an unnamed emergency ringing the White House phone …
Discussion:
The Swamp, American Power, democracyarsenal.org, NYT, Taegan Goddard's …, Commentary and Cliff Schecter
Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:
Hillary Ad: Who Do You Want Answering The White House Phone At 3 a.m.? — Hillary Clinton has a new ad in Texas, making what is perhaps her most forceful argument yet against Barack Obama on national security: — “It's 3 a.m., and your children are safe and asleep,” the announcer says.
Jay Root / Houston Chronicle:
State Democrats say Clinton camp may sue — Legal action could disrupt or delay caucuses, party says — AUSTIN — The Texas Democratic Party warned Thursday that election night caucuses scheduled for Tuesday could be delayed or disrupted after aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton threatened …
Discussion:
Marc Ambinder, Wake up America, Comments from Left Field, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, Cliff Schecter and Balloon Juice
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Alex Johnson / MSNBC:
Some Texas Republicans to vote for Obama — True support combines with stop-Clinton sentiment in next week's primary — One of Sen. Barack Obama's surest applause lines comes about halfway into his standard stump speech. It goes like this: — “They whisper to me.
CTV.ca:
Opponents slam Obama after CTV story on NAFTA — Allegations of double talk on NAFTA from the Obama and Clinton campaigns dominated the U.S. political landscape on Thursday. — On Wednesday, CTV reported that a senior member of Barack Obama's campaign called the Canadian embassy within …
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama's NAFTA double-talk confirmed: CTV — After reporting on Barack Obama's dance with the Canadians on NAFTA yesterday, Canadian broadcaster CTV got accused of perpetrating a smear against the Democratic front-runner. They insisted that Obama meant every word he said about overturning …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Taylor Marsh, The New Editor, Polimom Says, PoliGazette, Gateway Pundit, Betsy's Page, TigerHawk and Instapundit.com
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: THE GOP'S DISADVANTAGES
FIRST THOUGHTS: THE GOP'S DISADVANTAGES
Discussion:
Blog P.I., The Moderate Voice, The Caucus, No More Mister Nice Blog, AMERICAblog and The Washington Independent
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
DUMB SPIN. — Sometimes, I really wonder how dumb the Clinton campaign thinks we are. … So if Obama doesn't outright win the states Clinton is favored in — if he merely closes the gap — Democrats are “having second thoughts about him.” — Who is this aimed at? Political reporters know it's dumb.
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Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
CHUTZPAH. — I'm sort of busy today, but if some other enterprising blogger wants to collect pictures of George W. Bush meeting with leaders “who put [their] people in prison because of their political beliefs,” I'll certainly link to it. The idea that Bush — who regularly hangs out with …
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Herb Keinon / Jerusalem Post:
Israel prepares for assault on Gaza — As Hamas drew Ashkelon into the circle of communities coming under heavy rocket attacks, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Foreign Ministry on Thursday began preparing both Israeli and world opinion for the possibility of a large-scale incursion into Gaza.
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Jason Zengerle / The New Republic:
Hillary Cuts an Ad ... for McCain — Only the Clinton campaign would think mom would be checking on the kids at 3:00 am still dressed in her snazzy business suit. — I thought it was a bit creepy of that person to be looking in on your kids sleeping at 3am.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
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Nancy / nancynall.com:
Copycat. — I feel bad about what I'm going to do here. — I've had a lot of fun at Tim Goeglein's expense over the last few months. Mean-spirited fun, certainly, but my problem with him has always been one of personal taste. In his columns for The News-Sentinel, my old newspaper …
The Huffington Post:
John McCain ‘Accidentally’ Calls Himself A “Liberal Republican” — At a town hall meeting in Richardson, Texas, Thursday afternoon, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., made a gaffe that will surely provide myriad conservative radio talk show hosts confirmation of their views, by accidentally calling himself a liberal.
Discussion:
Salon, The Swamp, Political Punch, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Comment Central and Wonkette
Zogby:
Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle Poll: Obama Builds Lead Over Clinton in Texas, But Dem Race Too Close To Call in Ohio... Zogby News Releases
CNN:
Police: Deadly toxin found at Las Vegas hotel — (CNN) — Police in Las Vegas, Nevada, are investigating the discovery of what they said is the deadly poison ricin in a hotel room. — Authorities were called to an Extended Stay America hotel around 3 p.m. PT Thursday after a man brought …
Ken Silverstein / Harper's:
John McCain's Charitable Contributions — His kids' private schools are prime beneficiaries — The charitable contributions of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have received a fair amount of press scrutiny. The same is not true of John McCain, which is somewhat surprising since …
Economist:
Hope and fear — Democratic economic policy sounds worryingly populist — FOR a man who has placed “hope” at the centre of his campaign, Barack Obama can sound pretty darned depressing. As the battle for the Democratic nomination reaches a climax in Texas and Ohio …