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M.E. Sprengelmeyer / Rocky Mountain News:
Nader: Obama ‘talking white’ — Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader accused Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic Party nominee, of downplaying poverty issues, trying to “talk white” and appealing to “white guilt” during his run for the White House.
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Ben Smith / The Politico:
Obama's aim: 14 Bush states and local races — Barack Obama will focus his resources largely in 14 states George W. Bush won in 2004, his chief field operative said Tuesday, hoping to score upsets in places like Virginia, Indiana, and Georgia. — But winning the White House won't be his only goal …
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama was right: Bigot accuses Obama of “talking white” — Ralph Nader — Maybe Barack Obama was onto something when he warned about race-based attacks in the upcoming general election. However, the first such attack hasn't come from Obama's right, but from his left.
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Miles to Go — In Ralph Nader's Race for Reform, This Is No Time to Slow Down
Miles to Go — In Ralph Nader's Race for Reform, This Is No Time to Slow Down
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NewsBusters.org
David Stout / New York Times:
Supreme Court Rejects Death Penalty for Child Rape — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled, 5 to 4, on Wednesday that sentencing someone to death for raping a child is unconstitutional, assuming that the victim is not killed. — “The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child …
Discussion:
SCOTUSblog, Ross Douthat, Little Green Footballs, Confederate Yankee, Grits for Breakfast, The Sideshow, TIME.com and TalkLeft
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Mark Sherman / Associated Press:
Court rejects death penalty for raping children — WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday outlawed executions of people convicted of raping a child. — In a 5-4 vote, the court said the Louisiana law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in such cases violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Andy McCarthy / The Corner:
Eighth Amendment Question: Isn't Brutally Raping an Eight-year-old More Cruel Than Lethal Injection? — Even if you agree with their bottom line, do Justice Kennedy and the justices in Kennedy v. Louisiana have a clue about how offensive it is to write this line in rationalizing why a man …
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
More Phony Myths — Karl Rove was impressed with Barack Obama when he first met him. But now he sees him as a “coolly arrogant” elitist. — This was Rove's take on Obama to Republicans at the Capitol Hill Club Monday, according to Christianne Klein of ABC News: — “Even if you never met him, you know this guy.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Marc Ambinder, No More Mister Nice Blog, Whiskey Fire and Brilliant at Breakfast
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Rolling Stone:
Inside Barack Obama's iPod — Barack Obama is a Stevie Wonder geek. In the Democratic presidential candidate's new interview with Rolling Stone editor-in-chief Jann S. Wenner, Obama waxed rhapsodic about his favorite artists, many of whom — Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jay-Z — have shown him love with endorsements.
Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
Taking Ownership of Iraq? — Having recently returned from Egypt, I have the Suez Canal on my mind. And looking at Iraq from Cairo, the thought occurred to me that maybe the Iraqis have just crossed the Suez Canal. If so, that's good news. — What am I talking about?
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Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Obama, McCain Tied at 45% — Obama had held at least a slim advantage for most of June — PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update on the presidential election finds John McCain and Barack Obama exactly tied at 45% among registered voters nationwide.
John Gizzi / Human Events:
Pelosi on ‘Hush Rush,’ and Filibustering FISA — The speaker of the House made it clear to me and more than forty of my colleagues yesterday that a bill by Rep. Mike Pence (R.-Ind.) to outlaw the “Fairness Doctrine” (which a liberal administration could use to silence Rush Limbaugh …
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
To the Loser Go the Spoils — Hillary Clinton was taking the elevator up to her Senate office yesterday for the first time since she lost the Democratic presidential nomination when one of her aides, Philippe Reines, warned her about the condition of her office.
Daniel Libit / The Politico:
Meet the make-believe strategists of TV — Jane Fleming Kleeb went on “The O'Reilly Factor” two weeks ago to talk about global warming, a topic on which, by her own admission, she's hardly an expert. So who, then, is Jane Fleming Kleeb? Well, according to the Chyron that flashed across …
Megan McArdle:
The lesser of two incredibly awful evils — Yesterday, when I pointed out that ordinary Zimbabweans were probably better off under Ian Smith than they now are under Mugabe, I received the horrified accusation that I was defending Rhodesia's racist regime. Hardly; a baby is better off having …
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Obama Making Private Calls Appealing To Hillary's Top Fundraisers — And Sometimes Hearing Criticism In Return — Barack Obama has begun privately calling Hillary's top fundraisers and making personal appeals for their support, and in some cases is getting some criticism in return …