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

THE FIELD

Black Ohioans Backing Clinton Feel the Pressure to Switch

By Andrew Jacobs
New York Times
February 28, 2008

Black officials stumping for Hillary Rodham Clinton are being met with disbelief, disapproval and at times ridicule from black voters…

Despite Nafta Attacks, Clinton and Obama Haven’t Been Free Trade Foes

By Michael Luo
New York Times
February 28, 2008

Lost amid their sparring is that both rivals have staked out nuanced positions in the past on Nafta, and have supported similar deals…

Black Leader Changes Endorsement to Obama

By Jeff Zeleny
New York Times
February 28, 2008

Representative John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, confirmed his switch of support away from Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton…

Clinton, Obama agree on changing trade pact

By Cathleen Decker and Mark Z. Barabak
Los Angeles Times
February 28, 2008

In their last debate before Tuesday's primaries in Ohio and Texas, the Democratic presidential candidates say NAFTA needs substantial renegotiation…

CLINTON

Suddenly, a Split in Big Votes Would Do
Anything Less in Texas, Ohio Would Put Pressure On Clinton to Clear Out

By Jackie Calmes
Wall Street Journal
February 28, 2008

CLEVELAND -- After Tuesday's debate here between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, local congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones joined other Clinton supporters in the "spin room" to tell the media why her candidate won the skirmish -- and ultimately would win the war for the Democratic presidential nomination. One of the first questions: What would she do if Sen. Clinton ends her campaign?

Clinton to Focus on Poverty Ahead of Ohio Primary

By Amy Chozick
Wall Street Journal
February 28, 2008

ZANESVILLE, Ohio -- With less than a week until Ohio holds its Democratic primary contest, Sen. Hillary Clinton is traveling to the poorest parts of the state in an effort to highlight her poverty agenda and draw in low-income voters…

Longtime Clinton Aide Returns to the Fray

By Adam Nagourney
New York Times
February 28, 2008

Harold M. Ickes, leading Hillary Rodham Clinton’s fight for superdelegates, may be her last hope for winning the Democratic presidential nomination…

Clinton’s Efforts on Ethanol Overlap Her Husband’s Interests

By Mike Mcintire
New York Times
February 28, 2008

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has worked to foster the sort of ethanol investments pursued by her husband’s friends and her political supporters…

Clinton Campaign Pours Resources Into Two Crucial Primaries

By Anne E. Kornblut and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post
February 28, 2008

ZANESVILLE, Ohio, Feb. 27 -- Aides to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), coming to terms with the idea that she must win contests in both Texas and Ohio next week or face enormous pressure to drop out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, are pouring all of the campaign's dwindling resources into the March 4 primaries…

OBAMA

Early Obama Commitment on Money Becomes Target

By David D. Kirkpatrick and Jeff Zeleny
New York Times
February 28, 2008

A year ago, Senator Barack Obama said that if he won his party’s nomination he would limit himself to public financing in the general election, but that challenge to others is now a test for him…


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

McCAIN

Mega-Church Pastor in Texas Backs McCain

By Elisabeth Bumiller
New York Times
February 27, 2008

A leader of evangelical Christians in Texas cites the senator's support for Israel and stance against abortion…

McCain’s Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules Him Out

By Carl Huls
New York Times
February 28, 2008

John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. So is he still a “natural-born citizen” and therefore eligible to be president?

McCain unlikely to curb 'straight talk' approach anytime soon
But as the likely GOP nominee, he will face more scrutiny from Democrats.

By Linda Feldmann
Christian Science Monitor
February 28, 2008

Earlier this week, the likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain told reporters on his campaign bus that if Americans don't believe US policy in Iraq is working, "then I lose, I lose."

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

In Ohio primary, campaign hinges on NAFTA
In a state that has lost 225,000 jobs since 2001, voters blame economic woes on free trade and globalization.

