Top Items:
The Board:
Say What? John McCain, Barack Obama, and the “Race Card” — We know that operatives in modern-day presidential campaigns are supposed to say things that everyone knows are ridiculous — and to do it with a straight face. — Still, there was something surreal, and offensive …
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Ross Douthat:
Barack Hitler Obama — It's remarkable what those fiendish GOP operatives can squeeze into thirty seconds: Not only does McCain's “celeb” ad have “Barack Obama will rape yo daughters overtones,” says Rick Perlstein (who's apparently under the impression that most Americans think of Paris Hilton …
Discussion:
The Corner, Blue Girl, Red State, The Daily Dish, Oliver Willis, Sister Toldjah, Ed Driscoll.com and Blog entry
Marty / Martin Eisenstadt's Blog:
Paris Hilton's family fuming at McCain campaign — I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems that the new McCain ad criticizing Obama for being a celebrity has ruffled some unintended feathers. I, for one, quite liked the ad, but I hear whispers from the inner campaign staff …
Discussion:
TRAIL BLAZERS, MSNBC, michellemalkin.com, The Anonymous Liberal, Gun Toting Liberal Blog, Blue Girl, Red State and Wonkette
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
McCain says ‘race card’ charges are fair — (CNN) — John McCain told CNN Thursday it is fair for his campaign manager to claim Barack Obama is playing ‘the race card.’ — “I'm sorry to say that it is. It's legitimate,” McCain told CNN's John King. “And there's no place in this campaign for that.
The Politico:
Race issue moves to center of campaign — Given the historic presence of the nation's first major-party African-American presidential nominee, it was likely inevitable. — But now the combustible issue of Barack Obama's racial identity has been thrust squarely into the heated political battle of the 2008 race.
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Unbelievable: NYT recycles nutroots charge that McCain's Britney ad is racist
Unbelievable: NYT recycles nutroots charge that McCain's Britney ad is racist
Marc Ambinder:
Bluffing 'Bout Bias?
Bluffing 'Bout Bias?
Discussion:
Grasping Reality …, Newsweek Blogs, MyDD, Hullabaloo, American Spectator, The Carpetbagger Report, www.redstate.com, Commentary and Swampland
Matthew Yglesias:
Management By McCain — Kevin Drum's not the only liberal upset …
Management By McCain — Kevin Drum's not the only liberal upset …
Discussion:
pandagon.net
Dean Barnett / Weekly Standard Blog: About that Ad — As you know, I haven't exactly established myself …
Billmon / Daily Kos:
The Great White Hope — The media's moment of disillusionment with John McCain appears to be at hand. Even Joe Klein has finally noticed that McCain's profile is beginning to resemble the endomorphic shadow of his backstage advisor, Karl Rove, not one of the faces on Mt. Rushmore.
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Joe Klein / Swampland:
Hope Dashed (Again) — A few months ago, I wrote that John McCain was an honorable man and he would run an honorable campaign. I was wrong. I used to think, as David Ignatius does, that McCain's true voice was humble and moderate, but now I'm beginning to think his Senate colleagues may be right about his temperament.
Discussion:
Time, Liberal Values, Real Clear Politics, Brilliant at Breakfast, RADAMISTO and The Moderate Voice
Marty Lederman / Balkinization:
This is Really Quite Amazing — In a 93-page opinion in the Miers/Bolten contempt case, Judge Bates not only rejects all of the various Administration arguments against justiciability, but goes so far as to reach the merits and hold that there is no basis for the DOJ argument …
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David Stout / New York Times:
White House Aides Can Be Subpoenaed — WASHINGTON — President Bush's top advisers cannot ignore subpoenas issued by Congress, a federal judge ruled on Thursday in a case that involves the firings of several United States attorneys but has much wider constitutional implications for all three branches of government.
Faiz / Think Progress:
EXCLUSIVE: To Provoke War, Cheney Considered Proposal To Dress Up Navy Seals As Iranians And Shoot At Them — Speaking at the Campus Progress journalism conference earlier this month, Seymour Hersh — a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist for The New Yorker — revealed that Bush administration officials held …
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Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Obama 45%, McCain 44% — PRINCETON, NJ — The race for the presidency has moved back into a statistical tie in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update of national registered voters, with Barack Obama now ahead of John McCain by just one percentage point, 45% to 44%.
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New York Times:
Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials Say — WASHINGTON — American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan's powerful spy service helped plan the deadly July 7 bombing of India's embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to United States government officials.
Avi Zenilman / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama: “Is that the best you can come up with?” — At an economic town hall in Cedar Rapids, Obama continues to use high-mindedness as a bludgeon against the McCain ad:
Avi Issacharoff / Observer:
Hamas' Christian convert: I've left a society that sanctifies terror — A moment before beginning his supper, Masab, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef, glances at the friend who has accompanied him to the restaurant where we met. They whisper a few words and then say grace …
Megan McArdle:
GDP: A few pictures are worth a book — When you see the map, it becomes radically apparent just how firmly Britain was the root of the Industrial revolution. With the lone exception of Japan, the darkest places on the map are either next to Britain, or former British colonies.
Discussion:
EconLog
Matt Stoller / Open Left:
Wes Clark for VP — A few weeks ago, before the Villagers threw their little hissy fit, Aaron Ament and I were going to launch a short campaign to promote Wes Clark for VP. After the events of the last few days, we think it's more important than ever to do so. And so, here you are.
Nate / FiveThirtyEight.com:
My Least Favorite Argument — Obviously, I have a lot of nits to pick when it comes to campaign coverage, but my single least favorite brand of analysis is what I term “Match Game Arguments”: No candidate has ever [blank]. Given various intersections of geography, demography and history …
Discussion:
The Opinionator
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The New Republic:
Hope of the GOP: “George Bush is the Worst President” — Senator Ted Stevens's inevitable indictment yesterday made one Alaska Republican deliriously happy: lawyer and economic historian Vic Vickers, who's mounting a very-generously-self-funded primary campaign against Stevens. — Not so happy: national GOPers.
Discussion:
The Reaction
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