memeorandum: Free trade costs Democratic votes (David Freddoso/The Corner)

11:25 AM ET, March 5, 2008

Top Items:

Clinton Wins in Texas and Ohio; McCain Is In as G.O.P. Choice — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama in the Ohio and Texas primaries on Tuesday, ending a string of defeats and allowing her to soldier on in a Democratic presidential nomination race that now seems unlikely to end any time soon.

Discussion: USA Today, The Carpetbagger Report, The Swamp, The Reaction, The Politico, Boston Globe, MSNBC, Brendan Nyhan, American Street and normblog

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Clinton's lesson: Attacking Obama works — A few weeks ago, though it feels like months, exhausted campaign staffers and reporters amused themselves with gallows humor about the Pennsylvania Scenario — a wildly improbable convergence of circumstances that would extend a race that was supposed …

Discussion: Spin Cycle and The Page

Washington Post:

OBAMA: In the Weeks to Come, A Costly Battle on Two Fronts — With losses in three out of four primaries yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and his campaign face a scenario that a barrage of advertising, phone calls and door-knocking could not avert — a protracted, two-front war …

Discussion: The Opinionator, Taylor Marsh, Below The Beltway and NO QUARTER

Carrie Budoff Brown / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Obama says it is ‘premature to talk about a joint ticket’ — Speaking to reporters on his plane before leaving San Antonio for Chicago, Sen. Barack Obama hinted at taking a tougher line against Clinton in the coming weeks, telling reporters that she must back up her experience argument with details …

Discussion: Political Machine, The Debatable Land and Hot Air

WCBS-TV:

Clinton Hints At Sharing Ticket With Obama — NEW YORK (CBS) ― Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton hinted at the possibility of a Democratic “dream ticket” with Sen. Barack Obama. — Speaking on “The Early Show” on CBS, Clinton said “that may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of the ticket.”

Discussion: michellemalkin.com and Chronicle of the Conspiracy

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Clinton sees ticket with Obama — The morning after reviving her candidacy with two big primary wins, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) hinted Wednesday that she and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) may wind up as ticket mates. — “That may, you know, be where this is headed …

Discussion: Wonkette

Washington Post:
CLINTON: Energizing Victories, But Difficult Delegate Math

Discussion: Hot Air and Connecting.the.Dots

John Dickerson / Slate:
She Lives! — CLINTON HAS COME BACK, BUT HAS SHE COME BACK FAR ENOUGH?

Discussion: MSNBC and Washington Wire

The New Republic:
Exit Polls Reveal Obama's Weaknesses

Discussion: American Prospect, HorseRaceBlog, Brendan Nyhan, Associated Press, CBS News, Democratic Strategist, Weekly Standard, Reuters, MyDD and Pajamas Media

Hugh Hewitt / Townhall.com:
What Has Rush Wrought? — If Hillary ekes out close wins …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Don Surber and About.com US Liberal Politics

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Big Wins for Clinton in Texas and Ohio; McCain Clinches Race as Foe Concedes

Discussion: The Left Coaster, Associated Press, Pottersville and Live Coverage

Ron Fournier / Associated Press:
ON DEADLINE: Democrats Fret Long Battle

Discussion: NO QUARTER, Wake up America, Pandagon, TPM Election Central and The Reaction

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
It's all about the Glass Jaw Update: AOL Hot Seat poll added!

