n Florida, GOP Sniping Takes Center Stage - Brian Montopoli, CBS News
Only Hillary Can Reunite Republican Party - Jack Kelly, RealClearPolitics
Battered Bush Gives Final State of the Union - Rich Lowry, New York Post
Speech Overshadowed by '08 Campaign - Steven Myers, New York Times
The Clintons' Toxic Relationship w/Washington - John Harris, The Politico
Obama and the Kennedy Mystique - David Brooks, New York Times
Ask Not! Why Obama is No JFK - Ted Widmer, Washington Monthly
S. Carolina Reshapes the Races - Michael Barone, US News & World Report
Hillary Hobbled by Hubby - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
McCain Gains as Immigration Furor Cools - Gerald Seib, Wall St. Journal
Dishonesty From the Clintons & McCain - George Will, Indianapolis Star
Iraq Success Could Mean Defeat for Giuliani - James Kirchick, The Politico
Single Women Coming Out to Vote - Froma Harrop, Providence Journal
Perils of the Race and Gender Cards - Stuart Taylor, National Journal
The Truth About Jena - Amy Waldman, The Atlantic
Do We Need a 'Stimulus Package'? - Thomas Sowell, RealClearPolitics
The Market's Echo Chamber - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
FL RCP Avg: McCain 30.7, Romney 30.1, Giuliani 14.9, Huckabee 12.7

STATE OF THE UNION
What's Old Is New Again
In his past State of the Union addresses, President Bush has told the nation of an "axis of evil," warned against "human-animal hybrids," and even proposed initiatives to help "keep young people out of gangs." This year, however, Bush -- facing his lame duck status -- simply rehashed old proposals. There were no grand new ideas and even the modest ones seemed like deja vu. For example, hours before the President's speech yesterday, the White House excitedly told the media about "Pell Grants for Kids," Bush's new $300 million program for low-income students. But even this initiative was a recycling of previous voucher plans endorsed by Bush. The fact that Bush used this speech to again call on Congress to pass his older ideas, such as immigration and health care reform, underscores how much he has failed in political endeavors that require more than unilateral action. For a man hoping to have the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, Bush will be fortunate to leave office with higher approval ratings than Richard Nixon.

BIG FAILURES: Since reaching out to Latino voters during his 2000 campaign, Bush envisioned immigration reform as one of his legacy issues. But as the president begins his last year in office, immigration reform is nowhere on the agenda. Last year, it suffered a crushing defeat -- not because of objecting Democrats, but because of right-wing lawmakers and hate radio spokesmen whose support Bush was unable to muster. Last night, Bush's call to "find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally" went largely unheard. Similarly, his health care proposals this year -- expanding health savings accounts, changing the tax treatment of health insurance, and undermining state and local consumer protections -- mirrored his plea to Congress last year. "We need to expand Health Savings Accounts," he said. Bush largely ignored congressional concerns that these proposals would undermine employer-based health insurance, increase the number of uninsured, and primarily benefit the wealthy. He instead repeated the same tired proposals. His old pet issue, Social Security, was mentioned just once -- in passing -- during last night's address.

TRYING TO CORRECT HIS OWN MISTAKES: With money issues at the top of Americans' "worry list," Bush put the economy at the top of his State of the Union address. But under his administration, the number of Americans living in poverty has continued to grow. In 2006, the latest year for which Census Bureau figures are available, 12.3 percent of Americans were living in poverty, compared with 11.7 percent in 2001, the year of the last recession. Currently, 64 percent of the American public disapprove of Bush's handling of the economy. Bush's low approval rating for his handling of the economy is not surprising given that most Americans' finances are in worse shape than when he first took office. Two of the most widely supported proposals for improving the economy include continuing to increase the minimum wage and lowering taxes for middle- and lower-income taxpayers only. Yet Bush rolled out the same failed proposals yesterday. "Make the tax relief permanent," he bellowed last night. But making permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and alternative minimum tax relief would have a total cost of $4.3 trillion over the next 10 years. The tax cuts would also increase the after-tax incomes of households with annual incomes above $1 million by an average of 7.5 percent, compared to 0.5 percent increase for the lowest-income 20 percent of households.

NOTHING BUT EMPTY RHETORIC: Last year was the only year that Bush failed to tout his Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. This year, he returned to the failed program. "Faith-based groups are bringing hope to pockets of despair, with newfound support from the Federal Government," he claimed. But this office has been primarily used for political purposes. David Kuo, formerly the head of program, revealed that the office was mainly used "to mount ostensibly 'nonpartisan' events that were, in reality, designed with the intent of mobilizing religious voters in 20 targeted races." A 2006 national survey of 750 black churches by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found that fewer than three percent of black churches have received federal faith-based funding. Bush also again rolled out his Millennium Challenge Account, arguing that it has "changed the way we deliver aid." But as the Wall Street Journal reported last year, the program was nearly bankrupt, undermining the President's alleged focus on democracy promotion. Bush similarly bragged about the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, even though his administration has hamstrung the program by requiring one-third of prevention funds to be spent on ineffective abstinence-only programs.

