Top Items:
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.
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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 …
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, NewsBusters.org, TalkLeft, TPM Election Central, Soccer Dad, Pajamas Media and Los Angeles Times
Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post:
Obama May Consider Slowing Iraq Withdrawal
Obama May Consider Slowing Iraq Withdrawal
Discussion:
TPM Election Central, Outside The Beltway, Neptunus Lex, Guardian, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, democracyarsenal.org and TIME.com
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 …
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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.
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.
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
Jesse Helms passes away — Jesse Helms, an Old South icon who mixed racial politics with an unwavering dedication to a robust American military and foreign policy, died early this morning in his native North Carolina. — Helms, 86, had been in faltering health in recent years.
Discussion:
The Swamp
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.
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 …
Doyle McManus / Los Angeles Times:
Team Obama's convention game plan calls for stadium rally — The aim is to draw a huge crowd by moving the acceptance speech from an indoor arena to the Broncos' venue. — Gridiron fans, move over. The Obama campaign hopes to turn the last evening of the Democratic National Convention …
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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.
Aditya Chakrabortty / Guardian:
Biofuels are prime cause of food crisis - leaked report — Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% — far more than previously estimated — according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis …
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.
Sarah Wheaton / The Caucus:
Obama Responds to FISA Protest on His Web Site — After a protest group gained prominence on Senator Barack Obama's own campaign Web site, the candidate has written a response to those who object to his support for the current compromise legislation in the Senate on immunity for telecoms.
Discussion:
The Carpetbagger Report, Liminal states, TIME.com, The Huffington Post, The Trail, Shakesville, MyDD and The Political Carnival
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