Top Items:
Nitya / Political Radar:
Clinton Goes Nuclear; Obama Camp Fires Back — ABC News' David Wright, Sunlen Miller, Andy Fies & 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. — “It's 3:00am and your children are asleep,” a voice over says in the ad.
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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:
MyDD, Marc Ambinder, Prairie Weather, Wake up America, Comments from Left Field, 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.
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, Commentary, Taegan Goddard's …, democracyarsenal.org, NYT and Cliff Schecter
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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.
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?
Frank James / The Swamp:
Clinton ad: Who should take 3 am crisis call?
Clinton ad: Who should take 3 am crisis call?
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs
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, Polimom Says, PoliGazette, Gateway Pundit, Betsy's Page, Instapundit.com and TigerHawk
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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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:
Think Progress, The Journal Gazette, The Kenosha Kid's Blog, The Moderate Voice, Cliff Schecter and Romenesko
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Timothy Goeglein / News-Sentinel.com: Education: Ideas worth defending, honesty of reflective thought
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:
Hot Air
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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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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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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
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, Wonkette, Tennessee Guerilla Women and Comment Central
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 …