memeorandum: Obama leads GOP hopefuls (Tom Jensen/Public Policy Polling)

4:45 PM ET, February 18, 2010

Top Items:

Small Plane Crashes Into Austin, Texas, Office Building — A small single-engine plane crashed into a seven-story office building in Austin, Texas, around 10 a.m. local time Thursday. — An NTSB official told Fox News that they are investigating this as an intentional act …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, JammieWearingFool, The Hill, Outside The Beltway, Instapundit, The New Editor, No More Mister Nice Blog, Infowars, AmSpecBlog, Macsmind, Philly.com, Pajamas Media, Atlas Shrugs and Mediaite

Joe Stack / Austin American-Statesman:

Internet note posted by man linked to plane crash — Editor's note: We found this note on a Web site being pointed at by social media users. A search showed the domain that the note was posted on is registered to Joe Stack of San Marcos. A man by the same name, who has addresses …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Corner on National …, JustOneMinute, The Stranger …, Wonkette, Flopping Aces, Moonbattery, Latest Open Salon Blog, Jay Bookman, Confederate Yankee, Clusterstock and Dean's World

CNN:

Texas plane crash deliberate, officials say — (CNN) — An Austin, Texas, resident with an apparent grudge against the Internal Revenue Service set his house on fire Thursday and then crashed a small plane into a building housing an IRS office with nearly 200 employees, officials said.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Mashable!, Politics Daily, Stop The ACLU, Clusterstock, Gateway Pundit, Blogs of War, Silicon Alley Insider and Shakesville

The Smoking Gun:

Plane Crash Suspect's Online Diatribe — Posting rages at IRS, claims, “I have had all I can stand” — The man suspected of intentionally crashing an airplane into a Texas office building today appears to have posted a lengthy online diatribe attacking the Internal Revenue Service and declaring that …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Chicago Boyz, Mediaite and Vox Popoli

Austin American-Statesman:

Plane crashes into Northwest Austin office building — A plane crashed into a Northwest Austin building that houses federal offices about 9:30 this morning, sending plumes of smoke into the air that could be seen for miles. — Paramedics have set up a triage center at the scene, though it is unclear how many people are injured.

Discussion: Gawker, ATTACKERMAN, The Corner on National …, Right Pundits and Blogs of War

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

NTSB: Plane crash into Austin office building may have been intentional; Update: Pilot left manifesto? — Intentional but likely not terrorism, which is fed-speak for “disgruntled nut lacking a political motive.” — Did he really lack a political motive, though? Hmmm.

Discussion: Politics Daily, Gawker, Clusterstock, Chicago Breaking News, The Confluence and Reaganite Republican

Associated Press:
Small plane crashes into IRS building in Texas

Discussion: Don Surber and Mediaite

Howie / The Jawa Report:
Small Plane Crashes into Building (UPDATED Bumped)

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, KVUE-TV and Mediaite

Jim Vertuno / Associated Press:
Officials investigating Texas crash as a crime

Discussion: Classical Values and Townhall.com

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:

At CPAC, a new conservative order — Since Richard Nixon was president, the Conservative Political Action Conference has provided the American Right with an annual occasion for self-evaluation. On Thursday, when some 10,000 activists gather in Washington for this year's conference …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Moderate Voice, The Note, Washington Post, Outside The Beltway, CNN, Time, Washington Times, Midnight Blue Says, The Caucus, Taylor Marsh, The Washington Independent, Newsweek Blogs and LewRockwell.com Blog

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Rubio makes fun of Obama teleprompter — President Barack Obama's use of teleprompters again became the butt of a Republican's joke Thursday morning; this time Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio took the jab. — While speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and The Stranger …

The Huffington Post:

Rubio Slams Obama's Teleprompter While In Front Of Telemprompters At CPAC — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — The Tea Party's choice in the Florida Republican primary, Marco Rubio, began his address to a crowd of conservative conventioneers by taking a shot at President Obama for reading from a teleprompter.

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Magazine and Brain Rage

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Marco Rubio speech at CPAC conference brings conservatives to their feet

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, AmSpecBlog, The Fix, Hotline On Call, Top of the Ticket, PostPartisan, Newsweek Blogs, Political Party Time and Israpundit

Alex Isenstadt / The Politico:
Marco Rubio: Belle of the CPAC ball

Discussion: msnbc.com, CNN, American Power, Commentary, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Washington Times, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Another Black Conservative and The Other McCain

Adam Nagourney / The Caucus:
CPAC Speakers Mock Obama's Teleprompter

Discussion: FrumForum, Firedoglake and The New Republic

Say Anything:

Photo Evidence: Michelle Obama Keeps Socialist Books In The White House Library — I arrived in Washington DC today to cover CPAC and since I was in town, and since CPAC doesn't really get rolling until tomorrow, I tagged along with some Scott Hennen Show listeners on an extensive tour …

Discussion: Gateway Pundit, Right Wing Nut House, PostPartisan, Liberal Values, neo-neocon, New York Magazine, normblog and The Lonely Conservative

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias: Breaking: Michelle Obama Reads Books

