Top Items:
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
And the award for the most ridiculous poll sampling goes to ... Move over, CBS. Hang up the kid-leather gloves, WaPo/ABC. There's a new sample-skewing sheriff in town, and it's the Associated Press. In a new definition of “outlier,” the AP reported that its latest poll …
Discussion:
Nice Deb, Pajamas Media, Moe Lane and iOwnTheWorld.com
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Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Latest AP Poll Sample Skews to Democrats by 17 Points — Wow! The AP poll has Obama's approval rating hitting 60 percent! And 53 percent say he deserves to be reelected! — And on the economy, 52 percent approve of the way Obama's handling it, and only 47 percent disapprove!
Discussion:
Guardian and Weasel Zippers
Steve Holland / Reuters:
Obama way ahead of Republicans for 2012 election — (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has a wide lead over potential Republican rivals for the presidential election in 2012, but faces serious doubts about his handling of the U.S. economy, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Politico, Taegan Goddard's …, Public Policy Polling, Weigel, The Raw Story and Associated Press
Associated Press:
AP-Gfk poll: Obama approval hits 60 percent
AP-Gfk poll: Obama approval hits 60 percent
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Moderate Voice, JOSHUAPUNDIT and Gawker
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Americans More Positive on Afghanistan After Bin Laden Death
Americans More Positive on Afghanistan After Bin Laden Death
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Global Public Square
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Obama's Approval Bump Hasn't Transferred to 2012 Prospects
Obama's Approval Bump Hasn't Transferred to 2012 Prospects
Discussion:
Wake up America and The Huffington Post
Michael Sean Winters / ncronline.org:
Catholic Academics Challenge Boehner — A group of prominent Catholic academics have signed a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner, on the occasion of his forthcoming commencement address at the Catholic University of America. I will provide commentary later today …
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Bloomberg:
Boehner's Views on Economy Contradicted by Studies — House Speaker John Boehner, giving Wall Street leaders his prescriptions for growing the U.S. economy and reducing the nation's debt, built his case on several assertions that are contradicted by market indicators and government reports.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Post, The Caucus, Yglesias, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Wonkette, The Moderate Voice and The New Republic
Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
Catholic Professors Criticize Boehner in Letter
Catholic Professors Criticize Boehner in Letter
Discussion:
Hit & Run and Booman Tribune
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
House GOP freshmen conveniently forget 2010 — A wide variety of House Republicans, especially freshmen in competitive districts, heard from their constituents over the recent two-week break, and discovered that voters aren't impressed with the GOP plan to end Medicare.
Discussion:
TPMDC, Wonkette, New York Magazine and Eschaton
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Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Trump blames Ryan budget for GOP woes in NY special election — If Republican Jane Corwin goes down in defeat in the May 24 special election in New York's 26th congressional district, blame Rep. Paul Ryan's (R) budget, Donald Trump said Wednesday. — Trump, speaking in the first-in-the …
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, The Caucus, The Other McCain and Ballot Box
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Paul Ryan takes aim at AARP, but misses — With the House Republican budget agenda imposing new burdens and hardship on the elderly, it's not surprising that AARP opposes the GOP vision and has said so. Given that Republicans want to end Medicare and gut Medicaid, the nation's leading advocates …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and Daily Kos
Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Ryan: GOP faces messaging challenge in selling 2012 budget
Ryan: GOP faces messaging challenge in selling 2012 budget
Discussion:
Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Impolitic and AMERICAblog News
Marin Cogan / The Politico:
GOP frosh protest Dems' rhetoric on Medicare
GOP frosh protest Dems' rhetoric on Medicare
Discussion:
The Reid Report and FrumForum
NBC New York:
NJ State Police “Outraged” Over Rapper Invite to White House — Common at the 2011 Common Ground Foundation gala fundraiser at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago last month. — The invitation of rapper Common to the White House this week is drawing the ire of the union representing New Jersey state police.
