memeorandum: Bill Clinton, Selling the Product in Small-Town North Carolina (Byron York/The Corner)

8:40 AM ET, May 5, 2008

Top Items:

Clinton Camp Considering Nuclear Option To Overtake Delegate Lead — Hillary Clinton's campaign has a secret weapon to build its delegate count, but her top strategists say privately that any attempt to deploy it would require a sharp (and by no means inevitable) shift in the political climate …

Discussion: American Street, The Other McCain, Open Left, Comments from Left Field, Underground, The Fact Hub, Donklephant, Political Machine, Spin Cycle, The Raw Story, The Jed Report, The Swamp and Viking Pundit

Robert Reich / Robert Reich's Blog:

Hillary Clinton Doesn't Listen to Economists — When asked this morning by ABC News' George Stephanopoulos if she could name a single economist who backs her call for a gas tax holiday this summer, HRC said “I'm not going to put my lot in with economists.” — I know several of the economists …

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, Political Machine, Jack and Jill Politics, The RBC and The Other McCain

Byron York / The Corner:

Bill Clinton, Selling the Product in Small-Town North Carolina — Greetings from North Carolina. I spent yesterday following Bill Clinton around small towns in the western part of the state — he hit six of them, not counting two church visits. Today, he'll go to nine.

Discussion: National Review

Marc Ambinder:

Clinton's Nuclear Option? — HuffPost political editor Tom Edsall writes that the Clinton campaign is preparing to “ram through” the party's rules and bylaws committee a proposal to seat the disputed Florida and Michigan delegations and thus close the delegate gap by about 55.

Eli Saslow / Washington Post:

In Small Towns, Bill Clinton Finds A Campaign Niche — LUMBERTON, N.C. — Bill Clinton swung open the screen door and stepped onto Baxter Williams's front porch, its wooden floorboards creaking beneath him. The former president, a veteran speechmaker used to 50,000-seat stadiums and convention halls …

Discussion: The Page

Zogby:
Zogby Poll: Obama Leads by 8 Points in NC; Race Still Very Tight in Indiana

Discussion: Donklephant

Washington Post:
Dueling Appeals On Taxes From Obama, Clinton

Discussion: TPMCafe and The Page

Dotcomabc / Political Radar:
Clinton: ‘Still the Underdog’ in Indiana

Discussion: Open Left, Comments from Left Field and The Page

Hillary Clinton / CNN:
I'm not listening to economists on gas tax holiday

Discussion: The Swamp and The New Republic

CBS News:

CBS Poll: Support For Obama Rebounds — In Wake Of Controversy Over Former Pastor, Illinois Senator Builds Lead Over McCain, Clinton — (CBS) Democrat Barack Obama appears to have rebounded from some of the damage caused by the controversy surrounding his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright …

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Right Wing News, FiveThirtyEight.com, TPM Election Central, The Jed Report, Daily Kos, The Daily Dish, RADAMISTO and TalkLeft

William Kristol / New York Times:

McCain-Jindal? — Barack Obama said Friday, “We've had a rough couple of weeks.” Actually, he's had a rough couple of months. He's lost three big primaries to Hillary Clinton. And, should he hold on to win the nomination, he can no longer be considered a clear favorite over John McCain in the general election.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Betsy's Page, GregsOpinion.com, Soccer Dad and New York Times

Susan Page / USA Today:

Poll: Flap over pastor hurts Obama — Barack Obama's national standing has been significantly damaged by the controversy over his former pastor, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, raising questions for some voters about the Illinois senator's values, credibility and electability.

Discussion: The Page

Attaturk / Firedoglake: How much you paying him NY Times?

New York Times:
Poll Shows Most Voters Unaffected by Wright

Discussion: The Fix, Reuters, The Moderate Voice, Fox News and American Power

Gallup:
Gallup Daily: Obama 49%, Clinton 45%

Discussion: Comments from Left Field, Associated Press, MyDD, The Daily Dish and Zogby

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Clinton mailing's gun gaffe — Senator Hillary Clinton's mailing attacking Senator Barack Obama's record on guns appears to include a striking visual gaffe: The image of the gun pictured on the face of the mailing is reversed, making it a non-existent left-handed model of the Mauser 66 rifle.

Discussion: TPM Election Central, The Huffington Post, Taylor Marsh, Balloon Juice, race42008.com and The Page

Steve Chapman / Chicago Tribune:

McCain finds his own radical friend — Can a presidential candidate justify a long and friendly relationship with someone who, back in the 1970s, extolled violence and committed crimes in the name of a radical ideology—and who has never shown remorse or admitted error?

Discussion: Don Surber, No More Mister Nice Blog, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, Outside The Beltway, Ben Smith's Blogs and RADAMISTO

Michael R. Gordon / New York Times:

Hezbollah Trains Iraqis in Iran, Officials Say — BAGHDAD — Militants from the Lebanese group Hezbollah have been training Iraqi militia fighters at a camp near Tehran, according to American interrogation reports that the United States has supplied to the Iraqi government.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, abu muqawama, Christian Science Monitor, Jules Crittenden, Los Angeles Times and Commentary

Associated Press:

After 2 faint, Clinton cracks joke about making 'em swoon … LENOIR, N.C. (AP) - Former President Bill Clinton is cracking wise about his ability to make people faint, telling voters in North Carolina he didn't think he still had it in him. — Clinton was campaigning Sunday …

Discussion: The Corner, Right Wing News and PunditGuy

Jeralyn / TalkLeft:

Obama Tells Workers, When They Lose Their Job, They Lose Their Dignity — If I were an Indiana voter listening to Obama, I don't think I'd appreciate him telling me that since I've lost my job, I've lost my dignity. The crowd didn't react to the statement. Certainly no cheering. — See what you think.

Discussion: Comments from Left Field and Corrente