memeorandum: Fox News pulls Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum off the air because of their interest in running for president (Matea Gold/Los Angeles Times)

3:15 PM ET, March 2, 2011

Top Items:

Fox News pulls Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum off the air because of their interest in running for president — Fox News suspends the contracts of political contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum because both have demonstrated that they are seriously considering running for president.

Discussion: The Hill, The Moderate Voice, CNN, Media Decoder, USA Today, The Caucus, Cubachi, Taylor Marsh, GOP 12, Swampland, Political Insider, msnbc.com, National Review, Joe. My. God. and Riehl World View, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:

Fox News suspends Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum — Fox News has suspended contributors Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum effective immediately until they decide whether to run for president. — Anchor Bret Baier announced on air late Wednesday morning that the network “has suspended …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Ben Smith's Blog, Hot Air, Media Matters for America and FrumForum

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

Breaking: Fox News Suspends Contributors Newt Gingrich And Rick Santorum — Fox News anchor Bret Baier announced that effective today, Fox News has suspended its contributor arrangements with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum , both of whom have signaled possible presidential runs for 2012.

Discussion: The Fix, PostPartisan, Inside TV, TPM LiveWire and The Raw Story

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Obama strong in Virginia — Virginia seems like a state Republicans almost have to win next year if they want to take back the White House but if the voting was today Barack Obama would take it again by a margin comparable to or greater than what he won in 2008. — Obama leads Mitt Romney by 6 points in the state at 48-42.

Discussion: GOP 12

The Note:
Fox News Suspends Contracts Of Newt Gingrich And Rick Santorum

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and msnbc.com

Phil / Dane101:

Wisconsin GOP Senator Glenn Grothman chased, trapped by hecklers, saved by Dem. Rep. Hulsey — Phil Ejercito is a 29 year old freelance photographer based in Madison, WI. His primary photographic services include (but are by no means limited to) live music, event coverage, politics and activism …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, UNCOVERAGE.net, No More Mister Nice Blog, UrbanGrounds, The Lonely Conservative, Nice Deb, RedState, Pajamas Media, Whiskey Fire and Raw Replay

Dee J. Hall / host.madison.com:
Republican leader Fitzgerald met with Democrat Cullen on ways to end senator boycott

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, TPMDC, theblogprof, Nice Deb, Althouse, Fox Nation and The Lonely Conservative

host.madison.com:
Vital Signs: Crowd chases Sen. Grothman around Capitol

Discussion: Firedoglake, JSOnline, Sister Toldjah, Shows and AMERICAblog News

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Video: Wisconsin Dem intervenes to protect GOP senator threatened by mob

Discussion: Breitbart.tv, Althouse, Da Techguy's Blog, Moonbattery and theblogprof

Helen Pidd / Guardian:

Two shot dead at Frankfurt airport — Suspect arrested after bus driver and passenger killed and two other US airmen injured in shooting at Frankfurt airport — Two US airmen have been shot dead and two wounded at Frankfurt airport. — The gunman, believed to be from Kosovo …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Gawker and Gates of Vienna

New York Times:
Shooting at Germany Airport Kills 2 U.S. Airmen

Discussion: The Hill, Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch

Spiegel Online:
US Soldier Believed Among Dead in Killings

Discussion: Jihad Watch

Mark Mellman / The Hill:

OPINION: Wisconsin governor is waging ‘jihad’ against unions — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) jihad against public employee unions is about 30 years late and likely to make Republicans even less popular with voters, who endorse collective bargaining rights for public employees — professionals for whom they have abiding respect.

Discussion: Da Techguy's Blog, JammieWearingFool, The Jawa Report, Daily Kos, Pirate's Cove and Public Policy Polling

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
DeMint: Collective bargaining has no place in government

Discussion: The Note, Cubachi, ThinkProgress, Wonk Room, Associated Press, Weasel Zippers and Liberty Pundits Blog

Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:
That Vision Thing — As bold as Gov. Walker has been in calling …

Discussion: protein wisdom and The Atlantic Online

Quinnipiac University:
American Voters Split On Government Shutdown, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds …

Discussion: Politics Daily, Hot Air, TPMDC, Associated Press and Pajamas Media

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Conceding defeat this time, Senate Dems pledge to win next round — Senate Democrats conceded Tuesday that House Republicans won round one of the budget fight, but they are vowing a bigger battle later this month. — Anticipating that showdown, Senate Democratic leaders are scrambling …

Discussion: 2chambers, CNN, Firedoglake, Right Turn, ThinkProgress, Online NewsHour, Daily Kos, Heritage Action for America, Wonkette and FrumForum

David Rogers / The Politico:
Dems support Biden's budget role

Discussion: FrumForum

Sam Youngman / Ballot Box:
Late 2012 GOP start a boon for Obama

Discussion: The Note

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Supreme Court rules First Amendment protects church's right to picket funerals — A nearly unanimous Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects even hurtful speech about public issues and upheld the right of a fringe church to protest near military funerals.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Raw Story, New York Magazine and Booman Tribune

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

Justices Rule for Protesters at Military Funerals — WASHINGTON — The First Amendment protects hateful protests at military funerals, the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in an 8-1 decision. — “Speech is powerful,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority.

