Top Items:
New York Times:
New and Not Improved — Senator Barack Obama stirred his legions of supporters, and raised our hopes, promising to change the old order of things. He spoke with passion about breaking out of the partisan mold of bickering and catering to special pleaders, promised to end President Bush's abuses …
Discussion:
American Spectator, NewsBusters.org, Connecting.the.Dots, Viking Pundit, TigerHawk, Hot Air, BuzzMachine, Commentary, The Peking Duck and NO QUARTER
RELATED:
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Rove's Third Term — Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn't scream. Hillary Clinton didn't say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn't impugn John McCain's military service.
Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
A Man of Seasonal Principles — You'll notice Barack Obama is now wearing a flag pin. Again. During the primary campaign, he refused to, explaining that he'd worn one after Sept. 11 but then stopped because it “became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism.”
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Matthew Yglesias, TalkLeft, NewsBusters.org, Soccer Dad and Los Angeles Times
WTVD-TV:
Former Senator Jesse Helms dead at 86 — RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) — Former five-term Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms has died at 86. — Helms was born in Monroe, NC where his father, called “Big Jesse,” served as chief of police. Jesse and Dot Helms are the parents of three children …
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WRAL-TV:
Conservative icon Jesse Helms dead at 86 — RALEIGH, N.C. — Jesse Helms, the firebrand U.S. senator whose outspoken, conservative views polarized North Carolina and U.S. voters for decades, died at 1:15 a.m. Friday in Raleigh, according to John Dodd, president of the Jesse Helms Center.
CNN:
Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican who became an icon to conservatives, died Friday at the age of 86, a senior congressional source said. — The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank …
Associated Press:
Former Republican N.C. Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86 — RALEIGH, N.C. - Former Sen. Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the occasional fellow Republican during 30 conservative years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July.
MSNBC:
Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86 — Republican known as ‘Senator No’ served 30 years before retiring in 2003 — RALEIGH, North Carolina - Former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, a leading conservative from North Carolina who served 30 years in the Senate before retiring in 2003, has died, the Jesse Helms Center said Friday.
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
PLEASE, PLEASE, REPORTERS WITH BRAINS — I spent most of today in bed with some kind of nasty cold. So I only caught up on any news this evening. And I must confess to being little short of astounded by the avalanche of press BS I'm reading on Barack Obama's position on Iraq.
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Natalie Gewargis / Political Punch:
Obama's Iraq Quagmire
Obama's Iraq Quagmire
Discussion:
iowahawk, Commentary, TPM Election Central, TIME.com, Hot Air, Guardian, Redstate, Pajamas Media, NewsBusters.org, The Caucus, Stop The ACLU, Top of the Ticket and Wake up America
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The Economy? Words Fail Me. — Think you're worried about the economy? Phillip Swagel is a wreck. — The assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy, Swagel came out for his monthly economic briefing yesterday, 90 minutes after the Labor Department reported that the country …
Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
White House says ruling could free detainees in US — WASHINGTON - The White House said Thursday that dangerous detainees at Guantanamo Bay could end up walking Main Street U.S.A. as a result of last month's Supreme Court ruling about detainees' legal rights.
Bob / BobKrumm.com:
How did you spend Independence Day? — BAGHDAD - How are you spending your 4th of July holiday? While most Americans probably slept, 1,215 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines raised their right hands and committed to a combined 5,500 years of additional service during the largest reenlistment ceremony …
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Celebrity Passport Records Popular — State Dept. Audit Finds Snooping Was Frequent — Government workers repeatedly snooped without authorization inside the electronic passport records of entertainers, athletes and other high-profile Americans, a State Department audit has found.
Jeralyn / TalkLeft:
Obama: Mental Distress Can't Justify Late Term Abortion — Here's Obama reaching out to the evangelical right. The Associated Press reports: … Obama made no such distinction last year: … NARAL leaders ought to feel like idiots. [More...] … A leading anti-choice group …
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Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press:
Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion
Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion
Discussion:
The Confluence