Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Bloodshed in Baghdad: “Six American soldiers were killed and four wounded in a house rigged with explosives during an operation in Baqouba, the U.S. military told NBC News on Wednesday. The soldiers were clearing the house when a huge blast killed the six — the largest single loss of life for U.S. troops in the Iraq war so far this year. It’s not clear whether the house was booby-trapped or the explosives were remotely detonated.”
* This is looking like it’s shaping up as another Supreme Court disaster: “The Supreme Court appeared reluctant Wednesday to strike down the nation’s strictest requirement that voters show photo identification before being allowed to cast a ballot…. ‘You want us to invalidate the statute because of minimal inconvenience?’ Justice Anthony Kennedy said near the end of an hour-long argument. Kennedy, often a key vote, appeared more willing than some to consider changes to the law.”
* Some pollsters are scrambling to explain how and why they got the Dems’ New Hampshire primary so wrong: “Amidst all the hand-wringing by pollsters over how they managed to get New Hampshire so amazingly wrong, John Zogby has put out a press release containing an interesting piece of information: The last one-day sample of his three-day tracking poll showed Hillary closing the gap in a big way — but the sample was too small to be published on its own.”
* Good point: “They did it again! Just as in Iowa, yesterday’s media-sponsored Election Day poll failed to ask Democrats in New Hampshire if they were evangelical. Voters from both parties were asked about their church attendance and if they were Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Other Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Something else, or None. But only Republicans were asked if they were born-again or evangelical Christian…. Asking only Republicans about their religion shows that the media is still stuck on the outdated and false notion that evangelical Christians are the GOP’s political property. No party can own any faith. Evangelicals have broadened their agenda to include care for the planet, the poor and the stranger, and as a result are increasingly independent politically. Exit polls need to abandon the hidebound frames of the culture war — evangelicals already have.”
* Remember the Mark Foley scandal? “Florida law enforcement officials investigating former Republican Rep. Mark Foley, whose e-mails and instant messages to teenage former congressional pages shocked the country, are hoping Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will grant them access to Foley’s House computers…. A spokesman for Pelosi told ABC News her office ‘is in the process of preparing a response to Commissioner Bailey’s request,’ after receiving the letter only last week due to security precautions taken with her mail.”
* The Hill: “Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a top target for national Republicans in November, is battling with a government watchdog group that is alleging the senator may have violated federal bribery laws by earmarking funds to a campaign contributor…. The senator’s office released a number of documents that backed the propriety of the earmark and also showed that it had been sought by D.C. public schools. The office also released documents showing that the program had been well-regarded by New Orleans public schools and former Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), who wanted Ohio schools to buy the program in 2002.”
* Sometimes, it takes corruption to know corruption: “According to three well-placed Republican sources, former Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) — who lost his seat amid ethics allegations — has called on longtime friend Doolittle to not seek reelection in the interest of keeping the district a GOP stronghold. In the last Congress, Pombo was a panel chairman while Doolittle was a member of GOP leadership. Pombo could not be reached for comment.”
* It was widely expected, but the 60,000-member Culinary Workers Union, an important force in Nevada, formally endorsed Barack Obama today.
* I’ll admit I keep an eye on the political futures markets, more out of curiosity than anything else. The reality is, they’re poorly named: “I’ve been watching the action in one of the political futures markets this evening, Intrade. And the action in this prediction market has reinforced my opinion that these are less futures markets than immediate-past markets.”
* I sometimes think Chris Matthews is in a competition with himself to appear truly insane on matters relating to Hillary Clinton: “I think the Hillary appeal has always been about the mix of toughness and sympathy. Let’s not forget, and I’ll be brutal, the reason she’s a US Senator, the reason she’s a candidate for President, the reason she may be a front runner, is that her husband messed around….. That’s how she got to be a Senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn’t win it on her merit, she won because everybody felt, ‘My God, this woman stood up under humiliation,’ right? That’s what happened.” How this clown remains on the air is a mystery to me.
* And finally, the Larry Craig sex scandal is the gift that keeps on giving: “Besides attacking the law he was prosecuted under, Craig’s legal team argues that the hand signal allegedly used to communicate a desire to engage in sexual conduct would be constitutionally protected speech.”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.