Top Items:
CNN:
Republicans begin to highlight Clinton's criticism of Obama — NEW YORK (CNN) - Hours before the polls closed Tuesday in the final two Democratic presidential primaries, the Republican National Committee began circulating a video of Hillary Clinton questioning Barack Obama's qualifications …
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Associated Press:
Text of Obama's speech Tuesday … Text of Democrat Barack Obama's prepared remarks for a rally on Tuesday in St. Paul, Minn., as released by his campaign: — Tonight, after 54 hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end. — Sixteen months have passed since …
Drudge Report:
EXCLUSIVE: MCCAIN SPEECH TONIGHT: THE GENERAL ELECTION BEGINS — John McCain will launch his general election campaign against Barack Obama tonight at 9:00 in New Orleans, Louisiana. In a speech that will praise Senator Clinton for her “tenacity and courage,” McCain will recognize Obama as the Democratic party's presumptive nominee.
Jennifer Parker / ABCNEWS:
Obama Clinches Democratic Nomination — Democratic Superdelegates Push Obama to Victory Before Final Primary Contests — Sen. Barack Obama achieved the 2,118 needed to clinch the Democratic nomination for president today, according to the ABC News scorecard, before polls closed …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
FRIGHTENINGLY SAD — Here at TPM HQ we're watching John McCain's prebuttal to Sen. Obama's speech tonight. — And, man, I'm curious to hear what other people think, but I really feel like he would have served himself much better by just going to ground for the evening.
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Marc Ambinder:
Thoughts About Obama's Speech — What a different emotional register from John McCain's; Obama seems on the verge of tears; the enormous crowd in the Xcel center seems ready to lift Obama on its shoulders; the much smaller audience for McCain's speech interrupted his remarks with stilted cheers.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
FRIGHTENINGLY SAD — NOW ON VIDEO! — We've had a lot of requests for Sen. McCain's already-legendarily awful prebuttal to Obama speech. And here it is ... After much consideration, we've decided that tomorrow's episode of TPMtv will simply have to be a round-up of all the pundit response to the McCain trainwreck.
Discussion:
The Anonymous Liberal
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Clinton's party of war — Hillary Clinton has been one defeat away from pulling out of the race for the Democratic nomination since January 3, when she lost the Iowa caucuses and barreled into New Hampshire with more panic than plan. — Since then she and her staff have defined victory down: Winning, for Clinton, has been surviving.
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Ann Althouse / Althouse:
The GOP is eager to use video of Hillary to attack Obama and promote McCain.
The GOP is eager to use video of Hillary to attack Obama and promote McCain.
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Superdelegates surge to Obama
Superdelegates surge to Obama
Discussion:
The Caucus, Associated Press, New York Times, Neatorama, The Field, Taegan Goddard's …, Left in the West, Detroit Free Press, The Reaction, The Raw Story, The Swamp, Slate, American Street, Yahoo! News, Liberal Values, The Fix, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, Real Clear Politics, TPM Election Central, The Democratic Daily, Donklephant, Rocky Mountain News and Sister Toldjah
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Clintons Threaten — The speech tonight was a remarkable one for a candidate who has lost the nomination, though not remarkable for a Clinton. It was an assertion that she had won the nomination and a refusal to concede anything to her opponent. Classless, graceless, shameless, relentless.
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
Pawlenty: McCain will compete for Clinton backers — John McCain portrayed her as a trailblazing model for aspring female politicians yesterday and now one of his top surrogates and vice-presidential prospects is taking the next natural step and promising that they'll compete for Hillary Clinton's supporters.
Discussion:
Political Radar, Happy Furry Puppy Story …, The Politico, Wizbang, Donklephant, Daily Kos and Dean's World
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
This Moment — If I needed reassurance that this man is the most formidable force in American politics today, his speech tonight confirmed it. It was shrewd - with an artful positioning on Iraq. It was graceful - with respect for McCain's service and Clinton's tenacity.
Matthew Yglesias:
Clinton's Speech — I probably shouldn't write any more about this woman and her staff. Suffice it to say that I've found her behavior over the past couple of months to be utterly unconscionable and this speech is no different. I think if I were to try to express how I really feel …
SteveK / TVNewser:
“Russert Has Spent 20 Years Building Credibility. All Of A Sudden He's Taking Questions From [A] Daily Kos Blogger?” — Tonight may be the last of the primaries, but the discussion of the cable news coverage will no doubt continue for months to come. MSNBC has bore the brunt of much of the criticism …
Geoffrey Dickens / NewsBusters.org:
Chris Matthews: 'I'm Getting Giggles!' — On an evening where Barack Obama was on the verge of clinching the Democratic nomination and there was news that Hillary Clinton wanted in on the ticket, it was all too much for Chris Matthews to handle. The “Hardball” host couldn't contain his glee …
Discussion:
FREEDOM EDEN
Frank Phillips / Boston Globe:
Ogonowski's challenge to Kerry collapses; challenger misses signature mark — Ogonowski drew attention for his campaign against Niki Tsongas, but failed to collect enough signatures. — In a major embarrassment to Republican leaders in Massachusetts and in the U.S. Senate, Jim Ogonowski …
Discussion:
Reason Magazine, The Crypt's Blogs, Liberty Street, Liberal Values and Swing State Project
The Corner:
McCain Tonight [Mark R. Levin] — Not to offend those who might be offended, but this speech is a mash and tough to digest. You have to get through the self-congratulatory praise of independence and commander-in-chief pose from the Senate, then you have to try to follow the inconsistency …
Ryan Singel / Threat Level:
McCain: I'd Spy on Americans Secretly, Too — If elected president, Senator John McCain would reserve the right to run his own warrantless wiretapping program against Americans, based on the theory that the president's wartime powers trump federal criminal statutes and court oversight …
Rick Hills / PrawfsBlawg:
Why I am an anti-intellectual — I am sorry to have offended Professor Heller with what I took to be a lighthearted gibe at Judith Butler. Although my assessment of her stuff is basically the same as Martha Nussbaum's, I am happy to attribute my mystification at her language …
Discussion:
The Debate Link