Top Items:
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
TOXIC — For the last week it's seemed that Sens. Clinton and Obama were adhering to their tacit truce, continuing the primary campaign but avoiding the harsh exchanges that make later party unity a dimmer and dimmer prospect. Clinton particularly had deescalated her rhetoric.
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Elizabeth Benjamin / The Daily Politics:
Paterson Sees ‘Desperation’ By Clinton, Disagrees On Florida And Michigan — Gov. David Paterson, who is right now being interviewed by WAMC's Alan Chartock and taking calls from listeners on “Vox Pop,” just disagreed sharply with his presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton …
Avi Zenilman / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Ickes: We want the Michigan uncommitted to stay uncommitted — In a conference call with reporters, Clinton Senior Adviser Harold Ickes clarified their position on Michigan — they don't want the 55 “uncommitted” delegates to go to Obama (his name did not appear on the ballot in Michigan).
Nitya / Political Radar:
Bill Clinton: Florida, Michigan Penalty “Appropriate” — ABC News' Rick Klein and Sarah Amos Report: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday flatly rejected a proposal by Sen. Barack Obama to penalize Florida by seating only half of its convention delegates — despite the fact …
Al Giordano / The Field:
The Nightmare Ticket Is Dead — Time magazine's Karen Tumulty reports: … The Field can now confirm, based on multiple sources, something that both campaigns publicly deny: that Senator Clinton has directly told Senator Obama that she wants to be his vice presidential nominee …
Discussion:
TalkLeft
The Huffington Post:
Clinton Compares Florida, Michigan Situation To Zimbabwe Elections
Clinton Compares Florida, Michigan Situation To Zimbabwe Elections
Discussion:
New York Times, The Carpetbagger Report, Comments from Left Field, Spin Cycle, TBogg, PunditGuy, Commentary and Ben Smith's Blogs
CNN:
McCain officially rejects Hagee endorsement — From CNN Correspondent Brian Todd, CNN's Dugald McConnell, CNN's Rebecca Sinderbrand — (CNN) — In the face of mounting controversy over headline-grabbing statements from Pastor John Hagee, CNN has learned presumptive Republican nominee John McCain …
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Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Unapologetic Hagee Says Hitler Statement Was “Mischaracterized”
Unapologetic Hagee Says Hitler Statement Was “Mischaracterized”
Discussion:
Political Punch, FOX Embeds, The Caucus, Spin Cycle, Boston Globe, The Huffington Post, The Raw Story and PERRspectives Blog
Mark Murray / MSNBC:
MCCAIN REJECTS AND DENOUNCES HAGEE
MCCAIN REJECTS AND DENOUNCES HAGEE
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Washington Wire, MoJoBlog, Talking Points Memo, Think Progress, TVNewser, Fox News and LewRockwell.com Blog
Marc Ambinder:
McCain To Obama: Don't Demagogue The GI Bill — I don't usually print entire press statements from campaigns, but they're usually not this acidic. The casus belli is today's vote on Sen. Jim Webb's GI bill; McCain opposes it because he worries about military retention and/but has offered …
Discussion:
Washington Post, MSNBC, Ben Smith's Blogs, Macsmind, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Slog, Daily Kos, Obsidian Wings, Salon and AMERICAblog
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Rick Santorum / Philly.com:
The Elephant in the Room: A wake-up call on gay marriage after '03 alarm went unheeded — Bigot! Hate-monger! Homophobe! — Those were just a few of the terms hurled my way in 2003 when I said that the Supreme Court's Texas sodomy decision opened the door to the redefinition of marriage.
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Associated Press:
Powerful Iraqi cleric flirting with Shiite militant message — BAGHDAD - Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric has been quietly issuing religious edicts declaring that armed resistance against U.S.-led foreign troops is permissible — a potentially significant shift by a key supporter of the Washington-backed government in Baghdad.
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M. Duss / Wonk Room:
Sistani Says Resistance Against U.S. Forces Is ‘Permissible’
Sistani Says Resistance Against U.S. Forces Is ‘Permissible’
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com
New York Times:
Appeals Court Rules Against Texas in Polygamy Case — A Texas state court of appeals ruled Thursday afternoon that the state of Texas had no right to seize more than 400 children from a polygamist ranch in Eldorado, in the western part of the state, because there was not sufficient proof that they were in immediate danger.
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Emily Gould / New York Times:
Exposed — Back in 2006, when I was 24, my life was cozy and safe. I had just been promoted to associate editor at the publishing house where I'd been working since I graduated from college, and I was living with my boyfriend, Henry, and two cats in a grubby but spacious two-bedroom apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Ian Bishop / NY Daily News:
I'd like wife to take my seat: Kennedy — Ted Kennedy has made clear to confidants that when his time is up, he wants his Senate seat to stay in the family - with his wife, Vicki. — Multiple sources in Massachusetts with close ties to the liberal lion say his wife of 16 years has long …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Politico, The Moderate Voice, Scared Monkeys, Jules Crittenden, Hot Air, Wake up America and The New Republic
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Conservatives And The Wrong Problems — Ezra Klein: … I think this gets things the wrong way round. In fact, the argumnent is framed in such a way as to violate conservatism's core insight - and that was also the case with Packer's article (and a lot of what my friends, David Brooks, Reihan Salam and Ross Douthat said in it).
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Editor and Publisher:
TIME Preview: Michelle Obama Actually Connects with Audience — and Howard Dean Calls for End of Electoral College — NEW YORK The coming issue of Time magazine, arriving on Friday, looks at the debate over the pros and cons of Michelle Obama's on-the-stump performance.
Discussion:
The Campaign Spot
Justin Ewers / US News:
New Poll Finds Big Shift Toward Obama — Californians give Obama a significant edge over Clinton and McCain — SAN FRANCISCO—A new poll released today in California finds political momentum shifting dramatically toward Barack Obama—and away from both Hillary Clinton and John McCain—in the nation's most populous state.
Discussion:
TIME.com
The Politico:
Viral e-mails attack Obama's life story — The main obstacle standing between Barack Obama and the White House was distilled into five words by a local television correspondent in South Charleston, W.Va., earlier this month. — Prefacing a question about the challenges of winning over white …
Discussion:
PrestoPundit