memeorandum: U.S. Debt Tops $14.3 Trillion for First Time (Terence P. Jeffrey/CNSNews)

2:30 PM ET, April 19, 2011

Top Items:

David Brooks / New York Times:

Why Trump Soars — Very few people have the luxury of being freely obnoxious. Most people have to watch what they say for fear of offending their bosses and colleagues. Others resist saying anything that might make them unpopular. — But, in every society, there are a few rare souls …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, DailyHowler.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, The New Republic, driftglass, Prairie Weather, Washington Examiner, FrumForum, The Political Carnival, TPMCafe and INSTAPUTZ

Washington Post:

Economic anxiety threatens Obama in 2012, but in poll he edges GOP rivals — Deepening economic pessimism has pushed down President Obama's approval rating to a near record low, but he holds an early advantage over prospective 2012 rivals in part because of widespread dissatisfaction …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, Guardian, Hot Air, The Nation, Outside the Beltway, The Politico, Taylor Marsh, National Review, The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog, Poll Watch Daily, Daily Kos, Weasel Zippers, FrumForum, American Power and Mock, Paper, Scissors

Myglesias / Yglesias:

Climate Denialism Promoter Fred Hiatt Hits American Conservatives For Embrace of Climate Denialism — The earth's climate is shifting. Most generally, the planet is getting warmer. And while many factors contribute to the earth's climate, the key factor in the warming trend is human industrial activity.

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Huckabee up in Iowa, Romney otherwise — Mike Huckabee remains the clear GOP frontrunner in Iowa if he decides to run for President again in 2012. If he doesn't run Mitt Romney rises to the top of the polls in the state. And Iowa is one place where Republicans voters are not yet buying into the Donald Trump hype.

Discussion: GOP 12, Ben Smith's Blog, Ballot Box and Daily Kos

Analysis By Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Race to the Bottom: Obama, GOP Unpopular

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Sky Dancing, Washington Post and GOP 12

Lauraklairmont / CNN:
TRENDING: Poll shows GOP not happy with its prez candidates

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, The Political Carnival and Daily Kos

John Springer / msnbc.com:
Trump: I'm ‘last person Obama wants to run against’

Discussion: Washington Wire, FITSNews, National Review and Associated Press

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Krauthammer doubles down on the 'Trump is the GOP's Al Sharpton' claim

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, theblogprof, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, TPMDC and Salon

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

Barack Obama Chides Local Reporter For His Interruptive And Combative Interview — President Barack Obama conducted interviews with a number of reporters yesterday at the White House, talking up his administration's efforts to reduce the budget deficit. One lucky reporter to get the plum assignment …

Discussion: The Blaze, Babalú Blog, Balloon Juice and Weasel Zippers

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Obama revives immigration reform — In the face of mounting political pressure, President Obama will focus on the issue at a White House meeting Tuesday. — President Obama is reviving the issue of immigration reform in the face of mounting political pressure as he readies his bid for reelection.

Discussion: The Caucus, National Review, JammieWearingFool, Pirate's Cove, The Political Carnival and Weasel Zippers

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:

Is Obama Messing With Texas? — President Obama's political advisers often talk about how population shifts in the country could create new electoral battlegrounds, pointing specifically to Arizona, Georgia and Texas. — There are several signs that aides to the president have Texas on their minds.

Discussion: bizjournals, RedState and HotAirPundit

David Jackson / USA Today:

Obama to make Easter Prayer Breakfast an annual event — President Obama hosted what he called the “second annual” Easter Prayer Breakfast today, and said he wants to make it a permanent part of White House life. — “I'm going to make it annual,” Obama told Christian leaders from across the country gathered in the East Room.

Discussion: Associated Press, protein wisdom, The Gateway Pundit, Breitbart.tv, Ben Smith's Blog, CNN and The Lonely Conservative

Brad Watson / WFAA-TV:

News 8 goes one-on-one with President Obama — NEWS 8 EXCLUSIVE — WASHINGTON — News 8 sat down with President Barack Obama at the White House Monday afternoon to discuss the economy, immigration and his approval rating. — The president this week is talking up his deficit reduction plan …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Fox News, msnbc.com and Pajamas Media

Associated Press:
Obama: Failure to reduce debt will hurt economy

Discussion: Fox Nation and The Daily Caller

David Jackson / USA Today:
Obama the media critic: Say something mean, get on TV

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and Shakesville

Jan Moller / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Gov. Jindal will sign ‘birther’ bill if it reaches his desk — BATON ROUGE — Gov. Bobby Jindal would sign a bill requiring presidential candidates to provide a copy of their birth certificate to qualify for the Louisiana ballot if it reaches his desk, a spokesman said Monday.

