Monday's reads

'The Clinton-Kerry Alliance' - Patrick Healy - The New York Times.

Mr. Kerry has "a certain credibility on Iraq right now," given that his June 2006 Senate amendment to withdraw troops in a year – which Mrs. Clinton and many others opposed at the time – has now been embraced by many Democrats, including Mrs. Clinton....

For Mr. Kerry, meanwhile, being a player again has its own rehabilitative power. There is nothing like standing next to a Clinton to bring you into a spotlight. As the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, Mr. Kerry came to relish that spotlight after years spent in the sometimes overwhelming shadow of his state's senior senator, Edward M. Kennedy.

'Behind an Anti-Spitzer Site, an Ally of Roger Stone' - Azi Paybarah - The New York Observer.

As for the notion that he’s doing the dirty of Stone, who is currently working as a paid advisor to the state Senate Republicans, Caputo said, "I don't work for free. Ever. I never have. If I’m doing Roger’s dirty work, a check is well overdue."

'Obama Campaign: National Polls Are Bunk, Please Ignore Them' - Greg Sargent - TPMCafe.

The national press continues to be obsessed about national primary polling, but as we outlined in the last memo, we fundamentally reject the importance of these national primary polls. This is a sequential process that begins in Iowa and carries through the calendar. If national polls were affecting our ability to grow the campaign, perhaps we would pay them some attention. But they have not, so we don’t.