memeorandum: John Boehner turns down Air Force One ride to Tucson (John Bresnahan/The Politico)

5:40 PM ET, January 13, 2011

Top Items:

Richard PéRez-PeñA / The Caucus:

Christie Says Palin Needs to Go Unscripted to Contend for 2012 — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey says it's way too early to handicap the field of his fellow Republicans who might run for president in 2012, but on Wednesday he voiced a few sharp words about the most famous one.

Discussion: The Hill, The Fix, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, Hotline On Call, ThinkProgress, The Note, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Shakesville, The Page, National Review, The Hill, The Daily Caller and Gretawire

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Barack Obama takes opportunity Sarah Palin missed — In the span of a single news cycle, Republicans got a jarring reminder of two forces that could prevent them from retaking the presidency next year. — At sunrise in the east on Wednesday, Sarah Palin demonstrated that she has little interest …

Michael Shear / The Caucus:

Obama and Palin, a Tale of Two Speeches — President Obama spoke Wednesday night at an event at the McKale Memorial Center honoring the shooting victims in Tucson. — Wednesday was bookended by two remarkable — and remarkably different — political performances that demonstrated the vast expanse of America's political landscape.

Discussion: msnbc.com, NewsBusters.org, iOwnTheWorld.com, Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway, Runnin' Scared, AMERICAblog News, Washington Monthly and Marbury

The White House:

Remarks by the President at a Memorial Service for the Victims of the Shooting in Tucson, Arizona — McKale Memorial Center University of Arizona — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Please, please be seated. (Applause.)

Discussion: News Desk, Swampland, Runnin' Scared, Wake up America, Jim White's myFDL diary, Ezra Klein, Fausta's Blog, The Impolitic, NJDC Blog, Firedoglake, Philly.com, Washington Monthly, Stop The ACLU, Taylor Marsh, Obama London, News Hounds, National Review and neo-neocon

Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
Pawlenty defends Palin, saying after shooting, she was ‘falsely accused’

Discussion: CNN

Associated Press:
On shootings and politics, Palin has her own rules

Discussion: USA Today, MyFox Phoenix and Sweetness & Light

Washington Post:
Sarah Palin's effort to defuse controversy backfires with ‘blood libel’ comment

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs and Informed Comment

Gromer Jeffers Jr / Dallas Morning News:

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison won't seek re-election in 2012 — gjeffers@dallasnews.com — Kay Bailey Hutchison will not run for re-election to the U.S. Senate. — In a letter to supporters, Hutchison said she enjoyed serving Texas. — “I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Outside the Beltway, Daily Kos, Pajamas Media, The Page, AmSpecBlog, msnbc.com and FrumForum

Suzi Parker / Politics Daily:
Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has served three terms …

Discussion: Facebook, United States Senator … and Joe. My. God.

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Thoughts on Hutchison — Regardless of the official reasons …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny! and Hotline On Call

Gromer Jeffers Jr / Dallas Morning News:
'It's time for a new person,' U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says

Discussion: National Review, The Daily Caller and PoliPundit.com

John Bresnahan / The Politico:

John Boehner turns down Air Force One ride to Tucson — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) turned down an offer by President Barack Obama to travel on Air Force One to Arizona for a memorial service on behalf of the victims of Saturday's shooting, a decision that has upset some Democrats.

Discussion: Hot Air, USA Today, Mediaite, Wake up America, Politics Daily, Riehl World View, Taylor Marsh, Outside the Beltway, FrumForum, Roll Call and The Hill

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:

Boehner Didn't Really Snub Obama, Tucson Memorial — House Speaker John Boehner is catching a lot of flak for missing last night's memorial service in Tucson, reportedly declining an Air Force One invitation from President Obama in order to slap backs and clink glasses at an RNC event.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, Gawker, Raw Story and FrumForum

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Obama speech undercuts federal charge for judge's murder

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Emptywheel and Don Surber

Ben Dimiero / Media Matters for America:

Conservatives Accuse Obama Of Lying About Giffords Opening Eyes; Her Doctors Disagree — In one of the most cynical displays in recent memory, following the lead of Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft, several conservative websites - including Fox Nation and MRC arm CNS News - suggested that President Obama lied …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mediaite and Guardian

Jake Tapper / Political Punch:
Giffords' Eye Opening News

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Moderate Voice, CNSNews, Fox Nation, Mediaite and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Arizona Republic:
Black bag found may be tied to Giffords shooting, authorities say

Discussion: Pat Dollard and Valley Fever

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Doctors cite ‘major milestone’ in Rep. Giffords's recovery, remain cautious

Discussion: The Politico

Kyle / Right Wing Watch:

If Elected President, Pawlenty Tells Fischer He'll Reinstate Don't Ask, Don't Tell — There are few Religious Right leaders active today who can compete with the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer in terms of openly hostile bigotry against gays, Muslims, and all those who do not share his radical worldview:

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonk Room, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Pam's House Blend, Outside the Beltway, Wonkette, GOP 12, Ben Smith's Blog and Towleroad News #gay

Jillian Rayfield / TPMDC:
Pawlenty To Bryan Fischer: I'd Support Reinstating DADT

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Dems settle on branding for GOP repeal effort: “The Patient's Rights Repeal Act” — “The Patient's Rights Repeal Act.” — At a House Dem leadership meeting last week, Dem leaders decided that this is the phrase they will officially use to brand the House GOP's push to repeal health reform, aides tell me.

