Top Items:
Nick Timiraos / Wall Street Journal:
Obama May Not Have Fully Contained Damage From Ex-Pastor — Sen. Barack Obama's Philadelphia speech on race relations last month seemed to put the controversial remarks of his former pastor behind him. But three weeks later, there is evidence of lingering damage.
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William Kristol / New York Times:
The Shape of the Race to Come — I've spent a fair amount of time the last couple of weeks with conservatives of all ages and leanings. Call it my very own listening tour. — It began with a series of conversations with a group of Weekly Standard subscribers.
John Kass / Chicago Tribune:
Dialogue on race could begin on hallowed ground — The wounds inflicted on Barack Obama by the hateful speech of his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, are serious and profound. — Why else would ministers gather at Obama's church in Chicago—Trinity United Church of Christ …
Washington Post:
Clinton's Chief Strategist Steps Down — Mark J. Penn quit Sunday as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist, the second shake-up in her campaign's top ranks since the onetime front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination began trailing Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, protein wisdom, MSNBC, CNN, New York Times, 1115.org, Prairie Weather, Sister Toldjah and The Reaction
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Clinton strategist left mark, message — Mark Penn's exit from his role as Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist likely will portend no dramatic shift in message for the campaign in coming weeks but will bring satisfaction to scores of Clinton loyalists who have wanted the controversial image-meister sacked for months.
USA Today:
Radio host Ed Schultz: 'I'm sorry ... John McCain is a warmonger' — “I'm sorry, John, the label sticks. John McCain is a warmonger,” liberal radio host Ed Schultz said a few minutes ago on CNN's American Morning. — Schultz called McCain a “warmonger” on Friday as he was warming …
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Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
The Next Campaign Stop: Iraq Hearings — At Tuesday's Sessions, Candidates Can Ask Questions, Try to Score Points — When Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker travel to Capitol Hill tomorrow, they might be the ones before the microphones, but the cameras will be trained …
Marc Ambinder:
Ex-Clinton Insider Launches Unity Ticket Drive — Hillary/Obama '08 becomes official today. In a way. — A Clinton insider who served as ex campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle's executive assistant for several years has set up a new website, http://www.voteboth.com/ and plans to register with the Federal Election Commission today.
Sean Wilentz / Salon:
If the system made sense, Clinton would be far ahead — Under a winner-take-all primary system, Hillary Clinton would have a wide lead over Barack Obama — and enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination by June. — Hillary Clinton celebrates with supporters …
Discussion:
The Confluence, Outside The Beltway, Taylor Marsh, Obsidian Wings, The Huffington Post and Associated Press
New York Post:
RICE BIDS TO BE VP: GOPER — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been “campaigning” to be John McCain's running mate, a former Bush administration aide said yesterday. — Rice has been courting the Republican elite, Dan Senor, a political strategist and former foreign-policy adviser to President Bush, said on ABC's “This Week.”
Discussion:
The Glittering Eye
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Lindsey Ellerson / Political Radar:
Dan Senor: Condoleezza Rice Is Pursuing the VP Spot
Dan Senor: Condoleezza Rice Is Pursuing the VP Spot
Discussion:
The Sleuth, American Spectator, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, Shakesville, Political Machine, Say Anything, Comments from Left Field, Buck Naked Politics, The Strata-Sphere, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL, Macsmind, The News Buckit, Patterico's Pontifications, Althouse, American Street and Donklephant
CNN:
Olympic torch extinguished during Paris leg — (CNN) — The Olympic torch relay was disrupted Monday by protesters in Paris demonstrating against the Chinese government, causing authorities to extinguish the flame three times and put the torch on a bus, according to The Associated Press.
New York Times:
U.S. and Iraqis Battle Militias to End Attacks — BAGHDAD — Sharp fighting broke out in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Sunday as American and Iraqi troops sought to control neighborhoods used by Shiite militias to fire rockets and mortars into the nearby Green Zone.
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Washington Post, Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, Informed Comment, War in Context, Balkinization and The Page
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Anne Lieberman / Boker tov, Boulder!:
Your federal government at work ... for Palestinians … 04/12/2006 … And lest you think “certain [otherwise prohibited] transactions” are merely being “authorized,” think again. They're being encouraged, promoted and assisted... all over our federal — dot-GOV. Here's just one thread …
Lawrence O'Donnell Jr / New York Magazine:
Four Days in Denver — The Democratic Party is closer than it's ever been to a political nightmare—a deadlocked convention. Though the odds of its actually happening are still remote, the idea is so rich with dramatic possibility that we asked Lawrence O'Donnell Jr., former West Wing writer-producer …