memeorandum: Obama on Abortion Ruling Anniversary: Government ‘Should Not Intrude’ (Tom Diemer/Politics Daily)

8:55 PM ET, January 22, 2011

Top Items:

Olbermann's MSNBC Exit Was Weeks in the Making — On Thursday, NBC's news division staged an elaborate presentation for advertisers, seeking to sell commercial time in NBC's news programs over the next year. All the members of MSNBC's prime-time lineup spoke at the lunch with one exception …

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Wire, Daily Kos, Seeing the Forest, HotAirPundit and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

TMZ.com:

Keith Olbermann's Exit — Secret Deal — Keith Olbermann saw the handwriting on the wall with the new owner of NBC and cut a deal for his exit that will give him money and options — sources tell TMZ. — Here's how it went down. Sources familiar with the situation tell us …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Epicenter and YID With LID

Deadline.com:

NEW DETAILS: “MSNBC And Keith Olbermann Have Ended Their Contract”; Lefty MSNBC About To Make Right Turn? — 2ND UPDATE, SATURDAY AM: An MSNBC insider told this to Deadline today about Keith Olbermann's departure Friday: … Rachel Maddow & Bill Maher React To Keith Olbermann's Ouster

Discussion: Mixed Media, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Liberty Pundits Blog and HillBuzz.org

New York Post:

MSNBC pulls plug on gasbag Olbermann — Broadcast blowhard Keith Olbermann's countdown has finally come to an end. — The liberal lip of MSNBC was unceremoniously dumped by the peacock network last night in a major shakeup that set tongues wagging across the broadcast world.

Discussion: Hot Air, Salon, NewsBusters.org blogs, Pajamas Media, his vorpal sword, The Daily Caller and NewsBusters.org

David Bauder / Associated Press:
Keith Olbermann gives abrupt goodbye to MSNBC show

Discussion: HillBuzz.org, The Nation, Scared Monkeys, The Other McCain, Da Techguy's Blog, Moonbattery, theblogprof, FrumForum and Tower Ticker

Glynnis MacNicol / The Wire:
So Why Did MSNBC Just Dump Keith Olbermann? Hint: COMCAST

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, The Hill, Sky Dancing, skippy the bush kangaroo, Runnin' Scared, Political Byline, Wake up America, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine and First Draft

Howard Kurtz / The Daily Beast:
Keith Olbermann Quits Countdown

Discussion: AmSpecBlog, Crooks and Liars, Questions and Observations, The Plum Line, The Wire, The Daily Beast, Gothamist, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and HillBuzz.org

Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
MSNBC, Olbermann Call It Quits, Cancel Show

Discussion: Speakeasy, Doug Ross, No Left Turns and Media Decoder, more at Mediagazer »

Richard Adams / Guardian:
NBC sacks Keith Olberman

Discussion: Washington Post, Scripting News, TMZ.com, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, msnbc.com, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Firedoglake, Mediaite and Instapundit

The Note:

Romney Wins New Hampshire Republican Party Committee Straw Poll — ABC News Political Director Amy Walter reports: — In the first ever “straw poll” of New Hampshire Republican party committee members sponsored by ABC News and WMUR and sanctioned by the state Republican party …

Discussion: CNN, The Other McCain, Cubachi, TPMDC, Scared Monkeys and LewRockwell.com Blog

Kasie Hunt / The Politico:

Mitt Romney wins N.H. GOP straw poll — DERRY, N.H. - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the first presidential straw poll of the 2012 cycle, kicking off New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary election race. — Romney won with 35 percent, beating second-place finisher Ron Paul …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and FrumForum

James Pindell / WMUR Political Scoop:

Results: WMUR, ABC News, NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll — Here are the results from the WMUR, ABC News, NH GOP 2012 Straw Poll that was conducted today at the NH GOP annual meeting held at Pinkerton Academy in Derry. — Nearly 500 republicans were eligible to vote, and 273 of them cast ballots.

Discussion: The Fix, The Hill, iOwnTheWorld.com, Freedom's Lighthouse and TPMDC

Abby Goodnough / New York Times:
Tea Party Activist Takes Over New Hampshire G.O.P.

Discussion: Politics Daily and Associated Press

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
First in nation, last with Sarah Palin

Discussion: Anchorage Daily News, CNN and Conservatives4Palin

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Spotlight From Glenn Beck Brings a CUNY Professor Threats — On his daily radio and television shows, Glenn Beck has elevated once-obscure conservative thinkers onto best-seller lists. Recently, he has elevated a 78-year-old liberal academic to celebrity of a different sort, in a way that some say is endangering her life.

Discussion: Power Line, Mediaite, New York Magazine, Sky Dancing, TPMCafe, The Reaction, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Nation, Balloon Juice and Hullabaloo

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
WHEN BECK'S MINIONS GET THE MESSAGE.... Glenn Beck doesn't just rail …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, American Power and The Mahablog

Mike Stopa / Boston Globe:

The reality of death panels — ObamaCare's end-of-life planning comes down to economics — SUPPORTERS OF President Obama's health care reform law have relentlessly derided Sarah Palin's notion of “death panels” as a vulgar rhetorical technique, with no basis in reality …

Discussion: Don Surber and Conservatives4Palin

Wall Street Journal:

Obama to Push New Spending — State of Union Speech to Call for Boosting ‘Competitiveness’ While Nodding to Need for Budget Cuts — President Barack Obama and GE's Jeffrey Immelt, left, with plant manager Kevin Sharkey, visited a GE factory Friday to talk about green jobs.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, The Gateway Pundit, Fausta's Blog, Weasel Zippers, Firedoglake, RedState, Fox News, protein wisdom, Pajamas Media and FrumForum

Mwarren / Weekly Standard:

The Decline of the Justice Department — Mukasey's verdict on Holder. — Former attorney general Michael Mukasey is not prone to hyperbole. He's a former federal judge, a meticulous lawyer, and, as he proved in succeeding Alberto Gonzales, a skilled administrator who restored morale …

Discussion: Power Line and Pajamas Media

CNN:

Former U.S. lawmaker assisting Duvalier — Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) — A former U.S. congressman was among a group of American attorneys accompanying former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier as he spoke in the country's capital Friday. — Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Eunomia, Outside the Beltway and Hit & Run

Tim Hoover / Denver Post:

Secretary of State plans to moonlight with old firm — Less than two weeks on the job, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler says the $68,500 a year salary doesn't pay enough. — That's why Gessler, a Republican, says he is going to be moonlighting as a lawyer for his old law firm …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and The Huffington Post

Big Journalism:

Washington Post Organizes News Boycott of Sarah Palin; Starts Twitter Campaign Against GOP Star — The Washington Post is engaging in online political activism by encouraging its readers to boycott news coverage of Sarah Palin. — The Post has picked up the call initiated this morning …

Discussion: Don Surber, Publius Forum, Liberty Pundits Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Wire, Hot Air, The Nation and The Reaction

Tom Diemer / Politics Daily:

Obama on Abortion Ruling Anniversary: Government ‘Should Not Intrude’ … On the 38th annivesary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, President Obama said Saturday said he is committed to protecting what he considers a fundamental principle: “government should not intrude on private family maters.”

Discussion: theblogprof and The Moderate Voice