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Ben Sargent

Is Nader Planning Another Run?
Ralph Nader could be poised for another third party presidential campaign. The consumer advocate will appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Nader launched his 2004 presidential run on the show.

Report: Rove wanted dirt on Alabama gov.
WASHINGTON - A former Republican campaign worker claims that President Bush’s former top political adviser, Karl Rove, asked her to find evidence that the Democratic governor of Alabama at the time was cheating on his wife, according to an upcoming broadcast of “60 Minutes.”
Sunday night, DURING THE OSCARS.  If you don’t have a recorder, it should be available on the internet next week.

Researchers see genes influencing votes
When you step into the voting booth in November, you will have only a partial say in your decision. And it’s your parents’ fault.

HBO Agrees To Air ‘Taxi To The Dark Side’ After Discovery Drops It For Being Too ‘Controversial’ (Think Progress)
Taxi to the Dark Side, a documentary about an innocent Afghan taxi driver tortured to death by U.S. officials at Bagram Air Base, has received wide critical acclaim since its debut in April at the Tribeca Film Festival… Earlier this month, ThinkProgress reported that the Discovery Channel broke its contract to broadcast Taxi prior to the 2008 elections. With plans to take the company public, executives were afraid the “film’s controversial content might damage Discovery’s public offering.” In a press release on Thursday, HBO announced that it has bought the rights to Taxi and will show the film in September 2008.

Don’t Rerun That ’70s Show (by Paul Krugman)
Will the next president be prepared to fight for an effective [economic recovery] plan?… Until recently, I thought the biggest political struggle facing the next president was likely to be over health care reform. But right now it looks as if the first thing on the next administration’s plate will have to be dealing with a weak economy. And if effective action isn’t forthcoming, the next president will suffer the fate of Jimmy Carter, who began his administration with words of uplift — “Let us create together a new national spirit of unity and trust” — and ended up delivering America into the hands of the hard right.

Obama takes heat for skipping annual black forum
WASHINGTON — Presidential politics will take center stage in New Orleans on Saturday at the annual “State of the Black Union” symposium… Hillary Clinton will address a largely African-American crowd of thousands in New Orleans’ Ernest M. Morial Convention Center — where thousands of the city’s poorest residents sought shelter in squalid conditions after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Clinton’s Democratic rival, is skipping the event. He’ll focus instead on campaigning in Texas and Ohio in hopes of delivering a knockout blow to Clinton in those states’ presidential rimaries on March 4.
But wait!  Hillary Clinton is the one who will DO ANYTHING TO WIN!  Isn’t she?  I mean, Chris Matthews told me so.

“Our Nation is at War” (by gottlieb at My Left Wing)
The first thing out of Obama’s mouth [in this week’s debate]. A lie. A meme meant to perpetuate the rule of the military-industrial-congressional-media-complex…. Obama speaks to our dreams, but he cannot escape the nightmare of what America has become. A house of mirrors within a house of cards within a pack of lies.
Cannot?  Or will not?  Click through to watch the video.

FRONT-RUNNER RUNS BEHIND THIS TIME (by Charles Hurt, New York Post)
February 22, 2008 — WASHINGTON - Determined to shed the rap that he’s “all hat and no cattle,” Barack Obama showed up at the Texas debate [Thursday] night with neither hat nor cattle. Unlike his soaring speeches and best past debate performances, Obama was dull, muddled and appeared defenseless against Hillary Rodham Clinton’s sharpest swipes… [E]ven after the crowd booed and hissed Clinton’s lame canned line about it - that Obama stands for “change you can Xerox” - he still failed to fillet her over the gross display of petty politics… It is in these final moments, when the boot is on their necks, that the Clintons are at their best - and Obama best not forget that.
The boos were few and far between, and could easily have been staged. But isn’t it interesting that this writer for a newspaper that endorsed Obama has a completely different take on the debate than each and every one of the TV pundits?  And isn’t it also interesting that when Obama zings Clinton, he “chills Hill“, something you could admire?  But Clinton, we see, plays “petty politics”.  Whether you like the way Clinton worded the statement or not, it’s an actual fact that Obama’s supposedly heartfelt words about hope and change are really focus group tested PR from his political strategist, David Axelrod—who is also the strategist for Deval Patrick, from whom the words supposedly came.  (And for Mayor Daley, for that matter.)  And when Axelrod was Edwards’ strategist, Edwards used those words, too.

