Top Items:
Washington Post:
McCain Slights Spanish Prime Minister — The Union Radio interview with John McCain on issues of interest to Hispanics was conducted in English and only later translated into Spanish for listeners. The audio above is of the English-only interview. — By Glenn Kessler and Ed O'Keefe
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Washington Monthly, US News, AMERICAblog News, Think Progress, TalkLeft, The Huffington Post, The Raw Story, Political Machine, The Daily Dish, Hullabaloo, Grasping Reality …, Alas, a blog, Matthew Yglesias, Boston Globe, The Impolitic, PoliBlog (TM), Booman Tribune, MSNBC, Emptywheel, D-Day, The Jed Report and Swampland
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
EMBARRASSING — Well, we've heard the interview now. And John McCain either doesn't know who the Prime Minister of Spain is, thinks Spain is a country in Latin America, or possibly both. — In case, you haven't seen our updates from last night, yesterday John McCain was interviewed …
Marc Ambinder:
Adviser: McCain Considers Zapatero A “NATO Ally,” — Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been persona non grata at the White House since Spain pulled its troops out of Iraq in 2004. The Spanish prime minister has, through intermediates, requested a White House visit …
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
EL CID — IN ENGLISH — The original untranslated English version of John McCain's interview with Radio Caracol Miami has now been released. — Have a listen (the key passage about Spain starts at 2:58 in): — At first it sounds like McCain is taking a hard neocon line against Prime Minister Zapatero …
Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
McCain camp stands by tough talk on Spain — John McCain pointedly declined to commit to a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a radio interview this week, sparking a major story in Madrid. — Talking to a Latino-oriented radio station in Miami Monday morning …
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ... It seems the Post's Karen DeYoung …
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ... It seems the Post's Karen DeYoung …
Discussion:
Washington Post
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
CHIN-SCRATCHING BIG THINK ON MCCAIN'S ZAPATERO GAFFE
CHIN-SCRATCHING BIG THINK ON MCCAIN'S ZAPATERO GAFFE
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
RANDY GIVES IT HIS BEST SHOT
RANDY GIVES IT HIS BEST SHOT
Discussion:
Comments from Left Field
Jennifer Parker / Political Radar:
McCain Flub? Republican Says He'd Fire SEC Chair as President — ABC News' David Wright reports: At a joint rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Thursday, Republican John McCain slammed the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) for being “asleep at the switch” saying that if he were president …
Discussion:
Think Progress, Firedoglake, Washington Wire, Ben Smith's Blogs, TRAIL BLAZERS and Salon
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Washington Wire:
McCain Calls for Firing of SEC Commissioner — Susan Davis reports on the presidential race. — John McCain has two words for Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox: You're Fired. — “The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and has betrayed the public's trust.
Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Obama 48%, McCain 44% — Marks Obama's first statistically significant lead in two weeks — PRINCETON, NJ — The Sept. 15-17 Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows Barack Obama with a 48% to 44% lead over John McCain among registered voters, marking the first time that Obama …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Swamp, Matthew Yglesias, MyDD, TalkLeft, Donklephant and Fox News
Joseph Morton / Omaha World-Herald:
Sen. Hagel doubts Palin's ready — WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on Wednesday became the nation's most prominent Republican officeholder to publicly question whether Sarah Palin has the experience to serve as president. — “She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials,” Hagel said in an interview.
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Learfield / Radio Iowa:
McCain/Palin Rally in Cedar Rapids — I arrived on scene about an hour and a half before the event is to start. The traffic along I-380 was starting to get dicey, folks waiting in line to enter the parking area and wait for a shuttle to the airplane hanger where the rally will take place.
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Jonathan Martin / Jonathan Martin's Blogs:
For second time this week, crowds leave after Palin speaks
For second time this week, crowds leave after Palin speaks
Discussion:
Political Punch
Ronald Brownstein / National Journal Online:
Key Bush States Might Flip — BARACK OBAMA IS DOING WELL IN FOUR OF FIVE BUSH-WON BATTLEGROUNDS POLLED BY ALLSTATE/NATIONAL JOURNAL. — Propelled by dissatisfaction with the country's direction but hampered by doubts about his readiness for the presidency, Barack Obama is forcefully challenging John …
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Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight.com:
State of the Race: Is McCain In Trouble? — One of the unpleasant things you discover when you sit in major league baseball press boxes from time to time is that the press — or at least the print media — actually do not like close baseball games. A walk-off home run or a blown save means …
Ryan Grim / The Crypt's Blogs:
Republican congressman endorses Obama — Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, a maverick Republican from Maryland, endorsed Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president in an interview Wednesday with WYPR, Baltimore's National Public Radio station. — Gilchrest, who lost a primary campaign …
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Yuval Levin / The Corner:
McCain on the Economy — In Iowa today, John McCain discussed the causes of the financial crisis in some detail, noted his history of calling for Fannie and Freddie reform, proposed some further moves (like the creation of a mortgage and financial institutions trust and, in classic McCain fashion …
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Kathleen Hennessey / Associated Press:
Obama mocks McCain in Nevada stops — Barack Obama sharpened his attacks on John McCain and mocked the Republican's recent calls for reform in two stops in Nevada on Wednesday after days of listening to nervous supporters fret about the Democrat's chances of taking the White House.
Little Green Footballs:
Boston Globe Op-Ed: 'I Don't Support the Troops' — Every once in a while a “progressive” gets tired of maintaining a false front, and comes right out and says what they really feel about the military and about America. Today's self-unmasking is by Steve Almond, for the Boston Globe: Supporting our troops.
Discussion:
The Natural Truth
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Joe Klein / Swampland:
Incoherence — This is shaping up as a pretty bad week for the McCain campaign. First, the economic fundamentals are sound. Then we're in a major crisis. He talks about the excessive compensation that CEOs receive, but continues to have Carly Fiorina ($100 million for her failed stewardship …
Joe Milicia / Associated Press:
Biden says McCain's economic answers go nowhere — CANTON, Ohio - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday called Republican John McCain's answers to the current economic crisis “the ultimate bridge to nowhere” and said that paying higher taxes would be patriotic for wealthier Americans.
Natalie Gewargis / Political Punch:
Oh, That Joe! (No. 12 in a Series) — Are You Ready for Some Football? — Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., joked today that he decided to run for vice president when he realized he couldn't play professional football. But that's not stopping the senator from making the sport a prominent part of his campaign …
Duane R. Patterson / Townhall.com:
Barack, uh, Obama's Inspirational Address To The Barbra Streisand, um, Hollywood Elites — I guess the teleprompter was in the shop.