memeorandum: FIRST THOUGHTS: SECRET TO HILLARY'S SUCCESS (Domenico Montanaro/MSNBC)

8:00 PM ET, April 23, 2008

Top Items:

The Top Ten List of Undisputed Facts Showing Barack Obama's Weakness in the General Election Against John McCain — Let's forget about the spin on all sides and not use any adjectives to modify the following 10 Facts that should not be in dispute: — 1. Hillary Clinton won by 10% …

Discussion: The Corner and Balloon Juice

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:

Obama's Gloves Are Off — And May Need to Stay Off — Unable once again to score a knockout, Sen. Barack Obama is likely to make his new negative tone even more negative — with a sharp eye on trying to end the Democratic presidential nomination fight after the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

Discussion: protein wisdom, TPM Election Central, Ben Smith's Blogs, Commentary, The Raw Story, Booman Tribune, The Page, TownHall Blog, The Washington Independent, The Nation, Stop The ACLU and Political Punch

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: Obama 50%, Clinton 42% Nationally — Clinton and Obama both run within one point of McCain in fall ballot — PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton in national Democratic preferences for the nomination, 50% to 42%, in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from April 20-22.

Discussion: Don Surber, Washington Monthly, Salon, The Carpetbagger Report, Donklephant and Real Clear Politics

New York Post:

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE — HILLARY'S PENNSYLVANIA WIN — Hillary Clinton refuses to die. Having been given up for dead after losing Iowa, she rebounded in New Hampshire. Then a string of 11 straight consecutive losses - followed by a win in Ohio and a tie (in delegates) in Texas.

Discussion: The Caucus, Wonkette, About.com US Liberal Politics, Real Clear Politics, The Corner, About.com Conservative …, No Left Turns, Irish Trojan in Tennessee, Washington Monthly, Vodkapundit and Daily Pundit

Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:

RNC CALLS WRIGHT AD ‘NOT APPROPRIATE’ — From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann — Update to NC Gop anti-Obama ad that references the Rev. Jeremiah Wright... Per the RNC, the national leadership of the Republican Party has been in contact this morning with the North Carolina GOP, urging them to refrain from running the “Extreme” ad.

Discussion: Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Comments from Left Field, Sister Toldjah, American Power, The Caucus, Hot Air, Wonkette, The Raw Story, TPM Election Central, Real Clear Politics, Ben Smith's Blogs and Macsmind

Marc Ambinder:

McCain, GOP Unhappy With N.C. GOP AD — Sen. John McCain sent this letter to the chairman of the North Carolina GOP this a.m.: … Danny Diaz, the RNC's communications director, in a statement: … There's a sense among some GOP activists that the McCain campaign depresses the base …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Redstate, Spin Cycle, Wonkette, Balloon Juice and Oliver Willis

Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
NC GOP defies RNC and McCain, will air ad

Discussion: The Fix, New York Times, MSNBC, Swampland, The Daily Dish, The Page and Exurban League

Marc Ambinder:
Will Obama Go Negative? — An unnamed campaign adviser telegraphs …

Discussion: TPM Election Central and The Washington Independent

Michelle Malkin:
The GOP ad John McCain doesn't want you to see

Discussion: Political Radar, ncgop.org, The American Mind and Gateway Pundit

CNN:
Financial boost follows Clinton's Pennsylvania win

Discussion: Marc Ambinder

John B. Judis / The New Republic:

The Next McGovern? — Obama may still get the nomination, but his loss tonight deals a harsh blow to his electibility arguments. — Hillary Clinton won a decisive ten-round decision over Barack Obama in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary, but she didn't score a knockout. The struggle continues.

Discussion: American Prospect, The Trail, Matthew Yglesias, MyDD, Eunomia, Right Wing Nut House, Commentary and Althouse

Jay Cost / HorseRaceBlog:
A Review of the Pennsylvania Primary

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, Democratic Strategist, The Opinionator and The Moderate Voice

The Fact Hub:

More People Have Voted For Hillary Than Any Other Candidate — After last night's decisive victory in Pennsylvania, more people have voted for Hillary than any other candidate, including Sen. Obama. — Estimates vary slightly, but according to Real Clear Politics, Hillary has received 15,095,663 votes …

Discussion: Irish Trojan in Tennessee, Taylor Marsh, US Presidential race 2008 real …, Tennessee Guerilla Women, HillaryClinton.com and Donklephant

Jaketapper / Political Punch:
Clinton Camp Misrepresents ABC News Report

Discussion: Spin Cycle, MSNBC, Liberal Values and AMERICAblog

media.www.browndailyherald.com:

Times columnist pied in face by activist — Male accomplice threw political pamphlets — A female audience member ran on stage last night and threw a green pie at New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who had just begun a lecture on environmentalism in Salomon 101.

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, TigerHawk and Romenesko

The Huffington Post:
Thomas Friedman Gets A Pie In The Face During Speech At Brown

Discussion: Wonkette

Patrick Poole / Front Page Magazine:

Terrorist Fundraisers for Obama — Two years ago, Hatem El-Hady was the chairman of the Toledo, Ohio-based Islamic charity, Kindhearts, which was closed by the US government in February 2006 for terrorist fundraising and all its assets frozen. Today, El-Hady has redirected his fundraising efforts …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Jawa Report, Jules Crittenden and Stop The ACLU

Matt / Think Progress:

Hagee Says Hurricane Katrina Struck New Orleans Because It Was ‘Planning A Sinful’ ‘Homosexual Rally’ — On September 18, 2006, Pastor John Hagee — whose endorsement Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said this past Sunday he was “glad to have” — told NPR's Terry Gross that “Hurricane Katrina was …

Discussion: The Swamp, The Huffington Post, Townhall.com, New Orleans Times-Picayune and The Carpetbagger Report

Fox News:

‘Basic Instinct’ Director Paul Verhoeven: Jesus Was Son of Mary and a Roman Rapist — In his upcoming biography of Jesus, “Basic Instinct” director Paul Verhoeven will make the shocking claim that Christ probably was the son of Mary and a Roman soldier who raped her during the Jewish uprising in Galilee …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Macsmind, The Corner and Pharyngula

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

Check The Math — The hyper-literate Matt Yglesias swings into action: … Whoa, wake me up - did I sleep through a tax repeal or something? No wonder libs are so irked with Bush's tax cuts for the rich. — Check your next paystub, Matt, and see if there is a difference between “gross” and “net”.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias

Bill Mears / CNN:

Supreme Court broadens police searches — CNN Supreme Court Producer — WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Supreme Court offered unanimous support for police Wednesday by allowing drug evidence gathered after an arrest that violated state law to be used at trial, an important search-and-seizure case turning …

Discussion: Shakesville and DownWithTyranny!

Hindrocket / Power Line:

THE FRIENDS OF BARACK OBAMA, PART 2 — Last night, in The Friends of Barack Obama, Part 1 I reviewed Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, who helped to kick off Obama's first political campaign and with whom Obama's campaign says he has a “friendly” relationship.