memeorandum: CHUTZPAH. — I'm sort of busy today, but if some other … (Ezra Klein/American Prospect)

5:25 PM ET, February 29, 2008

Top Items:

Clinton Goes Nuclear; Obama Camp Fires Back — ABC News' David Wright, Sunlen Miller, Andy Fies, Eloise Harper, Kate Snow & Nitya Venkataraman Report: Closing in on the March 4 contests, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., debuted a campaign ad on Friday with ominous undertones.

Eric Kleefeld / TPM Election Central:

Hillary Ad: Who Do You Want Answering The White House Phone At 3 a.m.? — Hillary Clinton has a new ad in Texas, making what is perhaps her most forceful argument yet against Barack Obama on national security: — “It's 3 a.m., and your children are safe and asleep,” the announcer says.

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, Ohio Daily Blog, Donklephant, KnoxViews, Pajamas Media and Sadly, No!

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:

Obama Responds: I Will Never Use “Threat Of Terrorism To Scare Up Votes” — Okay, Obama has now directly responded to Hillary's ad asking who you want in the White House at 3 A.M. when the red phone rings and your kids are safely asleep. — And his reply suggests that the Obama camp …

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Spin Cycle and Buckeye State Blog

Ben Smith / The Politico:

New Clinton ad is the scariest of cycle — Clinton is up with the scariest ad of the cycle, one that echoes, in a soft-focus way, some of President Bush's 2004 campaign spots. — It features a child sleeping in bed and an unnamed emergency ringing the White House phone …

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, The Swamp, democracyarsenal.org, American Power, Cliff Schecter, Commentary and NYT

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Mondale: ‘Red Phone’

Discussion: Marc Ambinder, Daily Kos, Towleroad and AMERICAblog

Steve Kornacki / New York Observer:
Hillary as Mondale, Again

Discussion: Spin Cycle, Ben Smith's Blogs, Swampland and MSNBC

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Obama responds to the red phone

Discussion: The Swamp, Towleroad and Real Clear Politics

Carpetbagger / The Carpetbagger Report:
Has the Clinton campaign really gone ‘nuclear’ with its new ad?

Discussion: The Mahablog, The Fix and TPM Election Central

Jay Root / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

State's Democratic Party braces for lawsuit — AUSTIN — The Texas Democratic Party is warning that its primary night caucuses could be delayed or disrupted after aides to White House hopeful Hillary Clinton raised the specter of an “imminent” lawsuit over its complicated delegate selection process, officials said Thursday night.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Burnt Orange Report, Political Radar, AMERICAblog and Redstate

Jay Root / Houston Chronicle:

State Democrats say Clinton camp may sue — Legal action could disrupt or delay caucuses, party says — AUSTIN — The Texas Democratic Party warned Thursday that election night caucuses scheduled for Tuesday could be delayed or disrupted after aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton threatened …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Wake up America, Comments from Left Field, Prairie Weather, Marc Ambinder and Jack and Jill Politics

Glenn Smith / Burnt Orange Report:
Threatening the Texas Primary/Caucus

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Associated Press, Off the Kuff, Daily Kos and Booman Tribune

Alex Johnson / MSNBC:
Some Texas Republicans to vote for Obama

Discussion: Washington Post, PoliBlog (TM), Tennessee Guerilla Women, Hot Air, American Power and Froth Slosh B'Gosh

Marc Ambinder:

Unless Obama Wins, He Loses — Huh?

Discussion: The New Republic, TalkLeft, Ben Smith's Blogs, Newsweek Blogs, Trailhead and The Carpetbagger Report

Ezra Klein / American Prospect:

DUMB SPIN. — Sometimes, I really wonder how dumb the Clinton campaign thinks we are. … So if Obama doesn't outright win the states Clinton is favored in — if he merely closes the gap — Democrats are “having second thoughts about him.” — Who is this aimed at? Political reporters know it's dumb.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Eschaton and Wonkette

Mark Halperin / The Page:
Clinton Camp Memo on Obama Expectations

Discussion: Open Left

Nancy / nancynall.com:

Copycat. — I feel bad about what I'm going to do here. — I've had a lot of fun at Tim Goeglein's expense over the last few months. Mean-spirited fun, certainly, but my problem with him has always been one of personal taste. In his columns for The News-Sentinel, my old newspaper …

Discussion: News-Sentinel.com, Think Progress, Wonkette, The Moderate Voice, Salon and Cliff Schecter

Sylvia A. Smith / The Journal Gazette:

