memeorandum: STATEMENT OF GOV. BARBOUR — “I will not be a candidate for president next year. (Governor Haley Barbour)

5:20 PM ET, April 25, 2011

Top Items:

STATEMENT OF GOV. BARBOUR — “I will not be a candidate for president next year. This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family for their total support of my going forward, had that been what I decided. — “Hundreds of people have encouraged me to run …

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Haley Barbour bows out of 2012 — Haley Barbour said Monday that he won't run for president in 2012, removing a fundraising powerhouse with establishment clout from the Republican primary field. — “This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, RedState, The Iowa Republican and AmSpecBlog

Charles Ommanney / Newsweek:
‘Fat Redneck’ for President

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, New York Magazine and The Daily Dish

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Barbour will not seek GOP nomination

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and FrumForum

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Mitch Daniels sounds fiscal alarm, but Indiana Republican hesitant to run in 2012

Discussion: American Prospect, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonk Room, CNN and FrumForum

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Clement firm drops DOMA case — In a real victory for supporters of same-sex marriage — and marking what seems like real marginalization for its foes — a major law firm has reversed course and will refuse to represent the House of Representatives in defending the Defense of Marriage Act.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog News, Towleroad News #gay, Salon, Sky Dancing, The Bilerico Project, National Review, The Volokh Conspiracy, Joe. My. God. and Riehl World View

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

Law Firm Backs Out Of Agreement To Defend DOMA: Vetting Process Was ‘Inadequate’ [UPDATE] … Eric Holder Attorney General , Gay Marriage , Defense Of Marriage Act , Boehner Defense Of Marriage Act , Doma , King And Spalding , King And Spalding Defense Of Marriage Act , Marriage Equality , Politics News

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Politico, The BLT, CNN, Washington Monthly, Above the Law, The Caucus, rubber hose, Feministing, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Daily Kos, Pam's House Blend, The Daily Dish, The Raw Story, JSOnline, The Impolitic, FrumForum and The Mahablog

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Clement quits firm over Defense of Marriage Act flap — Former Solicitor General Paul Clement resigned Monday from his law firm, King & Spalding, over the firm's abrupt and belated decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act on behalf of the House of Representatives.

Discussion: Poliglot, The BLT, RedState, New York Magazine, Equality Matters, National Review, Weigel and Joe. My. God.

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL — Paul Clement resigns from law firm over DOMA decision

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AmSpecBlog and Hot Air

Peter Finn / Washington Post:

WikiLeaks discloses new details on whereabouts of al-Qaeda leaders on 9/11 — On Sept. 11, 2001, the core of al-Qaeda was concentrated in a single city: Karachi, Pakistan. — At a hospital, the accused mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole was recovering from a tonsillectomy.

Discussion: New York Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Danger Room, Michelle Malkin, Newshoggers.com, The Raw Story, The Nation, Sky Dancing, The Agonist, The Foundry, Weasel Zippers, Lawfare, Hot Air, Truthdig, Mediaite and FrumForum, more at Mediagazer »

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Newly leaked documents show the ongoing travesty of Guantanamo

Discussion: BBC, Guardian, Verum Serum, The Daily Dish, Runnin' Scared, Emptywheel and Associated Press

New York Times:
Classified Files Offer New Insights Into Detainees

Guardian:
Massive leak reveals Guantánamo's secrets

Discussion: Firedoglake, New York Times, Close Read, NPR, The Lede, Emptywheel, No More Mister Nice Blog, Salon, Biased BBC, Mother Jones and Balloon Juice

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
WikiLeaks' Guantanamo Bay Documents: The Backstory On News Outlets' Race To Publish Them

Discussion: NPR, Salon, TPM LiveWire, Andy Worthington, techPresident, New York Times, Washington Post, Lawfare, Guardian and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Dems seek leverage by forcing GOP split on Ryan's budget plan — Senate Democratic aides expect Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to force Senate Republicans to vote on the Paul Ryan budget plan. — Reid hasn't made a formal decision yet, and won't until he returns from an overseas trip.