Obama gives opponents plenty of ammunition (by Gene Lyons, author of Fools for Scandal and co-author, with Joe Conason, of The Hunting of the President)
[D]id you catch Obama in South Carolina, warning African American audiences, “Don’t be hoodwinked, don’t be bamboozled”? You can also Google those words and watch actor Denzel Washington deliver them in Spike Lee’s brilliant film “Malcolm X”… All this was going on while Obama’s media acolytes were accusing the Clinton campaign of “playing the race card.” (A brilliant tactic to guarantee landslide defeat in South Carolina.)… [Lyons then lists other associations of Obama’s that could easily be attacked by the right.] To the extent that Hillary Clinton is polarizing … it’s due to 16 years of deliberate character assassination, accusing her of everything, including drug smuggling and murder… Obama, alas, has given them plenty to work with. If he wins the nomination, will voters still recognize him come November?

Violent radicals of 1970s come up in Dem race (by Jill Lawrence at On Politics, USA Today)
As ABC notes, Hillary Clinton’s campaign pointed reporters today to stories in the New York Sun and Politico about William Ayers, a Chicago resident who was part of the Weather Underground that bombed the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol in the 1970s. The Sun said Ayers gave Barack Obama a $200 contribution in 2001; Politico said Obama went to a 1995 political event at a house shared by Ayers and another onetime radical, Bernadine Dohrn. The Clinton camp may not want to go too far down that road. “In his final day in office, President Clinton pardoned another one-time member of the Weather Underground, Susan L. Rosenberg, after she had served 16 years in prison on federal charges” involving dynamite and an automatic weapon, ABC said. “And in 1999, President Clinton also pardoned 16 violent Puerto Rican nationalists responsible for more than 100 bombings of U.S. political and military installations…”
My comment:  But the Clintons didn’t have many-year relationships with any of the people who were pardoned, as Obama did with Ayers.  And Bill Clinton’s pardons were often for people he thought had been unfairly treated, as he himself had been treated.  I don’t know the circumstances of these exact pardons, but it might be worth a look-see, Jill.

Barack Obama’s Willie Horton (Taylor Marsh)
What is it about some people who just don’t get the problems with our Democratic nominee being friendly, even taking a contribution (however small), as well as having a meeting as recently as 1995 with an unrepentant domestic terrorist like William Ayers? It reveals a lack of seriousness about the issue of terrorism and the dangerously immature judgment of anyone who is going to associate with a man, at the very least, that Republicans will use to beat us over the head with, having the bonus of hitting a spot the public loves to drink up, which is that our party is not serious about the dangers we face in this world… If past is prologue, the Republicans are set to make Ayers Barack Obama’s Wille Horton. But evidently, that’s a gamble many Democrats are willing to take.

Reasoned Debate in America Dept:
Here’s a post at Democratic Underground: “Taylor Marsh is a deplorable piece of filth. A political whore. She’s worse than kkkarl, who at least sticks to fucking over the opposition party. Charming Taylor is swiftboating Obama in the ugliest possible way. She is beneath contempt. And so is anyone who post’s crap like this: http://www.taylormarsh.com / There’s no excuse for it. None. And if you cozy up to her, you’re no better than she is. You get it? Disagree with us, you are filth…”
Actually, Karl Rove does plenty of messing with his own party.  He destroyed John McCain once, so why not again?  Why did all these stories hurting McCain come out all of a sudden?  Who’s behind it?  Of course, it could be one of the Democratic candidates, but there’s at least a possibility that Karl Rove is working very, very hard to make sure he and George W. don’t end up in prison during the next administration.  And only another Bush presidency could guarantee that.  Will Jeb pick up the pieces after McCain is destroyed THIS time?

Is Obama open to criticism?
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama’s refusal to wear an American flag lapel pin along with a photo of him not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem led conservatives on Internet and in the media to question his patriotism.
Don’t tell me how unfair this potential criticism is.  When has the right ever been fair?  Lies and distortions about Obama will supplant lies and distortions about Clinton.  So, any of you planning to vote for Obama because you want an end to the divisiveness, I say choose another reason.  Because the divisiveness is NOT going to stop until the right wing has been totally discredited.  Nevertheless, the steamroller rolls on.

