Top Items:
Los Angeles Times:
McCain's broken marriage and fractured Reagan friendship — Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, walks with former first lady Nancy Reagan. Mrs. Reagan endorsed the Republican presidential candidate Tuesday, March 25, 2008 in Bel Air, Calif.
PZ Myers / Pharyngula:
Fight back against Bill Donohue! — So far today, I have received 39 pieces of personal hate mail of varying degrees of literacy, all because I was rude to a cracker. Four of them have included death threats, a personal one day record. Thirty-four of them have demanded that I be fired.
Jonathan Allen / VP Watch:
Sebelius No Longer Denying VP Talks — Kathleen Sebelius is no longer denying that she is being vetted by Barack Obama's campaign. — The 60-year-old Kansas governor told me on Thursday that she was never vetted for the vice presidency in 2004 but declined to make the same pronouncement about this year's process.
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Matthew Mosk / Washington Post:
Donors Asked To Give for Two — The fundraising machine Sen. Barack Obama is relying on to overwhelm Sen. John McCain this fall has shown signs of wear in recent weeks, as Internet contributions have slowed and efforts to recruit top donors to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign have been beset by lingering tensions.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, protein wisdom, Spin Cycle, TIME.com, The G Spot and Prairie Weather
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Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
McCain ad: “God's Children” — Team McCain has its latest ad out today, taken from a New Hampshire debate in June 2007, when John McCain soliloquized on the contributions of Hispanic citizens and residents to our efforts in Vietnam and Iraq. Titled “God's Children”, the ad matches imagery to McCain's impromptu salute:
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Marc Ambinder:
A Tancredo Shot In “God's Children” — Check out this cutaway from Sen. John McCain's latest ad, God's Children: that's Rep. Tom Tancredo. — The ad, about Hispanic-American soldiers and immigration, is the second that's meant to demonstrate McCain's willingness to challenge his party.
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs
Spiegel Online:
German Politicians Are in an Obama Tizzy — The kerfuffle over Barack Obama's possible Brandenburg Gate appearance later this month just won't die down. Merkel's government has its doubts, but some in her own party don't see the big deal. — The debate surrounding the impending Berlin visit …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, Sister Toldjah, TPM Election Central, Weekly Standard Blog and Prairie Weather
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Wolfson: Clinton not being vetted ‘as far as I know’ — On Fox, former Clinton chief strategist Howard Wolfson indicated that Hillary Clinton is not being formally considered as Obama's running mate, in that she has not been asked to undergo the formal vetting process.
Discussion:
TIME.com, Marc Ambinder, Political Buzz, Wonkette, TPM Election Central, Spin Cycle and Open Left
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
A Hint of New Life to a McCain Birth Issue — In the most detailed examination yet of Senator John McCain's eligibility to be president, a law professor at the University of Arizona has concluded that neither Mr. McCain's birth in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone nor the fact that his parents …
CNN:
Bodies confirmed as soldiers kidnapped last year — BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) — The remains of two U.S. soldiers kidnapped more than a year ago in Iraq were found and are back in the United States, according to the father of one of the soldiers. — The military has not yet issued …
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Wall Street Journal:
McCain Camp Pegs Total War Chest at $400 Million — Obama's Budget Put at $480 Million; Big September Hopes — WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign said Thursday that Republicans anticipate raising a combined $400 million war chest for the general election campaign against Sen. Barack Obama this fall.
Martha Raddatz / ABCNEWS:
Obama's Iraq Withdrawal Plan May Prove Difficult — U.S. Commanders in Iraq Warn of Security Dangers, See Logistical Nightmare — Whatever nuance Barack Obama is now adding to his Iraq withdrawal strategy, the core plan on his Web site is as plain as day: Obama would “immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq.
CNN:
McCain misfires on Obama attack — From CNN's Evan Glass, CNN's Kerith McFadden — (CNN) — It turns out that John McCain made an off-the-mark error when he launched at Barack Obama this week over Iran's missile tests. — In a statement criticizing Obama's positions on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard …
Jeffrey Young / The Hill:
Bush will veto Medicare bill, White House says — President Bush will stand by his longstanding threat to veto Medicare legislation passed by the Senate Wednesday, the White House confirmed. — The veto will set up override votes in the House and Senate, where the legislation passed …
Discussion:
Wonk Room
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New York Times:
U.S. Considers Takeover of Two Mortgage Giants — WASHINGTON — Alarmed by the growing financial stress at the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies, senior Bush administration officials are considering a plan to have the government take over one or both of the companies and place …
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, The Big Picture, Firedoglake, Buck Naked Politics, D-Day, On Deadline, Grasping Reality …, Calculated Risk and The Foundry
Mark Johnson / KTVT-TV:
Lab Results Show No Drugs In Cookies Taken To Cops — A teenager accused of delivering drug-laced cookies to a dozen police stations was the victim of overzealous officers who had very little evidence indicating drugs were inside the treats, his attorney said Thursday.
Michael Luo / The Caucus:
Lax on Its List of ‘Bundlers,’ the Obama Campaign Names Names — Senator Barack Obama's campaign published the names of a whopping 181 new bundlers of campaign contributions this evening, adding to its existing list of 328 elite fund-raisers, after The New York Times made an inquiry earlier in the day about how complete the list was.
Chris Hedges / Los Angeles Times:
Stop the new FISA — Allowing the new surveillance law to stand would seriously cripple our free press. — If the sweeping surveillance law signed by President Bush on Thursday — giving the U.S. government nearly unchecked authority to eavesdrop on the phone calls and e-mails of innocent Americans …