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

2:15 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 Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, The Hill, The Fix, The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, The Note, Hotline On Call, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, CNN, National Review, The Hill, Shakesville, The Page, 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 …

Discussion: USA Today, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, No More Mister Nice Blog, Los Angeles Times, AOL News, Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway, Guardian, The Plum Line, Balloon Juice, RedState, GayPatriot and Crooks and Liars

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: Ezra Klein, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, News Desk, Runnin' Scared, Philly.com, NJDC Blog, Wake up America, Jim White's myFDL diary, Taylor Marsh, Obama London, News Hounds and neo-neocon

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, Hullabaloo, iOwnTheWorld.com, Washington Monthly, Runnin' Scared, AMERICAblog News and Marbury

Michelle Malkin:

Branding the Tucson massacre: “Together We Thrive” in white and blue; Updated: Liveblogging the bizarre pep rally; Gov. Brewer booed; in sum: right speech, too late, boneheaded venue (WOOT!) — President Obama used to preach that there was no “Red America” and no “Blue America,” just one America.

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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, Moonbattery, Mediaite, The Empire and The Gateway Pundit

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Obama speech undercuts federal charge for judge's murder — It may have been inadvertent, but a passage in President Barack Obama's speech to a memorial service in Tucson Wednesday night could undercut a criminal charge federal prosecutors have leveled at suspect Jared Loughner for the death …

Discussion: The Daily Dish and Don Surber

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

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Raw Story, The Maddow Blog, AmSpecBlog, Fox Nation, nancynall.com, Arizona Republic, Hot Air, Liberty Pundits Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, skippy the bush kangaroo and iOwnTheWorld.com

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

Discussion: USA Today, Sweetness & Light and MyFox Phoenix

Joe Klein / Swampland:
The President's Speech — Barack Obama spoke to the city of Tucson …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Daily Dish

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

The Politico:
Pelosi is there as Giffords opens eyes

Discussion: TPMDC, Reuters, Wonkette, The Page, FrumForum, JammieWearingFool, Naked Politics, The Note and The Hill

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

Discussion: Gallup, FiveThirtyEight, USA Today, AOL News, Guardian, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Wonkette, PostPartisan, Gothamist, The Democratic Daily and The Caucus

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 Moderate Voice, National Review, The Foundry, James Pethokoukis, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway and Suburban Guerrilla

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

Jake Sherman / The Politico:

Health law repeal on Tuesday agenda — The House will try to get back to normal next week, with the chamber coming back into session on Tuesday to re-ignite debate over repealing the health care reform law. — “As the White House noted, it is important for Congress to get back to work …

Discussion: CNN

Wall Street Journal:
Health-Law Repeal Hardly a Panacea for CEOs' Concerns

Discussion: Washington Monthly, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG and Felix Salmon

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

Zombie / Pajamas Media:
Word-salad of Hate at Oakland vigil for Tucson victims

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

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: TPMDC, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media, msnbc.com and FrumForum

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: The Moderate Voice, Parker Spitzer, Commentary and Swampland

Pedro Nicolaci da Costa / Reuters:

Jobless claims jump, wholesale food costs surge — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October last week while food and energy costs lifted producer prices in December, pointing to headwinds for an economy that has shown fresh vigor.

Discussion: Hot Air and Sweetness & Light

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

Discussion: TalkLeft and HousingWire

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

Yglesias Award Nominee — The Corner had few reactions to last night's speech but all of them were effusively positive. Fox's pundits seemed more impressed than CNN's. At some point, conservatives will realize that Obama is the liberal they can talk to.

Discussion: The Plum Line

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, TPMMuckraker, Gawker and DownWithTyranny!

Paolo Mastrangelo / NYC The Blog:

Subway Riding Rat Wakes Up Sleeping Man By Crawling Up His Face — It was only a matter of time before rats started riding the subway with us. Some units have already annexed a park. This one, on the 4 train near Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn on Tuesday, played out everyone's worst nightmare …

Discussion: City Room, Runnin' Scared, Mediaite, ANIMAL, The Awl and Gothamist

Kathleen Hennessey / Los Angeles Times:

GOP in a bind over healthcare repeal vote — House Republican leaders are eager to fulfill their promise to vote to repeal the legislation, but taking up the divisive issue could hurt the party at a time of calls for rejecting partisan rhetoric. — As lawmakers promise a new era of comity …

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications and RedState

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:

What the left did wrong — Why were the last four days a mini-disaster for the swampland of the left? It boils down to: facts, response and time. — Members of the left pounced first and didn't much care about the facts. Before it was clear just how crazy Jared Loughner is …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Booman Tribune and Pajamas Media

James Rosen / McClatchy Washington Bureau:

Gingrich visits South Carolina as presidential decision looms — WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich doesn't do coy. — When the former House speaker and Republican flamethrower addresses South Carolina business leaders Thursday night, he readily acknowledges the state's historic importance …

Discussion: CNN and Taegan Goddard's …

Gail Collins / New York Times:

Obama Brings It Home — Maybe President Obama was saving the magic for a time when we really needed it. — We've been complaining for two years about the lack of music and passion in his big speeches. But if he'd moved the country when he was talking about health care or bailing out the auto industry …

Discussion: Raw Story, iOwnTheWorld.com, USA Today, Guardian and American Power

Maureen O'Connor / Gawker:

Your Zodiac Sign May Have Changed — Astronomers have restored the original Babylonian zodiac by altering its dates to accommodate for millennia of subtle shifts in the Earth's axis. Prepare to have your mind blown, all you people with easily blowable minds.

Discussion: Feministe, TIME.com, JONATHAN TURLEY, Fox News Insider and Moe Lane

David Frum / FrumForum:

The Uneasiness of Talk Radio — Interesting experience listening to talk radio these past days. The tone? Extra militant and - in the case of Rush Limbaugh especially - extra provocative. Sarah Palin's video address seems to have been composed under the influence of this mood …

Discussion: Riehl World View and Outside the Beltway

Washington Post:

Sarah Palin's effort to defuse controversy backfires with ‘blood libel’ comment — The presidential-quality stagecraft was there: an American flag over Sarah Palin's left shoulder and another over her heart. So was the rhetorical polish, with its invocations of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution, God and Ronald Reagan.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs and Informed Comment