Kendra Marr / The Politico:
Obama and Dalai Lama discuss Tibet

Discussion: CNN

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

In surprise CPAC speech, Cheney says Obama will last one term — President Barack Obama will be a one-term president, former Vice President Dick Cheney confidently predicted Thursday. — During a surprise appearance at the end of his daughter Liz's speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference …

Discussion: CNN and The Note

Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Dick Cheney: ‘Barack Obama is a One-Term President’

Discussion: CNN, The Note and Ben Smith's Blog

Andy Barr / The Politico:
Dick Cheney surprises CPAC

Discussion: The Hill, Commentary, Mediaite and Hot Air

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Sarah Palin and the mutual loathing society — The Republican presidential nominee, an Arizona senator, was a maverick, which was part of his charm. He spoke and acted impulsively, which was part of his problem. Voters thought his entertaining dimensions might be incompatible with presidential responsibilities.

Discussion: Outside The Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Power Line, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Reality-Based Community, PoliBlog and Mediaite

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Sixteen Senators Now Calling For Vote On Public Option — Sixteen and counting. — Senators Barbara Boxer, Jack Reed and Tom Udall have all now signed the letter pushing for a reconcilation vote on the public option, the group organizing the push confirms, bringing the total of Senators …

Discussion: The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Hill, Swampland, The Page, TPMDC and Don Surber

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Chuck Schumer Joins Push For Vote On Public Option

Discussion: TPMDC, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, The Page and The Reaction

Chris Frates / The Politico:
Bennet's hometown paper not happy

Discussion: CNN

WRAL-TV:

Duke lacrosse accuser charged with attempted murder, arson — DURHAM, N.C. — Durham police arrested Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Gale Mangum, 33, late Wednesday after she allegedly assaulted her boyfriend, set his clothes on fire in a bathtub and threatened to stab him.

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, Moonbattery, The Palmetto Scoop, JONATHAN TURLEY, La Shawn Barber's Corner, Hot Air, LewRockwell.com Blog, Outside The Beltway and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Dexter Filkins / New York Times:

In Blow to Taliban, 2 More Senior Leaders Are Arrested — KABUL, Afghanistan — Two senior Taliban leaders have been arrested in recent days inside Pakistan, officials said Thursday, as American and Pakistani intelligence agents continued to press their offensive against the group's leadership …

Discussion: Associated Press, Latest Open Salon Blog, RealClearWorld, The Atlantic Politics Channel, Matthew Yglesias, JustOneMinute, Democracy in America, Danger Room, BLACKFIVE, Newshoggers.com, The Page, The Long War Journal, New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, The Corner on National … and Neptunus Lex

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

Obama's federal government can weatherize your home for only $57,362 each — Who could forget the $5 billion in Obama administration stimulus money that was going to rapidly create nearly 90,000 green jobs across the country in these tough economic times and make so many thousands of homes …

Discussion: Kausfiles, ABCNews.com, The Strata-Sphere, The Corner on National …, The Foundry, Dennis the Peasant and Tim Blair

Chris Frates / The Politico:

AHIP: ‘Stop the vilification’ — Insurance industry trade group America's Health Insurance Plans put out a statement in advance of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius's press conference later this morning detailing increased premium rate hikes that called on Democrats to “stop the vilification” of the industry.

Discussion: CNN, Wonk Room, NOW! Blog and White House.gov Blog Feed

Wall Street Journal:
The WellPoint Mugging — The brawl over rate increases is a preview of ObamaCare.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Politico

Matt Taibbi / Rolling Stone:

Wall Street's Bailout Hustle — Goldman Sachs and other big banks aren't just pocketing the trillions we gave them to rescue the economy - they're re-creating the conditions for another crash — On January 21st, Lloyd Blankfein left a peculiar voicemail message on the work phones of his employees at Goldman Sachs.

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Confluence and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Romney: ‘Obama fails to understand America’ — Mitt Romney has gone from being an overeager suitor to being a favored son of the Conservative Political Action Conference since he ended his presidential campaign here in 2008, and his speech today was well-calibrated to an audience basking …

Discussion: Eunomia and The Washington Independent

Eric Bradner / courierpress.com:

Sources: Ellsworth to run for Senate, state Rep. Van Haaften for Congress — INDIANAPOLIS — U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth will run for Senate, and state Rep. Trent Van Haaften will seek his seat in Congress, multiple Democratic sources said Thursday morning. — As Democrats have searched …

Discussion: The Fix, Swing State Project, Firedoglake, Power Line, AmSpecBlog, msnbc.com and The Eye

Nick Gillespie / Hit & Run:

Dramatic Olbermann vs. Dramatic Chipmunk — No one is more self-dramatizing on cable news than male hysteric, unsolicited janitor of Cooperstown, and Countdown host Keith Olbermann, who includes more special effects during his Castro-length “Special Comment” segments than Mikhail Kalatozov did in I Am Cuba …

Discussion: NewsReal Blog, Moonbattery and NewsBusters.org

Ross Ramsey / The Texas Tribune:

Meet the Flintstones — Nearly a third of Texans believe humans and dinosaurs roamed the earth at the same time, and more than half disagree with the theory that humans developed from earlier species of animals, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

Discussion: BuzzFlash.org and Joe. My. God.