memeorandum: 13 Percent of Registered Voters Think Obama Is a Muslim (The Campaign Spot)

9:10 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.”

The Campaign Spot:

13 Percent of Registered Voters Think Obama Is a Muslim — The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll asked respondents what Barack Obama's religion is. — Among registered voters, 37 percent said Protestant. Two percent said Catholic, two percent said “other,” two percent said “none.”

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and The Sundries Shack

Victor Davis Hanson / The Corner:
Race and the Democrats — I recently listened to, and read from …

Discussion: TownHall Blog

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Wright's committee — Jeremiah Wright, in the news today …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Shakesville, Trailhead, JustOneMinute, The Democratic Daily and Tennessee Guerilla Women

Roger L. Simon:
Barack has some explaining to do

Discussion: URGENT AGENDA and The Opinionator

USA Today:

Clinton strategist says Obama 'can't win the general election' — Though the campaign later argued that he hadn't said it, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief campaign strategist told reporters this morning that Sen. Barack Obama “can't win the general election.”

Discussion: TalkLeft, Balloon Juice, The Impolitic, The Daily Dish, National Post, AMERICAblog, Scripting News, TPM Election Central, The Page and Don Surber

Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:

Making Obama Unelectable — Mark Penn declared today that Barack Obama “really can't win the general [election].” Of course, it's silly to say that Obama or Clinton “can't” win the general. There's not even good evidence to suggest that Obama is less likely than Clinton to win the general.

Marc Ambinder:

Obama Can't Win The General? — They let Mark Penn out to speak and... this happens. — The USA Today link includes two minutes worth of audio, so you can make up your mind about the context. — Of course Obama can win the general election; it's illogical to generalize from the vote totals alone, as I and others have pointed out.

Discussion: MyDD and Real Clear Politics

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Penn: Obama “really can't win the general”

Discussion: TPM Election Central

Daniel W. Reilly / The Politico:

House to hold rare closed session on FISA — The House will go into a rare closed session Thursday night to debate a controversial electronic surveillance measure. — It is the first closed session since 1983 and only the fifth in congressional history. — House Minority Whip Roy Blunt …

Discussion: The Swamp, New York Times, American Street and Right Voices

The Hill:

Hoyer agrees to closed FISA session — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has agreed to a GOP request for a secret House session Thursday to discuss the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA). — House Republicans had been seeking the closed session to delay a vote …

Discussion: The Crypt's Blogs, Think Progress, Capitol Briefing and Hullabaloo

White House:
President Bush Discusses FISA

Discussion: The Hill, Salon, The Crypt's Blogs, Commentary, Daily Kos and Wake up America

The Page:

Details of a possible delegate plan under discussion: —Michigan's 156 delegates would be split 50-50 between Clinton and Obama. —Florida's existing delegates would be seated at the Denver convention—but with half a vote each. That would give Clinton a net gain of about 19 elected delegates.

Discussion: The Reaction, Marc Ambinder, TalkLeft, The New Republic, Wonkette, Pam's House Blend, Democratic Strategist, The Confluence, Back Alley Media and Donklephant

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

NRCC Treasurer Accused of Campaign Fraud — Ward Transferred Funds to Personal Accounts, Officials Say — The former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee transferred as much as $1 million in committee funds into his personal and business accounts, officials announced today …

Discussion: Capitol Briefing, On Deadline and The New Republic

NRCC Press Releases:
NRCC Chairman Cole Releases Statement and Update on Apparent …

Discussion: Emptywheel, MyDD and Political Punch

Ruth Henderson / Pajamas Media:

I'VE SEEN MY SHARE OF SPITZERS: THE VIEW FROM AN ESCORT SERVICE — The disgraced former NY governor is not alone, writes “Ruth Henderson,” a former booking agent for high-priced Manhattan call girls. — Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers — So New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned …

Discussion: Dealbreaker, Publius Pundit and TigerHawk

Nitya / Rapid Report:

Report Shows No Link Between Saddam and al Qaeda — ABC News has requested and obtained a copy of the Pentagon study which shows Saddam Hussein had no links to Al Qaeda. — (READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.) — It's government report the White House didn't want you to read …

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, The Lede, Wonkette, Big Brass Blog and TPMMuckraker

Warren P. Strobel / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Pentagon cancels release of controversial Iraq report

Discussion: The Republic of T. and Firedoglake

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:

Good News for Obama: Hillary's Killing Him in Pennsylvania. (Seriously.) — I'd love to see the crosstabs for this Pennsylvania poll, but, just looking at the top-line numbers, it strikes me as pretty good news for Obama. It's not so much that he's down three points in a hypothetical match …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and MyDD

Lynn Sweet:

Sweet scoop: Obama, after initial refusal, releases all earmark requests. Read them here. UPDATES — WASHINGTON—After refusing since June to make public earmark requests from 2005 and 2006, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is releasing Thursday all the earmark requests he has made since he entered the Senate in 2005.

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Stumper, TownHall Blog, CNN, The Campaign Spot and Riehl World View

Sudhir Venkatesh / Slate:

Skinflint — DID ELIOT SPITZER GET CAUGHT BECAUSE HE DIDN'T SPEND ENOUGH ON PROSTITUTES? — The first thing that grabs your attention about the sex scandal involving New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is, of course, the client. But, there's another aspect to the story that should raise eyebrows: $4,300.

Discussion: MoJoBlog

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: Wake up America, StephenBainbridge.com, Hot Air, QandO, American Power, The Newshoggers, Jules Crittenden, BLACKFIVE and Chicago Boyz

Mark Schmitt / American Prospect:

CLINTON '08=JERRY BROWN '92? — For the record, Senator Obama came out of the Mississippi primary with an advantage of 99,000 votes over Senator Clinton, more than I had predicted based on his edge in Alabama. That puts his margin in the nationwide popular vote — by a measure that includes Florida …

Discussion: The Daily Dish