memeorandum: Hillary Ad: Who Do You Want Answering The White House Phone At 3 a.m.? (Eric Kleefeld/TPM Election Central)

4:00 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, Wake up America, Comments from Left Field, Prairie Weather, Cliff Schecter, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Jay Root / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

State's Democratic Party braces for lawsuit — AUSTIN — The Texas Democratic Party is warning that its primary night caucuses could be delayed or disrupted after aides to White House hopeful Hillary Clinton raised the specter of an “imminent” lawsuit over its complicated delegate selection process, officials said Thursday night.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Burnt Orange Report, Redstate, Political Radar and AMERICAblog

Glenn Smith / Burnt Orange Report:
Threatening the Texas Primary/Caucus

Discussion: Off the Kuff, Daily Kos and Booman Tribune

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

Discussion: Washington Post, Tennessee Guerilla Women, PoliBlog (TM), Hot Air, American Power, Washington Wire and Froth Slosh B'Gosh

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.

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

Discussion: Daily Kos and AMERICAblog

Steve Kornacki / New York Observer:
Hillary as Mondale, Again

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Spin Cycle, Swampland and MSNBC

Marc Ambinder: 3:00 a.m: Roy Spence's Redux

Marc Ambinder:

Unless Obama Wins, He Loses — Huh?

Discussion: The New Republic, Newsweek Blogs, TalkLeft, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Carpetbagger Report and Trailhead

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.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Eschaton and Wonkette

Mark Halperin / The Page:

Clinton Camp Memo on Obama Expectations — The media has anointed Barack Obama the presumptive nominee and he's playing the part. — With an eleven state winning streak coming out of February, Senator Obama is riding a surge of momentum that has enabled him to pour unprecedented resources into Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Discussion: Open Left

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.

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, Eschaton, Pajamas Media, Donklephant, KnoxViews and Sadly, No!

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, Commentary, NYT, Taegan Goddard's … and Cliff Schecter

Marc Ambinder:
Clinton's “Red Phone”

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

Ariel Alexovich / The Caucus:
Clinton's National Security Ad

Discussion: The New Republic and Sweetness & Light

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: Wall Street Journal, Power Line, Redstate, TalkLeft, Political Punch, ABCNEWS, protein wisdom, Buck Naked Politics, Right Voices, Middle Earth Journal, ShopFloor.org, The Campaign Spot, NO QUARTER, Taylor Marsh, Sister Toldjah and The Page

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama's NAFTA double-talk confirmed: CTV

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Sundries Shack, Taylor Marsh, The New Editor, Polimom Says, PoliGazette, The Campaign Spot and Gateway Pundit

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
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

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 Ritter / Associated Press:
Ricin possibly found at Las Vegas motel

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and GINA COBB

Lawrence Mower / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Toxic substance ricin is found in LV hotel room

Discussion: The Lede, On Deadline and Health Blog

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: The Kenosha Kid's Blog, News-Sentinel.com, Think Progress, Wonkette, The Moderate Voice, Salon, Cliff Schecter and Corrente

Sylvia A. Smith / The Journal Gazette:
White House column was copied

Discussion: The Huffington Post and I Am TRex

Sarah Lyall / New York Times:

Harry Withdrawn From Afghanistan — LONDON — The Defense Ministry announced Friday that Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, would have to come home from Afghanistan because it was too risky for him to stay there. — The prince, 23, has been in Helmand Province …

Discussion: Guardian, Gawker, Lean Left, BAGnewsNotes, Bark Bark Woof Woof and The Agonist

Jon Williams / The Editors:
News black-out — At its simplest, journalism is about telling …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Newshoggers, Times of London, Pajamas Media, The Lede and Guardian Unlimited

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

FOX News Poll: Clinton Leads in Ohio; Obama Up in Texas — Hillary Clinton has an 8-point lead over Barack Obama heading into Tuesday's Ohio Democratic primary, due largely to the support of white women, seniors and working-class voters, while the race is virtually a tie in Texas …

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

Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
It's 3:00 AM, I Must Be Lonely

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

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.

Discussion: Spectator and The Jawa Report

Guardian:
Israeli minister warns of Palestinian ‘holocaust’

Discussion: National Review and The Raw Story

ABCNEWS:

Reformer: Trial Will Reveal ‘Cesspool’ of Obama's Allies — Trial for Indicted Fundraiser Tony Rezko Set for Monday — With the corruption trial of one of Sen. Barack Obama's longtime friends and supporters set to begin Monday in Chicago, Ill., reform watchdogs say it will reveal the …

Discussion: TalkLeft and Hot Air

Bill Roggio / The Long War Journal:

Egyptian al Qaeda leader reported killed in South Waziristan airstrike — South Waziristan Taliban leader Mullah Nazir. Click to view. — Pakistani and US intelligence are attempting to sort out the names of the al Qaeda and Taliban operatives killed in yesterday's airstrike in Azam Warzak, South Waziristan.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Hot Air, The Strata-Sphere and The Campaign Spot