Top Items:


Ralph Nader Flirts with Presidential Bid — With Harsh Words for Current Field, Nader Says Candidacy as Urgent as Ever — Ralph Nader has formed a presidential exploratory committee, and said in an interview Wednesday that he will launch another presidential bid if he's convinced …
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air, Wonkette, Los Angeles Times, AMERICAblog, Outside The Beltway and Boston Globe
RELATED:


John Edwards to Quit Presidential Race — John Edwards will end his presidential bid today, a source close to the Edwards campaign confirmed. — The former North Carolina senator is scheduled to speak in New Orleans this afternoon — an appearance billed as an anti-poverty speech …
Discussion:
New York Times, American Street, The Democratic Daily, The Gun Toting Liberal™, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, The 7-10, Rox Populi, Comments from Left Field, Taylor Marsh, Scobleizer, The Reaction, Middle Earth Journal, Liberal Values, Captain's Quarters, Say Anything, skippy the bush kangaroo, Blue Crab Boulevard, Suburban Guerrilla, Greatscat! and Tom Watson


Edwards quitting presidential race — (CNN) — Former Sen. John Edwards is dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, CNN has learned. — Edwards has told top advisers about his decision. It is expected he will announce it at a speech in New Orleans, Louisiana, at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Why John Edwards Won — John Edwards ends his presidential candidacy today. This is not surprising news: He finished third in every single contest except for Iowa, where he narrowly beat Hillary Clinton. Going forward, he doesn't have the money or the organization to compete with either her or Barack Obama.

Hillary On Edwards: I'm Reaching Out To His Supporters
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs, Shakespeare's Sister, Political Machine and New York Daily News Blogs

Edwards' Departure & A New Democratic Race
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Carpetbagger Report, The Campaign Spot, Sister Toldjah, Power Line and TPM Election Central

The Return of Nader — Ralph Nader has formed a presidential …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns and Money


Gallup Daily: Tracking Election 2008 — Based on daily polling from Jan. 27-29, 2008 — PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama has now cut the gap with Hillary Clinton to 6 percentage points among Democrats nationally in the Gallup Poll Daily tracking three-day average, and interviewing conducted …


Giuliani to exit presidential race today — ORLANDO, Fla. - Rudy Giuliani told supporters Wednesday he's abandoning his bid for president and backing Republican rival and longtime friend John McCain. — “I spoke with Rudy Giuliani this morning and he confirmed that he is dropping …
Discussion:
Scholars and Rogues, Don Surber, D-Day, JammieWearingFool, Sweetness & Light, Salon and First Draft
RELATED:


The Last Action Hero — So here we are, at the turn of the tide: one vote from winning the court; two-to-three good years from winning the largest stage of the war; the pressures of the Oval Office at their dramatic peak. A critical moment in our nation's history, time for an individual …


Mukasey Refuses To Brief Congress On Legality Of CIA Torture Program — In December, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) asked Attorney General Mike Mukasey for his analysis of the legality of the CIA's interrogation program. Yesterday, in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, Washington Post, The Raw Story, NPR, Unqualified Offerings and Democratic National Committee
RELATED:


U.S. Rep. Davis to Retire, Ending 14-Year Tenure in Congress — U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said today he will retire from Congress at the end of the year, bringing to a close a 14-year stint in the House of Representatives during which he rose rapidly through the ranks …
RELATED:

A King Backs Clinton — Amy Chozick reports on the presidential race from Little Rock, Ark. — As the Obama campaign basks in the Kennedy glow, chief rival Sen. Hillary Clinton picked up an endorsement today from a larger-than-life southern entertainer known for his sideburns and white rhinestone-studded jumpsuit.

Super Tuesday Math: Far, Far From Over — CNN puts McCain with 97 delegates and Romney at 74. — Let's look at the worst case for Romney on Super Tuesday. — Next Tuesday the winner-take-all states that lean McCain are New York (101), Missouri (58), Arizona (53), New Jersey (52) …

Top Edwards Adviser Joe Trippi: Hillary And Obama Are “Banging Down The Doors” For Our Endorsement — Top Edwards adviser Joe Trippi just confirmed to me by phone that the Hillary and Obama campaigns are already working overtime to woo Edwards to their sides — even before his official dropout speech.

US AND THEM....You already knew this, but the Bush administration is nuts. Here's exhibit #3,886: … It's dumb enough that we have a policy of refusing to speak to Iran in the first place, as if merely talking to them would give us geopolitical cooties. But to repeatedly get bent …

The Daniel Pearl Standard — This week marks the sixth anniversary of the murder of my son Daniel Pearl, a reporter for this newspaper. It is a fitting occasion to step back and reflect on what this tragedy has taught us. — I am often asked why Danny's death has touched so many people and why he …

Commission Confidential — EXTRA — In a revelation bound to cast a pall over the 9/11 Commission, Philip Shenon will report in a forthcoming book that the panel's executive director, Philip Zelikow, engaged in “surreptitious” communications with presidential adviser Karl Rove …

ANYBODY BUT McCAIN....I happen to think that hard-right conservatives are crazy for working themselves into such a tizzy over the possibility of John McCain as the Republican presidential candidate. But then, I think hard-right conservatives are just crazy in general. So my opinion hardly counts.