Top Items:
Barry Massey / Associated Press:
NM Gov. Bill Richardson endorsing Obama — SANTA FE, N.M. - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nation's only Hispanic governor, is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president, calling him a “once-in-a- lifetime leader” who can unite the nation and restore America's international leadership.
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Patrick Healy / New York Times:
Richardson Endorses Obama — Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who sought to become the nation's first Hispanic president this year, plans to endorse Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination on Friday at a campaign event in Oregon, according to an Obama adviser.
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, The Caucus, The Confluence, Wonkette, ScrappleFace and Connecting.the.Dots
Jeralyn / TalkLeft:
What's in a Passport File? — As MSNBC continues to hyperventilate over the breach of Barack Obama's “passport file”, I'm wondering, what's in a passport file? They aren't saying his State Department file was breached, only his passport file. I thought a passport file is just a file for your applications.
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MSNBC:
2 fired over Obama passport file breach — Third employee at State disciplined over accessing candidate's records — Two contract employees of the State Department were fired and a third person was disciplined for accessing passport records of Sen. Barack Obama “without a need to do so …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Sundries Shack, Blue Girl, Red State, Daily Kos, Bang the Drum, Boston Globe, Corrente, Donklephant, Crooks and Liars, Attytood, The RBC, skippy the bush kangaroo, Swampland, Cliff Schecter, Oliver Willis, The Moderate Voice, Political Machine, The Agonist and Sister Toldjah
Bill Gertz / Washington Times:
Obama passport files violated; 2 State Department workers fired — Two State Department employees were fired recently and a third disciplined for improperly accessing electronic personal data on Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, Bush administration officials said yesterday.
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Daily Dish, MSNBC, Don Surber, Fox News, Redstate, The Caucus, Cliff Schecter, Outside The Beltway, Macsmind, Hot Air and Think Progress
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Looking at Obama's File Gets Two Fired — The State Department said last night that it had fired two contract employees and disciplined a third for accessing Sen. Barack Obama's passport file. — Obama's presidential campaign immediately called for a “complete investigation.”
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
A Thinking Man's Speech — I thought Barack Obama's speech was strong, thoughtful and important. Rather beautifully, it was a speech to think to, not clap to. It was clear that's what he wanted, and this is rare. — It seemed to me as honest a speech as one in his position could give within the limits imposed by politics.
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Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
The Speech: A Brilliant Fraud — The beauty of a speech is that you don't just give the answers, you provide your own questions. “Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes.” So said Barack Obama, in his Philadelphia speech about his pastor …
Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
Photograph of Bill Clinton and Rev. Wright Surfaces — During one of the most difficult periods in the presidency of Bill Clinton, he addressed a group of clerics at an annual prayer breakfast in September 1998 just as the Starr report outlining his dalliance with Monica Lewinsky was about to be published.
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Jeremiah Wright was White House guest — The recent coverage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright has often cast him as a marginal, almost fringe figure, but Trinity Church is a major Chicago institution, and Wright has long been a prominent pastor on the American scene.
Jonathan S. Landay / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Bush erroneously says Iran announced desire for nuclear weapons — WASHINGTON — President Bush contended that Iran has “declared they want a nuclear weapon to destroy people” and that the Islamic Republic could be hiding a secret program. — Iran, however, has never publicly proclaimed …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Partying Like It's 1929 — If Ben Bernanke manages to save the financial system from collapse, he will — rightly — be praised for his heroic efforts. — But what we should be asking is: How did we get here? — Why does the financial system need salvation? — Why do mild-mannered economists have to become superheroes?
Discussion:
DownWithTyranny!
New York Times:
U.S. Defends Tough Tactics With Spitzer — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department used some of its most intrusive tactics against Eliot Spitzer, examining his financial records, eavesdropping on his phone calls and tailing him during its criminal investigation of the Emperor's Club prostitution ring.
Discussion:
Law Blog, BizzyBlog, Sentencing Law and Policy, The Huffington Post, Sister Toldjah and The Daily Politics
Michael Hirsh / Newsweek:
Hillary's Economic Hail Mary — With time running out on her campaign, Clinton announces a plan on the financial crisis. … Hello, Hillary? Hate to wake you, but it's 3 o'clock in the morning, and we have a real crisis. It's your campaign, senator. It's Hail Mary time.