MEANINGLESS CHEERLEADING ON IRAQ: Bush spent a considerable amount of his speech last night lauding the Iraq war. "While the enemy is still dangerous and more work remains, the American and Iraqi surges have achieved results few of us could have imagined just 1 year ago," he said. Conveniently, he didn't linger on the lack of Iraqi political progress, troublesome de-Baathification legislation, or the strain on the military. While violence is currently down, U.S. troops continue to die and fighting may again break out if radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr decides not to extend a cease-fire when it expires next month.

• The Liberals' Mommy Fascism - Christopher Chantrill

• McCain's ACU Ratings - Randall Hoven

• The Audacity of Questioning Obama's Commitment to Israel - Richard Baehr and Ed Lasky

• European Press and the Presidential Election - Soeren Kern

Edwards Out: No Endorsement
January 30, 2008
Which of his "two Americas" will Edwards go back to? More

Obama to give Rezko Money to Charity
January 30, 2008
Presidential candidate Barack Obama is giving nearly $70,000 raised by jailed financier and fundraiser Antoin Rezko to charity: More

Giuliani Bows Out
January 30, 2008
Several sources are reporting that Mayor Rudy Giuliani will drop out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination today and endorse John McCain: More

McMentum
January 30, 2008
Defying the expectations of the pundits, John McCain cruised to a relatively easy win in the GOP Florida primary last night More

Memories of Barack Obama's support for the Palestinian cause
January 29, 2008
Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the online publication Electronic Intifada, looks back almost nostalgically, to the time before Obama "moved to try to appease AIPAC and pro-Israel movements." More

Clinton Takes Floridaby Ericka AndersenStepping ahead of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton moves into Super Tuesday with confidence.

McCain Endorsements Play Huge Roll in Raceby Michelle OddisAnother endorsement for McCain could propel him as the clear front runner before Super Tuesday.

McCain is following Richard Nixon's pathby Ernest IstookJohn McCain is using Richard Nixon's approach to make a political comeback all the way to the White House.

Bush Spent His Credibility by Jacob SullumIn his 2007 State of the Union speech, right at the moment when the Democrats took over … A Response to 'What You Have To Believe To Be a Republican Today' by Dennis PragerFor four years, a list of alleged Republican positions -- "What You Have To Believe To Be … The Clintons' Possible Political Demise -- a Bittersweet Pill by David LimbaughIt's a good thing for Hillary Clinton that she and her political-bodyguard husband aren't …

McCain Wins Florida, Becomes Front-Runner - Jackie Calmes, WSJ
Romney Loses One He Needed to Win - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
Did Clinton Really Win in Florida? - Walter Shapiro, Salon
Seeing Red Over Hillary - Maureen Dowd, New York Times
How McCain Won - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics
Winning Despite the Base - Ryan Sager, New York Post
What Will Talk Radio Do Now? - Jennifer Rubin, New York Observer
Why Clinton Can Count on Latinos - Pachon & Garza, Los Angeles Times
For Giuliani, a Dizzying Free-Fall - Michael Powell & Michael Cooper, NYT
McCain May Win, Romney Can't - Dick Morris, The Hill
McCain's No Threat to the Left - Terence Jeffrey, Townhall
GOP Base is Wrong About Gang of 14 - Richard Baehr, American Thinker
Determining America's Future in Iraq - David Ignatius, Washington Post
Bush 'War on Terror' Licenses Stupidity - Simon Jenkins, The Guardian
President Bush's Vigilance Goes Underappreciated - Thomas McArdle, IBD
The Quiet Battle for Dem Super Delegates - Gail Chaddock, CS Monitor
Chasing JFK and Reagan - Kathleen Parker, RealClearPolitics

ADMINISTRATION
Bush Issues New Imperial Decree
Earlier this week, President Bush signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which included a statute forbidding the Bush administration from spending taxpayer money "to establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq." But Bush quietly attached a signing statement to the law, asserting a unilateral right to disregard the ban on permanent bases in addition to three other measures in the bill. "Provisions of the act...could inhibit the president's ability to carry out his constitutional obligations...to protect national security," the signing statement read. Reacting to the statement, Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Mark Agrast said, "On the merits, for the president to assert that Congress lacks the authority to say there shouldn't be permanent bases on foreign soil is fanciful at best." Bush's "frequent use of signing statements to advance aggressive theories of executive power has been a hallmark of his presidency," writes the Boston Globe's Charlie Savage, who has authored a book on that topic. In 2006, the American Bar Association condemned signing statements as "contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional separation of powers." Bush's latest signing statement was immediately met with anger on Capitol Hill. "I reject the notion in his signing statement that he can pick and choose which provisions of this law to execute," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) added, "Congress has a right to expect that the Administration will faithfully implement all of the provisions" of the law -- "not just the ones the President happens to agree with."

