memeorandum: Cantwell supporting Clinton — for now (Kathie Durbin/Columbian)

9:35 AM ET, March 26, 2008

Top Items:

Byron York / The Corner:

Hell Has Officially Frozen Over — It caught my eye as a flash on Brit Hume a few moments ago, but here is a photo from Hillary Clinton's visit today to the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In this picture, she is seen talking to none other than Richard Mellon Scaife …

Discussion: The New Republic, The Other McCain, The RBC, Donklephant, Liberal Values, The Carpetbagger Report and TPM Election Central

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

YA THINK? — As you know, earlier today Hillary Clinton tried to stoke the Jeremiah Wright controversy by telling an editorial board meeting in Pittsburgh that Jeremiah Wright “would not have been my pastor” and then going on to note that she had denounced Don Imus in contrast to Obama's allegedly …

Discussion: Seeing the Forest, The Carpetbagger Report, TPM Election Central, AMERICAblog, marbury, The Reaction, Liberal Values, The Daily Dish, The Talent Show and American Street

Brianinmo / BLOGS FOR JOHN McCAIN:

McCain Asks When Hillary Clinton Will Apologize to Gen. Petraeus - Video — Here is Sen. John McCain on March 24, 2008 asking when Sen. Hillary Clinton will apologize to Gen. David Petraeus for her remarks last year ridiculing the idea that “The Surge” strategy in Iraq was working.

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, Hot Air, Stop The ACLU, No More Mister Nice Blog and Forum: News/Activism

Timothy Noah / Slate:
Hillary's Rev. Wright — HIS NAME IS RICHARD MELLON SCAIFE.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Brookings Institute, Betsy's Page and The Huffington Post

Scott Conroy / CBS News:
Clinton Chats With The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy?

Discussion: AMERICAblog, Political Machine and The New Republic

Neal Gabler / New York Times:

The Maverick and the Media — Amagansett, N.Y. — IT is certainly no secret that Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is a darling of the news media. Reporters routinely attach “maverick,” “straight talker” and “patriot” to him like Homeric epithets.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Achenblog and The Page

Jay Rosen / PressThink:

Just How Did John McCain Obtain What He Has in the Bank with the Press? — “Maybe 'Iran is training Al Qaeda is McCain's way of signaling that he intends to pick up where Bush and Cheney left off in discarding the whole reality-based approach to policy-making and public communication.”

Discussion: CJR, Rolling Stone, Jules Crittenden and Firedoglake

Jacques Steinberg / New York Times:

The Buzz on the Bus: Pinched, Press Steps Off — As Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama debated in Cleveland on a snowy evening in late February, 650 journalists descended on the city to follow every jab and parry, albeit on enormous televisions in two makeshift filing centers.

Discussion: The Caucus, Gawker, Romenesko and The Page

New York Times:

Iraqi Crackdown on Shiite Forces Sets Off Fighting — BAGHDAD — Heavy fighting broke out Tuesday in two of Iraq's largest cities, as Iraqi ground forces and helicopters mounted a huge operation to break the grip of the Shiite militias controlling Basra, and Iraqi forces clashed with militias in Baghdad.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Moderate Voice, Balloon Juice and McClatchy Washington Bureau

McClatchy Washington Bureau:
Battles wrack Basra, threatening success of U.S. surge

Discussion: Firedoglake

Sam Dagher / Christian Science Monitor:
ACROSS IRAQ, BATTLES ERUPT WITH MAHDI ARMY

Discussion: Firedoglake, Guardian, Associated Press, Registan.net, ParaPundit, Open Left, The Reaction, Crooks and Liars, VetVoice, PoliGazette, AMERICAblog, Rook's Rant and New York Times

Agence France Presse:
Four killed in clashes in Iraqi city of Basra

Discussion: American Power, Hot Air and BBC

Frank Newport / Gallup:

If McCain vs. Obama, 28% of Clinton Backers Go for McCain — If McCain vs. Clinton, 19% of Obama backers go for McCain — PRINCETON, NJ — A sizable proportion of Democrats would vote for John McCain next November if he is matched against the candidate they do not support for the Democratic nomination.

Discussion: Don Surber

Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Obama and Clinton Remain Nearly Tied

Discussion: protein wisdom and Pollster.com

Paul Krugman:

Look and feel 15 years younger! — The latest report of the Social Security Trustees is out. I think the key message is what has happened to the estimate of actuarial balance — the difference between projected outlays and projected revenues over the next 75 years.

Discussion: Angry Bear

Kevin Drum / Washington Monthly: IMMIGRATION AND SOCIAL SECURITY....Paul Krugman points …

Yitzhak Benhorin / Ynetnews:

Obama advisor: US Jews hinder peace — More trouble for presidential hopeful: Inquiry by conservative US media outlets reveals that Obama advisor Merrill ‘Tony’ McPeak is a longtime anti-Israel critic who slammed American Jews for acting against US interests

Discussion: Hot Air, Classical Values, Israel Matzav, Roger L. Simon and TigerHawk

Marc Ambinder:
Obama And The Jews — The Clinton campaign is distributing …

Discussion: James Fallows, Haaretz, Matthew Yglesias, Weekly Standard Blog, Power Line, American Spectator, Eschaton, Oliver Willis and NO QUARTER

Suzanne Smalley / Newsweek:

Embellished Memory — Had Hillary come to believe her increasingly dramatic tale of facing sniper fire in Bosnia? … Is it possible that Hillary Clinton really thought she risked her life disembarking from a plane and running for cover “under sniper fire” at the heavily fortified U.S. Air Force base at Tuzla?

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Huffington Post, A Blog For All and Hot Air

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Team Obama - Someone Buy 'Em A Subscription To Google

Discussion: Fact Checker, NewsBusters.org and The Politico

Patrick Healy / New York Times:
Clinton Seeks to Soften Impact of Misstatement

Discussion: TalkLeft

James Romoser / Winston-Salem Journal# North …:

Route to Victory? — N.C. may be pivotal in race, analysts predict — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's dwindling chances to be president may hinge on what happens in North Carolina. — As she prepares to make her first campaign trip to the state on Thursday, including a stop in Winston-Salem …

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Hillary or Nobody? — While the cool cat's away, the Hillary mice will play. — As Barack Obama was floating in the pool with his daughters the last few days in St. Thomas, some Clinton disciples were floating the idea of St. Hillary as his vice president.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Don Surber, About.com US Liberal Politics and Political Punch

The Politico:

Southern Dem warns party to avert disaster — Democrats are increasingly nervous about their party's protracted nomination fight, and some prominent figures are publicly warning that the party needs to act fast to avoid disaster. — Chief among these voices is Phil Bredesen …

Mary Flood / Legal Trade:

Presidential pardons — the raw list — From time to time, President Bush has pardoned and commuted sentences. It's often a wide array of crimes involved. — Here's the press release the Justice Department just emailed listing the folks the president let off the hook this week for everything …

Discussion: at-Largely