memeorandum: Hillary Clinton sets her sights on three ways to win (Sarah Baxter/Times of London)

11:40 AM ET, March 9, 2008

Top Items:

Foster takes seat from GOP — Democrat to succeed Hastert in Republican stronghold — In a stunning upset Saturday that could be a sign of trouble for Republicans this fall, a little-known Democratic physicist won the special election for a far west suburban congressional seat long held by former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Cogitamus, American Street, The Page, Raising Kaine and Below The Beltway

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Feith at war; Bush in song (and hat) — BREAKING NEWS - “AP Exclusive: U.S. troops may have become sick in Iraq from contaminated water” - The Pentagon inspector general says dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using “unmonitored and potentially unsafe” water supplied by contractor KBR …

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

House Dems Score Special Election Upset — Physicist Bill Foster (D) defeated dairy magnate Jim Oberweis (R) in the Illinois special election to replace former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R), a win that reinforces the perils facing House Republicans at the ballot box this fall.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Buck Naked Politics, DownWithTyranny!, Booman Tribune and ArchPundit

Monica Davey / New York Times:

Democrat Wins Seat Once Held by G.O.P. Speaker — CHICAGO — Stunning many who considered the district west of Chicago reliably Republican territory, Bill Foster, a physicist and Democrat, won a special election on Saturday to fill the Congressional seat that J. Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the House, held for two decades.

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, The Carpetbagger Report, Althouse and The Glittering Eye

David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
DEMS TAKE OLD HASTERT SEAT

Discussion: The Reaction, Shakesville and Hullabaloo

Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
Dems pick up Hastert seat

Discussion: Prairie Weather, The Swamp, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

Washington Post:

Ex-Defense Official Assails Colleagues Over Run-Up to War — In the first insider account of Pentagon decision-making on Iraq, one of the key architects of the war blasts former secretary of state Colin Powell, the CIA, retired Gen. Tommy R. Franks and former Iraq occupation chief L. Paul Bremer …

Discussion: Emptywheel, abu muqawama, LewRockwell.com Blog and American Street

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

The Monster Mash — I was covered in barbecue sauce, somewhere over Texas, when Barack Obama loped down the aisle of the plane to chat with reporters. — I felt guilty, because I had been covering his speeches urging parents to make their kids give up chips and Popeyes.

Discussion: Whiskey Fire, American Street and Suburban Guerrilla

Sarah Baxter / Times of London:

Hillary Clinton sets her sights on three ways to win — Clinton aims to win the popular vote, secure reruns in Florida and Michigan and undermine Obama's credibility as the candidate to beat McCain — FRESH from her victories in three out of four states last week and surging back in the national polls …

Discussion: Fox News, Don Surber and Political Machine

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

Influential Democrats Waiting to Choose Sides — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's trio of victories over Sen. Barack Obama last week appears to have convinced a sizable number of uncommitted Democratic superdelegates to wait until the end of the primaries and caucuses before picking a candidate …

Discussion: Prairie Weather, On Deadline and TalkLeft

Hilzoy / Obsidian Wings:

Hillary Clinton And Rwanda — Bill Clinton claims that Hillary Clinton urged him to intervene militarily in Rwanda: … When Hillary Clinton was asked whether this was true, she said “It is.” — I have no idea whether or not this is true. But I do know a couple of related things.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, American Street and The RBC

Muckraker / Muckraked:

Turning the Page: ‘The Man Who Pushed America to War’ — The number of published books chronicling the invasion of Iraq and the continuing war could probably fill a few bookcases at your local Barnes & Noble. — But the full story of one key player, Ahmad Chalabi, has yet to be told.

Discussion: Think Progress and The Carpetbagger Report

Associated Press:

Palestinians: Hamas, Hezbollah cooperated on Jerusalem terror attack — The gunman who murdered eight students at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem last Thursday was acting on instructions from Hamas leaders in Damascus, in coordination with Hezbollah, Palestinian defense sources said.

Discussion: A Blog For All, Israellycool, Yourish.com, Israel Matzav, American Footprints and Ynetnews

Julie Bosman / New York Times:

Obama Wins Wyoming Caucuses — CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Senator Barack Obama continued his string of victories in caucus states on Saturday, beating Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Wyoming by a wide margin. — The victory, while in a state with only 18 delegates, was welcome news for the Obama campaign …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Trailhead, CBS News, American Street, The Politico, The Moderate Voice, Obsidian Wings, CNN, A Blog For All and TalkLeft

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Obama Wins Wyoming, Networks Say

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Donklephant

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
Obama Wins Wyoming Caucuses

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft and Connecting.the.Dots

Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: US troops may have become sick in Iraq from contaminated water — WASHINGTON: Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using “unmonitored and potentially unsafe” water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog said.