THE POWER TO STAY IN IRAQ FOREVER: Last November, Bush announced that he and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had signed a "Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship" that set the parameters for negotiating an "enduring" U.S. occupation of Iraq. The negotiations have drawn fire in part because the administration said it does not intend to designate the declaration as a "treaty," and so will not submit it to Congress for approval. Bush's attempt to waive the ban on permanent bases is seen as one more step in the direction of establishing a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq. "If Bush is allowed to negotiate a treaty with Iraq that binds the United States under international law, the next president will be handcuffed," said John Isaacs, Executive Director of the Council for a Livable World. The Guardian notes that permanent bases "are broadly unpopular with Iraqis, who have voiced fears of an ongoing U.S. occupation." Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), who has led the push to prevent permanent bases, explained that Bush's statement is "sending a dangerous signal to the people of Iraq that the U.S. has a long-term interest in occupying their country, a move that will only enflame the insurgency." Speaking on the Senate floor yesterday, Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) said that while administration officials frequently state that they do not intend to permanently occupy Iraq, "this signing statement issued by the President is the clearest signal yet that the Administration wants to hold this option in reserve."

THE POWER TO PROTECT CONTRACTORS: Among the other provisions in the Defense Authorization Act that Bush asserted an unfounded right to ignore were two accountability measures aimed at private security firms accused of wartime abuses. One of these provisions would establish an independent, bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting. The Pentagon's inspector general, whose office conducts internal investigations, endorsed the commission's proposal, telling lawmakers in a November meeting, "We're leaning forward in the saddle, we're committed to this." Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) said, "The idea that the president would stand in the way of a non-partisan, independent committee to look into waste and fraud by companies like Blackwater and Halliburton in Iraq is inexcusable and it's irresponsible, and it ought to ruffle a lot of feathers across the country." The other provision Bush waived would extend whistleblower protections to employees of defense contractors. "The president doesn't have the authority to cancel these rights," said Tom Devine, legal director at the non-profit Government Accountability Project, "unless he sends in troops to stop a jury from hearing whistleblower cases."

THE POWER TO COVER UP: The fourth and last provision of the law that Bush sought to ignore was a requirement of the administration to turn over "any existing intelligence assessment, report, estimate or legal opinion" requested by the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees within 45 days. The New York Times writes, "Clearly, this violates the power that Mr. Bush has given himself to cover up an array of illegal and improper actions, like his decisions to spy on Americans without a warrant, to torture prisoners in violation of the Geneva Conventions and to fire United States attorneys apparently for political reasons."

GOP Debate: Romney's Swan Song? - Chuck Todd, NBC News
Is McCain a Conservative? - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
A Longer Race Benefits Obama - David Broder, Washington Post
Republicans Unite; Dems Divide - Michael Barone, US News & World Report
The Kennedys' Arrogant Presumption - Froma Harrop, Providence Journal
The New Rules of Politics - Karl Rove, Wall Street Journal
Desperately Seeking Reagan - James Ridgeway, Mother Jones
Giuliani Campaign, RIP - Jay Cost, HorseRaceBlog

1. US homes in on militants in Pakistan

2. A China base in Iran?

3. A failure of central banking

4. Indicators signal turn for the worse

5. US plays matchmaker to Pakistan, Israel

6. Shootout echoes across Pakistan

7. Race for sanctions on Iran speeds up

8. Straight to McCain's blind spot

9. Fed helpless in its own crisis

10. India smashes $1bn sports boundary

11. Taliban find fertile new ground

'Trust Us' Government: Glenn Greenwald

Two Days with Charles Peña: David R. Henderson

Arming the Middle East: Stephen Zunes

'War on Terror' Licenses a New Stupidity: Jenkins

Bringing the War Home: James T. Phillips

Edwards Blazed A Progressive Trail
Returning to where he began, former North Carolina senator John Edwards ended his presidential campaign yesterday in New Orleans's Ninth Ward, imploring his supporters to "not give up on the causes that we have fought for" in the effort "to make the two Americas one." During his campaign, Edwards laid out policy areas that will continue to animate the national debate in 2008, calling "for the United States to reduce its troop presence in Iraq" and issuing "a plea for citizen action to combat poverty, global warming and America's reliance on foreign oil." As CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric said last night, "John Edwards may have ended his presidential campaign. But what he started isn't over. He and his message have left a lasting impression."

