memeorandum: Double down — There are many reasons to avoid taking the King's shilling if you can. (Megan McArdle)

12:45 PM ET, March 13, 2008

Top Items:

Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11 — Obama's Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Has a History of What Even Obama's Campaign Aides Say Is ‘Inflammatory Rhetoric’ — Sen. Barack Obama's pastor says blacks should not sing “God Bless America” but “God damn America.”

Discussion: Power Line, NewsBusters.org, PrestoPundit, Sweetness & Light, Hot Air, The Campaign Spot, Roger L. Simon, Cold Fury and Instapundit.com

Fox News:

Obama's Spiritual Mentor May Put Church in Hot Water — CHICAGO - Barack Obama's controversial pastor and the church he's served for 36 years may be in hot water over statements he has made from the pulpit in support of the Illinois senator's run for the White House.

Discussion: Macsmind, Redstate, TigerHawk, Political Punch, PoliGazette, Riehl World View and The Jed Report

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Wright on film — Sure does feel like we're plunging into the abyss tonight. — Fox just posted a big Jeremiah Wright story, and the video is pretty gripping, and deeply racially confrontational. He begins by describing the Romans, who crucified Jesus, as Italians, and thus white, and more or less goes from there.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Classical Values, Atlas Shrugs, Redstate and Taylor Marsh

Devlin Barrett / Associated Press:

Clinton Apologizes to Black Voters … WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did something Wednesday night that she almost never does. She apologized. And once she started, she didn't seem able to stop. — The New York senator, who is in a tight race with Illinois Sen. Barack …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Top of the Ticket, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Real Clear Politics, Outside The Beltway, Sister Toldjah, Classical Values, Political Machine, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shakesville, New York Times, Althouse, Don Surber, State of the Day, Donklephant, Daily Kos and CNN

The Huffington Post:

Olbermann Slams Clinton in Special Comment: “You Are Campaigning As If Barack Obama Were The Democrat And You Were The Republican” — Tonight, as promised, Keith Olbermann attacked Senator Hillary Clinton in a ten-minute “Special Comment,” saying that he was not endorsing Barack Obama but that …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Democratic Daily, Hotline On Call, Booker Rising, TigerHawk, MSNBC, The Page, AMERICAblog and The Moderate Voice

NPR:
The Role of Race — While race inevitably has emerged …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, The Confluence and Swampland

New York Times:
Democrats Face Racial Issue Again

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Carpetbagger Report and MSNBC

Keith Olbermann / MSNBC:
Clinton's tepid response to Ferraro is shameful

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Carpetbagger Report, ABCNEWS, The Reaction, The Huffington Post, Althouse and Political Byline

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:

Support for war effort highest since 2006 — American public support for the military effort in Iraq has reached a highpoint unseen since the summer of 2006, a development that promises to reshape the political landscape. — According to late February polling conducted by The Pew Research Center …

Discussion: Think Progress, Donklephant, Jules Crittenden, Commentary, Middle Earth Journal, Real Clear Politics, Political Machine, Pat Dollard, Hot Air, Right Wing News and The Jed Report

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

The Politico claims the Iraq war will help McCain — (updated below) — The Politico today published one of the most blatantly one-sided, journalistically flawed “news” articles on the Iraq War in quite some time and promoted it as its featured story, filled with dramatic proclamations certain to attract …

Discussion: Wake up America, The Liberal Avenger and Taylor Marsh

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Study: Public unaware of Iraq toll

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG and JammieWearingFool

USA Today:
Opposition to Iraq war is divided after 5 years

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and RADAMISTO

Kenneth Thiesen / Berkeley Daily Planet:

Commentary: Why I Don't Support the Troops — In the recent political battle around the Marine recruiting station in Berkeley there has been much confusion around the concept or slogan of “supporting the troops,” but opposing the unjust wars of the Bush regime.

Discussion: Hot Air, Jules Crittenden, American Power, PoliGazette, Gateway Pundit, Gathering of Eagles, Pirate's Cove, Little Green Footballs, A NEWT ONE, BLACKFIVE, Right Wing News, Cold Fury and Political Byline

Detroit Free Press:

Democrats propose do-over primary paid for by donors — LANSING — As negotiators continued to work Wednesday on developing an acceptable plan for a possible do-over Democratic presidential primary in Michigan, the prospect of a state-run — but party-funded — primary was raised …

Discussion: Associated Press, MyDD, The Caucus, Politics Nation, New York Times, MSNBC, Commentary and TPM Election Central

Ben Smith / The Politico: Fla. Dems propose June 3 re-vote

Thomas Heath / Washington Post:

Carlyle Fund's Assets Seized — Leaders Fail to Stop Securities Sell-Off — A publicly traded affiliate of the Carlyle Group said yesterday that lenders were seizing its assets, sending the fund, Carlyle Capital, into insolvency. — The collapse of Carlyle Capital is the first time a Carlyle Group fund …

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Bloomberg:
Carlyle Capital Nears Collapse as Rescue Talks Fail

Discussion: Redstate and Economics Blog

Jackie Calmes / Wall Street Journal:

McCain, GOP May Have Cause for Hope — Latest Poll Helps Detail Reasons the Democrats Remain Deadlocked — Rarely have the stars aligned so squarely against the party in power in elections for the White House as it has for Republicans, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll bears out.

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, Hot Air, TownHall Blog, The Strata-Sphere and Macsmind

Mark Murray / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: THE GREAT '08 PARADOX

Discussion: marbury and The Huffington Post

Brian Knowlton / New York Times:

Bush Warns House on Surveillance — WASHINGTON — With the House poised to vote today on electronic surveillance legislation that the White House has said falls far short of its requirements, President Bush warned legislators strongly Thursday morning against passing what he called …

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere and The Page

Daniel W. Reilly / The Crypt's Blogs: Tempers Flare on FISA

Plain Dealer / OPENERS:

Former Ohio senator Howard Metzenbaum dies in Florida — Howard M. Metzenbaum, who retired in 1994 after 19 years in the Senate, died tonight at 9:15 at home in Florida. He was 90. — Juanita Powe, his assistant for 45 years, said his wife and four daughters were with him.

Associated Press:
‘Senator No’ Howard Metzenbaum dead at 90

Discussion: Hot Air and Shakesville

Michelle Malkin:

Hot Air TV: Sen. John Kerry confronted about Winter Soldier II — Grab the popcorn. We've got another joint YAF/Hot Air TV production for you, just in time for the anti-war confab known as “Winter Soldier II” that kicks off in Washington, D.C. tomorrow and runs through Sunday.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Power Line, JammieWearingFool, American Thinker, Obiter Dictum, The Impolitic, Redstate, Democracy Project, The Nation, A NEWT ONE, PoliGazette, Pat Dollard and Gateway Pundit

Michael Sneed / Chicago Sun Times:

It's not him — The Spitzer shocker . . . Just who is Client No. 10? — Who is the procurer of prostitutes from Chicago who is mentioned anonymously in an unsealed FBI affidavit filed by the feds detailing operations of the Emperors Club, a sex-for-hire shop that allegedly ensnared embattled New York.

Discussion: The Swamp and Real Clear Politics

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:

Gun Battle at the White House? — In preparation for oral arguments Tuesday on the extent of gun rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court has before it a brief signed by Vice President Cheney opposing the Bush administration's stance.

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, BizzyBlog and The Volokh Conspiracy