Obama narrowing the ’superdelegate’ gap
WASHINGTON — The Democratic superdelegates are starting to follow the voters — straight to Barack Obama. In just the past two weeks, more than two dozen of them have climbed aboard his presidential campaign, according to a survey by the Associated Press. At the same time, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s are beginning to jump ship, abandoning her for Obama or deciding they now are undecided.
I’ll avoid the usual comparison to the type of animals that jump ship, and instead remind you of a recent post, “Sheep In Human Clothing: Scientists Reveal Our Flock Mentality”.

Obama Likely to Raise Record Money in February (Political Wire)
Sen. Barack Obama “is on track to raise more than $50 million this month, if outside projections and outside advisers to the campaign are correct,” Marc Ambinder reports… In a possible game of expectations setting, GOP operative Patrick Ruffini suggests it could be as much as $60 million.

John McCain and the Clinton Rules (by Jamison Foser, Media Matters)
In the wake of this week’s controversy surrounding John McCain’s dealings with lobbyists, and his honesty about those dealings, it is impossible to avoid thinking about how differently the media would have handled the news had it been about Bill Clinton or Al Gore rather than John McCain. Three consistent rules of media coverage of purported scandals involving progressives come immediately to mind: If any part of an alleged scandal turns out to be true, the media behaves as though the entire story is true… Media parse every statement by progressives in response to controversy, looking for something to ridicule — whether the ridicule is fair or not… Allegations that turn out to be unproven, or even false, are used by the media as evidence in support of future allegations.
I submit that the media, including some in progressive media, have treated Hillary Clinton by the strict Clinton rules, but so far have been somewhat lax on Obama.  That will change.

McCain defends lobbyist ties
INDIANAPOLIS - Sen. John McCain said Friday that while lobbyists serve as close advisers to his presidential campaign, they are honorable and he is not influenced by corruption in the system.
Has Barack Obama ever explained why he has lobbyists on his paid staff?

Straight Talk … Inc. (by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
John McCain is such a scourge of lobbyists everywhere that his senior advisor, GOP lobbyist Charlie Black, is now conducting most of his lobbying work by phone from the Straight Talk Express. I have to confess that this new detail has vanquished my ability to snark.

White House Weighs in on McCain Story
The White House is appalled at the New York Times report about likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s relationship with a Washington lobbyist. Of course, eight years ago, it was President Bush’s supporters using negative campaign tactics aimed at staggering McCain, then his rival for the GOP nomination. But today, the White House is outraged at such tactics.

McCain uses Times article to fundraise
(CNN) – John McCain’s presidential campaign wasted no time taking advantage of an article in the New York Times which portrayed a relationship with a female lobbyist that troubled his advisers nearly a decade ago… “We need your help to counteract the liberal establishment and fight back against the New York Times by making an immediate contribution today,” [an email to supporters] said in text that links to an online contribution form on the McCain campaign’s website.

A Hole in McCain’s Defense? (by Michael Isikoff, Newsweek)
A sworn deposition that Sen. John McCain gave in a lawsuit more than five years ago appears to contradict one part of a sweeping denial that his campaign issued this week to rebut a New York Times story about his ties to a Washington lobbyist.

Paxson contradicts McCain, says they discussed FCC letters. (Think Progress)
Marking the second time that statements made by Sen. John McCain’s campaign have been contradicted today, Lowell “Bud” Paxson told the Washington Post that he did in fact meet with the senator about writing letters to the FCC in 1999. McCain’s campaign said yesterday that “no representative of Paxson or Alcalde & Fay personally asked Senator McCain to send a letter.” Paxson said they met “several weeks” before McCain sent the letters.

John McCain’s co-chair of AZ Leadership Team: Rep. Richard Renzi Indicted (by John Amato at Crooks and Liars)
Silent Patriot: What a damaging week for the McCain campaign, huh? His three most “attractive” selling points — campaign finance reform, fierce anti-lobbyist stance, and support for the Glorious surge — are crumbling around him. First we learned he was positioning himself to game the FEC by using taxpayer money to bail out his campaign, then we learned about his ethically dubious relationship with a young, attractive female lobbyist, then we learned that Muqtada al-Sadr essentially controls the fate of Iraq when he (thankfully) agreed to continue abiding by the cease-fire. Saint McCain’s not even the nominee yet and his three strongest legs have been taken out in a matter of 72 hours.

