Top Items:
Ben Smith / The Politico:
Some on left target McCain's war record — The highest voltage third rail of this presidential campaign may not be race, sex, or age, but Senator John McCain's military service. — McCain's campaign Sunday issued a pair of outraged statements after retired general and Barack Obama supporter Wesley Clark …
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
McCain surrogate defends Swift Boaters — One of the participants in McCain's conference call today was Colonel Bud Day, a longtime McCain ally who was also a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004. — I asked Day whether how he'd compare the attacks he was saying McCain faces today …
Discussion:
TPM Election Central, The Raw Story, TIME.com, The Daily Dish, New York Times, NewsBusters.org, Democracy Project and RADAMISTO
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
DC PRESS LORDS LAY DOWN FIRE FOR MCCAIN — It's not surprising. But it is an example of the fatuous McCain worship that is the bread and butter of the Washington press corps that Wes Clark's comments this weekend on Face the Nation are being called ‘swift-boating’.
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Swiftboating McCain — Ben Smith documents the left's gross attacks on McCain's military record: … Wesley Clark is now and always has been a Clinton-type, but this is pretty revolting. This kind of personal attack was repulsive coming against Kerry from the far right. And it's repulsive the other way round.
CNN:
McCain Truth Squad defender was Swift Boat Vet member — (CNN) — One of the members of John McCain's new Truth Squad — which his campaign says was launched to respond to unfair attacks on his record of military service — was a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and appeared in an attack ad for the group in 2004.
The Campaign Spot:
Clark Marks the Seventh Democrat to Go After McCain's Wartime Service
Clark Marks the Seventh Democrat to Go After McCain's Wartime Service
Discussion:
Weekly Standard Blog, The Caucus, The Trail, Confederate Yankee, Hot Air, Commentary, On Background and Swampland
John Aravosis / AMERICAblog News:
Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?
Honestly, besides being tortured, what did McCain do to excel in the military?
Klaus Marre / The Hill:
Obama criticizes MoveOn.org in patriotism speech — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday, in a major speech on patriotism, criticized MoveOn.org for referring to Gen. David Petraeus as General Betray Us last year. — The Illinois senator said politics too often seems …
Discussion:
CNN, Crooks and Liars, Wake up America, Open Left, Hot Air, American Power and John McCain Report blog
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Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Obama: I will never question others' patriotism — INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Monday he will never question others' patriotism during the race and blames his own “carelessness” for some criticism of him so far. Obama sought to reassure voters …
Michael Scherer / Swampland:
Obama Rebukes Clark — The McCain campaign would love to keep talking about Wesley Clark's weekend comment—that McCain “getting shot down” during Vietnam is no credential for commander in chief. Indeed, even as Obama speaks on patriotism in Missouri, McCain is holding a presser in Pennsylvania to discuss the Clark comment.
Discussion:
The Fix, The Jed Report, Firedoglake, ad astra, per aspera, The Corner, The Political Carnival, The Impolitic, MyDD and SteveAudio
Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Note to the religious right: auto-replace is not your friend — Auto-correct can be a very helpful feature of any word-processing program. But when conservatives use it, they run the risk of embarrassing themselves. — Some far-right sites that subscribe to the Associated Press feed …
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Kyle / Right Wing Watch:
The Dangers of Auto-Replace — In addition to blocking traffic from websites they don't like, it looks like the web-geniuses behind the American Family Association's OneNewsNow site have a few other tricks up their sleeves, such as automatically replacing any use of the word “gay” with the word …
Mike Allen / The Politico:
Romney tops McCain veep list — Surprising many Republican insiders, Mitt Romney is at the top of the vice-presidential prospect list for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). But lack of personal chemistry could derail the pick. — “Romney as favorite” is the hot buzz in Republican circles …
Fred Lucas / CNSNews:
Obama's for Equal Pay, Yet Pays Female Staffers Less Than Males — (CNSNews.com) - While Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has vowed to make pay equity for women a top priority if elected president, an analysis of his Senate staff shows that women are outnumbered and out-paid by men.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Uppity Woman, Redstate, Wake up America and Macsmind
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Mike Allen / The Politico:
Obama talks to Bill Clinton — Seeking to beat back reports of a continuing rift, the Obama campaign announced today that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and former President Bill Clinton have talked by phone. — Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said: “Senator Obama had a terrific conversation …
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Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:
Krugman Is Stumped, Too — Hey, it's not just Republican surrogates who are making the point that Barack Obama is “unprincipled and opportunistic.” Joining fellow New York Times columnist David Brooks on the list of those Obama has utterly confused, Paul Krugman debates with himself whether Obama …
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Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Obama Agenda — It's feeling a lot like 1992 right now.
The Obama Agenda — It's feeling a lot like 1992 right now.
Discussion:
BuzzFlash.org, Grasping Reality …, DownWithTyranny!, The Raw Story, TalkLeft, FiveThirtyEight.com and Corrente
Gail Sheehy / Vanity Fair:
Hillaryland at War — Hillary Clinton's campaign had it all: near-death moments, hard-won triumphs, dysfunctional relationships—and a staff consumed with infighting over how to sell their candidate. It was a battle that revealed why she came so close to victory, as well as why she didn't make it.
George Packer / New Yorker:
OBAMA'S IRAQ PROBLEM — In February, 2007, when Barack Obama declared that he was running for President, violence in Iraq had reached apocalyptic levels, and he based his candidacy, in part, on a bold promise to begin a rapid withdrawal of American forces upon taking office.
Eli Saslow / Washington Post:
In Flag City USA, False Obama Rumors Are Flying — FINDLAY, Ohio — On his corner of College Street, Jim Peterman stares at the four American flags planted in his front lawn and rubs his forehead. Peterman, 74, is a retired worker at Cooper Tire, a father of two, an Air Force veteran and a self-described patriot.