memeorandum: Challenger adds to post-Bayh chaos (Jonathan Martin/The Politico)

6:25 PM ET, February 15, 2010

Top Items:

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

Evan Bayh won't seek re-election, Senate majority in play? — Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek re-election this year, he announce Monday, a decision that hands Republicans a prime pickup opportunity in the middle of the country. — “After all these years, my passion for service …

Rich V. / The Vail Spot:

Senator Mikulski of Maryland to Retire — I've just heard from an impeccable source that Barbara Mikulski, the Democratic Senator who is up for reelection this November, will choose to retire. Mrs. Mikulski is expected to make her formal announcement in the next few days.

Discussion: National Review Online, DownWithTyranny!, Althouse, Power Line, Don Surber and The Lonely Conservative

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

WHAT BAYH IS THINKING.... Sen. Evan Bayh's (D-Ind.) retirement is a shocker, leading many to wonder what on earth a popular incumbent with plenty of money and a big lead in the polls is thinking. Bayh alluded to his frustrations on the Hill as part of his rationale.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, The Impolitic, Democratic Strategist, Ruby Slippers and The Washington Independent

Eric Zimmermann / The Hill:

Bayh to retire in huge blow to Dems — Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) will announce this afternoon that he will not seek re-election in 2010. — The news is a big loss for Democrats, opening up a very competitive seat in what's shaping up to be a tough cycle for Democrats.

Discussion: CNN, Ben Smith's Blog, The Moderate Voice, The Swamp, National Review Online, PostPartisan, Blue Indiana, Gawker, Hot Air, Moonbattery and NPR Blogs

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Challenger adds to post-Bayh chaos — A Bloomington, Ind., restaurant owner who had been running an obscure and uphill challenge against Sen. Evan Bayh for the Democratic nomination claimed Monday that she's just 1,000 signatures short of qualifying for the ballot.

Discussion: CNN, Blue Crab Boulevard, Hot Air and The Washington Independent

Hotline On Call:

Explaining The IN Filing Process — Sen. Evan Bayh's (D-IN) decision to retire has sent Dems scrambling to figure out who will carry the party's standard — and how to go about getting that person on the ballot in the first place. — Candidates running for statewide office …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Plum Line, Commentary, Wizbang, Daily Kos and Riehl World View

Reid Wilson / Hotline On Call:

Bayh To Retire In Face Of Challenge — Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) will not seek a 3rd term in the Senate next year, according to a Dem source, handing Dems yet another setback as they struggle to salvage their damaged ship. — Bayh, elected statewide 5 times, will become the 5th Senate Dem not to seek another term.

Discussion: The Politico, AmSpecBlog, The Huffington Post, Michelle Malkin, Firedoglake, Swing State Project, The Political Carnival and The Daily Caller

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Holy Crap — Evan Bayh will announce today he's retiring from Congress.

Discussion: USA Today and MyDD

ABCNEWS:
Bye Bayh: Sen. Evan Bayh to Retire, Deal Blow to the Dems

Discussion: The Washington Independent, TPMDC, The Page, Wonkette, neo-neocon and Gawker

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Bayh, Relative to His State, Was Valuable to Democrats

Discussion: The Daily Dish

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Senate Candidate Tamyra D'Ippolito: “Politics in Indiana is the Old Boy's School.”

Discussion: The Washington Independent, RedState, The Moderate Voice, Open Left and Angry Bear

Peter Wehner / Commentary:
Barack Millstone Obama

Discussion: The New Republic

Christina Bellantoni / TPMDC:
Surprise! Bayh's Choice Leaves State Party Officials Choosing …

Discussion: Matthew Yglesias, Guardian, msnbc.com and Open Left

Eric Kleefeld / TPMDC:
Another Dem Already In Race For Bayh's Seat …

Discussion: PostPartisan, RedState and Talking Points Memo

The Cook Political Report:
2010 SENATE RACE RATINGS

Discussion: RedState

The Caucus:
Bayh Decides Against Re-election Bid

Discussion: Think Progress, Balkinization, The Reality-Based Community, Newsweek Blogs, Prairie Weather, CANNONFIRE and The Political Carnival

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Replacing Bayh — Petitions are due in Indiana this week …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Blue Indiana, Firedoglake and AMERICAblog News

Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Pence declines again on Bayh seat

