memeorandum: Clinton Says She Long Has Been Sounding Alarm on Economy (John M. Broder/The Caucus)

10:10 AM ET, April 4, 2008

Top Items:

Clinton Camp Feels Spent, and Outspent — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton spent a second straight day holding fundraisers in California yesterday as part of an all-out effort to keep pace with the record amounts of money raised by Sen. Barack Obama, whose campaign announced that it pulled …

Discussion: The Politico, New York Times, MSNBC, The Washington Independent and Associated Press

New York Times:

81% in Poll Say Nation Is Headed on the Wrong Track — Americans are more dissatisfied with the country's direction than at any time since the New York Times/CBS News poll began asking about the subject in the early 1990s, according to the latest poll. — In the poll, 81 percent of respondents …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Think Progress, Matthew Yglesias, CNN, American Street, The Carpetbagger Report, Air America Radio blogs, Daily Kos, Prairie Weather, Pirate's Cove, DownWithTyranny!, Blue Girl, Red State, Balloon Juice, Taegan Goddard's …, The New Republic and The Page

Shailagh Murray / The Trail:

A Flush Obama Campaign Pulls Out All the Stops — What does $40 million a month buy a presidential candidate? A whole lot of airtime and office space. — Sen. Barack Obama's copious cash flow means he can compete as aggressively in the final Democratic contests as he did in the early days of the primary campaign.

Charles Krauthammer / Real Clear Politics:

The Fabulist Vs. the Saint — WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton met her Waterloo at Tuzla. She'd been regaling audiences with tales of a dangerous landing under sniper fire in Tuzla 12 years ago and then running for cover. None of this occurred. When CBS provided the tape, she was forced to admit to “a misstatement.”

Discussion: Soccer Dad

John M. Broder / The Caucus: Clinton Says She Long Has Been Sounding Alarm on Economy

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo: NEW CBS/NYT SOUNDING

New York Times:

More Than 1,000 in Iraq's Forces Quit Basra Fight — BAGHDAD — More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite militias in Basra last week, a senior Iraqi government official said Thursday.

Discussion: rubber hose, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, The Impolitic, Informed Comment, Washington Monthly, Truthdig and MSNBC

Pamela Hess / Associated Press:

Report: Security in Iraq is improving — WASHINGTON - A new classified intelligence assessment on Iraq says there has been significant progress in security since the last assessment was delivered in August, a senior military official said. — In most ways the new National Intelligence Estimate hews closely …

Discussion: Buck Naked Politics

New York Times:
U.S. Study Finds Progress in Iraq, but Fragile Security and Potential …

Discussion: Washington Post and SWJ Blog

Washington Post:
Basra Assault Exposed U.S., Iraqi Limits

Discussion: Newshoggers.com and Connecting.the.Dots

Michael Cooper / New York Times:

McCain Sees King Speech as Chance to Mend Ties — MEMPHIS — Senator John McCain, who says he will court the African-American vote this year and campaign in places Republicans often shun, plans to speak here on Friday to mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Discussion: Spin Cycle

Saira Anees / Political Punch:
The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day

Discussion: Wonk Room, FOX Embeds and The Carpetbagger Report

Washington Post: McCain Holds Off on Secret Service Protection

Washington Wire:
McCain, Clinton Head to Memphis for MLK Anniversary

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Lean Left

Ed Ronco / South Bend Tribune:

Poll: Clinton, Obama neck and neck in Hoosier state — Obama is choice for 81 percent of black Democratic primary voters. — Sen. Barack Obama has a huge lead among younger voters in Indiana, Sen. Hillary Clinton holds the same lead with voters older than 60, and both candidates …

Discussion: MSNBC, PoliGazette, MyDD and TPM Election Central

Associated Press:

Poll shows tight state primary race between Clinton, Obama — SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are running about even in their race to win Indiana's May 6 primary, according to a new statewide poll released Thursday. — The poll commissioned by WSBT-TV in South Bend …

Discussion: TalkLeft

Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Race Steady at Obama 49%, Clinton 46%

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, BuzzFlash.org and The Other McCain

Michael Wines / New York Times:

New Signs of Mugabe Crackdown in Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe's government staged separate police raids on Thursday against the main opposition party, foreign journalists and at least one democracy advocate, raising the specter of a broad crackdown aimed at keeping the country's imperiled leaders in power.

Discussion: Publius Pundit, Redstate, TV Decoder, A Blog For All, FP Passport and On Deadline

Chris McGreal / Guardian:
Mugabe: I will quit, as long I do not face prosecution

Discussion: Hot Air and A Blog For All

Times of London:
Zimbabwe: the backlash begins as paramilitaries launch raids

Discussion: Guardian, normblog and Harry's Place

Boston Globe:

McCain returns $3m in checks as he considers public funding — In another sign that John McCain is moving toward accepting public financing this fall, the Republican's campaign is returning about $3 million in checks to contributors who have given money for his general election campaign …

Discussion: TPM Election Central and The Page

Michelle Malkin:

Absolut arrogance and the advertising agency behind the reconquista ad — You know what has been heartening the past two days as reaction to the Absolut Reconquista ad continues to pour in? The fact that so many of you still take our sovereignty seriously and are willing to give voice to your concerns without apologizing for it.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Jules Crittenden

Nature:

Dangerous assumptions — Roger Pielke, Jr1, Tom Wigley2 & Christopher Green3 — Roger Pielke Jr is in the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0488, USA. — Christopher Green is in the Department of Economics, McGill University, Montreal H3A 2T7, Canada.

Discussion: TierneyLab, Climate Progress, Gristmill, Middle Earth Journal and The Washington Independent

John Baer / Philly.com:

Obama could actually win this thing (the Pa. primary) — BARACK OBAMA had a pretty good week in Pennsylvania. — In a state that pollsters and analysts call tailor-made for Hillary Clinton, Obama is seriously challenging the fit. — So much so, some wonder if an unraveling's in the offing.

Discussion: The Page and Political Insider

Virginia Postrel / The Atlantic Online:

The Peril of Obama — Barack Obama has brought glamour back to American politics—not the faux glamour-by-association of campaigning with movie stars or sailing with the Kennedys, but the real thing. The candidate himself is glamorous. Audiences project onto him the personal qualities …

Discussion: Dynamist Blog

The Huffington Post:

Air America Host Randi Rhodes Suspended For Calling Hillary A “Big F*cking Whore” — Air America host Randi Rhodes called both Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton “whores” in a recent appearance, seen below. Rhodes, who hosts a weekday radio show on Air America, said to the cheering crowd, “What a whore Geraldine Ferraro is!