Top Items:
Thomas Fitzgerald / Philly.com:
Bob Casey to endorse Obama, join bus tour — Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president today in Pittsburgh, sending a message both to the state's primary voters and to undecided superdelegates who might decide the close race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, The Moderate Voice, Washington Wire, The Swamp, Ben Smith's Blogs, Marc Ambinder, Comments from Left Field, Wonkette, Booman Tribune, The Caucus, Dick Polman's American Debate, Talking Points Memo, Pennsyltucky Politics, Washington Times, Donklephant, The Jed Report, TPM Election Central, The Page, Balloon Juice and positivelyBarack.com
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Mike Allen / Ben Smith's Blogs:
BREAKING: Dean wants closure by July 1 — A potential game-changer from CBS News and “The Early Show.” Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean says he wants superdelegates to make a decision by JULY 1 — the most specific he has been in his effort to prod the party …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Swamp, Associated Press, The New Republic, Daily Kos, Pam's House Blend and TPM Election Central
Erik Schelzig / Associated Press:
Gore thinks Dem nomination will be set before convention — MURFREESBORO - Former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday that he expects the Democratic nomination fight will “resolve itself” before the party's convention in late August. — Gore told The Associated Press that he sees no urgency in endorsing a presidential candidate.
Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:
Pennsylvania voters feeling ‘neglected’ — PITTSBURGH - After envisioning Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama stumping from one end of the state to the other, dipping into diners and delis, all but taking up residence here in the run-up to the state's critical April 22 primary …
USA Today:
McCain to embark on ‘biography tour’
McCain to embark on ‘biography tour’
Discussion:
MSNBC, Washington Post, New York Times, New York Times, Democratic Strategist and Real Clear Politics
Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Obama to Begin Push in Pennsylvania in Hope of Offsetting Clinton Advantages
Obama to Begin Push in Pennsylvania in Hope of Offsetting Clinton Advantages
Erica Goode / New York Times:
U.S. Planes Attack Militia Strongholds in Basra Fighting — BAGHDAD —American military forces for the first time conducted air strikes on targets in Basra late Thursday, joining Iraqi security forces in trying to oust Shiite militias in the southern port city.
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James Hider / Times of London:
Iraqi police in Basra shed their uniforms, kept their rifles and switched sides
Iraqi police in Basra shed their uniforms, kept their rifles and switched sides
Washington Post:
U.S. Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr Militia
U.S. Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr Militia
Discussion:
The Newshoggers, Crooks and Liars, Think Progress, Matthew Yglesias, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, American Power, Hot Air, QandO, Balloon Juice, abu muqawama, missing links, Reuters, CNN, Political Machine, The Impolitic, The Washington Independent, democracyarsenal.org, American Street, Firedoglake, New York Times and DownWithTyranny!
Mike Allen / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama now says he might have left church — In appearance taped for airing this morning on “The View,” Senator Obama makes news by saying he might have left Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ if the Rev. Jeremiah Wright had not retired. — In a clip posted by ABC, Obama says …
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Ben / Think Progress:
Rice Concedes She Didn't Think Iraq ‘Would Be This Tough,’ Blames Iraqis For Continued Violence — Rice Concedes She Didn't Think Iraq ‘Would Be This Tough,’ Blames Iraqis For Continued Violence — Speaking to a group of journalists yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice admitted …
Discussion:
Eschaton
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Loans and Leadership — When George W. Bush first ran for the White House, political reporters assured us that he came across as a reasonable, moderate guy. — Yet those of us who looked at his policy proposals — big tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization — had a very different impression.
Maggie Haberman / New York Post:
GIULIANI WEIGHING ‘SPECIAL’ RUN FOR GOV — In the latest twist in New York politics, Rudy Giuliani is eyeing a run for governor in a special election this fall should Gov. Paterson be forced to resign, sources say. — A top adviser to the former mayor, who pulled the plug on his presidential bid …
Discussion:
Hot Air
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Getting Mrs. Clinton — I think we've reached a signal point in the campaign. This is the point where, with Hillary Clinton, either you get it or you don't. There's no dodging now. You either understand the problem with her candidacy, or you don't. You either understand who she is, or not.
Tahman Bradley / Political Radar:
Bill Clinton: Caucuses ‘Killing Us’ — ABC News' Teddy Davis, Sarah Amos, and Talal Al-Khatib Report: While speaking by phone Thursday to his wife's Texas supporters, former President Bill Clinton downplayed the importance of caucuses and argued that his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. …
Adam Nossiter / New York Times:
Ex-Governor of Alabama Is Ordered Released — MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Donald Siegelman, former governor of Alabama, was ordered released from prison on Thursday by a federal appeals court, pending his appeal of a bribery conviction that Democrats say resulted from a politically driven prosecution.