memeorandum: Dougie's Rant — I'm less interested in the news that Dougie Feith … (Emptywheel)

3:00 PM 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, Hot Air, Cogitamus, Raising Kaine, American Street 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 …

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Various items — (updated below) — (1) A special election was held in Illinois yesterday for the Congressional seat occupied forever by retiring GOP former House Speaker Denny Hastert. The district is bright red, having re-elected Hastert in 2006 with 60% and having voted for Bush's 2004 re-election by a 55-45% margin.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Julian Sanchez, Open Left, Unqualified Offerings and Hold Fast

Jim Tankersley / The Swamp:
Foster's win spells trouble for GOP in House, Illinois

Discussion: The Politico

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
House Dems Score Special Election Upset

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Taylor Marsh, Buck Naked Politics, The Reaction, Talking Points Memo, Obsidian Wings, Booman Tribune and ArchPundit

Monica Davey / New York Times:
Democrat Wins Seat Once Held by G.O.P. Speaker

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Booman Tribune, The Carpetbagger Report, Marc Ambinder, The Glittering Eye, Althouse, Hullabaloo and Connecting.the.Dots

Josh Kraushaar / The Politico:
Dems pick up Hastert seat

Discussion: Prairie Weather, The Swamp, michellemalkin.com 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: Big Brass Blog, PrairiePundit, abu muqawama, LewRockwell.com Blog, First Draft and American Street

Muckraker / Muckraked:
Turning the Page: ‘The Man Who Pushed America to War’

Discussion: Think Progress, The Newshoggers and The Carpetbagger Report

Emptywheel:
Dougie's Rant — I'm less interested in the news that Dougie Feith …

Discussion: The Impolitic

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, The New Editor, Suburban Guerrilla and Prairie Weather

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

Bob Herbert / New York Times:
Confronting the Kitchen Sink

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Brendan Nyhan

Times of London:

Hamas wages Iran's proxy war on Israel — A Hamas leader admits hundreds of his fighters have travelled to Tehran — The Hamas commander was in a hurry. Hunched forward in a navy-blue parka, with the wind-chapped skin and drawn eyes of someone who had been outdoors all night, he had just returned from the front line with Israel.

Discussion: Hot Air, Commentary, Solomonia, The Strata-Sphere, A Blog For All and PrairiePundit

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: The Huffington Post, Prairie Weather, Wake up America, Daniel W. Drezner, On Deadline, TalkLeft, The Democratic Daily, The Page and New York Times

Tina Brown / Newsweek:

Hillary and the Invisible Women — Up Against the Wall: Clinton is at her best when things look grim, as they did before the Texas vote, when her traveling press corps was stashed in a men's room … Hillary Clinton's run-up to the Texas and Ohio primaries was the political equivalent of Hell Week for a Navy SEAL.

Discussion: The Confluence, Taylor Marsh and NewsBusters.org

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.

Discussion: American Street and Buck Naked Politics

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: Balloon Juice, The Huffington Post, American Street and The RBC

Karl / protein wisdom:

Election 2008: Falling down on the Hispanic vote — The willful ignorance of Libby Spencer on “Hispanics and electability” caused me to take a look at the question of whether (or how) the GOP nomination of John McCain affects the Hispanic vote. After all, the Hispanic vote has been a factor …

Discussion: The Impolitic and USA Today