memeorandum: Some Texas Republicans to vote for Obama (Alex Johnson/MSNBC)

12:25 PM ET, February 29, 2008

Top Items:

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, Prairie Weather, Burnt Orange Report, Wake up America, Comments from Left Field, Daily Kos, Cliff Schecter and Balloon Juice

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.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Washington Post, PoliBlog (TM), Tennessee Guerilla Women, American Power, Froth Slosh B'Gosh, The Politico and Cliff Schecter

Geoff Earle / New York Post:
TRIBES RAGE AT HILL

Discussion: Sweetness & Light

Nitya / Political Radar:

Clinton Goes Nuclear: New Ad Tests Obama — ABC News' Nitya Venkataraman: Closing in on the March 4 contests, Sen. Hillary Clinton debuts a campaign ad today with ominous undertones. — “It's 3:00am and your children are asleep,” the voice over says. “There's a phone in the White House, and it's ringing.

Discussion: The Fix, The Moderate Voice, The Campaign Spot, Salon, The Carpetbagger Report, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber, The Page, Hot Air, Suburban Guerrilla and Liberal Values

Steve Kornacki / New York Observer:

Hillary as Mondale, Again — Hillary Clinton is on the air in Texas (and quite possibly Ohio) with a television ad that takes her argument about experience to a new emotional level. Per NBC's First Read, the Clinton spot says: … First Read makes the obvious comparison to Lyndon Johnson's demogogic …

Discussion: Blog P.I., Spin Cycle, Ben Smith's Blogs and MSNBC

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Mondale: ‘Red Phone’

Discussion: AMERICAblog

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 …

Discussion: Redstate, Taylor Marsh, protein wisdom, Buck Naked Politics, Right Voices, NO QUARTER, Middle Earth Journal, The Campaign Spot, Political Punch, Sister Toldjah, The Moderate Voice, The RBC, ShopFloor.org, The Page, Ben Smith's Blogs and TPM Election Central

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, ABCNEWS, PoliGazette, Betsy's Page, Gateway Pundit and The Campaign Spot

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: THE GOP'S DISADVANTAGES

Discussion: New York Times, AMERICAblog, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Caucus

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: democracyarsenal.org, Taegan Goddard's … and Cliff Schecter

Marc Ambinder:

Clinton's “Red Phone” — Perhaps the most provocative ad Hillary Clinton has run this cycle. It's bound to evoke comparisons to LBJ's “Daisy” ad and Walter Mondale's “Red Phone” ads — asking the essential question: if the White House phone rings at 3:00 am and there's a crisis brewing, who do you want on the other end of the line?

Discussion: Ohio Daily Blog, Cliff Schecter, Towleroad and FP Passport

Frank James / The Swamp:
Clinton ad: Who should take 3 am crisis call?

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs

Shaun Mullen / The Moderate Voice:
Texas: End of the Road For Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Comments from Left Field

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: The Swamp, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Comment Central and Political Punch

Wayne Slater / Dallas Morning News:
McCain seeks to woo conservative base in Texas appearances

Discussion: Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars and Democrats.com

Associated Press:
Democratic candidates say they're ready to work with Republicans

Discussion: Sadly, No!, Open Left and The Fact Hub

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

Discussion: MyDD, Taegan Goddard's …, Ohio Daily Blog and Buckeye State Blog

Houston Chronicle: Poll: McCain and Obama lead in Texas

Charles Mahtesian / The Politico:

Clinton seeks to regain the spotlight — There was a time not long ago when Hillary Clinton dominated the discourse in both parties' presidential contests. — Now, she's struggling to get her message out and remain part of the campaign conversation as the media and her remaining rivals …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and ABCNEWS

IraqPundit: Obama's Incoherence — What did Barack Obama mean Tuesday …

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 …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, The Opinionator, Redstate, The Glittering Eye and Right Voices

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Did ‘SNL’ Go Beyond the Pale With Fauxbama? — Lorne Michaels Defends Casting Of Non-Black Man in Sketch — When Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president last year, some observers questioned whether the senator from Illinois was “black enough” to embody the hopes and aspirations of African Americans.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Don Surber, Althouse, NewsBusters.org, Riehl World View and politburo diktat 2.0

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 …

Discussion: The Lede and Hot Air

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 …

Discussion: Romenesko