by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

In another sign that the economy is in or heading into a recession , consumer confidence sank to a five-year low in March.  The Washington Post reports:

Consumer confidence sank to a five-year low in March as tight credit markets, rising prices and worsening job prospects deepened worries that the economy has fallen into recession.

Danny
Communications Director

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

Dan Balz at the Washington Post asks 8 questions that today's primaries might answer:

1. Will the Democratic race end with today's results?
2. Can Clinton ever overtake Obama in pledged delegates?
3. How badly will competition split the Democratic Party?
4. What will superdelegates do if Obama wins one big state?
5. Will Clinton hold her blue-collar base?
6. Will Obama crack the Hispanic vote?
7. Will McCain persuade Huckabee to quit?
8. Can you explain the Texas voting system?

Danny
Communications Director

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had a lively debate in Ohio.

The New York Times live blogged the debate.

The Washington Post ran a debate fact check.

Danny

Communications Director

by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

The Washington Post on the Protect America Act, telecom immunity, and the end of the world.

The Bush administration said yesterday that the government "lost intelligence information" because House Democrats allowed a surveillance law to expire last week, causing some telecommunications companies to refuse to cooperate with terrorism-related wiretapping orders.

But hours later, administration officials told lawmakers that the final holdout among the companies had relented and agreed to fully participate in the surveillance program, according to an official familiar with the issue.

The assertions and revisions marked the latest developments in the battle over the Protect America Act, a temporary surveillance law broadening the government's spying powers that expired last Saturday.

Danny

Communications Director

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

I've just come across a great little feature in The Washington Post called "The Fact Checker" by Michael Dobbs. Nearly every day it pins down the candidates on what they're saying and checks in with experts to see if they're telling the truth (there's even a great little Pinocchio graphic with each article). There's some good stuff here, including this recent post that says "The Obama Effect" -- massive increases in turnout, particularly among young voters -- may be more myth than truth.

In the article, the Post turns to a voting data expert that concludes in "The Pinocchio Test" that "Obama is exaggerating his impact on turnout. He can fairly take some of the credit for increased participation, particularly in the early caucus states and South Carolina, where his well-organized ground effort helped mobilize hundreds of thousands of new voters. But Professor McDonald says he has "yet to see any evidence" that the phenomenon will carry over into the general election, even if Obama is the Democratic nominee."

The column is an equal opportunity fact-checker. There's a few that take Senators Clinton and McCain to task too. Check it out.

by Rodney Cruz [courtesy of Blog for America]

http://lemonton.blogspot.com/2008/02/avoiding-convention-train-wreck.html

Avoiding a Convention Train Wreck
Posted February 7, 2008 | 10:39 PM (EST)
Doug Kendall