BREAKING: Bill Clinton Rushed To Hospital

[Portrait by CHUCK CLOSE]

MSNBC: Former President Bill Clinton was hospitalized Thursday in New York City after experiencing chest pains, according to a spokesman. “Today President Bill Clinton was admitted to the Columbia Campus of New York Presbyterian Hospital after feeling discomfort in his chest,” adviser Doug Band said in a statement. “Following a visit to his cardiologist, he underwent a procedure to place two stents in one of his coronary arteries.” “President Clinton is in good spirits, and will continue to focus on the work of his Foundation and Haiti’s relief and long-term recovery efforts,” said Band.

NEW YORK TIMES:  Mr. Clinton’s health has been a concern ever since the 2004 heart operation. By his own account, he had never been entirely the same. “It changed me,” he told The New York Times last year. “One of the things I noticed is that on normal days ever since I had that heart surgery, I’m a lot more laid back and a lot more relaxed and a lot more healthy. “But I also noticed since I had the surgery – and this is what you picked up in the campaign – that if I’m really tired, it’s more difficult for me than it was when I was back in politics before I had the heart problem. I have no explanation for why that is. I’m just observing it. It’s neither an excuse for any mistake I made or anything else. I’m just explaining. It’s something I’ve noticed. My life has changed.” MORE

ALSO: As Sarah Palin marks her birthday, a new national poll indicates that 7 out of 10 Americans feel that she is not qualified to be president. According to an ABC News/Washington Post survey, 71 percent of the public say the former Alaska governor is not qualified to serve in the White House, with 26 percent saying the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee is qualified to be president. The 26 percent who say Palin is qualified is down 12 points from an ABC News/Washington Post poll from November. Twenty-eight percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey from November indicated that Palin was qualified, with 7 in 10 feeling she was not qualified to be president. The ABC News/Washington Post poll, released Thursday morning as Palin marks her 46th birthday, also indicates that even a majority of Republicans now view Palin as not qualified to serve as commander-in-chief. According to the survey, 45 percent of conservatives see her as qualified, down 21 points from last November. MORE