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.
Discussion:
Soccer Dad, Booman Tribune, The Campaign Spot, Outside The Beltway, TBogg, Connecting.the.Dots and Prometheus 6
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 …
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.
Discussion:
Political Machine, Balloon Juice, Spin Cycle, Liberal Values, The Field, MyDD and Boston Globe
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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.).
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Clinton strategist left mark, message
Clinton strategist left mark, message
Discussion:
Time, Washington Wire, The Opinionator, Salon, David Corn, Marc Ambinder, New York Times and The Page
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 …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, Sister Toldjah, FOX Embeds, Redstate, Say Anything and TPM Election Central
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Wall Street Journal:
Iraq and Its Costs — When Gen. David Petraeus testifies before Congress tomorrow, he will step into an American political landscape dramatically different from the one he faced when he last spoke on Capitol Hill seven months ago. — This time Gen. Petraeus returns to Washington having led …
Discussion:
Think Progress
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
The Next Campaign Stop: Iraq Hearings
The Next Campaign Stop: Iraq Hearings
Discussion:
Capitol Briefing, The Caucus, Stumper, Betsy's Page, Politics Nation, TalkLeft, AMERICAblog, American Power and The Page
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 …
John Hood / The Corner:
The Real Colombian-Trade Story — It's understandable that Mark Penn's departure from the Clinton campaign has made so much news over the weekend, but the political story isn't the most important. That's the fate for the Colombian free-trade deal that Penn's firm was helping to promote.
Discussion:
Houston Chronicle
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Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
No Really, You Should Go — Wretched rationalizations for Hillary Clinton's kamikaze campaign. — Last week, Senator Pat Leahy suggested that Hillary Clinton ought to quit the presidential race. How insensitive! How boorish! Pundits gasped, Clinton took umbrage …
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
Rice Eyeing Ticket? That's News to McCain — KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice campaigning to be John McCain's running mate? If so, Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said on Sunday that he had not noticed.
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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:
Think Progress, The Daily Dish, Firedoglake, Blue Girl, Red State, Hullabaloo, War in Context, Balkinization, Matthew Yglesias and The Page
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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.
Ron Nixon / New York Times:
Pork Barrel Remains Hidden in U.S. Budget — WASHINGTON — Sometimes on Capitol Hill, lawmakers find that it pays to ask nicely instead of just ordering the bureaucrats around. — With great fanfare, Congress adopted strict ethics rules last year requiring members to disclose when they steered federal money to pet projects.
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 …