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Jake Tapper / Political Punch:
White House Condemns Some of Common's Lyrics but Praises his Larger Body of Work
White House Condemns Some of Common's Lyrics but Praises his Larger Body of Work
Discussion:
Truthdig, Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller
Tanya Somanader / ThinkProgress:
Referring To Grammy-Winning Hip-Hop Artist, Rove Slams The Obamas For ‘Inviting A Thug To The White House’
Referring To Grammy-Winning Hip-Hop Artist, Rove Slams The Obamas For ‘Inviting A Thug To The White House’
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Washington Times, American Prospect and Mediaite
Rachel Rose Hartman / Yahoo! News:
Palin joins those balking at White House invite to rapper Common
Palin joins those balking at White House invite to rapper Common
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Political Punch, Little Green Footballs, Swampland and The Raw Story
Jake Tapper / Political Punch:
Top Democrats: Huntsman Would Be Toughest to Beat in 2012; Won't Win GOP Nomination
Top Democrats: Huntsman Would Be Toughest to Beat in 2012; Won't Win GOP Nomination
Discussion:
National Review and New York Magazine
Galactic Empire Times:
Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says — CORUSCANT — Obi-Wan Kenobi, the mastermind of some of the most devastating attacks on the Galactic Empire and the most hunted man in the galaxy, was killed in a firefight with Imperial forces near Alderaan, Darth Vader announced on Sunday.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Indecision Forever, Gothamist, Hit & Run and Questions and Observations
John Fund / Wall Street Journal:
Hoyer Bucks Obama on Disclosure Plan — President Obama's plan to force federal contractors to disclose political contributions was dealt a surprise blow yesterday when Steny Hoyer said that he opposed the idea. — President Obama's plan to force federal contractors to disclose political contributions …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
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Jim McNerney / Wall Street Journal:
Boeing Is Pro-Growth, Not Anti-Union — Washington's actions have assaulted the capitalist principles that have sustained America's competitiveness since it became the world's largest economy nearly 140 years ago. — Deep into the recent recession, Boeing decided to invest more than $1 billion in a new factory in South Carolina.
Discussion:
Questions and Observations, Left Coast Rebel, Moonbattery, The Daily Caller and Shopfloor
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Sarah Palin / Facebook:
Removing the Boot from the Throat of American Businesses
Removing the Boot from the Throat of American Businesses
Discussion:
The Politico and Washington Wire
Wall Street Journal:
President to Renew Muslim Outreach — WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is preparing a fresh outreach to the Muslim world in coming days, senior U.S. officials say, one that will ask those in the Middle East and beyond to reject Islamic militancy in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death and embrace a new era of relations with the U.S.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Peace Corps Volunteers Speak Out on Rape — WASHINGTON — Jess Smochek arrived in Bangladesh in 2004 as a 23-year-old Peace Corps volunteer with dreams of teaching English and “helping the world.” She left six weeks later a rape victim after being brutalized in an alley by a knife-wielding gang.
Discussion:
Feministing, Boing Boing, Doughnut Orbitals, msnbc.com, The Raw Story and First Response Action
Karoli / Crooks and Liars:
As Breitbart and Loesch Cover Their Tracks, Professors Cleared By University Officials — You may recall this video. It was the first of two posted on Big Government's site two weeks ago alleging that UMSL Professor Don Giljum and UMKC Professor Judy Ancel were teaching impressionable young college students …
Discussion:
Chronicle of Higher Education, St. Louis Activist Hub and Media Matters for America
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Same-sex marriage and the '16 nomination — It's basically self-parody here at POLITICO to write about the 2016 presidential campaign, and I don't plan to do it much. But I thought it was worth passing on a point Bob Shrum made to me yesterday about one of the three or four Democrats already operating …
Discussion:
Mediaite and The Moderate Voice
David / Blue Mass Group:
Romney backed a *federal* individual health care mandate in 1994 — Bumped, for Seamus. - promoted by david — We're all positively breathless with anticipation over what Mitt Romney might have to say about health care tomorrow in Michigan. He's tried so many times to explain …
Discussion:
Weigel, National Review, Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog, GOP 12, Boston Globe, The New Republic and msnbc.com
Erik Hedegaard / Rolling Stone:
Donald Trump Lets His Hair Down — A conversation with the host of The Celebrity Apprentice — Like you, we've always wondered what's inside Donald Trump's wallet. So, on a recent visit to his office at the top of Trump Tower in Manhattan, the epicenter of his vast real estate empire …
Discussion:
CNN
Peter Lattman / DealBook:
Galleon's Rajaratnam Found Guilty — Updated — Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire investor who once ran one of the world's largest hedge funds, was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy on Wednesday by a federal jury in Manhattan. He is the most prominent figure convicted in the government's crackdown …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, TalkLeft, New York Magazine, Gothamist, Dealbreaker, Gawker and JammieWearingFool