memeorandum: The Affluent, Too, Couldn't Resist Adjustable Rates (Jane Birnbaum/New York Times)

11:55 AM ET, March 20, 2008

Top Items:

Revote donors linked to Clinton — WASHINGTON — Ten wealthy Democrats have offered to pay for a new presidential primary in Michigan — all with ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who showed up in the state Wednesday seeking a revote. — Five of the donors are listed on Clinton's campaign website as among her major fundraisers.

Discussion: New York Times, The Caucus and MSNBC

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

Clinton Facing Narrower Path to Nomination — WASHINGTON — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton needs three breaks to wrest the Democratic presidential nomination from Senator Barack Obama in the view of her advisers. — She has to defeat Mr. Obama soundly in Pennsylvania next month to buttress …

Discussion: USA Today, MSNBC, Spin Cycle, No More Mister Nice Blog, Associated Press, The Carpetbagger Report, marbury, TalkLeft, TPMCafe, Prometheus 6, Prairie Weather, Taylor Marsh, TPM Election Central, Hoffmania!, Booman Tribune, The Page and AMERICAblog

Brian C. Mooney / Boston Globe:
DNC won't give in on Fla., Mich., official warns

Discussion: The Page and TPM Election Central

Washington Post:
Clinton Presses Obama on Efforts For Revotes in Florida and Michigan

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Los Angeles Times and New York Times

Los Angeles Times:
Clinton donors offer to fund Michigan do-over

Discussion: Reason Magazine and The Page

David Brown / PittsburghLIVE.com:

Clinton leads by 16 points in statewide poll — TRIBUNE-REVIEW — Sen. Hillary Clinton has extended her lead over Sen. Barack Obama among registered Democrats likely to vote in the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, a poll released today shows. — Clinton of New York leads Obama of Illinois …

Discussion: HillaryClinton.com, The Page and TPM Election Central

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

Obama racial issues may extend to Penn. — PHILADELPHIA — Stephanie Gill, a bartender in a white working class neighborhood in this Rust Belt city, noticed the shift immediately. — A week ago, her customers at Rauchut's Tavern in Tacony didn't have much to say about Barack Obama.

Discussion: QandO

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:
Clinton doubles lead in Pennsylvania

Discussion: Pat Dollard

Newsweek:

Clinton's schedules reveal curious deletions … The early days of 1996 were tense times inside the Clinton White House. On Jan. 4, the First Couple's top personal aide reported that she had stumbled upon Hillary Clinton's long-lost Rose Law Firm billing records—documents that had been requested …

Discussion: American Spectator, Guardian, Betsy's Page, Sister Toldjah, Fausta's blog, GINA COBB, Lynn Sweet and ABCNEWS

WSJ.com:
Clinton's Calendar and Vince Foster

Discussion: The Opinionator, Shakesville, Hot Air, Right Wing Nut House, Corrente, Salon, The Moderate Voice and ABCNEWS

Libby Copeland / Washington Post:
What Makes Hillary Tick? Her Schedule Doesn't Say

Discussion: The New Republic

The Politico:
HRC schedules give foes, allies ammunition

Discussion: Washington Wire

Washington Post:
In Hillary Clinton's Datebook, A Shift

Discussion: The Swamp, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Salon, Ben Smith's Blogs and The Page

Faiz / Think Progress:

McCain baselessly asserted Iran/al Qaeda ties last month. — Speaking at the Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston, TX, last month (Feb. 28th), McCain stated the following: … Watch it: — This is at least the fourth time that McCain has asserted a direct Iran/al Qaeda connection.

Discussion: Attytood, Blue Girl, Red State, Talk To Action and Democratic National Committee

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The media's special relationship with John McCain

Discussion: Washington Post, Firedoglake and American Street

Eli Lake / New York Sun:
McCain, Obama Clash Over Iran's Al Qaeda Role

Discussion: Hot Air and Power Line

Rasmussen Reports:

West Virginia Democratic Presidential Primary — West Virginia: Clinton 55% Obama 27% — Looking down the road to May 13, Senator Hillary Clinton holds a huge lead over Senator Barack Obama in the West Virginia Presidential Primary. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, TPM Election Central, MyDD and Buck Naked Politics

Rasmussen Reports:

The Impact of Pastor Wright and THE SPEECH on Election 2008 — Two days after Barack Obama gave the most important speech of his life, it remains unclear what impact the controversy over Pastor Jeremiah Wright will have on the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, Hot Air, Outside The Beltway and The Campaign Spot

Sam Wood / Philly.com:

Obama wows WIP sports jocks — Sen. Barack Obama called into sports radio 610 WIP this morning, charming the usually rambuctious morning talk show hosts and winning their endorsements. — “People are really swept up [by this candidate],” said host Al Morganti. “It's almost like teenaged girls at a concert.

Paul Boutin / New York Times:

So You Want to Be a Blogging Star? — MARK CUBAN, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has a full plate. Besides his basketball team, the busy billionaire also owns part of a media company, and serves as chairman of the TV channel HDNet. He recently competed for five weeks on “Dancing With the Stars” on ABC.

Discussion: distributorcap NY

Reuters:

Clinton takes lead over Obama in Gallup poll — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has moved into a significant lead over Barack Obama among Democratic voters, according to a new Gallup poll. — The March 14-18 national survey of 1,209 Democratic …

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG, The Washington Note and Pensito Review

Washington Post:

Fantasies on Iraq — THE FIFTH anniversary of the invasion of Iraq prompted a flurry of speeches from President Bush and the Democratic candidates who hope to inherit the White House next year. Sadly, what they had in common was their failure to grapple with hard realities …

Discussion: The Glittering Eye, Blue Girl, Red State, The Strata-Sphere and Publius Pundit

Jane Birnbaum / New York Times:

The Affluent, Too, Couldn't Resist Adjustable Rates — They took out adjustable-rate mortgages at the peak of the housing bubble to buy homes they would otherwise not be able to afford. Or they refinanced existing mortgages to take cash out. And now, two or three years later, the day of reckoning is here.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, Calculated Risk and Eschaton

John Bresnahan / The Crypt's Blogs:

Tom Reynolds expected to announce retirement on Thursday — Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.) has scheduled a noon press conference on Thursday, and GOP insiders say the veteran lawmaker is going to announce his retirement from Congress, effective at the end of this year.

Discussion: Bluey Blog and Salon