memeorandum: CBO Score of Budget Deal Could Make House Passage Difficult (David Dayen/Firedoglake)

1:05 PM ET, April 14, 2011

Top Items:

The Presidential Divider — Obama's toxic speech and even worse plan for deficits and debt. — Did someone move the 2012 election to June 1? We ask because President Obama's extraordinary response to Paul Ryan's budget yesterday—with its blistering partisanship and multiple distortions …

The White House:

FACT SHEET: The President's Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility — The President believes that we need a comprehensive, pro-growth economic strategy that invests in winning the future, lays the foundation for strong private-sector job growth and ensures …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, White House.gov Blog, Questions and Observations, The Other McCain, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Opinion L.A., Washington Wire, Mother Jones, The Enterprise Blog, The Lonely Conservative and The Daily Dish

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Krauthammer's take on Obama's budget address: ‘I thought it was a disgrace’

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Atlantic Online, Bloomberg, The New Republic, Taylor Marsh, The Gateway Pundit, Atlas Shrugs, Lawyers, Guns & Money, GayPatriot, Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Analysis: Obama speech frames a 2012 choice for the country

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Pirate's Cove, msnbc.com, Daily Kos, Guardian, Gothamist and New York Times

Associated Press:

CBO: Budget deal cuts this fiscal year's deficit by just $353 million, not $38 billion touted — WASHINGTON — A new budget estimate released Wednesday shows that the spending bill negotiated between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner would produce less than 1 percent …

National Review:

Strike One — We initially supported the deal House Speaker John Boehner cut with the White House to cut $38.5 billion from the rest of the fiscal year 2011 budget. It was only a pittance in the context of all of Washington's red ink, but it seemed an acceptable start, even if we assumed it would be imperfect in its details.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Vox Popoli, The Hill, The Greenroom, RedState, Patterico's Pontifications and Riehl World View

The Hill:
WHIP COUNT: Budget deal appears to have votes to pass Congress

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
CBO Score of Budget Deal Could Make House Passage Difficult

Discussion: Open Congress, Outside the Beltway and The Politico

Shane D'Aprile / The Hill:
Freshmen shrugging off Tea Party primary threats over spending deal

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post:
Haley Barbour To New Hampshire Voters: Boehner's Budget Deal Is ‘A Single In The First Inning’

Discussion: The Caucus, GOP 12, Erick's blog and Wall Street Journal

The Politico:

Nancy Pelosi snaps at White House adviser Gene Sperling — In a tense moment that may well have encapsulated the frustrations of three-plus months in the minority, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi snapped at a top presidential economic adviser, Gene Sperling, during a closed-door meeting …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Ballot Box and The Hill

Ben Terris / NationalJournal.com:
‘Patriotic Millionaires’ Ask to Be Taxed More

Discussion: The Other McCain, Right Wing News, Hot Air, Moe Lane, The Lonely Conservative and Instapundit

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:
Nancy Pelosi fades as power player

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, FrumForum and The Hill

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Budget Details Stir Republican Dissent Ahead of House Vote

Discussion: The Politico, The Note, Bloomberg, USA Today, The Hill and msnbc.com

Lauraklairmont / CNN:

Trump to make announcement about announcemen — Washington (CNN) - Proving once again that Donald Trump knows a bit about publicity, the business man and real estate mogul will make an announcement on the season finale of “Celebrity Apprentice” about his intentions on running for the White House.

Discussion: Wake up America, FrumForum, GOP 12 and Outside the Beltway

Ronald Kessler / NewsMax.com:

Exclusive: Trump to Announce His Run for President — More ways to share... Mixx — Stumbled — LinkedIn — Vine — Buzzflash — Newstrust — Technocrati — Forward Article — If you wonder whether Donald Trump is serious about running for president, tune in to the finale of …

Discussion: New York Observer, Mediaite, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Hot Air, more at Mediagazer »

Michael O'Brien / The Hill: Trump will announce 2012 decision in days after ‘Apprentice’ finale

Dennis Cauchon / USA Today:

Share of population working — Roll over each state to see the share of the population working in 2010: — Sources: USA TODAY, Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics — The share of the population that is working fell to its lowest level last year since women started entering the workforce …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Politico, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Pajamas Media and Right Wing News

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

DeMint: If vote to raise debt ceiling is GOP's Waterloo, ‘let it be’ — A top conservative senator on Thursday indicated he is willing to go to extreme lengths to prevent a vote on raising the debt ceiling, even if it hurts the Republican Party politically.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and FrumForum

David Weigel / Slate:
Dancing on the Ceiling — How Republicans are framing the debate …

Discussion: OpenSecrets.org, Weigel and protein wisdom

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Trump and the blacks — Donald Trump was asked just now on Fred Dicker's radio show about African-American support for President Obama. — “I have a great relationship with the blacks,” he said, continuing to call the overwhelming black support for President Obama “frightening.”

