memeorandum: Mike Huckabee says he won't run for president in 2012 (Maggie Haberman/Reuters)

11:45 PM ET, May 14, 2011

Top Items:

Huckabee Opts Against 2012 White House Bid — Mike Huckabee said Saturday there would be no sequel to his surprisingly strong 2008 White House bid, in which he won the Iowa Republican caucus and finished second in the primaries to Sen. John McCain. — “All the factors say go …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, TalkLeft, RedState, Pajamas Media and Doug Ross

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Open thread: “The Decision”; Update: Huckabee not running; Update: Video added — The magic begins at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, although the announcement probably won't come until the last 10 minutes of the show. Before the flood of “I DON'T CARE” comments begins below, let me assure you: You do care.

Discussion: Mediaite, Cubachi, FiveThirtyEight and The Other McCain

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Beyond parody — We'll probably learn later today whether Mike Huckabee is running for president, but while we wait, it's worth appreciating what else for the former Arkansas governor is up to. — This week, Huckabee launched a new educational company called Learn Our History.

Discussion: Sky Dancing, The Reaction, Barefoot and Progressive and Balloon Juice

Maggie Haberman / Reuters:

Mike Huckabee says he won't run for president in 2012 — Mike Huckabee opted against a run for the 2012 Republican nomination Saturday night, saying that despite all the signs saying yes, “My heart said no.” — “I can't know or predict the future, but I know for now, my answer is clear and firm …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and FrumForum

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:

Mike Huckabee: ‘Things Will Get Crazier’ After Presidential Bid Announcement — As if the speculation surrounding Mike Huckabee's decision about whether he will jump into the presidential race wasn't intense enough, the former Arkansas governor found another way to raise the stakes.

Discussion: CNN and TPMDC

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post:
Mike Huckabee Not Running For President in 2012

Discussion: The Reid Report and The Raw Story

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Huck: I've made '12 decision — Mike Huckabee said that he's now …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and Outside the Beltway

Dan Fastenberg / The Page:
“Once I Pull the Trigger Saturday Night, Things Will Get Even Crazier, As If That's Possible”

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Taegan Goddard's …, The Hill and The Moderate Voice

Al Baker / New York Times:

I.M.F. Head Is Arrested and Accused of Sexual Attack — The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was taken off a plane by police at Kennedy International Airport on Saturday just minutes before it was to takeoff for Paris and was being held in connection …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Guardian, Sky Dancing, msnbc.com, International Political … and Marginal Revolution

New York Post:

IMF head Strauss-Kahn pulled off plane, arrested in alleged sodomy of hotel maid — The French political bigshot who heads the International Monetary Fund was arrested for allegedly sodomizing a Manhattan hotel maid today — hauled off an Air France flight just moments before takeoff from Kennedy Airport, police said.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Gothamist and The Market Ticker

Tamer El-Ghobashy / Wall Street Journal:

Head of IMF Strauss-Kahn in Custody for Alleged Sexual Assault — A law enforcement official said Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, was taken into police custody after being removed from an airplane at Kennedy Airport. — According to the official …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

NY Daily News:

Top French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn dragged off flight at JFK, accused of sodomizing maid — A top French politician nicknamed “the great seducer” was dragged off a flight at Kennedy Airport Saturday after he was accused of sodomizing a Manhattan hotel maid, sources said.

Alan Colmes' Liberaland:

New York Post, With Classy Cover, Lists Bin Laden Porn Titles — The New York Post has clearly done its homework to come up with the titles of the DVD's Osama bin Laden enjoyed at his compound. As part of an article titled “Porno Osama Had A Big ‘Jihad On’” his favorites were revealed. Among them:

Frances Martel / Mediaite:

New York Post Truly Outdoes Itself With ‘Osama Bin Wankin’ Porn Cover — On Monday, May 2nd, many New Yorkers awoke expecting their beloved bearer of ridiculous headlines, the New York Post, to come up with an insanely entertaining cover to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden.

Discussion: Pajamas Media

New York Post:
Porn stash found in bin Laden's lair

Discussion: Gothamist, Don Surber and The Jawa Report

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Four Dems vote ‘present’ on honoring Bin Laden mission

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Don Surber and No More Mister Nice Blog

Glenn Davis / Mediaite:
Bill Maher: If You Celebrated Bin Laden's Death, You're Not Really A Christian

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Andrew Ferguson / Weekly Standard:

Converting Mamet — A playwright's progress — Three decades ago David Mamet became known among the culture-consuming public for writing plays with lots of dirty words. “You're f—ing f—ed” was a typically Mamet-like line, appearing without the prim dashes back in a day when playwrights …

Discussion: Power Line, alicublog, Pajamas Media and National Review

Neela Banerjee / Los Angeles Times:

Obama to open Alaska petroleum reserve to new drilling — The broad energy plan, coming as gas prices continue to rise, would also fast-track environmental assessment of petroleum exploration elsewhere. — Reporting from Washington— President Obama will open Alaska's national petroleum reserve …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Firedoglake, Pajamas Media, Doug Ross and FrumForum

John M. Broder / New York Times:
Obama Shifts to Speed Oil and Gas Drilling in U.S.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Weasel Zippers

Matthew Yglesias / Yglesias:

Ron Paul And The Civil Rights Act — I watched Ron Paul on Hardball yesterday afternoon talking about his opposition to the Civil Rights Act and while this of course reminds you of his troubling racist associations, I think that's actually the least significant part of the story.

Discussion: Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality … and TPMDC

Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
Ron Paul's Racism

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, CNN, ThinkProgress, Crooked Timber and Left Coast Rebel

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Gingrich promises to slash taxes, calls Obama ‘food stamp president’ — MACON, Ga. — Newt Gingrich opened his presidential campaign here Friday night by introducing a jobs plan that would slash taxes and repeal an array of bureaucratic regulations. — Returning to the state where he launched …

Discussion: Yglesias, The Raw Story, ThinkProgress and newt.org