memeorandum: Spinning California — Matt, on the importance of the Wednesday morning media narrative: (Ross Douthat)

3:30 PM ET, February 5, 2008

Top Items:

West Virginia Intrigue — After the first round of balloting in West Virginia, Mitt Romney was solidly in the lead with 41% of the votes, followed by Mike Huckabee with 33% and John McCain with 16%. — Since 50% is needed to win all 18 delegates, a second balloting is underway.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, D-Day, Daily Kos, MyDD and The Caucus

Tom Searls / Charleston Gazette:
Huckabee wins W.Va. GOP convention

Discussion: Mitt Romney For President News, TigerHawk, Cynics' Party and TIME: Swampland

Michael Luo / The Caucus:
Romney at the West Virginia Convention

Discussion: TownHall Blog and Assorted Babble

David Freddoso / The Corner:
Update from West Virginia

Discussion: Commentary, Eunomia, TIME and race42008.com

You Decide 08!:
HUCKABEE WINS WEST VIRGINIA GOP CONTEST IN SECOND ROUND, WITH HELP FROM MCCAIN

Discussion: Hot Air

Washington Wire: Almost Heaven? Wooing the West Virginia GOP

CNN:
Voters have their say on Super Tuesday

Discussion: Outside The Beltway and Balloon Juice

Zogby:

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: McCain Dominates GOP Races; Dems Locked in Tight Contests As Super Tuesday Polls Open — UTICA, New York - The final day of polling before Super Tuesday was one of hardening positions in key races across the country, the latest Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby survey work shows.

Discussion: MSNBC, Wake up America, TalkLeft, The Moderate Voice, Reuters, Raising Kaine, American Street, Wonkette, Open Left, PrestoPundit and Gateway Pundit

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

THE POLLS — There's one guarantee I can make right now about tonight's results. They are going take make either Zogby or SurveyUSA look like complete fools. Which one I'm not completely sure, but definitely one of them. — Consider this spread. Zogby has his final California number as Obama 49%, Clinton 36%.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Opinionator, Buck Naked Politics, Balkinization, MyDD, The Sideshow, Shakespeare's Sister and US Presidential race 2008 real …

Gallup:

Gallup Daily: Tracking Election 2008 — Based on daily polling from Feb. 2-4, 2008 — PRINCETON, NJ — Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama remain fairly closely matched in national Democratic voters' nomination preferences, although Clinton appears to have stopped Obama's momentum over the past two days.

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, The Moderate Voice and The Washington Note

Election Projection:
Super-Duper-Mega-Jumbo Tuesday predictions and results

Discussion: US News, Outside The Beltway, Washington Post, Wizbang, Confederate Yankee, Captain's Quarters, The Other McCain, Macsmind, The Strata-Sphere, michellemalkin.com and Redstate

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
8 Questions Super Tuesday Could Answer

Discussion: Salon, New York Times, Greatscat! and The Carpetbagger Report

Josh Gerstein / Latest Politics:

Limbaugh Defends Clinton and Obama on Iraq — Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is so exasperated about Senator McCain's surge in the Republican presidential contest that he is coming to the defense of Senators Clinton and Obama. — On Mr. Limbaugh's program today, he said people should not be rushing …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Firedoglake, protein wisdom, Political Radar, TownHall Blog, The Jawa Report, Weekly Standard, No More Mister Nice Blog, Buck Naked Politics, Think Progress, Donklephant, Angry Bear, RADAMISTO and The Politico

Bryan / Hot Air:

Rush Limbaugh endorses Mitt Romney — Levin, Hannity, Ingraham and now Nobel nominee Rush Limbaugh (membership req'd): Big talk radio swings unanimously for Mitt Romney. Rush makes several solid points that you've heard before, mostly regarding how McCain represents the GOP's national security wing …

Discussion: Captain's Quarters

Howard Kurtz / Washington Post:

Limbaugh on McCain: It's Better to Be Right All the Time — It may be the best sideshow in presidential politics: the nation's top radio talker trying to take down the Republican front-runner in today's Super Tuesday showdown. — Rush Limbaugh has been relentless in his criticism of John McCain …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, NY Daily News, Political Machine, DownWithTyranny!, MSNBC, TIME, Center Face, New York Post, The Carpetbagger Report, PBD, michellemalkin.com and CNN

John R. Bolton / Wall Street Journal:

Our Politicized Intelligence Services — Today, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee (and Thursday on the House side) to give the intelligence community's annual global threat analysis. These hearings are always significant …

Discussion: The Newshoggers, Captain's Quarters, Commentary, The Corner and On Deadline

Brian Knowlton / New York Times:

Intelligence Chief Cites Qaeda Threat to U.S. — WASHINGTON — The top American intelligence official said on Tuesday that Al Qaeda is improving its ability to attack within the United States by recruiting and training new operatives. At the same time, he said, the group's affiliate in Iraq …

Discussion: D-Day, The Jawa Report and Prairie Weather

John Amato / Crooks and Liars:

Limbaugh says McCain's camp manipulated Bob Dole — The Conservative world is cracking up. I told you yesterday that it was a bad idea for McCain to seek out Bob Dole to try and calm down Rush and the right wing talkie attacks on him. Anyone could have predicted that wasn't a very good idea.

Discussion: Ice Station Tango and The Fix

Carolyn Jones / San Francisco Chronicle:

In Berkeley, push to rescind letter to Marines — (02-04) 18:52 PST Berkeley — A week after blasting the Marines as “unwelcome intruders” in Berkeley, two City Council members want the city to back off the declaration that ignited the wrath of the nation's right wing and inspired …

Discussion: Wake up America, michellemalkin.com, Blue Crab Boulevard, QandO and On Deadline

Bruce Fein / Washington Times:

Power of the purse purloined? — Jan. 28, 2008, is a date that will live in congressional infamy. Congress surrendered the power of the purse over national security affairs to the White House. — President Bush appended a signing statement to the National Defense Authorization Act …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Think Progress and rubber hose

Roger Simon / The Politico:

Picking up, putting aside the poor — Some political moments are so bizarre that you have to believe they actually are sincere. — One such moment came this weekend, when Barack Obama mocked John Edwards in a speech. — Obama had done it before, but that was before Edwards suspended his campaign last Wednesday.

Discussion: Iddybud Journal

Rolling Stone:

Mellencamp Asks McCain to Stop Using Tunes — At some recent John McCain campaign rallies, John Mellencamp's “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” have been booming out over the speakers. Uplifting heartland rock must have seemed like a smart pick, but there's just one problem: Mellencamp is an ardent Democrat.

Discussion: Hot Air, Buckeye State Blog, All Spin Zone, Political Machine, NewsBusters.org and Don Surber

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Cooper Concerns — I'm not a Hillary-hater. She's been an outstanding senator. She hung tough on Iraq through the dark days of 2005. In this campaign, she has soldiered on bravely even though she has most of the elected Democrats, news media and the educated class rooting against her.

Discussion: Commentary, NY Daily News, MSNBC, The Newshoggers, abu muqawama, TalkLeft, Betsy's Page, Redstate, Bats Left Throws Right and Bark Bark Woof Woof

Darryl Fears / Washington Post:

Attorney General Reverses Curbs On Gay Group at Justice Department — Five years after a gay advocacy group was told that it could no longer use the e-mail, bulletin boards and meeting rooms at the Justice Department, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey has reversed that decision and issued …

Discussion: New York Magazine, ACSBlog and Box Turtle Bulletin