Discussion: CNN and GOP 12

New York Times:

In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions of Top Figures — It is a question asked repeatedly across America: why, in the aftermath of a financial mess that generated hundreds of billions in losses, have no high-profile participants in the disaster been prosecuted?

Discussion: Salon, Yglesias, The Confluence, The Awl, The Big Picture, Prairie Weather, Reuters, FrumForum and The Politico

Henry Blodget / The Business Insider:

PROFESSOR: Sarah Palin Probably Staged A Gigantic Hoax About Being Trig's Mother — An interesting footnote has emerged to a theory that raged around the Internet during Sarah Palin's candidacy for Vice President: — The theory is that Sarah Palin is actually the grandmother of her purported son Trig …

Discussion: Indecision Forever and The Daily Dish

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:

Fireworks expected as Gov. Walker heads to Hill to talk unions — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) could be in for a rowdy welcome from unions and liberal groups when he comes to Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify about his work on reducing the state's budget deficit.

Discussion: msnbc.com, ThinkProgress and ABCNEWS

Lee Fang / ThinkProgress:
Walker And Prosser Crushed Regulations On Koch Industry's Phosphorus Pollution In Wisconsin

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and The Nation

Jordan Fabian / Ballot Box:

Ron Paul forms ‘testing the waters’ account — Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has taken a step toward running for president in 2012, forming a fundraising account that allows him to test the waters for donor support. — Paul's political aide Jesse Benton confirmed Thursday that a so-called …

Discussion: CNN, Cubachi and GOP 12

Fox News:
Santorum Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee

Discussion: MyDD, Outside the Beltway, Fox Nation and The Other McCain

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:

Budget Confusion — Some conservatives were taken aback by the AP's report yesterday that the continuing resolution (CR) that cuts $38 billion will only reduce this fiscal year's deficit—i.e. reduce total outlays through September 30—by $352 million. — Is the CR a sham? Nope, not really.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, Hot Air, Fox News, TPMDC, hosted2.ap.org and AmSpecBlog

Tim Fernholz / NationalJournal.com:
CBO Says Budget Deal Will Cut Spending by Only $352 Million

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots and Washington Post

Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:

About That Lawsuit... The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Jonathan Tasini is so utterly without merit, and has been so thoroughly eviscerated in the media — including being ridiculed as the “dumbest lawsuit ever” — I am hesitant to take any time away from aggregating adorable kitten videos to respond.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Mixed Media, Left Coast Rebel, Don Surber, TechCrunch, New York Times, The Daily Dish, Mediaite, The TrogloPundit, The Business Insider, Digits and Outside the Beltway, more at Mediagazer »

Derek Tang / Macroadvisers:

The Economic Effects of the Ryan Plan: Assuming the Answer? — Last week the House Budget Committee, chaired by Congressman Paul Ryan (R, WI) issued a Budget Resolution for fiscal year 2012 along with a Republican blueprint for addressing the nation's long-term fiscal imbalance.

Discussion: Yglesias

CNBC:

Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rise; Inflation Pressure Grows — New claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, bouncing back above the key 400,000 level, while core producer prices clumbed faster than expected in March, government reports showed on Thursday.

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative

Phoenix, Arizona:

Arizona Senate approves ‘birther’ bill — PHOENIX - The Arizona Senate has approved a revised bill requiring presidential candidates to prove they are U.S. citizens eligible to run for the office. — The bill approved Wednesday gives candidates additional ways to prove they meet the constitutional requirements to be president.

Discussion: Yglesias, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Outside the Beltway, Weigel, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Weasel Zippers, Balloon Juice, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Wonkette, Vox Popoli and Pajamas Media

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

Gallup: Obama's Approval Drops Below 50 Percent Among Poorest Americans; No Longer Enjoys Majority Approval In Any Income Class — (CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama's approval among the poorest Americans dropped to an all-time low of 48 percent last week, according to the Gallup poll …

Discussion: RedState, Scared Monkeys and The Page

Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:

Gov. Chris Christie Tells Reporters To ‘Take The Bat’ To 76-Year Old Widow Legislator — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who has virtually declared war on the state's labor unions, is known for having an antagonizing style of politics, with some of his most infamous moments including telling …

Discussion: NorthJersey.com and The Raw Story

Ballot Box:

Rep. Berkley to run for the Senate — Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) has decided to run for retiring Sen. John Ensign's (R-Nev.) seat. — She made the announcement in a statement Thursday morning. — “Nevadans know me and they know I will never stop working on behalf of our state …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Donald L. Luskin / Wall Street Journal:

Remembering the Real Ayn Rand — The author of “Atlas Shrugged” was an individualist, not a conservative, and she knew big business was as much a threat to capitalism as government bureaucrats. — Tomorrow's release of the movie version of “Atlas Shrugged” is focusing attention …

Discussion: Hit & Run