Top Items:
New York Post:
IT'S THE BLOOMY-'BAMA SHOW — Mayor Bloomberg made a surprise announcement last night that he will introduce Barack Obama when the Illinois senator makes a campaign speech today at Cooper Union. — The mayor's office took the highly unusual step of releasing information about the event late last night.
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Patrick Cockburn / The Independent:
Iraq implodes as Shia fights Shia — Another tragedy as the Shia majority turn on each other — A new civil war is threatening to explode in Iraq as American-backed Iraqi government forces fight Shia militiamen for control of Basra and parts of Baghdad. — Heavy fighting engulfed Iraq's …
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Dean Godson / Times of London:
Crude oil surges after Basra pipeline bombing
Crude oil surges after Basra pipeline bombing
Discussion:
Agence France Presse
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
NBC-WSJ POLL: NEW CLINTON LOWS — From NBC's Chuck Todd — As expected, one of the two major Democratic candidates saw a downturn in the latest NBC/WSJ poll, but it's not the candidate that you think. Hillary Clinton is sporting the lowest personal ratings of the campaign.
Discussion:
Swampland, The Swamp, The Fix, Fox News, Commentary, Political Machine, American Street, Comments from Left Field, Brendan Nyhan, the talking dog, No More Mister Nice Blog, Prairie Weather, The Moderate Voice, Jules Crittenden, Top of the Ticket, TalkLeft, Wonkette, Spin Cycle, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, ArchPundit, The Daily Dish, Hotline On Call, TPM Election Central, The Jed Report, Pollster.com, The Reaction and Hot Air
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Jackie Calmes / Wall Street Journal:
Pastor Flap Hasn't Hurt Obama
Pastor Flap Hasn't Hurt Obama
Discussion:
TownHall Blog, MSNBC, Hot Air, God-o-Meter, Talking Points Memo, Washington Wire, Donklephant, Taylor Marsh, Examining Presidential … and Poll Dancing
Steve Benen / Crooks and Liars:
No apparent ‘Wright effect’ in new NBC/WSJ poll
No apparent ‘Wright effect’ in new NBC/WSJ poll
Discussion:
BlondeSense
John Whitesides / Reuters:
Clinton backers warn Pelosi on superdelegate rift — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of prominent Hillary Clinton donors sent a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday asking her to retract her comments on superdelegates and stay out of the Democratic fight over their role in the presidential race.
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C. J. Chivers / New York Times:
Supplier Under Scrutiny on Aging Arms for Afghans — Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. — But to arm the Afghan forces …
Discussion:
MoJoBlog, The Swamp, TPMMuckraker, The Washington Independent, First Draft, Blue Girl, Red State, On Deadline, Hog On Ice, At-Largely and abu muqawama
John Shiffman / Philly.com:
PR governor, four Philadelphians charged — Puerto Rico's governor and four Philadelphians, including prominent fund-raiser Robert M. Feldman, were charged this morning in San Juan with federal campaign-finance related crimes. — The investigation of Gov. Anibal Acevedo-Vila …
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Bob Barr thinking ‘very serious’ thoughts about a presidential race, Iraq, and torture — On an Internet site called Anti-War Radio, former Georgia congressman Bob Barr confirmed on Wednesday that he's “very seriously” looking at joining the race for the White House as a Libertarian …
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Reason Magazine
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Alec MacGillis / The Trail:
Gravel Joins the Libertarians
Gravel Joins the Libertarians
Discussion:
BuzzFlash.org, CNN, The Moderate Voice, San Diego Union-Tribune, Wonkette, The Caucus and Baltimore Sun
Brian Stelter / New York Times:
Finding Political News Online, the Young Pass It On — Senator Barack Obama's videotaped response to President Bush's final State of the Union address — almost five minutes of Mr. Obama talking directly to the camera — elicited little attention from newspaper and television reporters in January.
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Politico, Personal Democracy Forum, BuzzMachine, American Power and The Huffington Post
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Public Believes Americans Have Right to Own Guns — Nearly three in four say Second Amendment guarantees this right — PRINCETON, NJ — A solid majority of the U.S. public, 73%, believes the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to own guns.
Vikas Bajaj / New York Times:
Equity Loans as Next Round in Credit Crisis — Little by little, millions of Americans surrendered equity in their homes in recent years. Lulled by good times, they borrowed — sometimes heavily — against the roofs over their heads. — Now the bill is coming due.
Joe Klein / Time:
Silly Season — Unlike Barack Obama, Bill Clinton does not believe in “the fierce urgency of now.” The former President has an exquisitely languid sense of how political time unfurls. He understands that those moments the political community, especially the media, considers urgent usually aren't.
Salt Lake Tribune:
McCain makes stop in SLC today — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain will make an invitation-only fundraising stop in Salt Lake City at the Grand America Hotel today. — Former presidential contender Mitt Romney will accompany McCain to the $1,000-a-person event …
New York Post:
AND THERE HE HO'S AGAIN — ‘WICKED’ SPITZER LINKED TO BUSTY BUSTED MADAM'S BIZ — Disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been identified as a long-standing client of a second high-priced call-girl ring, The Post has learned. — The ex-governor regularly patronized Wicked Models …
Washington Post:
Further Debunking the ‘War Zone’ Myth — The Clinton campaign has cited newspaper accounts, including one in The Washington Post, to bolster the senator's claim that her now-famous March 1996 trip to Bosnia was the first visit to a “war zone” by a first lady since World War II.