PUTTING POVERTY FIRST: No issue was more important to Edwards than poverty and the plight of economic inequality in America, which he sought to cut by a third in a decade and end within 30 years. In his farewell speech, Edwards said that he had obtained pledges from the remaining Democratic candidates, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), to "make ending poverty and economic inequality central to their presidency." Edwards's efforts to guarantee that "his quest for economic justice would be carried forward" is emblematic of the role he played throughout the campaign, boldly challenging his fellow candidates to take on big issues with progressive policy prescriptions. The Center for American Progress shares Edwards's goals, having offered a plan to cut poverty in half in ten years. Last week, the House of Representatives, without objection, approved a resolution by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), declaring that the House supported the goal of cutting poverty in half in ten years.

GUARANTEEING HEALTH CARE: When Edwards unveiled his health care plan "in early 2007, it won widespread acclaim for proposing" to "cover everybody and make health care, once and for all, a right of citizenship." As The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn notes, it was "something no mainstream...presidential contender had proposed since the early 1990s." Soon after he rolled out his proposal, other candidates followed suit, embracing his ambitious goal. The American Prospect's Ezra Klein writes that "the mixture of a progressive, transformative health care plan and a credible candidate instantly reshaped the politics of health care." By proposing a universal health care plan "long before that of any other major candidate," Edwards changed the debate so that "any politician who proposed an overly cautious or incremental plan would lose voters." As The New York Times's Paul Krugman wrote in Feb. 2007, Edwards's plan addressed "both the problem of the uninsured and the waste and inefficiency of our fragmented insurance system," which forced other candidates to "come up with something comparable."

COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE: Declaring that "our generation must be the one that says, 'we must halt global warming,'" Edwards was "the first presidential candidate to call for reducing U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions 80 percent by 2050" and the first to make his "campaign carbon neutral." Following Edwards's lead, both Clinton and Obama made similar commitments to reduce carbon emissions. As he did with health care, Edwards was the first candidate to introduce a detailed energy plan. After Edwards laid out his plan, the League of Conservation Voters applauded it as "the most comprehensive global warming plan of any presidential candidate to date" and encouraged other candidates to follow suit. As The Atlantic's Matthew Yglesias wrote yesterday of Edwards, "his climate change proposal is sweeping enough to meet the standard that scientists tell us is necessary to avert catastrophe," which might sound "bizarre to hail" as an achievement, "but the truth is that" other candidates "weren't on board until Edwards was."

BRINGING TROOPS HOME: In 2002, Edwards voted in the Senate to authorize the use of force against Iraq, a vote that he did not repudiate as both a presidential and vice-presidential candidate in 2004, even though he was a critic of the war. But on Nov. 13, 2005, Edwards penned an op-ed in the Washington Post definitively declaring that "it was a mistake to vote for this war in 2002," saying, "I was wrong." As a presidential candidate, Edwards insisted that "there is no military solution to the chaos in Iraq" and called for "an immediate withdrawal of 40,000-50,000 troops and a complete withdrawal within nine to ten months." Unlike New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Edwards never committed to removing all residual troops from Iraq, but he did take the lead in committing to "withdraw the American troops who are training the Iraqi army and police." As the Center for American Progress's Brian Katulis and Lawrence Korb have argued, "[T]raining and equipping Iraqi security forces risks making Iraq's civil war even bloodier and more vicious than it already is today."

Editorials
Has Iran Won? - The Economist
Whose Failure On Colombia's Pact? - Investor's Business Daily
Four in the Forefront - Washington Post
Edwards' Divisive Message Falls Flat - USA Today

Political News & Analysis
One on One in Debate, Democrats Set Aim At GOP - New York Times
Obama Campaign Reports $32 Million Infusion - Los Angeles Times
McCain is Back in the Black - Washington Post
Obama Confronts Ethnic Tensions in Bid For Votes - Washington Post

The McCain Calculus - Kimberley Strassel, Wall Street Journal
Democratic Debate: And Then There Were Two - Susan Page, USA Today
Obama Beats Hillary Over Head with Iraq - Roger Simon, The Politico
Bill Clinton: Clawing for a Legacy - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post
What McCain Needs to Do Now - David Brooks, New York Times
Why Obama is the Left's Best Choice - Christopher Hayes, The Nation
A Call to Conservative Action: The Case for Romney - Vin Weber, WSJ
McCain is 'Conservative' but Not 'A Conservative' - Robert Robb, RCP
GOP: Stronger or Broader? - Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
Clinton, Obama and the Edwards Effect - Paul Krugman, New York Times
Race Card Could Backfire on the Clintons - John Judis, The New Republic
Stop Bagging Hillary - Michael Costello, The Australian
The Real Reagan - Michael Kinsley, Los Angeles Times
Security Is Job One: The Case for McCain - Douglas Holtz-Eakin, WSJ
Why the Surge Worked - Michael Duffy and Mark Kukis, Time
Iran's Education of Muqtada al-Sadr - Amir Taheri, New York Post
Bush Insists US Stronger Since He Took Office - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call

What the Focus Groups Thought
Obama's Debate Highlights
Clinton's Debate Highlights
Bill Clinton Confronts "Inside Job" Heckler
The Luntz GOP Focus Group

Clinton & Obama: No-Lose Proposition - Eleanor Clift, Newsweek
What Happened to the Dem Smackdown? - Gerard Baker, Times of London
A Domestic Policy Election - Yuval Levin, Contentions
Democrats' Historic Race Set for Close-Up - Dan Balz, Washington Post
Has Coulter Finally Jumped the Shark? - Ed Morrissey, Captain's Quarters
Bill Clinton, The Spoiler - Joe Klein, Time
The Wrath of Feminism Scorned - Kathleen Parker, RealClearPolitics
Foreclosures Sweep Away Housing Gains - Ron Brownstein, Nat'l Journal
School Voucher Foes Hurt Poor Kids - Steve Huntley, Chicago Sun-Times
Iraq: Dems' Dreams Dashed? - Nick Baumann, Mother Jones

The Parties Switch Places - Michael Barone, US News and World Report
Obama Is Racing Against the Clock - MacGillis & Kornblut, Wash Post
McCain Makes Headway With Conservatives - Elizabeth Holmes, WSJ
It's a Shame One of Them Has To Win - Mark Steyn, Orange County Register
The Democratic Spat - Hendrik Hertzberg, The New Yorker
Decline of the Angry Left - Dan Gerstein, Wall Street Journal
Hillary and Obama Lower the Volume - Bob Herbert, New York Times
Bush Exasperated With Romney - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
Why I'm Backing Obama - Susan Eisenhower, Washington Post
Clintons Start New Conversation on Race - Noemie Emery, Wkly Standard
Avoiding the 'Bill Question' - John Kass, Chicago Tribune
Candidates Lack Military Experience - Lt. Col. Rick Francona, MSNBC
Export Security, Not Democracy - Jonathan Rauch, National Journal
Washington's Stimulus Won't Help Economy - Irwin Kellner, MarketWatch
Financing the Common Good - Robert Reich, The American Prospect
Child-Man in Promised Land - Kay Hymowitz, City Journal
Thomas Sowell Delivers Inconvenient Truths - Heather Wilhelm, RCP
Feb 5 Polls: Missouri, Alabama, Illinois, Tennessee, GOP Polls, Dem Polls
The RCP Blog: The Massachusetts Trap | Clinton in Trouble in CT?

Editorials
A Political Stimulus Package - Washington Post
The New Party of Pork - San Francisco Chronicle
Who Was Hillary Clinton? - Wall Street Journal
The Autism Void - Dallas Morning News

Political News & Analysis
Huckabee Could Sap Romney in the South - Boston Globe
Oprah to Return to the Trail - New York Daily News
Romney Mapping a Strategy to Get to the Convention - New York Times
Decline in U.S. Jobs Could Hurt the GOP - Washington Post

FOCUS
Thomas D. Williams:
US Herbicides Exact High Toll

Keith Olbermann:
Special Comment Regarding FISA

Michael T. Klare:
How Oil Burst the American Bubble

Robert Reich:
America's Middle Classes
Are No Longer Coping

Do the Suburban Enclaves
Need an Umpteenth Plan?

Saul Landau:
Afghanistan - The Next Disaster

Robert Scheer:
Obama, Clinton and the War

Michael Winship:
Forgotten but Not Gone

Tom Engelhardt:
Bombs Away Over Iraq

Ask Not What J.F.K. Can Do for Obama - Frank Rich, New York Times
Bill Clinton's Legacy Could Affect Vote - Peter Baker, Washington Post
A Conservative's Case for McCain - Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe
Mitt Romney's Last Stand - Jonathan Martin, The Politico
Anti-McCain Forces Picked Wrong Horse - Jonathan Last, Philly Inquirer
The Dem Race: There Will Be Blood - Maureen Dowd, New York Times
Republican Crackup? Not So Fast - Karl Rove, Newsweek
Delegate Distribution Challenges Math Acumen - Carolyn Lochhead, SFC
Back-Room Choices - Matt Bai, New York Times Magazine
Why Republicans Like Obama - Peter Wehner, Washington Post
The Making of McCain - Evan Thomas, Newsweek
"Let's Grow Up, Conservatives" - Fred Barnes, Weekly Standard
Where Rudy Went Wrong - Frank Luntz, Los Angeles Times
Investors We Need Not Fear - George Will, Washington Post
Downsizing Our Dominance - Fred Kaplan, Los Angeles Times
Forty Years of the Tet Offensive - David Warren, Ottawa Citizen

