Top Items:
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Geoffrey Garin: Obama's Small-Town Comments Would Damage Him In General Election — And Super-Dels Should Consider Them — Hillary chief strategist Geoffrey Garin dramatically raised the stakes in the battle over Barack Obama's comments about small-town America, saying in an interview that they would be …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, TalkLeft, The Fix, Wake up America, Politics Nation, American Power and Below The Beltway
RELATED:
Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
Clinton Campaign Further Strengthens the Democratic Party — In light of the Clinton campaign's response to Obama's ill-advised comments on small-town inhabitants, it's become obvious that Jon Chait and I were way off base arguing that the extended primary is killing the party.
Discussion:
Weekly Standard Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, American Street, Liberal Values and Hot Air
New York Times:
Obama Tries to Limit Fallout Over ‘Bitter’ Remark — The Democratic nominating fight took a sudden turn with Senator Barack Obama's comments about small-town Pennsylvania voters providing an opening for the Clinton campaign to raise anew questions about Mr. Obama's ability to lure working-class voters.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Associated Press, The Trail, Reuters, Blue Girl, Red State, Redstate, MSNBC, Don Surber, Balloon Juice, Below The Beltway, BlueNC, Commentary, Outside The Beltway, Stop The ACLU, Althouse and Doug Ross
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Hillary hits Obama on faith, guns — Yesterday, Clinton hit Obama for calling Pennsylvanians “bitter,” ground on which he fairly ably engaged. — Today, she's onto the other half of his San Francisco remarks, in which he linked economic frustration to clinging to religion and guns …
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
OBAMA TURNS ALL THOMAS FRANK ON US. — I'm not really sure what the big deal over Obama's comments in SF is supposed to be (save that the media and Clinton and McCain are saying they will be a big deal, and thus making them a big deal), but Marc Ambinder has the least hysterical rundown I've seen …
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, Crooks and Liars, TalkLeft, Comments from Left Field, Macsmind and Betsy's Page
Associated Press:
Obama's remarks gives Clinton an opening — MISHAWAKA, Ind. - A political tempest over Barack Obama's comments about bitter voters in small towns has given rival Hillary Rodham Clinton a new opening to court working class Democrats 10 days before Pennsylvanians hold a primary that she must win to keep her presidential campaign alive.
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:
Democratic And Republican Critics Blast Obama's “Small-Town” Comments Calling It Presidential Disqualifier — If someone wanted to see how early 21st century American politics operates, they need look no further than the current (growing) flap over politically flat-footed comments Senator Barack Obama …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Stop The ACLU, Power Line, The Caucus, Gateway Pundit and Below The Beltway
CNN:
Clinton backer: Superdelegates need to consider ‘bitter’ remark — INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (CNN) — Sen. Evan Bayh, Hillary Clinton's top backer in the May 6 primary state of Indiana, argued Saturday that superdelegates need to evaluate Barack Obama's “bitter” remarks when deciding who to back for the Democratic nomination.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice, Oliver Willis, The Anonymous Liberal, Stop The ACLU, The Page and Hot Air
Victor Davis Hanson / The Corner:
The McGovernization of Obama — I still believe that by August, Obama, the half-term rookie Senator, will have become the second George McGovern. Cf. his latest declaration to the Marin County faithful (coming on the heels of the crazy anti-Semitic rant of Rev. Eric Lee, a prominent LA Obama supporter):
CNN:
Obama: If I offended, I deeply regret that — CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Barack Obama said Saturday that if he has offended people with comments he made almost a week ago where he labeled small town Pennsylvanians “bitter” and that they “cling to guns and religion” then he regrets it.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Cafferty's defense — The Obama campaign sent out this CNN segment in which Jeff Toobin, Jack Cafferty, and Gloria Borger all defended Obama — and in it, one thing comes through:That it's tough for Clinton to be the messenger on this anti-elitist line, particularly just after she disclosed $109 million in income.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Video from San Francisco — Here's a clip taken by somebody at the San Francisco event; it's the passage just before the lines everyone is now focused on, in which he talks about the skepticism he encounters: … There are some pictures from the event on Flickr as well.
Garry Wills / New York Review of Books:
Two Speeches on Race — Of the two speeches discussed here, Senator Barack Obama's speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008, is available at www.barackobama.com and Abraham Lincoln's at the Cooper Union in New York on February 27, 1860, is available at showcase.netins.net.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama on tradition — In Muncie, he takes another pass at the San Francisco comments, sticking with the theme that the bitterness is real, and justified, but also saying for the first time that he could have put it better last Sunday:
Discussion:
Commentary
RELATED:
Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:
Why Gov. Bill Richardson didn't endorse Clinton — The New Mexico governor says he was dismayed by pressure from the Clinton camp, and impressed by Obama's optimism. Besides, 'you don't transfer loyalty to a dynasty.' — SANTA FE, N.M. — Before he endorsed Barack Obama …
Discussion:
The Page
RELATED:
Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Iran Top Threat To Iraq, U.S. Says — Last week's violence in Basra and Baghdad has convinced the Bush administration that actions by Iran, and not al-Qaeda, are the primary threat inside Iraq, and has sparked a broad reassessment of policy in the region, according to senior U.S. officials.
RELATED: