<><>DEMOCRATS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

CLINTON

Clinton Slammed for Vote On 2001 Bankruptcy Bill

By Damian Paletta
Wall Street Journal
January 24, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Clinton is on the defensive for another vote aligned with President Bush early in her legislative career: this one for a measure to make it more difficult to erase personal debts through bankruptcy…

Bill Clinton Accuses Obama Camp of Stirring Race Issue

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
January 24, 2008

Scolding a reporter, former President Bill Clinton said the Obama campaign was “feeding” the news media to keep issues of race alive…

Clinton Is Endorsed by Pennsylvania Governor

By Patrick Healy
New York Times
January 24, 2008

Gov. Edward G. Rendell gave Hillary Rodham Clinton an important endorsement ahead of neighboring New Jersey’s critical primary…

On the dais again, it's the other Clinton

By Linda Feldmann
Christian Science Monitor
January 24, 2008

The former president has been mostly an asset in his wife's presidential campaign, but some top Democrats are starting to issue warnings in the media…

EDWARDS

Edwards Appeals for the Rural Vote

By Kevin Sack
New York Times
January 23, 2008

John Edwards, noting that Hillary Rodham Clinton would be absent from the state for most of the week, said he would not neglect or forget voters in rural towns like Bennettsville…

Edwards struggles for attention, even in native state

By Kathy Kiely
USA Today
January 24, 2008

LANCASTER, S.C. — John Edwards on Wednesday brought his us-against-them campaign, along with the star of a much-rerun TV series and a clutch of bluegrass celebrities, into a struggling former mill town tucked in the middle of a lonesome stretch of woodlands…

OBAMA

Obama bungled votes in Illinois

By Peter Wallsten
Los Angeles Times
January 23, 2008

At least 5 times, the former state senator said he had pushed the wrong button…

Longtime patron may be a problem for Obama

By Dan Morain and Tom Hamburger
Los Angeles Times
January 23, 2008

Alleged slumlord and indicted businessman Antoin 'Tony' Rezko has long supported the Democratic presidential hopeful, who has returned related donations…

<><>REPUBLICANS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

GIULIANI

How Rudy's Bet Went Wrong

By Justin Wolfers
Wall Street Journal
January 23, 2008

Whither Rudy? Rudy Giuliani took a big bet with his campaign strategy, opting to skip the early primary states in order to invest heavily in large, delegate-rich states like Florida, New Jersey and California…

Giuliani Finds Snowbird Friends in Florida, but Is He Winning Over Voters?

By Michael Powell
New York Times
January 24, 2008

Rudolph W. Giuliani’s polling numbers in Florida have dipped, and money has become a worry, too…

HUCKABEE

Huckabee pares staff in Florida

By Louise Roug and Dan Morain
Los Angeles Times
January 23, 2008

The Republican's campaign fails to meet its fundraising goal after losing in South Carolina…

ROMNEY

Romney's Wallet Keeps Him in the Race
Cash Is Major Asset As Some Opponents Run Perilously Low

By Elizabeth Holmes
Wall Street Journal
January 24, 2008

TAMPA, Fla. -- Mitt Romney lost three of the first five big Republican contests and lags behind in most major state and national polls. Yet he is still widely seen as a credible contender for the nomination thanks mainly to one trait: his wallet…

Romney Leads in Ill Will Among G.O.P. Candidates

By Michael Luo
New York Times
January 24, 2008

Within the small circle of Republican presidential contenders, Mitt Romney has become the most disliked…

<><> PRIMARY CONTESTS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

FLORIDA

Romney, McCain Take Lead in Fla.; Tax Talk Pervades

By Michael D. Shear and Dan Balz
Washington Post
January 24, 2008

NAPLES, Fla., Jan. 23 -- After months of debate over illegal immigration, social issues and the Iraq war, the economy and taxes have emerged as the central focus of the Republican race in Florida…

Taxes take precedence in Florida

By David Jackson
USA Today
January 24, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE — Republican presidential candidates attempting to break through and win the largest state prize to date are trying to use the promise of tax cuts to their advantage…

<><>RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE<><><><><><><><><><><>

Candidates focus on the economy

By Johanna Neuman and James Rainey
Los Angeles Times
January 23, 2008

Romney stresses his business experience; Obama says Bush failed to ensure oversight of lenders. Pa. governor backs Clinton…

Governors back candidates; coveted targets still available

Associated Press
January 24, 2008

Twenty-four of the country's governors have endorsed a presidential candidate at a time when their support matters most, lending their names, fundraising and organizing machinery to campaigns desperate for an edge in the primaries…

<><> POLLS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Clinton still leads solidly with nation's Democrats

By Doyle McManus
Los Angeles Times
January 24, 2008

But support for Obama has surged among the party's voters since the Times/Bloomberg Poll in December…

Voters Showing a Darker Mood Than in 2000 Race

By Kevin Sack
New York Times
January 24, 2008

Candidates are confronting an electorate deeply unsettled about the United States’ ability to control its own destiny…

Poll News: Dems OK with candidates; GOP, uh, no

Los Angeles Times
January 23, 2008

Numbers inside a new Times Poll finds very different enthusiasms between parties' members…

<><>2008/CONGRESS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

House Fails to Override Veto Of Children's Health Bill

Associated Press
Wall Street Journal
January 24, 2008

WASHINGTON -- For the second time in three months, the House failed yesterday to override President Bush's veto of a bill that would greatly increase spending on a popular children's health-insurance program…

Republicans' Mike Duncan highlights polls unfavorable to Clinton

By David Cook
Christian Science Monitor
January 24, 2008

The chairman of the Republican National Committee defended the GOP's '08 prospects at Wednesday's Monitor-sponsored breakfast for reporters…

<><>WAR/TERROR<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Senate Opens Debate On Wiretap Measure
Telephone Company Immunity at Issue

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post
January 24, 2008

The Senate yesterday began debating whether to grant legal immunity to telephone companies for assisting in warrantless wiretaps of terrorism suspects, with Democrats divided and their leadership pleading with the White House for more time to consider the issue…

<><>OTHER NEWS AND VIEWS<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Economic Slowdown Could Widen U.S. Budget Deficit

By Michael M. Phillips
Wall Street Journal
January 24, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy is likely to dodge a recession, but the slowdown will nonetheless sap revenues, bump up government spending, and drive the federal budget further into deficit, the official congressional budget watchdog predicted…

Plan for a Mortgage Buyer Gains Some Ground

By Damian Paletta
Wall Street Journal
January 24, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd floated a plan to establish a government body to buy troubled mortgages from banks and investors and move homeowners into loans insured by the federal government or bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…

Gore Defends Same-Sex Marriage

By Ariel Alexovich
New York Times
January 23, 2008

Al Gore has posted a new video on Current TV listing his reasons for supporting same-sex marriage…