Discussion: The Caucus, Raw Story, TPMDC, Swampland and Daily Kos

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House GOP to move quickly on healthcare 1099 tax repeal

Discussion: Hot Air and Michelle Malkin

Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:
GOP in a bind over healthcare repeal vote

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and RedState

Wall Street Journal:

Why the Left Lost It — The accusation that the tea parties were linked to the Tucson murders is the product of calculation and genuine belief. — There has been a great effort this week to come to grips with the American left's reaction to the Tucson shooting.

Discussion: American Power, The Politico, HillBuzz.org, Opposing Views and Cato @ Liberty

People-Press.org:
Obama's Job Ratings, Personal Image Unchanged by Recent Washington Events

Discussion: Politics Daily and Washington Wire

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

Facing Challenge, Obama Returns to Unity Theme — TUCSON — When President Obama took the stage here Wednesday to address a community — and a nation — traumatized by Saturday's killings, it invited comparisons to President George W. Bush's speech to the nation after the attacks of Sept. 11 …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, About.com US Liberal Politics, Weasel Zippers, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite, The Mahablog, The Empire, Moonbattery, Tammy Bruce, The Gateway Pundit, Gawker and Proof Positive

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Conservatives Criticize Free T-Shirts At Tucson Memorial Service

Discussion: Firedoglake, BlogPost, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Michelle Malkin, Washington Monthly, NewsReal Blog, nancynall.com, AmSpecBlog, Fox Nation, The Maddow Blog, Newshoggers.com, Scared Monkeys, Arizona Republic, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and skippy the bush kangaroo

New York Times:
Obama Calls for a New Era of Civility in U.S. Politics

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Gallup, AOL News, Guardian, FiveThirtyEight, USA Today, Politics Daily, Washington Post, Prairie Weather, Wonkette, Outside the Beltway, PostPartisan, Gothamist, The Caucus, American Power and The Democratic Daily

Wall Street Journal:

S&P, Moody's Warn On U.S. Credit Rating — LONDON—Two leading credit rating agencies on Thursday cautioned the U.S. on its credit rating, expressing concern over a deteriorating fiscal situation that they say needs correction. — Moody's Investors Service said in a report Thursday …

Discussion: The Foundry, National Review, The Glittering Eye, The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, ProfessorBainbridge.com, James Pethokoukis, Outside the Beltway and Suburban Guerrilla

Garry Wills / New York Review of Books:

Obama's Finest Hour — During the 2008 presidential campaign, I wrote a comparison of Barack Obama's Philadelphia speech on race with Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union address during his own 1860 campaign. I noted that both men had to separate themselves from embarrassing associations …

Discussion: Commentary, White House.gov Blog, The Atlantic Online, Hullabaloo and Prairie Weather

Sam Youngman / The Hill:
White House seeks momentum after speech praised by right, left

Discussion: CNN

Joyce Wadler / New York Times:

Don't Try This at Home: Adultery in the Marital Bed — THE woman who came to see Ken Altshuler, a divorce lawyer, had reason to be enraged: her husband was not only having an affair, he was also having an extravagant, money's-no-concern, fabled-and-faraway-beaches affair.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Jezebel and Runnin' Scared

Erin McPike / Real Clear Politics:

Romney Locks in Beeson, Newhouse for '12 Bid — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has secured both a pollster and a political director for his near-certain presidential bid this coming cycle, according to sources connected to Romney's 2008 presidential effort.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, USA Today, Right Turn, Outside the Beltway and TPMDC

CNBC:

Jobless Claims Jump, Wholesale Food Costs Surge — U.S. jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October while food and energy costs boosted producer prices, pointing lingering headwinds for an economic recovery that had been showing renewed vigor.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys and Sweetness & Light

Courtney Schlisserman / Bloomberg:
Initial U.S. Jobless Claims Rose More Than Forecast to 445,000 Last Week

Discussion: HousingWire and TalkLeft

Tim Kane / The Atlantic Online:

Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving — A Market Alternative — Today's Army requires a similar philosophical shift if it is to generate more-entrepreneurial leadership and start retaining its most talented officers. When presented with 10 proposed policy changes, the panel of West Point grads …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Wall Street Journal:

A Fifth Star for David Petraeus — The general clearly deserves to join the rank held by MacArthur, Marshall and Nimitz. His promotion would also honor our troops and their mission in the war on terror. — On a cold December evening in 1783, at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan …

Discussion: Parker Spitzer, Commentary, Swampland and The Moderate Voice

David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:

What violent rhetoric? Another right-wing nutcase arrested for threatening congressman. Was O'Reilly the inspiration? — Gee, and here I thought that all this talk about violent rhetoric was just a figment of our liberal imaginations: — One arrested in threats against Seattle congressman

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Daily Kos, Shakesville, DownWithTyranny!, TPMMuckraker and Gawker