memeorandum: Denver short on funds for Democratic National Convention (DeeDee Correll/Los Angeles Times)

1:15 PM ET, March 21, 2008

Top Items:

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 …

Discussion: TPMCafe, Swampland, Real Clear Politics, Sadly, No!, Too Sense, Discriminations, Cold Fury and Dr. Sanity

E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

Another Angry Black Preacher — Let's ask the hard question about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright: Is he as far outside the African American mainstream as many of us would like to think? — Because Barack Obama's speech on race in America was so candid about both the legitimacy of black and white grievances …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Commentary, American Street, The Daily Dish and No More Mister Nice Blog

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.

Discussion: MSNBC and alicublog

Hindrocket / Power Line:

IT ISN'T ONLY JEREMIAH WRIGHT — The Barack Obama campaign has been engulfed in controversy over racist and anti-American sermons given by his minister and friend, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In responding to questions about Rev. Wright, Obama has consistently emphasized that Rev. Wright …

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
NOT GONNA SAY IT. — As the Daily Show clip I posted …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Gary Reese / Southern Political Report:
New InsiderAdvantage Poll — Obama's speech meets unsympathetic ears with Americans

Discussion: The New Republic, Donklephant and MyDD

Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
Photograph of Bill Clinton and Rev. Wright Surfaces

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, The Swamp, The Carpetbagger Report, NewsBusters.org, Spin Cycle, No More Mister Nice Blog, Real Clear Politics, Political Punch, Ben Smith's Blogs, Donklephant, Corrente, Tennessee Guerilla Women and Political Machine

Michael Barone / US News: State by State, Obama and Clinton Stack Up Differently Against McCain

CNN:

Rice apologizes to Obama for passport snooping — (CNN) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday told Sen. Hillary Clinton that the security of her passport file were breached in 2007, according to Clinton's Senate official. — The revelation came shortly after Rice said she hed apologized …

Discussion: The Swamp, Think Progress, MSNBC, Ars Technica, Sister Toldjah, Shakesville, Attytood, AngryBlackBitch, Bang the Drum, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, The Gavel, Talking Points Memo, Salon and The Huffington Post

ABCNEWS:

Passport Security Breach on McCain, Clinton & Obama — State Department Contract Employees Fired, Another Disciplined for Looking at Passport File — An embarrassed State Department admitted today that the passport files of all three presidential candidates — Sens. John McCain …

Discussion: TownHall Blog, The Swamp, The Jawa Report, TalkLeft, Salon, Washington Post, Time, Taylor Marsh and The Reaction

Desmond Butler / Associated Press:

Clinton Says Her Passport File Breached — WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that her passport file was breached in 2007. — In a statement from her Senate office, Clinton said she had been contacted by Rice.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Washington Times, This ain't Hell … and Blogs of War

Michelle Malkin:
First, Obama's passport...now, Hillary's breached, too; 12:13pm …

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press and The American Mind

New York Times:

Richardson Plans Obama Endorsement — 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. — Mr. Richardson, a former congressman …

Discussion: The Caucus, Top of the Ticket, Guardian Unlimited, The New Republic, Matthew Yglesias, Breaking News Updates …, DownWithTyranny!, The Confluence, PoliPundit.com, American Spectator, Wonkette, ScrappleFace, Riehl World View and marbury

Matt Apuzzo / Associated Press:

NM Gov. Bill Richardson endorses Obama — PORTLAND, Ore. - The nation's only Hispanic governor has put his support behind Barack Obama for president, delivering one of the most coveted endorsements in the race for the Democratic nomination. — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson joined Obama …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, Marc Ambinder, Buck Naked Politics, Comments from Left Field, Pam's House Blend, Liberal Values, PoliGazette, Donklephant, Balloon Juice and PoliBlog (TM)

Barry Massey / Associated Press:

AP: Gov. 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.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, TownHall Blog, TalkLeft, Power Line, CNN, Salon, The Washington Note, Citizen Crain and Swampland

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Can Clinton win popular vote, superdelegates? — The apparent collapse of planned new votes in Florida and Michigan could push victory on a key symbolic measure — the primary season popular vote — beyond Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's grasp. — Clinton's top supporters, including her husband …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Washington Post, Ben Smith's Blogs, The New Republic, Democratic Strategist, Prairie Weather and MSNBC

Washington Post:
Democrats in Stalemate — THE COLLAPSE of efforts to conduct …

Discussion: Prometheus 6

DeeDee Correll / Los Angeles Times:
Denver short on funds for Democratic National Convention

Discussion: Political Machine, New York Times and Cliff Schecter

Think Progress:

Fox's Chris Wallace Takes Fox And Friends ‘To Task’ For ‘Two Hours Of Obama Bashing’ — On Fox and Friends this morning, hosts Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, and Gretchen Carlson spent multiple segments sensationalizing a comment Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) made yesterday, in which he referred …

Discussion: News Hounds, Taylor Marsh and TBogg

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: American Spectator, The American Mind, DownWithTyranny!, The Agonist and The Glittering Eye

New York Times:

Socialized Compensation — How can one feel sorry for James Cayne? The potential losses of the chairman and former chief executive of Bear Stearns must rank up there with the biggest in modern history. The value of his stake in Bear Stearns collapsed from about $1 billion a year ago …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Prairie Weather, Brilliant at Breakfast, Prometheus 6 and The Impolitic

Charles Murray / The Corner:

My Last Word on Obama, I Promise. — To all my friends and people I admire who have completely befuddled me with their reaction to Obama's speech: Speaking or writing about difficult race problems is different from speaking or writing about any other public policy issue.