memeorandum: Romney Locks in Beeson, Newhouse for '12 Bid (Erin McPike/Real Clear Politics)

7:00 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.

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

Jim Rutenberg / The Caucus:
Palin to Do TV Interview Monday

Discussion: The Hill, Weigel, The Wire and Mediaite

The White House:
Remarks by the President at a Memorial Service for the Victims …

First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Obama recaptures his 2004 voice

Discussion: Weigel

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

Discussion: CNN

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

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Thoughts on Hutchison — Regardless of the official reasons for Kay Bailey Hutchison's retirement announcement today I have to wonder how much of it has to do with her not wanting to risk losing a primary to the Tea Party next year. — Hutchison's approval rating with Republicans on our last Texas poll was just 58%.

Discussion: LifeNews.com, 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

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

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

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

Megan Carpentier / TPMDC:
Sen. Gillibrand, Rep. Wasserman Schultz Describe Giffords Opening Her Eyes

Discussion: Blog For Arizona and The Politico

Shani O. Hilton / American Prospect:
Giffords and the Women Who Run.

Discussion: Yglesias

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

Discussion: The Politico

Daisy Hernandez / NPR:

Across America, Latino Community Sighs With Relief … Daisy Hernandez (no relation to Daniel Hernandez) is the co-editor of Colonize This! Young Women on Today's Feminism. — I wasn't the only person on Saturday who rushed to her Android when news came of the Tucson shooting.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, Wizbang, Mediaite and iOwnTheWorld.com

Arizona Republic:

Black bag found may be tied to Giffords shooting, authorities say — An 18-year-old man walking his dog on Thursday found a black bag that authorities believe may belong to the suspect in the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. — Authorities have been on the hunt for a bag …

Discussion: Pat Dollard, Valley Fever and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

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

Discussion: Emptywheel, The Daily Dish and Don Surber

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: Weigel, TPMDC, Wonk Room, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Pam's House Blend, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, VetVoice, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, Wonkette, Ben Smith's Blog, The Hill, GOP 12, New York Magazine and Towleroad News #gay

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:
Homophobia First. — Kyle at Right Wing Watch transcribes …

Discussion: Pam's House Blend 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: Hot Air, Mediaite, USA Today, 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, Raw Story, Gawker, Mediaite and FrumForum

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: Taylor Marsh and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: The Politico, Hot Air and Michelle Malkin

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
House GOP to move forward with repeal next week

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Caucus, Raw Story, Swampland and TPMDC

Alex Wagner / Politics Daily:

Health Care Law Repeal Bill Rescheduled by Republicans for Next Week … If the post-partisan moment that President Obama spoke of Wednesday night ever came to fruition, it was certainly short-lived. Less than a week after Saturday's attack in Tucson that critically injured Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords …

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

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, RedState and Pajamas Media

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
King will push ahead with gun bill despite GOP leaders' opposition

Discussion: ThinkProgress, NY Daily News, National Review and Salon

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: The Politico, HillBuzz.org, American Power, 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

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: Jezebel, New York Magazine and Runnin' Scared

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

Sam Youngman / The Hill:
White House seeks momentum after lauded Tucson speech

Discussion: CNN

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, James Pethokoukis, Outside the Beltway, ProfessorBainbridge.com and Suburban Guerrilla

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

Todd Starnes / Fox News:

CAIR Says Poster Warning Against Helping FBI is Misinterpreted — Image from the CAIR website that uses a poster encouraging people not the talk to the FBI to promote an upcoming conference. — The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it will remove a poster from the group's website promoting …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Verum Serum

Neal Ungerleiderwed / Fast Company:

Saudi Arabia Now Forcing News Bloggers to Obtain Licenses, Promote Islam — The Middle Eastern kingdom has just enacted one of the world's most stringent sets of blogging regulations: Non-citizens can't write about news, chat room users are encouraged to register with the government …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Elder of Ziyon

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: Crooks and Liars, Parker Spitzer, Commentary, The Moderate Voice and Swampland

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