memeorandum: Price of Notoriety: Sketch That Roiled Muslims Is for Sale (Andrew Higgins/Wall Street Journal)

9:30 AM ET, March 1, 2008

Top Items:

Pregnant Pause — It was, in this reporter's opinion, the most interesting moment in today's Clinton campaign phoner with reporters. Responding to the release of HRC's new TX TV ad, which asserts in no subtle terms that only she has the experience to deal with a major world crisis, and …

Discussion: Slate, Donklephant and Obsidian Wings

Matthew Yglesias:

Amateur Hour — Slate's John Dickerson asks an obvious question on a conference call with Hillary Clinton's campaign: “What foreign policy moment would you point to in Hillary's career where she's been tested by crisis?” After an uncomfortably long moment during which neither Mark Penn …

Discussion: AMERICAblog and KnoxViews

Marc Ambinder:

The Daily Five — Goolsbee Gate Continues — 1. To the best I can gather, here is what most likely happened to set off CTV's reporting that the Obama campaign is fudging the truth about its NAFTA intentions. Someone from the Canadian consul general's office in Chicago got to talking …

Discussion: Trailhead and Roger L. Simon

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Bush Aide Resigns After Admitting Plagiarism — WASHINGTON — A longtime aide to President Bush who wrote occasional guest columns for his hometown newspaper resigned on Friday evening after admitting that he had repeatedly plagiarized from other writers. — The White House called his actions unacceptable.

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside The Beltway and nancynall.com

Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:

AG Refuses Probe of Ex-Bush Aides — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Friday rejected referring the House's contempt citations against two of President Bush's top aides to a federal grand jury. Mukasey says they committed no crime. — Mukasey said White House Chief …

Discussion: The Gavel, Blue Girl, Red State, Group News Blog, Cliff Schecter and Firedoglake

CNN:
Mukasey: No contempt inquiry for Bush aides

Discussion: Macsmind, Balloon Juice and Buck Naked Politics

Mark Impomeni / Political Machine:
WH Aide Admits Plagiarizing Article

Discussion: Think Progress, Washington Post and RADAMISTO

Reuters:
Mukasey won't pursue contempt probe of Bush aides

Discussion: Hot Air and Patterico's Pontifications

Libby Quaid / Associated Press:

McCain seeks distance from pastor — PHOENIX - John McCain is refusing to renounce the endorsement of a prominent Texas televangelist who Democrats say peddles anti-Catholic and other intolerant speech. — Instead, the Republican presidential candidate issued a statement Friday afternoon saying …

Discussion: New York Times, The Carpetbagger Report and Oliver Willis

stephenbainbridge.com:

Dogs and Fleas — Glenn Greenwald has done yeoman work in exposing anti-Catholic bigot Pastor John Hagee's endorsement of John McCain and the latter's refusal to disavow the endorsement. I agree that McCain should reject Hagee's endorsement. You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

Discussion: The RBC, WSJ.com and CBS News

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The McCain/Hagee story picks up steam

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Bark Bark Woof Woof, Obsidian Wings, FOX Embeds, Liberal Fascism, PERRspectives Blog, Firedoglake, CBS News, Hold Fast, The Huffington Post, PoliGazette, DownWithTyranny!, Catholic League and RADAMISTO

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
THAT'S IT? — McCain's statement on Hagee, his new endorser …

Discussion: PERRspectives Blog, RADAMISTO, The Newshoggers, protein wisdom and Swampland

Gail Collins / New York Times:

Of Ohio, Texas and Onion Dip — It's all up to Texas and Ohio! — Everything — the Democratic nomination, the fate of the presidency, the solution to global warming, the next American Idol — hinges on Tuesday's primaries. Texas and Ohio rule! — O.K., and Rhode Island and Vermont.

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Rick Pearson / Baltimore Sun:
Clinton campaign: Obama must answer for Rezko

Discussion: The Raw Story, Macsmind, American Prospect and Redstate

CNN:
Democrats battle over Texas airwaves

Discussion: TalkLeft

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:

New Clinton Ad Prompts Reply From Obama — FORT WORTH, Tex. — Playing on anxieties about national security, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has produced a “red phone moment” advertisement that suggests she would be better able to respond to a crisis than Senator Barack Obama.

Discussion: The Politico, Truthdig and TPM Election Central

Greg Sargent / TPM Election Central:
Obama Responds: I Will Never Use “Threat Of Terrorism To Scare Up Votes”

Discussion: MyDD, The Gun Toting Liberal™, Liberal Values, MoJoBlog, Firedoglake, Spin Cycle, Don Surber, Buckeye State Blog, Outside The Beltway, The New Republic, Stop The ACLU and Daily Kos

Marc Ambinder:

Inside Delegate Math: The Numbers — Using delegate projection software created by Matt Vogel, I ran a scenario yesterday showing how tough it will be for Hillary Clinton to catch up to Barack Obama's earned delegate lead. — Some of you have asked for my specific state-by-state projections.

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, TalkLeft, Burnt Orange Report and MyDD

Rick / PoliTex:

Clinton camp tries to change expectations — This photo was taken by our own David Kent. Apparently, someone in the posh Tower condos in downtown Fort Worth is not a fan of Obama. — Continuing on that theme, this memo just came in from the Hillary Clinton campaign: — To: Interested Parties

Discussion: Pandagon and The Seminal

William Kern / The Moderate Voice:

China's Olympic Deal With al-Qaeda: ‘There Will Not Be Blood’ ... This is just one of the allegations in Roger Faligot's book, The Chinese Secret Services: From Mao to the Olympic Games. This specialist in intelligence retraces the history of the ties between the Middle Kingdom and al-Qaeda.

Discussion: The Peking Duck

MSNBC:

Clinton accepts donations from trouble firm — Sen. Hillary Clinton has declined to return $170,000 in campaign contributions from individuals at a company accused of widespread sexual harassment, and whose CEO is a disbarred lawyer with a criminal record, federal campaign records show.