memeorandum: Candidates' showdown here tonight (Philly.com)

10:20 AM ET, April 16, 2008

Top Items:

Catherine Lucey / Philly.com:

New Daily News poll shows Obama closing in on Clinton — But pollsters say ‘bitter’ comment could still change the race — WITH THE Pennsylvania primary six days away, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama has moved within striking distance of rival U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to a new Daily News/Franklin & Marshall Poll.

Discussion: MSNBC, Taegan Goddard's …, Below The Beltway, Donklephant and TPM Election Central

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

With clock running out, debate looms large — PHILADELPHIA - Following one of the more unpredictable stretches of the primary campaign, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama head into their first debate tonight in more than six weeks with different mandates.

Discussion: Washington Wire, The Caucus and The Page

Philly.com:

Candidates' showdown here tonight — Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday prepped for tonight's Philadelphia debate as Obama and his backers expressed a desire to get beyond the flap over his remarks about small-town Pennsylvania and address issues of substance.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Confluence and TPM Election Central

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

Fight Leaves Democrats Questioning Prospects — The battle between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama over whether Mr. Obama belittled voters in small towns appears to have hardened the views of both candidates' supporters and stirred anxiety among many Democrats about the party's prospects in the fall.

Discussion: American Spectator, American Power, Balkinization and The Page

The Hill:

Superdelegates: Obama's ‘bitter’ comments not much of a liability — Superdelegates from states voting next in the Democratic primary say that Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) controversial comments on guns and religion will not cause much damage to his political standing despite an intensifying assault …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, protein wisdom, Cold Fury, The Fix and The Sundries Shack

Brian Stelter / TV Decoder:
ABC Restricts Debate Clips to 30 Seconds; Cable Channels May Cite ‘Fair Use’

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Janet Hook / Los Angeles Times:
Clinton losing traction over Obama in Pennsylvania, Indiana

Scott Martelle / Top of the Ticket:
LAT Poll: Rev. Wright flap might have helped Barack Obama in Pa.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Moderate Voice, Boston Globe and Marc Ambinder

Roy Edroso / Village Voice:

The Official Village Voice Election-Season Guide to the Right-Wing Blogosphere — Sick of political blogs? Too bad! The 2008 campaign is unavoidable; if you know what superdelegates are, or who said “God damn America,” you're already a victim. Thanks to the curse of modern technology …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Althouse, Shakesville and The Impolitic

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

Iraqi Unit Flees Post, Despite American's Plea — BAGHDAD — A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against Shiite militias. — The retreat left a crucial stretch of road …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Attackerman, The Strata-Sphere, Daily Kos, Outside The Beltway, Connecting.the.Dots and The Long War Journal

USA Today:

Obama's claim of independence questioned — WASHINGTON — The screen fills with grainy footage of sprawling 1970s gas lines. — “Nothing's changed,” Sen. Barack Obama says into the camera, “except now Exxon's making $40 billion a year, and we're paying $3.50 for gas. ...

Discussion: Hot Air, Commentary and Real Clear Politics

USA Today: Obama tied to lobbyists, but boasts of not taking money

Scott Helman / Boston Globe:

Bill Clinton: Older voters too savvy to fall for Obama — QUAKERTOWN, Pa. — Older voters gravitate to Hillary Clinton because they're too wise to be fooled by Barack Obama's rhetoric, former president Bill Clinton told Pennsylvania voters today. — Clinton's comments …

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside The Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Swords Crossed, Comments from Left Field and The Reaction

Taylor Owen / OxBlog: WOW. JUST WOW: Bill Clinton in Pennsylvania yesterday.

Michelle Malkin:

Snobs here, snobs there, snobs everywhere — We've all had fun with the Snob-ama story the past week (ARUGULA!). The thing is, my friends (as a certain McSnob likes to say), the GOP has a snob problem, too. When Obama derided small-town Pennsylvanians who oppose immigration enforcement …

Manu Raju / The Hill:

Lieberman willing to star at Republican convention — Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the Democratic Party's 2000 vice presidential nominee, is leaving open the possibility of giving a keynote address on behalf of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) at the Republican National Convention in September.

Discussion: Think Progress and Donklephant

Associated Press:

Bush revises climate strategy — Aim is to shape debate while avoiding heavy costs to industry, economy — WASHINGTON - Revising his stance on global warming, President Bush will propose a new target for stopping the growth of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

Discussion: Climate Progress

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Bush to Give Goals for Greenhouse Gases

Discussion: Washington Post, Dot Earth, Environmental Capital and The Page

Michael E. Ruane / Washington Post:

Paying the Fiddler Over Celebration of Jefferson's Birth — It is just before midnight at the Jefferson Memorial, and as the celebrants dance in honor of the founding father's birthday, wind whips across the Tidal Basin and spotlights gleam off the towering bronze statue in the echoing sanctum of the monument.

Discussion: DCist, The Agitator, Below The Beltway, Free the Jefferson 1! and J.D. Talley

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Barack Obama: Democrats deserve a nominee for change — On Tuesday, Pennsylvanians will have the unusual luxury of voting in a Democratic presidential primary that promises to be truly relevant. Like two opposing armies marching to a new Gettysburg, the forces of Barack Obama …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and The Page

Iain Murray / The Corner:

President's Global Warming Surrender: “It will be very bad” — We're hearing some very bad things about the President's likely unconditional surrender on global warming today. One senior source suggested that the last line of sound defense had been breached and that “It will be very bad.”

Discussion: Macsmind

Sen. Lindsey Graham / Greenville News:

Americans face taxing burden — is dreaded by taxpayers across the country. — Whether it's the mountains of paperwork some pore through to file their taxes or the fact some have to send more of their hard-earned money to Washington, few people find April 15 to be an enjoyable experience.

Discussion: MoJoBlog and Think Progress