memeorandum: Media Start Falling Out of Love With Obama: Margaret Carlson (Margaret Carlson/Bloomberg)

3:45 AM ET, February 22, 2008

Top Items:

The CNN Democratic presidential debate in Texas — This is the transcript of the debate between Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on February 21, 2008 at the University of Texas in Austin. — CNN's CAMPBELL BROWN: And the candidates have taken their seats.

Discussion: TalkLeft, Buck Naked Politics, michellemalkin.com, protein wisdom, Megan McArdle, Redstate, Lonewacko, Lawyers, Guns and Money, The New Republic, michael linn jones, Reproductive Health, The Democratic Daily, culturekitchen, Charlie Foxtrot and Fraters Libertas

Marc Ambinder:

First Take: The Debate Belongs To Obama, But The Best (And) Last Moment Belongs To Hillary — Talk about a final answer. … Almost wistful ... acknowledging reality... but forcefully asserting her humanity ... extremely, seemingly, genuine. — And at the right time... at the end …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, MSNBC, The New Republic, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL and The Reaction

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

THAT LINE — I mentioned at the end of my debate blog that the pivot of Hillary's powerful concluding remarks came from Bill Clinton's 92 campaign. Clinton had various permutations to it back then. But TPM Reader CG found one example in this November 1992 article by Anna Quindlen ...

Discussion: The Washington Note, Blog of the Moderate Left, Spin Cycle and Bill's Big Diamond Blog

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

An echo from Hillary — Several readers, and Obama's staff, heard an echo in Clinton's closing line, that the candidates on stage would be “fine.” — Clinton Tonight: ? … Edwards the December 13 debate: … Some borrowing is fairly normal. What's been striking about the two Obama moments is that they were almost verbatim.

Discussion: Daniel W. Drezner and Liberal Values

Marc Ambinder:

A Final Thought On Tonight's Debate — This was the night where we all learned that Hillary Clinton understands the moment in history we are in, and that she is smart enough and gracious enough to realize that her party is more important than personal vanity, that there are things she just cannot …

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Fix

Taylor Marsh:
Clinton Owns Debate Close

Discussion: NO QUARTER

Washington Post:

Clinton Has Edge in Ohio; Race in Texas Deadlocked — AUSTIN, Feb. 21 — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, facing a pair of big Democratic primary tests on March 4 that could determine the fate of her presidential candidacy, is deadlocked with Sen. Barack Obama here in Texas and holds a slender lead …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, CNN, Flopping Aces, Political Machine, Suburban Guerrilla, Wonkette, The Huffington Post, The Politico, Associated Press, Matthew Yglesias and Hotline On Call

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

POLL: Clinton Up in Ohio, Dead Heat in Texas — Obama Leads in Electability in Primaries Critical to Democratic Race — Trailing in perceived electability, Hillary Clinton is running in a dead heat with Barack Obama in the Texas Democratic primary and holds a single-digit lead in Ohio …

Discussion: MyDD, Political Radar, Washington Wire, Marc Ambinder and Political Machine

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

An Actual Debate! — Note: Please upgrade your Flash plug-in to view our enhanced content. — Just when it looked like the debate between Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton would go quietly, the issue of plagiarism brought the two candidates out of their slumber.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, MSNBC and I Am TRex

Ed Morrissey / Captain's Quarters:

The Xerox Candidate — I'm not watching the Democratic debate, but I've followed the commentary at The Corner and at The Fix with Chris Cillizza. I hadn't anticipated putting up any commentary until after the transcript got published by CNN, but one point at The Fix made me laugh out loud.

Discussion: Hot Air and Comments from Left Field

Alessandra Stanley / New York Times:
Clinton and Obama Debate Once More, and Does It Matter?

Discussion: The Politico

Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:
Live Blogging the Texas Showdown

Discussion: The Fix

Michael Fabac / KXAN-TV:
Exclusive Statewide Presidential Poll

Discussion: culturekitchen, Joomla! powered Site, New York Times, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Burnt Orange Report, McBlogger, THE LIBERAL JOURNAL and Open Left

Gabriel Sherman / The New Republic:

The Long Run-Up — Behind the Bombshell in ‘The New York Times.’ — RELATED CONTENT — 'Charlie's Horse,' by S.V. Date (2/6/08) — Last night, around dinnertime, The New York Times posted on its website a 3,000-word investigation detailing Senator John McCain's connections to a telecommunications lobbyist named Vicki Iseman.

NationalJournal.com:

Transcript: Howard Dean On John McCain And The Republican ‘Culture Of Corruption’ — Q: I want to welcome Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Welcome, Chairman Dean. … Q: So there is big news about John McCain — the story that is in the New York Times …

Discussion: The Caucus, D-Day, Hot Air, DownWithTyranny!, Guardian Unlimited, The Reaction, Rox Populi, Think Progress, The Huffington Post, Salon, Macsmind and Washington Wire

The Politico:
McCain turns tables on Times

Discussion: Pat Dollard

RADAR:
THE ‘NEW YORK TIMES’ AND THE JOHN MCCAIN SEX SCANDAL STORY

Discussion: Comments from Left Field and skippy the bush kangaroo

Washington Post:
FEC Warns McCain on Campaign Spending

Discussion: Election Law, MyDD and Crooks and Liars

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Liberal blogs skeptical of Times' McCain story

Discussion: Horses Mouth, Scared Monkeys, OxBlog, The New Republic and Spin Cycle

Frank James / The Swamp:
McCain denial was believable, says focus group

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Real Clear Politics

Josephine Hearn / The Politico: Ex-McCain aide says he's still loyal

Jack Douglas Jr / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Police concerned about order to stop screening — DALLAS — Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.

Discussion: Discourse.net, Pandagon, The BRAD BLOG, Booman Tribune, Bang the Drum, Wake up America and Mercury Rising

Margery Eagan / Boston Herald:

When backing Barack feels like joining a cult — I'm an Obama girl and my man throttled Hillary Clinton, again, Tuesday night. — Suddenly, the impossible is real. — Suddenly, I'm nervous. Very nervous, actually. — I'm nervous because an otherwise normal grownup told …

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, Sister Toldjah and TalkLeft

Margaret Carlson / Bloomberg:
Media Start Falling Out of Love With Obama: Margaret Carlson

Discussion: Associated Press

New York Times:

Spending by Clinton Campaign Worries Supporters — Nearly $100,000 went for party platters and groceries before the Iowa caucuses, even though the partying mood evaporated quickly. Rooms at the Bellagio luxury hotel in Las Vegas consumed more than $25,000; the Four Seasons, another $5,000.

Discussion: RADAMISTO

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
Consultant spending saps Clinton campaign

Discussion: MyDD, Democrats.com and protein wisdom

Michael Kinsley / Washington Post:

Defining Victory Downward — Why was President Bush's decision more than a year ago to send another 30,000 troops to Iraq called “the surge”? I don't know who invented this label, but the word “surge” evokes images of the sea: a wave that sweeps in, and then sweeps back out again.

Discussion: democracyarsenal.org

Michael Hirsh / Newsweek:

Never mind Iraq. Just end the ‘war on terror.’ — Using bold rhetoric that often makes his followers rapturous, Barack Obama has declared over and over that he will be the president of “change.” But is Obama brave enough to bring about a really radical change?

Discussion: Dean's World and The Strata-Sphere