memeorandum: Are Earmarks Defensible? — The Post asked members of Congress … (Robert G. Kaiser/Washington Post)

3:45 PM ET, March 14, 2009

Top Items:

Obama Sharpens His Reminders That He Inherited Fiscal ‘Mess’ From Bush — President Points to ‘Inherited’ Economy — In his inaugural address, President Obama proclaimed “an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TalkLeft, Liberal Values, Taylor Marsh, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, MyDD, American Power, Moe Lane, TIME.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Macsmind and Balloon Juice

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

THE BLAME GAME.... The Washington Post has an odd front-page piece today, rebuking President Obama for reminding audiences that the problems he inherited are, well, problems he inherited. … The problem, if I'm reading the article right, isn't that the president is saying anything untrue.

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias and Newshoggers.com

Clay Shirky:

Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable — Back in 1993, the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain began investigating piracy of Dave Barry's popular column, which was published by the Miami Herald and syndicated widely. In the course of tracking down the sources of unlicensed distribution …

Discussion: BuzzMachine, Boing Boing, The Huffington Post and Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard

Stacy St. Clair / Chicago Tribune:

Michelle Obama comic book to be released in April — Michelle Obama comic book (Bluewater Productions) (March 13, 2009) — She's not faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive. — Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Hardly.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TIME.com and Sweetness & Light

Scott Johnson / Comicbook.com Blog: President Barack Obama Punches Osama Bin Laden And Carries Gun In Comic Books

David Nowak / Associated Press:

Report: Cuba, Venezuela could host Russian bombers — MOSCOW - A Russian Air Force chief said Saturday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered an island as a temporary base for strategic Russian bombers, the Interfax news agency reported. — The chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Atlanticist, Fausta's Blog, Stop The ACLU, ThreatsWatch and Little Green Footballs

Agence France Presse:
Russia weighs Cuba, Venezuela bases: report

Discussion: Townhall.com

CNSNews:

Obama Signs Law Banning Federal Embryo Research Two Days After Signing Executive Order to OK It — (CNSNews.com) - On Wednesday, only two days after he lifted President Bush's executive order banning federal funding of stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos …

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, Lean Left, The Strata-Sphere, PoliGazette, GINA COBB, Hot Air, Liberal Values and Don Surber

Wall Street Journal:

G-20 Sets Increased Lending as Priority — HORSHAM, England — Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 leading economies on Saturday said their top priority is to restore bank lending, which will require dealing with impaired assets. — In a statement, the G20 …

Discussion: BBC, Comments from Left Field and Calculated Risk

Bob Cusack / The Hill:

Speaker Pelosi: I am not partisan — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is denying Republican claims that she is partisan, saying she has been open to GOP ideas. — In an interview with Charlie Rose on Friday, Pelosi was asked what is the most unfair and misleading impression of her.

Discussion: Sweetness & Light and Hot Air

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

The re-education of David Brooks — P.J. Gladnick at Newsbusters has the story of how the White House dispatched a team of four operatives to persuade David Brooks to back off his threat to lead an army of moderates to oppose the Obama agenda. Gladnick observes: … Indeed.

Discussion: PoliGazette, Donklephant and New York Times

Mark Preston / CNN:

Republican wants WH candidates to prove citizenship — WASHINGTON (CNN) — Rep. Bill Posey, R-Florida, introduced legislation this week requiring candidates to produce a birth certificate to be eligible to run in future presidential elections, triggering a sharp reaction from Democrats who accused him of …

Discussion: TPMDC

Thom Shanker / New York Times:

With Two Wars, U.S. Begins to Rethink an Old Doctrine — WASHINGTON — The protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are forcing the Obama administration to rethink what for more than two decades has been a central premise of American strategy: that the nation need only prepare to fight two major wars at a time.

Mike Allen / The Politico:

Battle brews over Bush library — Former President George W. Bush is preparing for one final struggle against the odds: raising $300 million for a presidential library, museum and policy institute at a time when dollars are tight and skepticism about his presidency runs high.

Discussion: TIME.com