For Once, It's All About Electability - Clive Crook, Financial Times
Don't Expect a Dem Winner Any Time Soon - Robert Novak, Chicago ST
The Keys to the Dems' Delegate Race - Karen Tumulty, Time
Dyspepsia on the Right - William Kristol, New York Times
Supreme Court & McCain - Steve Calabresi & John McGinnis, Wall St. Journal
The Obama Juggernaut - David Catron, The American Spectator
Raising Obama - Todd Purdum, Vanity Fair
The Fight for the Latino Vote - Dana Goldstein, The American Prospect
Hillary Needs to Tell Bill to Butt Out - Sally Quinn, Washington Post
Super Tuesday Outlook: Obama's Surge - Dick Morris, New York Post
My Plan for Shared Prosperity - Sen. Hillary Clinton, Wall Street Journal
Hillary's Lead Among Women is Eroding - Kirsten Powers, New York Post
A Truth Obama Won't Dare Tell - Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune
Will Huckabee Supporters Realign with Dems? - Brett Grainger, CSM
No Country for Young Men - Megan McArdle, The Atlantic
The Biofuel Follies - George Will, Newsweek
How Democracy Produced Adolf Hitler - Ian Kershaw, Int'l Herald Tribune

Editorials
Mr. Clinton and the Tycoon - Washington Post
Nato's Afghan Test - Financial Times
Killing Kenya - Los Angeles Times
Olympic Leverage: This is the Year to Press Beijing - Houston Chronicle

Political News & Analysis
Obama Closes in on Clinton - Wall St. Journal
Bill Clinton Is Contrite in Visits to Black Churches - LAT
McCain Looks Confident, Democratic Race Tightens - New York Times
Celebrities Turnout to Support Obama, Clinton - San Francisco Chronicle

Why Supply-Siders Will Rally to McCain - James Pethokoukis, US News
Why the US Has Really Gone Broke - Chalmers Johnson, Le Monde
Ignore Obituaries About the US Economy - Kevin Hassett, Bloomberg

Obama's spiritual mentor
February 04, 2008
John Perazzo, writing on Front Page Magazine today, documents, in the words of Jeremiah Wright himself, just how radical this very important man is. This is must reading to understand Obama's real politics. More

Woman calls Bush "Bastard" - Hillary Smiles
February 04, 2008
'Speaking truth to power' forgives all sorts of sins if you're a lefty. More

Obama, Clinton neck and neck
February 04, 2008
Hillary Clinton's once big lead in the Super Tuesday primaries has evaporated as Senator Barack Obama is surging as we go into tomorrow's vote. More

McCain poised for near sweep
February 04, 2008
According to the most recent polls out today, John McCain is poised to take all but a handful of states during tomorrow's Super Tuesday primaries. More

Going to the Well One More Time? By Michael Tedesco | - 12:46 pm - Posted in Polling Data, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Apparently Hillary flexed those tear ducts once again in CT today.

Penn Rhodeen, who was introducing Clinton, began to choke up, leading Clinton’s eyes to fill with tears, which she wiped out of her left eye. At the time, Rhodeen was saying how proud he was that sheepskin-coat, bell-bottom-wearing young woman he met in 1972 was now running for president.

Is it possible that she saw the latest polling numbers from Reuters/Zogby?

“The momentum is with Obama,” said pollster John Zogby. “If this trend continues it could be a very big night for him.”

Makes me well up too… sniff.

McCain Looks Confident; Tighter Democratic Race In Democratic Families, Politics Makes for Estranged Bedfellows Obama, Cultivating California Spirit, Eases Clinton’s Grip on State The TV Watch: In Election of Change, TV Gives Voice to Insiders Check Point: In Health Debate, Clinton Remains Vague on Penalties Political Memo: Campaign Conflicts Are Not Over Core Goals, but How to Get There It’s the Economy Again, and Some See Similarities to 1992 No Longer the Insurgent, McCain Courts Wary Party Democrats' Push for New York: Inspired by Obama, Filmmaker Takes on Politics Democrats' Push for New York: Support for Clinton, Driven by Respect As Candidates Scramble for Delegates, Connecticut Primary Gains Spotlight

Can Obama Beat the Clock?

Marc Cooper, Huffington Post

Election 2008: Barack Obama has only one competitor left standing and it's not Hillary Clinton. It's time itself.