Discussion: Swing State Project and The Note

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Evan Bayh — Obviously, Evan Bayh's never been my favorite Senator.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ezra Klein:

Democrats released a compromise health-care reform proposal — On Friday, I posted about the guest list for the White House's health-care summit, but I missed the big news in the accompanying invitation (mostly because I didn't notice that there was an accompanying invitation). Here's the money bit:

Discussion: The New Republic, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Daily Kos, Hit & Run, TalkLeft, Grasping Reality …, Democratic Strategist, SpeakEasy, Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog and The Reality-Based Community

Michael D. Shear / Washington Post:

White House revamps communications strategy — White House officials are retooling the administration's communications strategy to produce faster responses to political adversaries, a more disciplined focus on President Obama's call for “change” in Washington and an increasingly selective use of the president's time.

Discussion: New York Times, The Corner on National …, The Plum Line, Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler, Hot Air, JustOneMinute, The Caucus, Dennis the Peasant, The Hill, protein wisdom and NewsReal Blog

Chris Bowers / Open Left:
GOP demands White House post health care proposal online …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, TPMDC, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, thedanashow.wordpress.com and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

Series of missteps by climate scientists threatens climate-change agenda — With its 2007 report declaring that the “warming of the climate system is unequivocal,” the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won a Nobel Prize — and a new degree of public trust in the controversial science of global warming.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Times of London, JustOneMinute, The Strata-Sphere, Walter Russell Mead's Blog, FP Passport, dallasmorningviewsblog …, NewsBusters.org, Fausta's Blog, The Anchoress and Michelle Malkin

RealClimate:
IPCC errors: facts and spin

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The New Republic and Deltoid

Heidi Blake / Telegraph:
UN global warming data skewed by heat from planes and buildings

Discussion: Jay Currie

Boston Herald:

‘Oddball’ protrait emerges — Suspect's family, pals offer clues — As authorities searched for clues into what could have sent a University of Alabama neurobiology professor on an alleged killing spree, friends and family yesterday described Braintree native Amy Bishop as an awkward introvert …

Discussion: New York Times, theblogprof, Michelle Malkin, PoliBlog, Jules Crittenden, Don Surber, POWIP, No More Mister Nice Blog, Moonbattery and American Power

Carol E. Lee / The Politico:

Senator: VP comments ‘insulting’ — Joe Biden shakes hands with Scott Brown. AP — Sen. Scott Brown thinks Vice President Joe Biden was “off base” when he suggested Sunday that the Massachusetts Republican get his facts straight on the legal procedures for military tribunals.

Discussion: Josh Gerstein's Blog, The Jawa Report, Moe Lane and Weasel Zippers

Andrea Adelson / Sun-Sentinel:

Sarah Palin Mania takes over Daytona — DAYTONA BEACH - Palin-mania easily surpassed Danica-mania at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. — While Patrick got all the headlines for the better part of two weeks, she had no stake in the Daytona 500. Palin did, and as a VIP guest for the race, she ate up all the attention.

Discussion: Gateway Pundit and Conservatives4Palin.com

New York Times:

Corrections — EDITORS' NOTE — In a number of business articles in The Times over the past year, and in posts on the DealBook blog on NYTimes.com, a Times reporter appears to have improperly appropriated wording and passages published by other news organizations.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Don Surber, Gawker, New York Magazine, Silicon Alley Insider and TPM LiveWire

Bruce Drake / Politics Daily:

Boxer Has the Edge in California Senate Race But It's a Small One — Three-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer has only small leads on the three Republicans seeking her job and she is below the 50 percent mark in each of those match-ups, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Feb. 11.

Rasmussen Reports: Election 2010: Washington Senate

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Ken Starr to head Baylor University — Ken Starr, the constitutional lawyer who conducted the independent counsel investigation that lead to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, is expected to be named this week as president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, according to a source with knowledge of the decision.

Discussion: Above the Law, Mediaite and Outside The Beltway

Peter Hamby / CNN:

Podesta: American political system ‘sucks’ — Washington (CNN) - John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, can describe the state of Washington politics with a single word. And it's not a nice one. — Asked in an interview with the Financial Times to comment on …

Discussion: The Politico and Washington Monthly

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

DON'T BRING A DOLT TO AN MTP FIGHT.... If you missed it, there was an exchange on “Meet the Press” yesterday, which only lasted about a minute and a half, but which deserves the attention it's received. — Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Gateway Pundit