memeorandum: McCain baselessly asserted Iran/al Qaeda ties last month. (Faiz/Think Progress)

3:15 PM ET, March 20, 2008

Top Items:

The Impact of Pastor Wright and THE SPEECH on Election 2008 — Two days after Barack Obama gave the most important speech of his life, it remains unclear what impact the controversy over Pastor Jeremiah Wright will have on the race for the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

Discussion: Weekly Standard Blog, Power Line, The Opinionator, Political Machine, TPM Election Central, Outside The Beltway, Attytood, PoliGazette, Hot Air, The Strata-Sphere, NO QUARTER and The Campaign Spot

Carrie Budoff Brown / The Politico:

Obama racial issues may extend to Penn. — PHILADELPHIA — Stephanie Gill, a bartender in a white working class neighborhood in this Rust Belt city, noticed the shift immediately. — A week ago, her customers at Rauchut's Tavern in Tacony didn't have much to say about Barack Obama.

Discussion: The Swamp, QandO, No More Mister Nice Blog and New York Times

Rasmussen Reports:

West Virginia Democratic Presidential Primary — West Virginia: Clinton 55% Obama 27% — Looking down the road to May 13, Senator Hillary Clinton holds a huge lead over Senator Barack Obama in the West Virginia Presidential Primary. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey …

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, Weekly Standard Blog, Balloon Juice, JammieWearingFool, TPM Election Central, MyDD and Buck Naked Politics

Gene Maddaus / Daily Breeze:

Geraldine Ferraro resents being lumped in with the Rev. Wright in Obama speech — » See and hear the speech — Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro said today that she objected to the comparison Sen. Barack Obama drew between her and his former pastor in his speech on race relations Tuesday.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, JustOneMinute, The Campaign Spot, Politics Blog, Reason Magazine, PrestoPundit, Sweetness & Light and Althouse

Time:

The Origin of Obama's Pastor Problem — Long before the sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright became instant hits on YouTube and talk-show fodder for the cable news channels, Barack Obama knew he had a preacher problem. On the eve of launching his campaign for the White House in February 2007 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, NewsBusters.org, Hot Air and Swampland

David Brown / PittsburghLIVE.com:

Clinton leads by 16 points in statewide poll — TRIBUNE-REVIEW — Sen. Hillary Clinton has extended her lead over Sen. Barack Obama among registered Democrats likely to vote in the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, a poll released today shows. — Clinton of New York leads Obama of Illinois …

Discussion: MSNBC, Hot Air, Shakesville, The Campaign Spot, Riehl World View, The Page, TPM Election Central and HillaryClinton.com

Reuters:
Clinton takes lead over Obama in Gallup poll

Discussion: The Washington Note, MSNBC, The BRAD BLOG, Pensito Review and Ed Driscoll.com

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:
Clinton doubles lead in Pennsylvania

Discussion: TalkLeft, Wake up America and Pat Dollard

Nicholas D. Kristof / New York Times:
Obama and Race — Barack Obama this week gave the best political …

Discussion: Preemptive Karma, Achenblog, Prairie Weather and Firedoglake

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

MCCAIN: PURIM = HALLOWEEN? — When McCain made a foreign policy gaffe in Jordan on Tuesday, it was Sen. Joe Lieberman who quietly pointed out the mistake, giving McCain an opportunity to correct himself in front of the international press corps. In Israel yesterday, NBC's Lauren Appelbaum reports …

Discussion: Brilliant at Breakfast, The Newshoggers, Think Progress and MoJoBlog

Matthew Yglesias:
Maybe He Should Have Briefings — More ignorance from John McCain:

Discussion: Commentary and Weekly Standard Blog

Tim Montgomerie / CentreRight:
McCain visits Brown and Cameron

Discussion: The Daily Dish

CNN:

Cheney's former chief of staff disbarred — WASHINGTON (CNN) — I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby was disbarred from practicing law in the nation's capital on Thursday. — The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted last year of lying to a grand jury and federal agents probing …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Cliff Schecter, At-Largely and Abovethelaw.com

WNBC:
Former Cheney Aide Libby Disbarred

Discussion: Firedoglake

Faiz / Think Progress:

McCain baselessly asserted Iran/al Qaeda ties last month. — Speaking at the Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston, TX, last month (Feb. 28th), McCain stated the following: … Watch it: — This is at least the fourth time that McCain has asserted a direct Iran/al Qaeda connection.

Discussion: Wonk Room, Fact Checker, Daily Kos, MyDD, Media Matters for America, Your Right Hand Thief, Talk To Action, Digg, Democratic National Committee and Washington Wire

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The media's special relationship with John McCain

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, Washington Post, All Spin Zone, The Reaction, American Street, Firedoglake, Media Matters for America and Swampland

Matt / Think Progress:
‘Astonished’ McCain Ignores His Multiple Al Qaeda/Iran Gaffes …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Carpetbagger Report and Blue Girl, Red State

Confederate Yankee:

ANOTHER Pastor Problem for Obama? PLUS: A Reporter in the Tank — When it rains, it pours: … Here's what I believe is a copy of the original CBS News story, which contains Meeks' language. — What is striking about this story, apart from the Wright-like, racially-divisive language …

Discussion: Macsmind

Mike Flannery / WBBM-TV:

Obama Camp Rejects Supporter's Past Use Of N Word — It's Third Time Campaign Is Forced To Denounce Controversial Comments — CHICAGO (CBS) ― Sen. Barack Obama is target for critics again Wednesday night in another incident involving a minister and race.

Discussion: Too Sense, Lonewacko, BizzyBlog and Real Clear Politics

Sam Wood / Philly.com:

Obama wows WIP sports jocks — Sen. Barack Obama called into sports radio 610 WIP this morning, charming the usually rambuctious morning talk show hosts and winning their endorsements. — “People are really swept up [by this candidate],” said host Al Morganti. “It's almost like teenaged girls at a concert.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, The New Republic, NewsBusters.org and Gateway Pundit

Dan Gross / PhillyGossip:
Obama on WIP: My grandmother's a “typical white person”

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs, Taylor Marsh, NO QUARTER, The Confluence and Political Punch

USA Today:

Revote donors linked to Clinton — WASHINGTON — Ten wealthy Democrats have offered to pay for a new presidential primary in Michigan — all with ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who showed up in the state Wednesday seeking a revote. — Five of the donors are listed on Clinton's campaign website as among her major fundraisers.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Swamp, The Caucus, New York Times and MSNBC

Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Michigan delegate split debated

Discussion: Cliff Schecter

Andrew Maykuth / Philly.com:

Ruling: “Speak English” sign at cheesesteak shop not discriminatory — A city agency yesterday dismissed a discrimination complaint against Geno's Steaks for its speak-English sign, halting a case that thrust shop owner Joey Vento into the national spotlight of the contentious immigration debate.

Discussion: The New Republic and Hot Air

Patrick Walters / Associated Press:
‘Speak English’ Signs OK at Philly Shop

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, Don Surber, LewRockwell.com Blog and The Sundries Shack

Declan McCullagh / The Iconoclast:

FBI posts fake hyperlinks to snare child porn suspects — Screen snapshot: This now-defunct site is reportedly where an FBI undercover agent posted hyperlinks purporting to be illegal videos. Clicking the links brought a raid from the Feds. — The FBI has recently adopted …

Discussion: TalkLeft

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Kerry on race mattering — It's not just Clinton surrogates who say surprising things about race. — Check out John Kerry's explanation, in the interview with a Massachusetts paper above, saying that Obama can help “bridge the divide of religious extremism.” — Why? he's asked.