Discussion: ACS Blog, SCOTUSblog, Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, Feministe, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Christianity Today

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:

Obama's 'Where's Waldo?' presidency — For a man who won office talking about change we can believe in, Barack Obama can be a strangely passive president. There are a startling number of occasions in which the president has been missing in action - unwilling, reluctant or late to weigh in on the issue of the moment.

Discussion: Reuters, Sky Dancing, protein wisdom, Right Wing News, Betsy's Page, PoliPundit.com, National Review and Cafe Hayek

Jonathan Strong / The Daily Caller:

Congressional bosses from Hell: Sheila Jackson Lee — A lot of politicians give nicknames to their aides. George W. Bush famously referred to his attorney general, Alberto Gonzalez, as “Fredo.” Mitch Daniels, then head of the Office of Management and Budget, was known as “The Blade.”

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, Wonkette, Moe Lane and Betsy's Page

Digby / Hullabaloo:

They Know Their Audience — ... isn't that bright. — What's wrong with this picture? — If you guessed the snowless ground and palm trees in Wisconsin you win a big prize. Your sanity. — h/t to @JoshuaHolland — .

Discussion: Washington Monthly, pandagon.net, Weigel and ThinkProgress

Aaron Marshall / Plain Dealer:

Fetuses to be presented as witnesses before Ohio House committee considering abortion restrictions — COLUMBUS, Ohio - Two fetuses will be presented as witnesses before an Ohio legislative committee that is hearing a bill to outlaw abortions after the first heartbeat can be detected inside a woman's womb.

Discussion: f2a.org, RHRealityCheck.org, Pharyngula, Taylor Marsh, Shakesville, No More Mister Nice Blog, Politics Extra, The Raw Story, Sister Toldjah, The Agonist and fox8.com

Jack Shafer / Slate:

Unless they're paying beaucoup bucks, his transfer to New York makes no sense to me. … Like This Story — Follow Slate's Press Box … - The U.S. Has Frozen $30 Billion of Qaddafi's Assets. Can We Spend It? - John Roberts Writes the Funniest Sentence in Supreme Court History …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Prairie Weather, Balloon Juice, Poynter, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mediaite and New York Magazine

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

“You are a person against all of us. The whole nation is looking at you." — says an old woman with a “Solidarity” sign who gets right up in Meade's face... ... when Meade asks her why he should “be ashamed” of himself. That's at the end of this uncut 7 1/2-minute video, shot outside the Capitol this afternoon.

Discussion: American Power and Moe Lane

BBC:

Pakistan Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti shot dead — Watch: Shahbaz Bhatti predicted his death as he defended his faith four months ago — Pakistani Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti has been shot dead by gunmen who ambushed his car in broad daylight in the capital, Islamabad.

Discussion: Cubachi, Guardian, AOL News, Liberty Pundits Blog, Harry's Place, The Page and FrumForum

Greg Jaffe / Washington Post:

Lt. Gen. John Kelly, who lost son to war, says U.S. largely unaware of sacrifice — Before he addressed the crowd that had assembled in the St. Louis Hyatt Regency ballroom last November, Lt. Gen. John F. Kelly had one request. “Please don't mention my son,” he asked the Marine Corps officer introducing him.

Discussion: PostPartisan, democracyarsenal.org, The Enterprise Blog, Achenblog, National Review and Pajamas Media

Rich Lowry / National Review:

‘I already know I could win’ — Dan already wrote a piece about it, but Chris Christie was in the office last week. I just wanted to quote him more extensively on 2012. I asked him whether he knew that, given the moment, there is a serious chance he could win the Republican nomination if he ran.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Mediaite, Right Turn, The Caucus, Hot Air, Ballot Box, Connecting.the.Dots, CNN, The Political Carnival, GOP 12, New York Magazine, Don Surber and Capitol Quickies

Glenn Kessler / Fact Checker:

Haley Barbour's Medicaid fantasy — “We have people pull up at the pharmacy window in a BMW and say they can't afford their co-payment.” — Haley Barbour's colorful remark, made to The Washington Post while attending a National Governors Association meeting in Washington this week …

Discussion: Kaiser Health News, American Prospect, Washington Monthly, Guardian and Eschaton

Myglesias / Yglesias:

Taxing Our Way To Shorter Commutes — KW writes: … The group is, indeed, just another rightwing astroturf group. They're allegedly obsessed with the budget deficit and the national debt, but like Scott Walker and Chris Christie and all Republicans in fact favor lower revenue and higher deficits.

Discussion: Eschaton

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:

Gingrich may face questions about Georgia ‘birther’ bill — Newt Gingrich could face some tough questions when he appears in Atlanta on Thursday. — The former House Speaker is scheduled to join Gov. Nathan Deal (R) at an afternoon meeting at the state Capitol.

Discussion: The Politico, Ben Smith's Blog and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jay Cost / Weekly Standard:

Morning Jay: Is Obama in Better Shape for 2012? … Drill it down, and you get these reasons why Obama is looking better: … My reaction is twofold: first, Obama looks no more or less beatable now than he did four months ago; second, he looks fairly vulnerable. Let's look at each claim in turn.

Discussion: Pajamas Media