memeorandum: Young Obama Backers Twist Parents' Arms (Jan Hoffman/New York Times)

10:50 AM ET, April 8, 2008

Top Items:

Congress To Hear Of Gains In Iraq — Petraeus, Crocker To Face Impatient Lawmakers — In a reprise of their testimony last September, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker plan to tell Congress today and tomorrow that security has improved in Iraq and that the government …

Seumas Milne / Guardian:

Secret US plan for military future in Iraq — A confidential draft agreement covering the future of US forces in Iraq, passed to the Guardian, shows that provision is being made for an open-ended military presence in the country. — The draft strategic framework agreement between the US …

Discussion: Don Surber, Think Progress, Taylor Marsh, Democratic National Committee, Comments from Left Field, American Street and Mercury Rising

Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:

Testimony by General Will Test Candidates for President — WASHINGTON — Three presidential candidates and two very different views of Iraq will be on full display on Tuesday as Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Baghdad, testifies before the Senate in a marathon session of war and White House ambitions.

Discussion: The Swamp, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times, Politics Nation, Jules Crittenden and Associated Press

James Hider / Times of London:

Iraq: Al-Mahdi army offers to lay down its arms — Iraq's largest and most dangerous militia will voluntarily disband if Shia scholars advise its leader to do so, officials said yesterday — a dramatic move that could quell much of the fighting in the war-torn country.

Discussion: Right Wing Nut House, Austin Bay Blog, CNN, CALIFORNIA YANKEE, Daily Pundit and The Strata-Sphere

Frederick W. Kagan / National Review:
Why Iraq Matters — Losing wars is always bad.

Discussion: The Glittering Eye, Angry Bear and Gateway Pundit

CNN:
Petraeus will stick to his guns, aide says

Discussion: The Page

Shaun Mullen / The Moderate Voice: Wanted & Found: An Iraq War Bogeyman

New York Times:
Attacks in Baghdad Spiked in March, U.S. Data Show

Discussion: Informed Comment and The Washington Independent

Gateway Pundit:
The Gratitude Campaign— Pass It On

Discussion: Dr. Melissa Clouthier

Cernig / Newshoggers.com:
It's Going To Be A Busy Anniversary

Discussion: The Opinionator, Reuters and Associated Press

Associated Press:
A top-level Iraqi body calls for immediate disbanding of militias

Discussion: Outside The Beltway

Anne Flaherty / Associated Press:
Top general in Iraq war to urge patience

Discussion: Hotline On Call

Reagan Union / Quinnipiac University:

Obama Catching Up With Clinton In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; She's Losing Ground Even Among Women — Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is catching up with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary and now trails 50 - 44 percent among likely primary voters …

Discussion: The Swamp, Spin Cycle, MSNBC, New York Times, AMERICAblog, Real Clear Politics and TPM Election Central

New York Times:

Shift at Top May Mean Shift in Tone for Clinton — WASHINGTON — “This isn't exactly what I was planning on when I woke up this morning,” Geoff Garin e-mailed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton after a hasty weekend shake-up left him atop her campaign's strategy team. — Mrs. Clinton answered his dry humor in kind.

Discussion: NY Daily News, MSNBC, New York Post and The Politico

Hillary Clinton / CNN:

Clinton says Penn controversy won't be damaging — (CNN) — Hillary Clinton predicted on Tuesday the recent controversy surrounding her top advisor's meeting with the Colombian government wouldn't prove damaging to her campaign, and suggested she dealt with the matter more definitively …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blogs

E. J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
The Errors Haunting Clinton

Discussion: Washington Wire, Salon and Newsweek

Martha Raddatz / ABCNEWS:

Surprising Political Endorsements By U.S. Troops — American Soldiers Speak Out About Their Presidential Endorsements — ABC's Martha Raddatz asked American soldiers in Iraq what issues are most important to them when looking at the presidential candidates.

Discussion: Think Progress, The Corner and NewsBusters.org

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Iraq War Attitudes Politically Polarized — Republicans generally favor the war; Democrats oppose it — PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans reject the idea of a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, by a better than 2-to-1 margin, 65% to 32%. Democrats show an even greater margin …

Discussion: Salon and American Power

Scott Horton / Harper's:

A Tale of Three Lawyers — On Thursday in the National Press Club in Washington, a crowd gathered to witness the presentation of the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling to Lieutenant Commander Matthew Diaz. The story of Matthew Diaz was chronicled in this space repeatedly (also here and here).

Michael J. Totten:

Builders of Nations — “This is my hardest deployment,” Marine Sergeant Cooley said as he unfastened his helmet and tossed it onto his bed. “We weren't trained for this kind of thing.” He's been shot at with bullets and mortars, and he's endured IED attacks on his Humvee …

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs

Matt Lewis / The Politico:

Perkins, Toomey for Senate? — While most political observers are focused on the protracted Democratic primary fight between the senator from the state of New York and the senator from the state of Hope, rumors have been swirling in conservative circles that two of the movement's …

Patrick Ruffini:

McCain Fundraising: A Call to Arms — As much as I don't want to sound unhelpful, it's time for a little tough love. If anyone thinks McCain raising $15 million in March is good news — and crucially, just $4M of it from online and direct mail — then they're probably part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, Top of the Ticket, The Carpetbagger Report, The Caucus, The Other McCain, Obsidian Wings, The Democratic Daily and Comments from Left Field

Think Progress:

ThinkFast: April 8, 2008 — Aides say in today's testimony, Gen. Petraeus will recommend keeping “troop levels steady” after July and will “also tell lawmakers that Iraq's security situation has improved markedly in recent months but that the gains are fragile and could be easily reversed.”

Discussion: The Hill and MotherJones.com