memeorandum: McCain Outlines Broad Proposals for U.S. Economy (Michael Cooper/New York Times)

9:10 AM ET, April 16, 2008

Top Items:

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 and The Caucus

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

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: The Confluence

Janet Hook / Los Angeles Times:

Clinton losing traction over Obama in Pennsylvania, Indiana — Her formerly double-digit lead is now just a five-point margin in Pennsylvania, survey finds. The reduced margin makes a win for her there less significant. She trails Obama among Hoosiers. — WASHINGTON — With three …

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, Balkinization and The Page

The Hill:
Superdelegates: Obama's ‘bitter’ comments not much of a liability

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

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

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, 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 and Commentary

Duane R. Patterson / Townhall.com:

Senate Democrats Can't Count, And They Think You Smell Funny — Thanks to the amazing skill Barack Obama has shown this week of how easily he can stick his foot in his mouth while trying to speak off the cuff, the country continues to focus on who is or is not bitter, and whether guns …

Discussion: Hot Air, QandO and Sister Toldjah

Manu Raju / The Hill:
Lieberman willing to star at Republican convention

Discussion: Think Progress, Washington Post and Donklephant

Blaine Harden / Washington Post:

U.N. Warns of North Korean Food Crisis — Food-starved North Korea is facing a humanitarian crisis this year and will likely need large food donations from the international community, the U.N. World Food Program said Wednesday. — “Major sources of food for North Korea …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

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: Swords Crossed, Hot Air, OxBlog, The Moderate Voice, Comments from Left Field and The Reaction

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 and Althouse

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

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 …

David Kestenbaum / NPR:

Teenage Skeptic Takes on Climate Scientists — Listen Now — · If you're a scientist trying to convince people they are making the world warmer, Kristen Byrnes is your worst nightmare. She's articulate, intelligent, she has a Web site, and one day her people will be running the world.

Discussion: Don Surber, NewsBusters.org, The Washington Independent and Pharyngula

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

MSNBC won't air ‘controversial’ gun ad — The cable network MSNBC has refused to air an advertisement from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group created by New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg,on the grounds that the ad is too “controversial.” — The ad, below, features each …

Discussion: Oliver Willis, Confederate Yankee, Political Machine, The Trail and Associated Press