Super Bowl, Super Tuesday and Super Endorsements

by Corinne Ramey, Drum Major Institute - 5:35 AM

Bush Breaks the Law Again, Gives Himself Line-Item Veto Power

by Phoenix Woman, Firedoglake - 5:11 AM

Will Super Delegates Determine the Democratic Nominee?

by Chris Bowers, Open Left - 5:10 AM

In Desperation, Real Conservatives Seek to Open Up GOP Race

by Buck, Pensito Review - 5:04 AM

Mellencamp to McCain: Stop Playing My Music

by Steven Reynolds, The All Spin Zone -

A respectable liberal blog
Obama bashing.

The Fight for the Latino Vote
Dana Goldstein
February 4, 2008 | web only
Super Tuesday has brought the power of the Latino vote to the forefront of the campaign. Clinton and Obama are once again sparring over a slice of the demographic pie.



The Year of the Organizer
Kelly Candaele and Peter Dreier
February 1, 2008 | web only
The Obama campaign's commitment to the principles of community organizing has proved decisive to their victories so far. It has also brought new voters to the political process who could swing the general election.

CAMPAIGN OUTSIDER
Super Sunday spills into
Super Tuesday
If you've never been a fan of the Giants or Patriots, Sunday's Super Bowl was good practice for being a Republican on Super Tuesday's cross-country primary marathon. Much of the Republican base has spent a long time rooting against frontrunners John McCain and Mitt Romney, and Super Tuesday won't solve the GOP's far more agonizing quandary: which Democrat do they want to face in November? (Feb 5, '08)

Muhammad Cohen puts the US presidential campaign into sharper focus from afar.

Obama vs. Hillary: The Bigger Victim Winsby Ben ShapiroIdentity politics at its worst play out today.

The Media Finally Get Their Manby Seton MotleyOn the verge of foisting McCain on the Republican Party -- and then turning viciously upon him

John McCain: The Non-Republicans' Republicanby Timothy P. CarneyExamining exit polls.

Candidates Accused of 'Linking Islam with Terrorism'by Robert SpencerWith so many commiting acts of terrorism in the name of Islam, it's only natural to link the two.

Decoding Presidential Rhetoricby Dan ProftWords are the currency of politics.

Campaign '08 Hasn't Followed the Script - Michael Medved, USA Today
8 Questions Super Tuesday Could Answer - Dan Balz, Washington Post
Voters Focus on Character in '08 Race - Gerald Seib, Wall Street Journal
Dems Plot Strategy for Protracted Battle - Ben Smith, The Politico
Conservatives vs. John McCain - David Harsanyi, Denver Post
GOP Needs McCain Independents & Dems to Win - John Dilulio, Weekly Std.
The Emotion Behind Obama's Appeal - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post
Obama: The New Princess Diana? - James Kirchick, Contentions
Republicans for Hillary - Rich Lowry, New York Post
On McCain's Voting Coalition - Jay Cost, RealClearPolitics
Limbaugh on McCain: Better to Be Right - Howard Kurtz, Washington Post
The Plot to Elect McCain - Noemie Emery, Weekly Standard
Joe Trippi on the Endgame - Noam Scheiber, The New Republic
The Cooper Concerns - David Brooks, New York Times
No Retreat from the War on Terror - David Aaronovitch, Times of London
Who's Listening to Your Phone Call? - Sen. Russ Feingold, Newsweek
Marinating in 'Decline' - Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal

Editorials
The Israeli Lesson - Wall Street Journal
Budget Mess - Washington Post
Al Qaeda's Desperation - Investor's Business Daily
Tentatively, Nuclear Power Creeps Back - Seattle Times

Political News & Analysis
Super Tuesday Stretches from Coast-to-Coast - Cox News
24-State Battle for Votes, Delegates and Momentum - New York Times
Southern Candidates Seek Someone to Tolerate - Tribune
Dole Scolds Limbaugh - Politico

Bush Unveils $3.1 Trillion Spending Plan
( Published on Monday, February 04, 2008 )
President Bush unveiled a $3.1 trillion budget on Monday that supports sizable increases in military spending to fight the war on terrorism and protects his signature tax cuts

• 
  Stimulus That Works
  
  Senate Correct on Unemployment Insurance
  Stimulus package from Congress must include extended unemployment insurance to help economy and worker mobility, writes Louis Soares.

• 
  Treating a Symptom, Not a Disease
  
  Bush Budget Cuts in all the Wrong Places
  Bush has again offered dangerous policy prescriptions that would further damage our broken health care system, says Karen Davenport.

