memeorandum: Presidential hopefuls Huntsman, Romney share Mormonism and belief in themselves (Jason Horowitz/Washington Post)

11:00 AM ET, March 4, 2011

Top Items:

Catherine Rampell / New York Times:

U.S. Added 192,000 Jobs in February; Rate at 8.9% — America's job engine picked up some steam last month. — The nation's employers added 192,000 jobs in February, after having added just 63,000 the previous month, the Labor Department reported on Friday. — The February number was about what economists had been forecasting.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Ezra Klein, Economix, TalkLeft, Felix Salmon, Daily Kos, FT Alphaville, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Calculated Risk, Booman Tribune and Balloon Juice

Kevinliptak / CNN:

February jobs report: Unemployment falls again — By: CNNMoney.com Senior Writer Chris Isidore — New York (CNNMoney) - The jobs outlook brightened in February, as strong business hiring helped trim unemployment to its lowest level in nearly two years. — The unemployment rate fell …

Discussion: The Note and The Political Carnival

JSOnline:

Hiding senators held in contempt; layoff notices to go out today — By Patrick Marley and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel — Madison — Pressure ratcheted up on absent Senate Democrats on Thursday, as they were found in contempt by GOP senators and Gov. Scott Walker …

Sandhya Somashekhar / Washington Post:
Democratic legislators embracing tactic to gain leverage: Fleeing

Discussion: Hot Air and The Hayride

David Ariosto / CNN:
Wisconsin Senate votes to detain absentee Democrats

Discussion: In the Arena, The Volokh Conspiracy, RedState, AOL News and TPMDC

Monica Davey / New York Times:
Wisconsin Governor Says He Will Begin Issuing Layoff Warnings to Unions

Discussion: In the Arena

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Soldier in Leaks Case Was Jailed Naked, Lawyer Says — WASHINGTON — A lawyer for Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking secret government files to WikiLeaks, has complained that his client was stripped and left naked in his cell for seven hours on Wednesday.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Wonkette, Firedoglake, The Agonist, Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I, FrumForum, New York Magazine, The BLT and Salon

Army Court-Martial Defense Specialist / The Law Office …:

PFC Manning Forced to Strip Naked — Last night, PFC Manning was inexplicably stripped of all clothing by the Quantico Brig. He remained in his cell, naked, for the next seven hours. At 5:00 a.m., the Brig sounded the wake-up call for the detainees. At this point, PFC Manning was forced to stand naked at the front of his cell.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Jawa Report, Emptywheel and Runnin' Scared

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

How to Kill a Recovery — The economic news has been better lately. New claims for unemployment insurance are down; business and consumer surveys suggest solid growth. We're still near the bottom of a very deep hole, but at least we're climbing. — It's too bad that so many people …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Daily Kos, Taylor Marsh, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Prairie Weather

Jason Horowitz / Washington Post:

Presidential hopefuls Huntsman, Romney share Mormonism and belief in themselves — IN SALT LAKE CITY — Jon Huntsman Jr. and Mitt Romney go way back. — In the Huntsman Corp. headquarters below Red Butte Canyon, Peter Huntsman, the younger brother of Jon Huntsman Jr. …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and msnbc.com

Erin McPike / Real Clear Politics:

Sununu: I'll Work Against Huntsman — HAMPTON FALLS, N.H. — Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu is no fan of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and intends to work against him in the Granite State's Republican presidential primary if he decides to launch a bid for the White House this cycle.

Discussion: The Fix, The Hill and GOP 12

JSOnline:

State says damage to marble at Capitol could hit $7.5 million — Madison - State officials said Thursday that damage to the marble inside and out the State Capitol would cost an estimated $7.5 million. — Cari Anne Renlund, chief legal counsel for the state Department of Administration …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Scared Monkeys, American Spectator, Firedoglake, Another Black Conservative, NewsBusters.org, Right Wing News and The Lonely Conservative

WITI:
Officials say it'll cost $7.5 million to clean up glue, tape, posters left from protesters

Discussion: Conservatives4Palin and The Gateway Pundit

Yusef Najafi / News at Metro Weekly:

Arora Flip “a Shock” — Lead sponsor of Maryland House marriage bill confirms Arora's plan to vote against bill — The lead sponsor of the marriage bill in Maryland's House of Delegates was also the first person to endorse Del. Sam Arora (D-Montgomery County) in his 2010 election.