By Amanda Paulson
Christian Science Monitor
February 28, 2008

In Ohio, it feels like 1993 again. The coming Democratic presidential vote here has revived a debate over the merits of globalization and free trade – as epitomized by the long-reviled North American Free Trade Agreement…

Unions help steer Dems' Ohio race

By Jill Lawrence
USA Today
February 28, 2008

CLEVELAND — Snow fell steadily this week as nursing-home employees knocked on doors in working-class neighborhoods for Barack Obama. Across town, in a room furnished with tables and a coffee maker, hospital and school workers clutching cellphones made calls for Hillary Rodham Clinton…

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

McCain, Obama Trade Barbs

By Laura Meckler
Wall Street Journal
February 28, 2008

TYLER, Texas -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are increasingly attacking each other over a range of issues in what could be the opening rounds of the general-election campaign…

Obama, McCain argue over Iraq
The war looms as a major theme as their campaigns and that of Hillary Clinton focus on next week's crucial primaries in Ohio and Texas.

By Johanna Neuman and Michael Finnegan
Los Angeles Times
February 27, 2008

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain pivoted away from their primary contests today and traded barbs over the war in Iraq in what could become a key theme in the fall presidential election campaign…

Young America May Lift Democrats, Shape Agendas
Under-30 Voters Help Bolster Issues Like Student Loans

By Elizabeth Holmes
Wall Street Journal
February 28, 2008

Behind the surge in voter turnout this year has been a particularly sharp rise among people younger than age 30. In 18 states that have voted in the past two months, younger voters made up 13% of the Democratic electorate, up from 9% in the nominating contests four years ago, an analysis of primary and caucus exit polls shows…

Bloomberg Definitively Rules Out a Run For President, May Make Endorsement

By Ben Casselman
Wall Street Journal
February 28, 2008

Michael Bloomberg's prolonged flirtation with a presidential campaign is over…

Bloomberg Says He Won’t Run but Will Be Active

By Diane Cardwell
New York Times
February 28, 2008

Bringing an end to a long flirtation with a bid for the White House, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has officially closed the door on a presidential candidacy…

Clash on Iraq Could Be McCain-Obama Preview

By Michael D. Shear and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post
February 28, 2008

TYLER, Tex., Feb. 27 -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) accused Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) of making ill-informed comments about Iraq and al-Qaeda in Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate, signaling that a general-election brawl between the colleagues would center in part on who has the foreign policy experience to lead a country at war…

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

In shift, G.O.P. welcomes Iraq debate
Republican senators see the issue as a plus for the presidential campaign.

By Gail Russell Chaddock
Christian Science Monitor
February 28, 2008

For nearly five years, Senate Republicans had blocked any bid to force a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. That changed this week…

<><>CONGRESS<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

House Votes to Rescind Tax Breaks for Oil Industry

By Siobhan Hughes
Wall Street Journal
February 28, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives voted to repeal $18 billion of tax breaks for oil and gas producers, and to use the savings to finance tax incentives for wind-power projects, solar panels and more energy-efficient cars…

<><>OTHER NEWS<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Paulson Dismisses Mortgage Rescue Plans
Bernanke Keeps Door Open to Rate Cuts To Boost Economy

By Michael M. Phillips and Greg Ip
Wall Street Journal
February 28, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is hardening its opposition to the chorus of Democrats, bankers, economists and consumer advocates calling for a big-money government rescue program for struggling homeowners…

Will U.S. become world's nuclear-waste dump?
Critics say a plan to import up to 20,000 tons of low-level waste from Italy, the biggest import ever, could lead to even larger flows.

By Mark Clayton
Christian Science Monitor
February 28, 2008

The federal government is weighing a Utah company's request to import large amounts of low-level radioactive waste from Italy – a step critics say could lead the United States to become a nuclear garbage dump for the world…

Taxpayers not planning rebate spending spree
Most say they'll either pay down debt or put money in savings -- minimizing the economic stimulus the government was aiming for.

By Maura Reynolds
Los Angeles Times
February 27, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Most Americans are planning to spend their stimulus rebate checks to pay down existing debt or add to their savings, not to fuel the kind of consumer spending that would bolster the economy, a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found…