Discussion: The Politico, Outside the Beltway, FOX 10 News, The Raw Story, Wonkette, This Just In, Talking Points Memo, First Draft, TPMDC and Little Green Footballs

Fox News:
Why Gov. Brewer Vetoed Arizona's ‘Birther’ Bill: ‘It Serves No Purpose’ | On the Record

Discussion: Washington Wire and Ballot Box

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Jan Brewer vetoes birther bill, guns bill

Discussion: The Hill, TPMDC, Associated Press and Outside the Beltway

Dylan Smith / TucsonSentinel.com:
Brewer vetoes birther, campus gun bills

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Lez Get Real, Wonkette, The Huffington Post, Towleroad News #gay, The Gateway Pundit, MyDD and The Moderate Voice

Dave Lindorff / This Can't Be Happening:

An ‘Oh Please!’ Moment: Is S&P Running Interference for the Right to Help Crush Social Security and Medicare? — by: — Today'sbreathless anxiety-inducing headline was that Standard & Poors, the rating agency, has issued a “negative outlook” warning on US sovereign debt, claiming that the US …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, New Deal 2.0, naked capitalism, Crooked Timber, Suburban Guerrilla and Prairie Weather

David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Proper Reaction to S&P Credit Downgrade Threat: Bursting Out Laughing

Discussion: CEPR, Hullabaloo, Guardian, The Atlantic Online and Eschaton

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

‘No risk’ the US will lose its top credit rating, says Geithner — Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Tuesday there is “no risk” the U.S. will lose its top credit rating amid a new analysis that downgraded American debt to negative. — Geithner took to the airwaves of financial news networks …

Discussion: protein wisdom

Bernie Becker / The Hill:
Wall Street puts the squeeze on Washington with ‘negative’ outlook

Discussion: ABCNEWS and New York Times

New York Post:
Nat'l red (Ink) alert

Discussion: Guardian and Pajamas Media

Igor Volsky / Wonk Room:

VIDEO: New Hampshire Tea Party Activists Don't See Harm From State Same-Sex Marriage Law — ThinkProgress filed this report from Concord, New Hampshire. — During a recent trip to Concord, New Hampshire, to cover a Tax Day Tea Party sponsored by Americans for Prosperity …

Discussion: Pam's House Blend, The Raw Story, Towleroad News #gay and The Gavel

Lauraklairmont / CNN:
Poll: More Americans favor same-sex marriage

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Politico and Poll Watch Daily

DCCC:

DCCC LAUNCHES LATEST DRIVE FOR 25 CAMPAIGN — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) today announced it is launching a paid advertising and grassroots campaign to hold 25 vulnerable House Republicans accountable for choosing to end Medicare rather than end taxpayer giveaways …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, TPMDC and Oliver Willis

Shane D'Aprile / Ballot Box:
DCCC hitting 25 House Republicans with radio ads over Ryan budget

Discussion: CNN

Paul Bignell / The Independent:

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq — Plans to exploit Iraq's oil reserves were discussed by government ministers and the world's largest oil companies the year before Britain took a leading role in invading Iraq, government documents show.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress and Truthdig

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

Donald Trump: Reagan Was A Con Man Who Couldn't ‘Deliver The Goods’ — Today, real estate mogul Donald Trump proudly declares that Ronald Reagan is the President he admires most. Here's Trump on the April 14 edition of Hannity: … Watch it: — But in his bestselling book, Art of the Deal …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Ben Smith's Blog

Sal Bommarito / PolicyMic.com:

A Sense Of Entitlement — The federal government offers numerous entitlement programs to assist the needy and the aged. The principal ones include Social Security (which is self-funded for the most part), Medicare, and Welfare. These programs have been installed by acts of Congress motivated …

Discussion: Liberty Pundits Blog and Questions and Observations

TBogg:

“How much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” — Having been forced by the EPA to ship her signature little black dress (seen here and here and here) to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory where it will be processed and incinerated, Ann Coulter announces …

Discussion: Rising Hegemon

Glenn Blain / NY Daily News:

Classic kids games like kickball deemed unsafe by state in effort to increase summer camp regulation — State bureaucrats have created a list of ‘risky activities’ for kids at summer camp. The list includes freeze tag, Wiffle Ball and kickball, among other games and activities.

Discussion: Joanne Jacobs, Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

REVEALED: Boehner's High-Priced Lawyer Is Charging the American Taxpayer $520 Per Hour — ThinkProgress has obtained a copy of the contract House Republicans signed with Paul Clement, a former Solicitor General who earns $5 million a year, to defend the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, Little Green Footballs and The BLT

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:

Thought the financial crisis was bad? Wait till the debt ceiling caves in. — Timothy Geithner does not want the market to smell his fear. “I want to make one thing perfectly clear,” he said Sunday. “Congress will raise the debt ceiling.” But if there was truly so little doubt …

Discussion: Balloon Juice