Top Items:
William Kristol / New York Times:
Be Afraid. Please. — Life is full of disappointments. — Early Friday, I went to the Real Clear Politics Web site, as I do every morning, for my fix of political news and commentary. I perked up when I saw the third entry on the list of that day's notable articles — “No. 44 Has Spoken.”
Michelle Malkin:
McCain finally endorses campaign to end racial preferences...or does he? — Over the past year, I've blogged repeatedly about true maverick and civil rights pioneer Ward Connerly's Super Tuesday for Equality campaign to end discriminatory government race/gender preferences across the country …
RELATED:
Roger Clegg / The Corner:
McCain Does the Right Thing on Racial Preferences
McCain Does the Right Thing on Racial Preferences
Discussion:
La Shawn Barber's Corner
Washington Post / The Trail:
McCain Supports Ariz. Proposal to Ban Affirmative Action
McCain Supports Ariz. Proposal to Ban Affirmative Action
Discussion:
The Other McCain
Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
McCain Says Obama Plays Politics on Iraq — Some Fellow Republicans Question Tactics — In his most direct challenge yet of his Democratic presidential rival's Iraq policy, Sen. John McCain suggested yesterday that Sen. Barack Obama had crafted a war strategy designed to further his own political advancement.
Discussion:
New York Times, MSNBC, TPM Election Central, www.redstate.com, Spin Cycle, TIME.com, The Jed Report, AMERICAblog News and Real Clear Politics
RELATED:
Domenico Montanaro / MSNBC:
FIRST THOUGHTS: ANALYZE THIS — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — *** Analyze this: We've now crossed the 100-day mark before Election Day, and the chattering class is going to obsessed with two things this week: 1) over-analyzing the veepstakes and 2) over-analyzing any overseas bounce for Obama.
Discussion:
RealClearPolitics
Washington Post:
For Obama, Hurdles in Expanding Black Vote — MACON, Ga. — Amanda Bass, a volunteer for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, had already tried once to get Wilmer Gray to register to vote. But when she glimpsed him in a black T-shirt and White Sox cap again on a recent weekday …
Nancy A. Youssef / McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Petraeus won't join bandwagon for Iraq withdrawal timetable — BAGHDAD — The top U.S. military commander in Iraq isn't buying the increasingly popular idea of a publicly stated timetable for American troop withdrawal. — Gen. David Petraeus, the Iraq commander, said in an interview …
Discussion:
Buck Naked Politics, ATTACKERMAN, Connecting.the.Dots, QandO, Gateway Pundit, A Newt One, LewRockwell.com Blog and CNN
Wall Street Journal:
Docking Paychecks for Politics — The mighty Service Employees International Union (SEIU) plans to spend some $150 million in this year's election, most of it to get Barack Obama and other Democrats elected. Where'd they get that much money? — That's a question the Departments of Labor …
Christopher Conkey / Wall Street Journal:
Funds for Highways Plummet As Drivers Cut Gasoline Use — An unprecedented cutback in driving is slashing the funds available to rebuild the nation's aging highway system and expand mass-transit options, underscoring the economic impact of high gasoline prices.
Ezra Klein / American Prospect:
TOO HARD FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND. — For reasons that I try not to speculate on before 9am, the media likes to make policy disputes sound incredibly complicated. Much too complicated for mortals to understand, or base electoral behavior on. Take this Time article on the various tax plans floating around the election.
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Senate's ‘Dr. No’ Spurs Showdown Over Spending — Instead of a keepsake photo of a political hero or his family, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has a large framed picture next to his desk that serves as a constant reminder of his political ideology. Inside the black frame and matting is a single word, in large white letters: “No.”
RELATED:
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Democrats Try to Break Grip of the Senate's Dr. No
Democrats Try to Break Grip of the Senate's Dr. No
Discussion:
The Caucus
Carla Marinucci / San Francisco Chronicle:
McCain has reason to smile as he visits state — He's been portrayed by Democrats as the grumpy old man of foreign policy and the “McSame” candidate. But even after a brutal week that put his competitor, Barack Obama, in a glowing international spotlight, Republican Sen. John McCain is coming …
Rick Moran / Right Wing Nut House:
TOP TEN THINGS THAT CREEP ME OUT ABOUT OBAMA — I know it is not politically correct to say that Obama “creeps me out.” That's because immediately after uttering such blasphemy, our friends on the left would put me on the couch and matter of factly inform me that I am suffering from …
Jimmy Vielkind / Albany Times Union:
Cuomo to Obama: Be specific — Former governor, at FBI fete, says he's unhappy with presidential race — COLONIE — Former Gov. Mario Cuomo expressed concern Friday night that Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is not offering specific policy positions.
Peter S. Goodman / New York Times:
Worried Banks Sharply Reduce Business Loans — Banks struggling to recover from multibillion-dollar losses on real estate are curtailing loans to American businesses, depriving even healthy companies of money for expansion and hiring. — Two vital forms of credit used by companies …
Alexander Marquardt / CNN:
Obama sees doctor for sore hip — CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) - Just back from an eight-day trip to the Middle East and Europe, Barack Obama went to see a doctor Sunday night at the University of Chicago Medical Center to examine a sore hip. — “His hip has been sore from basketball for a few weeks …
RELATED: