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Amanda / Think Progress:
Rep. McHenry calls U.S. soldier in Iraq a ‘two-bit security guard.’ — During a public appearance on Saturday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) belittled a U.S. soldier in Iraq who was following orders and wouldn't let McHenry go to the gym without the proper credentials.
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Firedoglake, Eschaton, Air America Radio blogs, Daily Kos, AMERICAblog, Don Surber, Oliver Willis and The Reaction
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Carolina Politics Online:
McHenry Refers to Soldier as “Two Bit Security Guard” — The comment is about 40 seconds into the video.Lance Sigmon, McHenry's primary challenger, has released the following press release:
Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Let's play, ‘Imagine If A Democrat Had Said This’ — As a rule, insulting U.S. troops trying to keep you safe in Iraq doesn't seem like an especially good idea. And yet, there was Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), one of Congress' most right-wing members, reflecting on his recent visit to Baghdad …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Debbie Schlussel, Comments from Left Field, NY Daily News, the talking dog and DownWithTyranny!
Juan Williams / Wall Street Journal:
Obama and King — Martin Luther King Jr. died at age 39; today, the 40th anniversary of his death, is the first time he has been gone longer than he lived. — Figures such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have tried to claim his place on the American stage. But at most they have achieved fame and wealth.
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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.
bls.gov:
Employment Situation Summary — Technical information: — Household data: (202) 691-6378 USDL 08-0448 — Establishment data: (202) 691-6555 Transmission of material in this release — http://www.bls.gov/ces/ is embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (EDT), Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, April 4, 2008.
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The Swamp, The Washington Independent, The Big Picture, Calculated Risk and Grasping Reality …
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Associated Press:
Poll: 81 percent think US on wrong track — NEW YORK - More than 80 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, the highest such number since the early 1990s, according to a new survey. — The CBS News-New York Times poll released Thursday showed 81 percent …
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PoliBlog (TM)
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New York Times:
81% in Poll Say Nation Is Headed on Wrong Track
81% in Poll Say Nation Is Headed on Wrong Track
Discussion:
Think Progress, Firedoglake, Matthew Yglesias, Big Brass Blog, The Opinionator, Will Wilkinson, Hot Air, Macsmind, Connecting.the.Dots, The Bing Blog, Pirate's Cove, American Street, Air America Radio blogs, naked capitalism, Daily Kos, Prairie Weather, Balloon Juice, The American Conservative, Blue Girl, Red State, Hotline On Call, Talking Points Memo, The New Republic, Taegan Goddard's …, CBS News and The Page
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
No Consensus Favorite Among Republicans for McCain VP — Former rivals Huckabee, Romney most often mentioned — PRINCETON, NJ — At this early point in the process, Republicans do not have a clear favorite as to whom they would most want to see as John McCain's vice presidential running mate.
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Examining Presidential …
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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:
New York Times, Real Clear Politics, The Page, Outside The Beltway, MSNBC and TPM Election Central
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.
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.
Josh Drobnyk / Morning Call:
Second poll shows Clinton's Pennsylvania lead shrinking — 49% of those asked favor her, compared with 38% for Obama. — Clinton holds an 11-point lead in Pennsylvania, down three percentage points from mid-February, according to a survey by The Morning Call/Muhlenberg College of 406 likely Democratic voters.
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.
StrategyPage:
The Bad Guys Come Out To Die — In northern Iraq, Sunni Arab terrorists have changed their tactics recently, moving about in the open much more frequently. This has made them vulnerable to attack by helicopter gunships. As a result, in the last two weeks of March, U.S. AH-64 helicopter gunships …
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The DOJ comments on the Mukasey controversy — In response to the growing controversy over plainly misleading comments by Attorney General Michael Mukasey last week in San Francisco, and in response to the questions I submitted, the DOJ's Peter Carr, its Principal Deputy Director of Public Affairs, sent me the following email:
Timothy McNulty / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Certain defeat doesn't deter Ron Paul or his backers — INDIANA, Pa. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton fought back against calls to drop out of the presidential race by comparing herself to Rocky Balboa. Ask Rep. Ron Paul, who keeps running for the Republican nod, what fictional figure he is like and he can't come up with an answer.