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, The Nose On Your Face and Washington Post

The Politico:
Clinton scrambles to freeze defectors

Discussion: The Swamp, New York Times, Gawker, Trailhead, MSNBC, The Opinionator, The Democratic Daily, Below The Beltway, Oliver Willis, Talking Points Memo, The Page, Firedoglake, The Reaction, Opinions You Should Have and The Carpetbagger Report

Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice: Hillary Clinton Wins Texas Democratic Primary And “Comeback” Narrative (UPDATED)

Washington Post:
Clinton Beats Obama in Texas and Ohio; McCain Clinches Republican Nomination

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Moderate Voice, NY Daily News, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Houston Chronicle, New York Times, OPENERS, The Strata-Sphere, Below The Beltway and Instapundit.com

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

FINAL THOUGHTS — The big headlines tonight are now in focus. Hillary takes three of four primaries, and the two big states. Yet the delegate spread didn't budge. The possibilities seem to range from a high-single digit pick up for Hillary to the possibility of a net pick up for Obama.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, OxBlog, Brilliant at Breakfast, Outside The Beltway, Angry Bear, Althouse, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Liberal Fascism and Obsidian Wings

Chicago Sun Times:

Sen. Obama, time to call us about Rezko: (312) 321-2417 — Jury selection began Monday in the trial of political influence peddler Tony Rezko. This would be the time — before a single witness takes the stand — for Barack Obama to finally share every detail of his relationship with Rezko.

Discussion: Macsmind, NO QUARTER, Below The Beltway and Hillary Is 44

Martin Fletcher / Times of London:
Q&A: Barack Obama and Tony Rezko

Discussion: Pundita, Fausta's blog, PoliGazette, TigerHawk and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Tom Bevan / Real Clear Politics:

Was It Rush? — I've been doing a number of radio interview this morning and the question keeps popping up: did Rush Limbaugh put Hillary over the top in Texas? Some quick, back-of-the-envelope math based on the exits shows: — Republicans represented 9% of the electorate in Texas.

Discussion: Washington Post and Below The Beltway

CNN:
Exit polls: Did Limbaugh influence Democratic race?

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Political Insider, culturekitchen, The Mahablog, Alternate Brain, Political Machine, The Campaign Spot, DownWithTyranny! and Fox News

Mark Halperin / Time:

Clinton Wins Big, But Math is Troubling — Hillary Clinton's popular vote victories in Texas and Ohio fundamentally change the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in at least one important way: she's still in the race for the nomination. Clinton's long, arduous campaign might …

Discussion: Guardian Unlimited, Scared Monkeys, PoliGazette and Newsweek

John D. McKinnon / Wall Street Journal:

Sentiment on Iraq Is Changing — WASHINGTON — The perception that the U.S. troop surge in Iraq has succeeded is changing some public views of the war, potentially blunting Democrats' political edge on the issue. — Americans continue to judge the nearly five-year-old U.S. invasion of Iraq as a mistake …

Discussion: Sister Toldjah

Andrea Ball / Austin American-Statesman:

Central Texans jam caucuses in ‘record-shattering turnout’ — Clinton, Obama campaigns accuse each other of rule violations. — Confusion, chaos and controversy ruled Central Texas' precinct caucuses Tuesday night. — Precincts struggled with a shortage of sign-up sheets.

Discussion: Firedoglake and Vodkapundit

Fred Barnes / Weekly Standard:

Now the Hard Part — McCain's to-do list. — NOW THAT HE'S WON the Republican presidential nomination, John McCain has some serious tasks ahead of him. Wooing conservatives and raising money are the least of it. Telling his life story to the country and making speeches on big issues …

Discussion: The Corner

Jim Manzi / The Corner:

McCain's Excellent Speech — Largely overlooked in the drama of Hillary Clinton's wins last night was John McCain's excellent speech upon becoming the presumptive Republican nominee. While any Republican faces a very uphill battle against any Democrat in 2008, he used this speech to lay …

Discussion: Associated Press and protein wisdom

Leo Grin / The Cimmerian:

The Dungeonmaster Has Died — Gary Gygax, 1938-2008 — (hat tip: Jonah Goldberg and John J. Miller at NRO and Will Greenwald at Crave) — One of the seminal influences in fantasy in the twentieth century has left us for Valhalla. Gygax was a giant, a man whose enthusiasm and sense …

Discussion: CNET News.com, On Deadline, New York Times, The Newshoggers and TigerHawk