Top Items:
Andrew J. Bacevich / Boston Globe:
What Bush hath wrought — FEW AMERICANS, whatever their political persuasion, will mourn George W. Bush's departure from office. Democrats and Republicans alike are counting the days until the inauguration of a new president will wipe the slate clean. — Yet in crucial respects, the Bush era will not end Jan. 20, 2009.
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Dean Barnett / Weekly Standard Blog:
Andrew Bacevich: Ignoring Inconvenient Facts — Bush-loathing scholar Andrew Bacevich has taken to the Boston Globe to pen a screed documenting the horrible misdeeds perpetrated by the administration. Bacevich even ordered his complaints in a tidy little list:
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
McCain Campaign Accuses Obama Camp Of Coordinating With Webb To Attack McCain — Now the McCain campaign is accusing the Obama campaign of coordinating with Jim Webb to “attack” McCain's war service. — On MSNBC last night, Webb told McCain that he should “calm down” …
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Open Left, Emptywheel, Salon, TIME.com and The Carpetbagger Report
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Walter Alarkon / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
Webb: McCain Should ‘Calm Down’ on Using Military Service — Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) waded into the debate over John McCain's military service Monday to say that the Republican should avoid using military service in politics. — Webb, a Barack Obama supporter, was on MSNBC's “Countdown” …
TPM Election Central:
Now A McCain Surrogate Demeans Wes Clark's Service — The McCain campaign, keeping up the pressure over Wes Clark's comments, is holding its second conference call on this topic in two days — but now the story has taken a new turn, with a McCain surrogate demeaning Clark's service.
CBN.com:
Obama's Pro-Gay Flyers — Barack Obama may be talking up his Christian faith like he's doing today in Ohio and trying his best to appeal to Evangelicals with a “new kind of politics,” but he's got a problem. Many of his positions are the same liberal positions that have turned off Evangelicals for years.
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Aurelio Rojas / Sacramento Bee:
Obama rejects proposed California gay marriage ban — Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A3 — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who previously said the issue of gay marriage should be left up to each state, has announced his opposition to a California ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriages.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, The Carpetbagger Report, AMERICAblog News and The Campaign Spot
Jennifer Loven / Associated Press:
Obama courts conservatives with new faith program — ZANESVILLE, Ohio - Taking a page from President Bush, Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he wants to expand White House efforts to steer social service dollars to religious groups, risking protests in his own party with his latest aggressive reach …
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Daily Mail:
Muslims outraged at police advert featuring cute puppy sitting in policeman's hat — A postcard featuring a cute puppy sitting in a policeman's hat advertising a Scottish police force's new telephone number has sparked outrage from Muslims. — Tayside Police's new non-emergency phone number …
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Simon Johnson / Telegraph:
Apology over ‘offensive’ puppy police advert after Muslim complaints
Apology over ‘offensive’ puppy police advert after Muslim complaints
Discussion:
The Corner
Joby Warrick / Washington Post:
Ex-Agent Says CIA Ignored Iran Facts — A former CIA operative who says he tried to warn the agency about faulty intelligence on Iraqi weapons programs now contends that CIA officials also ignored evidence that Iran had suspended work on a nuclear bomb. — The onetime undercover agent …
Discussion:
ATTACKERMAN, Emptywheel, Political Machine, The Washington Independent and The Glittering Eye
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Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Americans Worry McCain Would Be Too Similar to Bush — About half are concerned Obama would go too far in changing Bush policies — PRINCETON, NJ — A recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds about two in three Americans concerned that John McCain would pursue policies as president that are too similar to what George W. Bush has pursued.
Discussion:
Think Progress, Matthew Yglesias, Daily Kos, Pajamas Media, MyDD, Donklephant, American Spectator, The Political Carnival, Fox News and Pollster.com
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
New CNN Poll: Obama, McCain in a statistical dead heat — (CNN) — With the dust having finally settled after the prolonged Democratic presidential primary, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama locked in a statistical dead heat in the race for the White House.
Mary Ann Akers / The Sleuth:
Christian Site's Ban on ‘G’ Word Sends Homosexual to Olympics — The American Family Association obviously didn't foresee the problems that might arise with its strict policy to always replace the word “gay” with “homosexual” on the Web site of its Christian news outlet, OneNewsNow.
David Brooks / New York Times:
Obama's Money Class — Barack Obama sells the Democratic Party short. He talks about his fund-raising success as if his donors were part of a spontaneous movement of small-money enthusiasts who cohered around himself. In fact, Democrats have spent years building their donor network.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, NY Daily News, OpenSecrets.org, The Daily Dish and The New Republic
Jonah Goldberg / USA Today:
Obama's real patriotism problem — He sees an America in which the cup is half-empty. Is his America the same one most Americans think of as they wave flags and celebrate the Fourth of July? — Barack Obama has a patriotism problem that even Monday's flag-waving trip to Independence, Mo., can't squelch.
Teddy Davis / Political Radar:
Obama Shifts on Welfare Reform — ABC News' Teddy Davis and Gregory Wallace Report: Barack Obama aligned himself with welfare reform on Monday, launching a television ad which touts the way the overhaul “slashed the rolls by 80 percent.” Obama leaves out, however, that he was against the …