Discussion: PostPartisan, AMERICAblog Gay, Pam's House Blend and Towleroad News #gay

Jonathan Capehart / PostPartisan:
Sam Arora's disgraceful wavering on marriage equality in Maryland

Discussion: AMERICAblog Gay, Joe. My. God., The Washington Note, ECHIDNE of the snakes and Baltimore Sun

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Few Winning Scenarios for Gingrich — About a year ago, back at the old FiveThirtyEight, I had a very skeptical take on Newt Gingrich's potential candidacy for president. The issue I highlighted is that Mr. Gingrich is neither especially well-liked by Republicans — his numbers among Republicans are fine …

Discussion: The Daily Dish, New York Magazine, New York Times and USA Today

Gallup:
Gingrich Support for 2012 Greater Among Fox News Viewers

Discussion: The Political Carnival and GOP 12

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama weaker than 2008 but still solid in Wisconsin

Discussion: GOP 12

Washington Post:

White House proposes $6.5 billion more in spending cuts — The White House proposed Thursday to trim an additional $6.5 billion from federal programs this year as Vice President Biden opened talks with congressional leaders aimed at funding the government through Sept. 30 and averting a shutdown.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Politico, New York Times, Guardian and FrumForum

Alexander Burns / Reuters:

Newt Gingrich's rough week — And so it didn't begin. — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was supposed to make big news in Atlanta Thursday, announcing a major step toward running for president in 2012. — What he announced instead was a website, the oddly named NewtExplore2012.com.

Discussion: GOP 12, Washington Wire, ThinkProgress and Weigel

Des Moines Register:
Exploring run in 2012, Donald Trump plans Iowa visit

Discussion: CNN

Jim Demint / Wall Street Journal:

Public Broadcasting Should Go Private — If these outfits can afford to pay lavish salaries to their heads, they don't need taxpayer help. — When presidents of government-funded broadcasting are making more than the president of the United States, it's time to get the government out of public broadcasting.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Doug Ross, The Lonely Conservative and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Wall Street Journal:

GOP Aims to Tame Benefits Programs — Boehner Promises Entitlement Review — WASHINGTON—House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that he's determined to offer a budget this spring that curbs Social Security and Medicare, despite the political risks, and that Republicans will try to persuade voters that sacrifices are needed.

Discussion: The Politico, Politics Daily, The Note, The Hill, The Fix, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, ThinkProgress, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Right Turn and ABCNEWS

Sharyl Attkisson / CBS News:

Agent: I was ordered to let U.S. guns into Mexico — ATF agent says “Fast and Furious” program let guns “walk” into hands of Mexican drug cartels with aim of tracking and breaking a big case — WASHINGTON - Federal agent John Dodson says what he was asked to do was beyond belief.

Discussion: theblogprof, Right Wing News, The Lonely Conservative, Arizona Daily Star, National Review, Clayton Cramer's Blog, Pajamas Media and The Gateway Pundit

Lisa W. Foderaro / New York Times:

James Franco Straddles Two Roles at Yale — On Sunday night he was in Hollywood, as co-host of the Oscar telecast in black tie. At 9 the next morning, he was in a Starbucks in New Haven, hunched over a book and barely recognizable in a gray sweatshirt, but still wearing his tuxedo pants.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, PopEater, Prairie Weather, ArtsBeat and The Reality-Based Community

James Lindgren / National Review:

A New Strategy for Wisconsin — On February 17, the 14 Democratic members of the Wisconsin senate fled across the state line to the Best Western Clock Tower Resort in Rockford, Ill., the city in which I grew up. They were denying Republicans a three-fifths quorum on a bill that would restrict public unions in Wisconsin.

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy

Jim Lindgren / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Wisconsin Senate Does Not Need a 3/5ths Quorum to Pass Much of the Budget Bill

Discussion: UrbanGrounds and protein wisdom

Christopher Hayes / The Nation:

Why Washington Doesn't Care About Jobs — This article appeared in the March 21, 2011 edition of The Nation. — Recommended by — Remember when everyone agreed that what the American people wanted from Washington was, in John Boehner's words, a “relentless focus on creating jobs”?

Discussion: Yglesias, Booman Tribune, Balloon Juice, Sky Dancing, Mother Jones, Open Congress and Shakesville

Scott Wilson / Washington Post:

Obama administration prepares for possibility of new post-revolt Islamist regimes — The Obama administration is preparing for the prospect that Islamist governments will take hold in North Africa and the Middle East, acknowledging that the popular revolutions there will bring a more religious cast to the region's politics.

Discussion: National Review, Jihad Watch, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers and Greg's Opinion

Sean J. Miller / Ballot Box:

Dems tried to recruit ‘Jeopardy!’ champ to challenge Sen. Orrin Hatch — Top Senate Democrats sought to recruit Ken Jennings to challenge Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) back in 2004, the “Jeopardy!” contestant revealed Thursday. — Jennings is famous for holding the record for consecutive wins on the quiz show.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Maria Golovnina / Reuters:

Shots fired in Tripoli, rebels advance in east — (Reuters) - Rebels vowing “victory or death” clashed with Muammar Gaddafi's forces near a key oil terminal and gunfire rang out in the capital as opposition protesters gathered on Friday in the strongman's last bastion.