White House column was copied — WASHINGTON - A Fort Wayne native and White House official acknowledged Friday he copied large portions of an essay that appeared in a Dartmouth College publication and presented them as his own in a News-Sentinel column. — “It is true,” Tim Goeglein wrote to The Journal Gazette in an email.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and I Am TRex

The Kenosha Kid / The Kenosha Kid's Blog: More fun with plagiarism — Picking up on Atrios' post …

The Trail:

Obama Backs Law Helping McCain — U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) wrote her legislative fix on a yellow legal pad, which she delivered to the Senate clerk, to ensure that any person born to U.S. citizens serving in the armed services while stationed abroad would qualify to become president of the United States.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Sweetness & Light, Salon, American Spectator and The Corner

Jonah Goldberg / The Corner: Come On! — I love arcane debates over arcana, but John McCain …

Jim Lindgren / The Volokh Conspiracy:
THE MEANING OF “NATURAL BORN.” I read with some amusement …

Discussion: The Corner

CTV.ca:

Opponents slam Obama after CTV story on NAFTA — Allegations of double talk on NAFTA from the Obama and Clinton campaigns dominated the U.S. political landscape on Thursday. — On Wednesday, CTV reported that a senior member of Barack Obama's campaign called the Canadian embassy within …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Power Line, TalkLeft, Redstate, Reason Magazine, ABCNEWS, Spin Cycle, Right Voices, Political Punch, Middle Earth Journal, Buck Naked Politics, The Campaign Spot, The Moderate Voice, ShopFloor.org and Greg Mankiw's Blog

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama's NAFTA double-talk confirmed: CTV

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Taylor Marsh, Polimom Says, The New Editor and The Sundries Shack

Jason Zengerle / The New Republic:

Hillary Cuts an Ad ... for McCain — Only the Clinton campaign would think mom would be checking on the kids at 3:00 am still dressed in her snazzy business suit. — I thought it was a bit creepy of that person to be looking in on your kids sleeping at 3am.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Oliver Willis

Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
It's 3:00 AM, I Must Be Lonely

Discussion: The Caucus and Matthew Yglesias

Sarah Lyall / New York Times:

Harry Withdrawn From Afghanistan — LONDON — The Defense Ministry announced Friday that Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, would have to come home from Afghanistan because it was too risky for him to stay there. — The prince, 23, has been in Helmand Province …

Discussion: Guardian, Gawker, Lean Left, BAGnewsNotes and Bark Bark Woof Woof

Jon Williams / The Editors:
News black-out — At its simplest, journalism is about telling …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Times of London, The Moderate Voice, The Lede and Guardian Unlimited

ABCNEWS:

Reformer: Trial Will Reveal ‘Cesspool’ of Obama's Allies — Trial for Indicted Fundraiser Tony Rezko Set for Monday — With the corruption trial of one of Sen. Barack Obama's longtime friends and supporters set to begin Monday in Chicago, Ill., reform watchdogs say it will reveal the …

Discussion: TalkLeft and Hot Air

Herb Keinon / Jerusalem Post:

Israel prepares for assault on Gaza — As Hamas drew Ashkelon into the circle of communities coming under heavy rocket attacks, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Foreign Ministry on Thursday began preparing both Israeli and world opinion for the possibility of a large-scale incursion into Gaza.

Discussion: Spectator and The Jawa Report

National Review:
Reuters mistake triggers Israel “Holocaust” libel [Tom Gross]

Discussion: Guardian and Guardian Unlimited

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

FOX News Poll: Clinton Leads in Ohio; Obama Up in Texas — Hillary Clinton has an 8-point lead over Barack Obama heading into Tuesday's Ohio Democratic primary, due largely to the support of white women, seniors and working-class voters, while the race is virtually a tie in Texas …

Bill Roggio / The Long War Journal:

Egyptian al Qaeda leader reported killed in South Waziristan airstrike — South Waziristan Taliban leader Mullah Nazir. Click to view. — Pakistani and US intelligence are attempting to sort out the names of the al Qaeda and Taliban operatives killed in yesterday's airstrike in Azam Warzak, South Waziristan.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Jawa Report, The Strata-Sphere, Hot Air and The Campaign Spot

The Huffington Post:

John McCain ‘Accidentally’ Calls Himself A “Liberal Republican” — At a town hall meeting in Richardson, Texas, Thursday afternoon, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., made a gaffe that will surely provide myriad conservative radio talk show hosts confirmation of their views, by accidentally calling himself a liberal.