Discussion: TPMDC, Daily Kos, NationalJournal.com, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Politico, Firedoglake, Wonk Room, Booman Tribune, AMERICAblog News, Connecting.the.Dots, FrumForum and AMERICAblog Elections

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Let's Take a Hike — When I listen to current discussions of the federal budget, the message I hear sounds like this: We're in crisis! We must take drastic action immediately! And we must keep taxes low, if not actually cut them further! — You have to wonder: If things are that serious …

Discussion: TalkLeft, PERRspectives, CNN, iOwnTheWorld.com, Prairie Weather, Just-A-Small-Town-Country-Boy, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, DownWithTyranny!, The Mahablog, Daily Kos, NewsBusters.org, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and DailyHowler.com

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly: THE PLAN TO PUT THE SENATE GOP ON THE SPOT.... When congressional …

Mark Sherman / Associated Press:

High court rejects quick review of health care law — WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court rejected a call Monday from Virginia's attorney general to depart from its usual practice and put review of the health care law on a fast track. Instead, judicial review of President Barack Obama's signature legislation …

Discussion: Cubachi, SCOTUSblog, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, The Moderate Voice, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, LifeNews.com, Wonkette, TPMDC, No More Mister Nice Blog and Pajamas Media

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Appeals court set to hear Obama ‘birther’ case May 2 — A federal appeals court will hear arguments next week about whether Barack Obama was born in the United States and is ineligible to serve as president. — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California will hear arguments on May 2 in the case of Wiley Drake v. Barack Obama.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Justice Kagan Does Not Recuse Herself From Court's Decision To Dismiss Health Care Petition

Discussion: Firedoglake and Washington Post

Bcook / Fox Nation:

WH Fails to Release Easter Proclamation — President Obama failed to release a statement or a proclamation recognizing the national observance of Easter Sunday, Christianity's most sacred holiday. — By comparison, the White House has released statements recognizing the observance …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Little Green Footballs, Salon, Fox News, Obama Foodorama, The Jawa Report, The Gateway Pundit and The Lonely Conservative

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

White House smacks Rev. Franklin Graham for ‘birther’ talk — The White House slammed influential evangelical leader the Rev. Franklin Graham on Monday for questioning President Obama's birthplace. — Graham, a son of the Rev. Billy Graham who has served as a spiritual adviser …

Discussion: Politics, The Gateway Pundit, RealClearPolitics Video Log and FrumForum

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:

Norquist: Coburn ‘lied his way’ into office — Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, just emailed a response to Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn's claim that his group is a narrow “special interest” that doesn't represent American conservatives. And it's memorable.

Discussion: RedState, Daily Kos, The Caucus and National Review

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Coburn takes on Norquist

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, James Pethokoukis, Washington Post, The Daily Dish, AMERICAblog News, FrumForum and The Agonist

Publius / Big Government:

How-to College Course on Violent Union Tactics, Part II: Case Studies Edition — Earlier today, Big Government brought you video footage of a disturbing college course from University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).

Publius / Big Government:
Union Official, Professor Teach How-to College Course in Violent Union Tactics

Discussion: RedState, Breitbart.tv, Weasel Zippers and Weigel

Myglesias / Yglesias:

The Sensible Conservative Alternative To The Affordable Care Act Is The Affordable Care Act — Ramesh Ponnuru and Yuval Levin have a thoughtful New York Times op-ed about the desperate need for conservatives to come up with a substantial alternative on health insurance reform.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, New York Times, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality …, The New Republic and Paul Krugman

James Surowiecki / New Yorker:
BITTER PILLS — Multitrillion-dollar piles of debt …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Gov. Haley's advice to GOP presidential hopefuls: Change your message — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said Monday she is not satisfied with the message that the crop of GOP presidential hopefuls has brought to her state. — Haley — a rising star in the party and governor …

Discussion: CNN, Cubachi, Firedoglake and Liberty Pundits Blog

Robert Costa / National Review:
Haley Pressures Obama, '12 Field on NLRB

Discussion: protein wisdom, The Hill and Ben Smith's Blog

Ryan Lizza / New Yorker:

THE CONSEQUENTIALIST

Discussion: Daniel W. Drezner, Ben Smith's Blog, The Enterprise Blog and The Daily Caller

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

DEFINE ‘PEACETIME’.... Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R), back on the presidential campaign trail, isn't sitting down for a lot of media interviews — but he loves writing op-eds. Romney's latest ran in New Hampshire's largest paper this morning. … The nonsense-per-sentence ratio is awfully high here …

Discussion: UnionLeader.com, Washington Wire, Fox News, Daily Kos, Eschaton, GOP 12, AMERICAblog Elections and msnbc.com

New York Post:

Heaven can wait — Don't call him Father Jim just yet. — Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey — who shocked the nation in 2004 when he announced he was a “gay American” and stepped down from office — has been denied his bid to join the priesthood of the Episcopal Church, The Post has learned.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Raw Story, The Awl, New York Magazine, Towleroad News #gay and Joe. My. God.

Brett Arends / MarketWatch:

IMF bombshell: Age of America nears end — Commentary: China's economy will surpass the U.S. in 2016 — Front Page - News Viewer - Commentary - Markets - Investing - Personal Finance - Community - Games — BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed.