Top Items:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
FOURNIER IS AT IT AGAIN.... The latest piece from Ron Fournier, the AP's Washington bureau chief and the man responsible for directing the wire service's coverage of the presidential campaign, on Joe Biden joining the Democratic ticket, is drawing a fair amount of attention this morning.
Discussion:
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William Kristol / Weekly Standard Blog:
The Democrats' Glass Ceiling — So Hillary Clinton gets about 18 million votes in 2008, and isn't even considered for—she apparently isn't even given the courtesy of being consulted—the vice presidential pick. Joe Biden manages to persuade a few thousand (if that) Iowans to support him.
Discussion:
Hot Air
Lindsay Beyerstein / Majikthise:
AP's Ron Fournier may command speaking fees of up to $10,000 — The Washington Bureau Chief of the Associated Press, Ron Fournier, may command speaker's fees of up to $10,000 per appearance. — As of this writing, Fournier appears to be available for booking through the All American Talent & Celebrity Network's website.
Nate / FiveThirtyEight.com:
Can Biden Out-Hillary Hillary? — The principal rationale for selecting Hillary Clinton as Barack Obama's running mate is that she would have united Democrats behind their nominee at a time when they have a substantial advantage in party identification. John Kerry received 89 percent …
Discussion:
Lynn Sweet, The Field on the Narcosphere, New York Times, beliefnet, Undiplomatic, Washington Wire and Tom Watson
Jon Cohen / Washington Post:
New Data: Impact of Biden
New Data: Impact of Biden
Discussion:
FOX Embeds, TalkLeft, American Power, Kevin Drum, The Corner, www.redstate.com, Wake up America and The Moderate Voice
Anita Thompson / TalkLeft:
Brooding on Biden — Share This: Digg! — Okay, I just arrived to Jerri's house, driving from Owl Farm through a massive rain storm through the Rocky Mountains. — Yes, I've been brooding about our new VP candidate. The only people I've seen doing back flips over the Biden affair are Joe Biden and John McCain.
Discussion:
The Other McCain
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Jennifer Parker / Political Punch:
Joe Biden's Mouth: ‘If the Sparks Fly, So Be It’ — “The White House isn't the place to learn how to deal with international crisis, the balance of power, war and peace, and the economic future of the next generation,” said a TV ad for Sen. Joe Biden's 1988 presidential campaign.
Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:
A Philosophy of Diplomacy First, Force Last — WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration was fine-tuning its plan to invade Iraq, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. helped draft a proposed resolution that emphasized the need for diplomatic efforts to dismantle Saddam Hussein's weapons programs …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs
Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
New McCain Ad Hits Biden, Airs Footage Of Him Saying He'd Run With McCain
New McCain Ad Hits Biden, Airs Footage Of Him Saying He'd Run With McCain
Kate Phillips / The Caucus:
McCain Rolls Out New Ad With Biden's Words
McCain Rolls Out New Ad With Biden's Words
Discussion:
Hot Air, International Herald Tribune, GINA COBB, Doug Ross, The Moderate Voice and Betsy's Page
Jonah Goldberg / The Corner:
The 3:00 AM Thing, Cont'd — I still think it's unlikely it was deliberate. Why I'm giving Obama the benefit of the doubt here is something I'll have to ponder. Anyway a tech-savvy friend writes: … You know what? Even if it was a mistake, some grownup over there should have said “3:00 AM?
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Michael Goldfarb / John McCain 2008:
Why 3 a.m.? — Less than two weeks ago, Obama campaign manager …
Why 3 a.m.? — Less than two weeks ago, Obama campaign manager …
Jacob Weisberg / Slate:
RACISM IS THE ONLY REASON MCCAIN MIGHT BEAT HIM. — What with the Bush legacy of reckless war and economic mismanagement, 2008 is a year that favors the generic Democratic candidate over the generic Republican one. Yet Barack Obama, with every natural and structural advantage in the presidential race …
Discussion:
Political Byline, Winds of Change.NET, NewsBusters.org, QandO, Lonewacko, American Street and Ace of Spades HQ
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Newsweek:
The Veep's Pipeline Push — From the magazine issue dated Sep 1, 2008 — A two-year-old letter by Vice President Dick Cheney that pushed a controversial Alaska natural-gas pipeline bill is getting renewed scrutiny because of recently disclosed evidence in the Justice Department's corruption case against Sen. Ted Stevens.
Discussion:
Think Progress
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Cernig / Crooks and Liars:
Cheney Letter Shilled For Stevens' “Clients” — For some strange reason, prosecutors in the corruption case against Ted Stevens (R - VECO) don't want to mention a letter Dick Cheney sent at Stevens' behest, shilling for corporate wheeler-dealer Bill Allen's pet pipeline project.
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
What Does This Really Tell Us? — Leaving aside all the necessary gaming of how this affects the election, what does the selection of Biden tell us about Obama's potential decision-making as president? This is the second big decision of the national campaign (the first was opting out of public financing).
Hugh Hewitt / Townhall.com:
McCain Counters With... Romney, of course. The same factors in Romney's favor — pull in Michigan, Nevada, Colorado and New Hampshire, the energy brought by his organization— are still there, but the pick of Biden calls for a very experienced debater as the only thing Slow Joe …
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Looks Like The Obama Campaign Laid An Egg — By way of the Ace we see this image hosted at the Obama website (I am not the most computer-savvy guy going, but I am satisfied this is no spoof.) — Coupled as it is with the Biden announcement, I can only infer that the Obamaites think they laid an egg (no dissent here).
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Peter Wehner / The Corner:
Obama-Biden 2008 — I have now watched and read Senator Biden's speech in Springfield earlier today. From the perspective of the craft of speechwriting, it was quite a thing to behold. — In a speech of just over 16 minutes, Biden used, by my count, the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” 18 times.
Discussion:
TownHall Blog
Rasmussen Reports:
Election 2008: Mississippi Presidential Election — Mississippi Still Favors McCain by Double Digits — John McCain continues to hold a double-digit lead over Barack Obama in Mississippi, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state.
Bob Herbert / New York Times:
Voters Want More From Obama — After being pummeled for weeks by John McCain, and losing some of his slender lead in the polls, the Obama campaign may finally be showing signs of life. — Barack Obama was always a long shot to win the White House. It's no secret that some portion …
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Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Biden — The clip above explains the rationale, I'd say.
Biden — The clip above explains the rationale, I'd say.
Discussion:
American Prospect, TPM Election Central, The Moderate Voice, Angry Bear and Balloon Juice