memeorandum: Outsourcing of King Memorial to China Is Probed (Josh Gerstein/New York Sun)

1:05 PM ET, May 14, 2008

Top Items:

This Is an Ex-Candidate — C ustomer: “Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.” — Pet-shop owner: “No, no he's not dead, he's — he's resting! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian blue, isn't it, aye? Beautiful plumage!”

Discussion: Liberal Values, The Carpetbagger Report, GINA COBB, American Spectator and AMERICAblog

John Aravosis / AMERICAblog:

Go away you horrible human being — IT'S NOT CLOSE. YOU FREAKING LOST THE NOMINATION, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? — Good God. What is wrong with her? The Clintons and their campaign staff don't give a damn that they are now hurting our electoral chances in the fall against McCain and against the Republicans in Congress.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Campaign Spot and The Strata-Sphere

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

UPCOUNTRY — If the exit polls (and the pre-election polls) are accurate, Hillary Clinton is set to win West Virginia by roughly a 2 to 1 margin over Barack Obama. Oregon, next Tuesday, favors Obama. But Kentucky, which votes the same day, seems likely to yield a similar margin for Sen. Clinton.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TalkLeft and American Street

Quinnipiac University:

Obama, Clinton Both Top McCain In November Face-Off, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Most Democrats Back Obama-Clinton ‘dream Ticket’ — Either one of the two Democratic contenders, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama or New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, leads the likely Republican presidential nominee …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Swamp, TPM Election Central, Boston Globe, Real Clear Politics and Liberal Values

Ruben Navarrette Jr / CNN: Navarrette: No racism in the presidential election?

Byron York / The Corner:
Obama and the Flag Pin

Discussion: Commentary and The New Republic

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
After Lopsided Loss, Obama Woos Blue-Collar Voters

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and JammieWearingFool

Mark R. Levin / The Corner:
Behind the Flag — The flag pin issue is important to …

Discussion: The Daily Dish

Marc Ambinder:
Local GOP's Obama Bracketing

Discussion: Eunomia

Big Tent Democrat / TalkLeft:
The Creative Class' Condescension Towards Clinton Democrats

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Opinionator and PoliGazette

Nedra Pickler / Associated Press:
Analysis: Maybe Obama should worry

Discussion: New York Times, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, Spin Cycle and Associated Press

Charles Hurt / New York Post:
PLOTTING HER PATH FOR 2012 — CHARLESTON, W.Va. …

Discussion: David Corn, MoJoBlog and MSNBC

Gawker:
Old White People Know the Truth About Barack Obama

Discussion: The Page, International Herald Tribune, The New Republic, NO QUARTER and The Daily Dish

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Obama defeat amplifies race, rural problems

Discussion: The Caucus, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Carpetbagger Report, The Mahablog, Guardian Unlimited, Matthew Yglesias and Comments from Left Field

The Hill:

Analysis: House GOP hits new low, faces bleak Nov. — The sky is falling on House Republicans and there is no sign of it letting up. — The GOP loss in Mississippi's special election Tuesday is the strongest sign yet that the Republican Party is in shambles.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, The Crypt's Blogs, The Other McCain, Democratic Strategist, Clarion-Ledger, AMERICAblog, Mercury Rising and CNN

Reid Wilson / Real Clear Politics:

GOP Stunned By Loss in Mississippi — In a major blow to national Republicans, a Mississippi congressional seat that once voted for President Bush by a twenty-five point margin elected a Democrat on Tuesday. Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers beat out Republican candidate Greg Davis …

Discussion: The Corner, Marc Ambinder, HorsesAss.Org, Eunomia, Reason Magazine, The Strata-Sphere, Politics Nation and Crunchy Con

Aaron Blake / The Hill:
Childers victory gives Dems a third straight takeover

Mike Allen / Associated Press: Hillary's ‘almost heaven’ - Signs of a coming GOP cataclysm

Adam Nossiter / New York Times:
Democrat Wins House Seat in Mississippi

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Think Progress, The Crypt's Blogs, WillBardwell.com, Swing State Project, The Carpetbagger Report, MSNBC, KIKO'S HOUSE, Outside The Beltway, Slog, The Swamp and The Jed Report

Ed OKeefe / Political Radar:

Obama Gaffes on Iraq and Afghanistan — ABC News' David Wright and Sunlen Miller Report: Sporting a shiny new American flag pin at an appearance in Rush Limbaugh's hometown, Sen. Barack Obama came up with some novel reasons why the U.S. may be struggling in the war in Afghanistan.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, TownHall Blog, Don Surber, NO QUARTER, Commentary, Redstate, PrestoPundit and Sister Toldjah

Marc Ambinder:

Good Timing For Jim Webb — How 'bout that? Sen. Jim Webb's new book will be released on May 15, just as reporters like me start to speculate about his chances of becoming Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee. — “A Time To Fight: Reclaiming a Just And Fair America” …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Jason Linkins / The Huffington Post:

Rumsfeld On 2006 Election: “The Correction For That...Is An Attack” — An ongoing exploration of the documents related to the Pentagon's “message force multipliers” program has unearthed a clip of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld suggesting that America, having voted the Democrats …

Discussion: The Politico, Firedoglake, Newshoggers.com, Democrats.com, Brilliant at Breakfast and American Street

Argghhh!:

HUSSAYN'S STORY — The visual-only sim can be a stomach-churner, but a couple of the IqAF Fling-Wing pilots who have come up here from Taji are pretty tough - the only thing that gets to them is my coffee. — Hussayn was recovering from a cup of my extra-strength double espresso with a bottle …

Discussion: small dead animals

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

NEVER DIE!! — Even with Hillary's blow-out win in West Virginia and the amazing Democratic victory in Mississippi, for me tonight's going to be about Terry McAuliffe's tour de force moment when he turned projectile nonsense into something approaching the sublime ...

Discussion: Democrats.com, Althouse and MyDD

Washington Post:

Some Detainees Are Drugged For Deportation — Immigrants Sedated Without Medical Reason — The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country …

Discussion: TalkLeft, On Deadline, The Raw Story, TPMMuckraker and Blue Girl, Red State

Jerusalem Post:

At least 14 hurt as Grad rocket hits Ashkelon shopping mall — At least 14 people were wounded Wednesday evening, including a baby girl and her mother, when a Grad rocket fired from Gaza hit the Hutzot Shopping Center in Ashkelon. — MDA said that the baby was listed in moderate condition …

Discussion: Israel Matzav and A Blog For All

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Clinton was brain behind the war room — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was the original impetus behind the Senate Democratic “war room,” a legacy the candidate does not mention on the campaign trail but one that has significantly changed the upper chamber.

Discussion: The Swamp

Nina Bernstein / New York Times:

Italian's Detention Illustrates Dangers Foreign Visitors Face — He was a carefree Italian with a recent law degree from a Roman university. She was “a totally Virginia girl,” as she puts it, raised across the road from George Washington's home. Their romance, sparked by a 2006 meeting …

Discussion: Blue Girl, Red State and Balkinization

James Pitkin / Willamette Week:

Six Minutes With Barack — The Democratic Presidential frontrunner talks timber payments, Gordon Smith and of course tattoos. — Sen. Barack Obama once remarked on the long odds of a “skinny guy from the South Side with a funny name” finding success in American politics.

Discussion: TownHall Blog, Top of the Ticket and The Page