When conservatives decide adultery no longer matters (by Steven Benen at The Carpetbagger Report)
The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson, Bush’s former chief speechwriter and someone who seems to take the issue of politics and morality seriously, devoted his latest column to John McCain’s Vicki Iseman controversy… To hear Gerson tell it, McCain shouldn’t endure [such] questions, at all, precisely because Clinton did [about Monica Lewinsky]. Conservatives argued 18 years ago that a man who would cheat on his wife couldn’t be trusted to be faithful to his country. Conservatives are now prepared to argue that McCain shouldn’t even be asked about adultery?… To borrow a ’90s-era phrase, where’s the outrage?

NBC: Coal trying to ‘cloak itself in green.’ (Think Progress)
NBC Nightly News reported [Thursday] night on the multi-million-dollar PR campaign being orchestrated by the coal front group Americans for Balanced Energy Choices to promote the construction of enormous coal plants in Nevada. As NBC correspondent Anne Thompson points out, ABEC’s misleading campaign is “cloaking coal of once belching smokestacks in green.”… In the segment, NASA scientist James Hansen says a moratorium on coal plant development is needed, or else “we don’t have any chance of stopping global climate change.”
Click through to watch the video

Tony Snow accepts job with O’Reilly. (Think Progress)
Bill O’Reilly’s blog reports that former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow will join Bill O’Reilly’s radio show as his “permanent fill-in host”… In October, O’Reilly told Snow that if CNN hired Snow as a competitor, “it’s going to get bloody.”

Media Matters for America headlines

CNN’s Bash falsely claimed McCain filled out public financing questionnaire

Following other media outlets, NBC, CBS both uncritically air McCain’s false, misleading attacks on Obama

Savage on Obama: “We have a right to know if he’s a so-called friendly Muslim or one who aspires to more radical teachings”

During CNN debate, John King falsely claimed Obama “refused” to disclose earmarks

MSNBC Live featured “facial decoding expert” identifying “almost a crocodile smile” on Clinton

Fox’s Rosen on crowd cheering Obama blowing his nose: “That kind of spontaneous affection Chairman Mao only dreamed of”

Bloomberg quoted McCain’s reaction to Renzi indictment, didn’t note McCain named Renzi campaign co-chairman

Echoing McCain, Lowry misrepresented Obama’s comments on Pakistan

Armstrong Williams: NY Times story on McCain “causes those of us in the media to lose credibility”

Brewer and Stoddard failed to note FCC chairman’s criticism of McCain’s letter for Paxson

Wall Street Journal, CNN’s Cafferty latest to apply “straight talk” label to McCain despite his growing list of falsehoods

O’Reilly aired clip of Bennett defending McCain without disclosing he’s McCain’s attorney

On Fox, Luntz asked debate focus group of Clinton and Obama: “[H]ow many of you want them to make love to each other?”

FCC Slashes Fox TV Penalty
The Federal Communications Commission erased nearly all of a proposed $1.2 million indecency fine against a number of Fox television stations yesterday, saying the Rupert Murdoch-owned network should be fined for airing an offensive television show only in markets where viewers complained about it.

Search Engines Must Comply With Strict EU Privacy Rules (by Stan Schroeder at Mashabl)
What goes in the US doesn’t necessarily carry over to the European Union. European data privacy regulators issued a short report which says that all internet search engines, even those based outside Europe, must comply with EU privacy rules… These rules include users’ consent to their data being collected, as well as giving users the ability to object to or verify their personal information.

Amazon’s First Film Production Deal Going Ahead, Finally (Paid Content)
Amazon.com is doing what its Seattle mate Starbucks hasn’t yet been able to pull off successfully: producing and promoting a movie. It is producing a movie with 20th Century Fox, called ”The Stolen Child,” based on the fantasy novel by Keith Donohue. Amazon optioned the film rights to the book in late 2006 and has since set up the property at 20th Century Fox, with Marc Platt attached to produce with Amazon.

Boom Studios Raises $600k For Online Comics Marketing (Paid Content)
LA-based Boom Studios, a service that promotes comic book artists via social networks, has raised $600,000 from DFJ Frontier and the Gideon Hixon Fund, reports VentureBeat. The company is looking to offer artists an alternative distribution route than major comic book publishers. As an example of its marketing capabilities, it recently published a comic for free on MySpace, which in turn lead to successful sales of the physical book.