[b]Exclusive: Curing that ‘Super Tuesday’ Hangover

[/b] The Editors

While Super Tuesday featured some 22 state primaries and caucuses, the competition is a long way from being finished…






[b]Exclusive: Clinton and Obama: Wearing Blinders

[/b] Paul Hollrah

As Islamic fundamentalists are sworn to either convert or slaughter every non-Muslim on earth, one would think that Islamic Jihad would merit a mention in a debate between the leading Democrat presidential candidates…






[b]Pentagon Aide's Invitations Contradicted U.S. Policy

[/b] Steven Emerson

The United States government doesn’t want to give the impression that it stands behind anyone with a controversial background...






[b]Real Change in Earmarks

[/b] Newt Gingrich

Voices are becoming louder and stronger for serious immediate governmental changes, beginning with fiscal discipline on the issue of wasteful congressional pork barrel spending.

Alan Kobrin: The Election Is Over...and America Lost Not one of the candidates on the major party ballots has recognized the true danger this nation is in, nor points out its origins, nor names names. They dare not mouth critiques of the stealing of our nation and of its votes, nor dare stop the made-in-America carnage abroad or offer lasting remedies to the destruction of our middle class, the destitution of the poor and the gutting of our democracy. Yet, we are told they are t

Diverging Paths for Two Parties - Adam Nagourney, New York Times
John McCain - New Face of the GOP - Vaughn Ververs, CBS News
McCain Didn't Close the Deal - Jed Babbin, Human Events
A Split Decision for Clinton, Obama - B. Smith & C. Brown, The Politico
Where the Dem Race Goes from Here - Thomas Edsall, Huffington Post
McCain's Task: Closing Deal with Conservatives - Robert Novak, Chicago ST
Conservatives: 'Who You Got That's Better'? - William Murchison, RCP
To Win, Obama Will Have to Slay the Dragon - Maureen Dowd, NY Times
Clinton Beat Obama -- And Kennedy - Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe
Hillary the Lesser Threat to McCain - Joseph Curl, Washington Times
Romney's Big Push Nets Little - Michael Scherer, Time
Huckabee Complicates GOP Contest - Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post
The Road Ahead is Tough For Clinton - Reid Wilson, RealClearPolitics
Why They Hate McCain - John Podhoretz, Contentions
Dems' Choice: Manager or Visionary - Ezra Klein, American Prospect
The Candidates and Trade - David Ranson, Wall Street Journal
Why It's Not The Economy - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek

The Race: Clinton 900, Obama 824 | McCain 604, Romney 244, Huck 187
RCP Blog: Close But Not Close | Whither the Anti-McCains? | Daily 08

Editorials
The Race After Tuesday - Washington Post
Voting Counts Again - Los Angeles Times
Bush's Bungled Budget - New York Post
Berkeley Goes to War - San Francisco Chronicle

Political News & Analysis
Clinton, Obama Battle It Out - Chicago Tribune
McCain Scores in Northeast, California - Wall Street Journal
Clinton & Obama Start Anew - Associated Press
Huckabee Strong in South, Romney in West - New York Times

RADICAL RIGHT
The Biggest Loser
As the 2008 campaign heats up, conservative talk radio is ratcheting up its radical right-wing rhetoric. Last year, hate radio successfully convinced conservative lawmakers to vote against comprehensive immigration reform. Indeed, these right-wing hosts have been welcome figures in the White House for the past seven years, invited to exclusive gatherings with President Bush and granted coveted interviews with high-ranking officials. But all that good fortune might be changing. In recent weeks, these talkers have launched a campaign against Republican presidential candidates and any position perceived to be too progressive. But as yesterday's Super Tuesday results showed, hate radio has begun to lose its effectiveness. The American public voted against the wishes of the radical right wing and rejected a third term of the Bush administration.

ON IMMIGRATION: Keeping undocumented -- and sometimes even legal -- immigrants out of the United States is the top issue for hate radio. Last June, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that "hate radio" had hijacked the political discourse on immigration with "xenophobic, anti-immigrant" rhetoric. That same month, then-Republican senator Trent Lott charged, "Talk radio is ruining America." An adviser to former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee piled on late last year, stating, "Rush [Limbaugh] doesn't think for himself." Limbaugh, in particular, has aggressively gone after comprehensive immigration reform, blasting the failed bipartisan McCain-Kennedy bill. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) "has stabbed his own party in the back I can't tell you how many times," said Limbaugh. Yet as conservative pundit Bill Kristol noted last night on Fox News, right-wing radio has been unable to convince the public that immigration is the paramount issue. Voters are instead more concerned about an economy teetering on recession. "Can we please stop pretending that immigration is a good issue for Republicans?" wrote New York Times columnist David Brooks last week. "The restrictionist side can't even produce a victory for their man in a Republican primary." Similarly, in last month's Florida primary, 58 percent of Republican voters said they preferred either a path to citizenship or a temporary worker program.

ON GLOBAL WARMING: Hate radio is still resisting the sc