Top Items:
Mike Allen / The Politico:
GOP elite see Mitch Daniels as 2012 savior — Top Republicans are increasingly convinced that President Barack Obama will be easily reelected if stronger GOP contenders do not emerge, and some are virtually begging Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to add some excitement to the slow-starting nomination race.
Discussion:
CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog, Left Coast Rebel, Washington Post, The Note, The Page, Betsy's Page, GOP 12, Riehl World View, American Power and Washington Monthly
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Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Schumer: You're damn right we'll use Gingrich's criticism of Ryan against the GOP — Newt Gingrich has declared that Dems must not use his now-walked-back criticism of Paul Ryan's Medicare plan against the GOP, but guess what: Dems aren't going to listen to him.
Discussion:
The Hill, TPMDC, Verum Serum, The Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Ballot Box
Benjy Sarlin / TPMDC:
Newt Apologizes To Paul Ryan, Begs Democrats Not To Use His Own Quotes In Ads — Newt Gingrich's walk back tour reached its zenith Tuesday night, as Gingrich personally apologized to Paul Ryan for dismissing his Medicare plan as “right wing social engineering.”
Discussion:
Fox News, Little Green Footballs, Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, The Reality-Based Community, Left In Alabama, Hotline On Call, Paul Krugman, rubber hose, Los Angeles Times, Balloon Juice, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Salon, Associated Press, The Blotter, CNN, Washington Post and Taylor Marsh
Frank Newport / Gallup:
With Huckabee Out, No Clear GOP Front-Runner — Bachmann and Cain generate high positive intensity among those who know them — PRINCETON, NJ — With Mike Huckabee out of the race for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, three well-known politicians, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin …
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
NBC's David Gregory Defends Medicare Question As Newt Gingrich Spokesman Blasts Media ‘Minions’ … NEW YORK — When Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) sits down on “Meet the Press” this Sunday, he can expect to be asked about former House Speaker Newt Gingrich comparing his Medicare voucher plan to “right-wing social engineering.”
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, TVNewser, GOP 12, Hit & Run, TPMDC, News Hounds and CNN
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Republicans ‘depressed’ by 2012 options — The political story of the day appears to be this piece from Mike Allen, noting that “top Republicans are increasingly convinced that President Barack Obama will be easily reelected if stronger GOP contenders do not emerge.”
Discussion:
CNN and The Politico
Juana Summers / The Politico:
Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin jump to top in new Gallup poll — With Mike Huckabee's exit from the race, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin are now on top of the Republican field, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday. — Twenty percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters say they'd support …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics
Alexis Levinson / The Daily Caller:
Cain generates most enthusiasm among voters, according to Gallup poll
Cain generates most enthusiasm among voters, according to Gallup poll
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Paul Waldman / TAPPED:
Newt Gingrich Gets Asked to Show His Papers
Newt Gingrich Gets Asked to Show His Papers
Discussion:
The Caucus, USA Today, TPMDC and Eschaton
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
Newt Gingrich: ‘Any Ad Which Quotes What I Said On Sunday Is A Falsehood’
Newt Gingrich: ‘Any Ad Which Quotes What I Said On Sunday Is A Falsehood’
Discussion:
The Note, Political Correction RSS, The Politico, Guardian, Wonk Room, Daily Kos and No More Mister Nice Blog
Jonathan Chait / The New Republic:
The GOP Elite's Not-So-Secret Presidential Hopes And Fears
The GOP Elite's Not-So-Secret Presidential Hopes And Fears
Discussion:
CNN, Daily Kos, Salon and Mother Jones
Mark Warren / Esquire:
BREAKING: Jerome Corsi's Birther Book Pulled from Shelves! — In a stunning development one day after the release of Where's the Birth Certificate? The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President, by Dr. Jerome Corsi, World Net Daily Editor and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah …
Discussion:
Salon, The Daily Caller, Runnin' Scared, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, Towleroad News #gay, Moe Lane and Pajamas Media
Hillary Chabot / Boston Herald:
White House shuts out Herald scribe — The White House Press Office has refused to give the Boston Herald full access to President Obama's Boston fund-raiser today, in e-mails objecting to the newspaper's front page placement of a Mitt Romney op-ed, saying pool reporters are chosen based on whether they cover the news “fairly.”
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Jake Sherman / The Politico:
Cantor tells Gingrich he's out of line — RICHMOND, Va.— House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said he called Newt Gingrich Tuesday to let him know “he was out of line” when he criticized the House Republican budget. — “I disagreed with him,” Cantor told POLITICO in an interview here Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Hill and Weasel Zippers
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Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Newt Gingrich campaign fights for its life
Newt Gingrich campaign fights for its life
Discussion:
msnbc.com, CNN, Fox Nation, Pajamas Media, New York Magazine and American Power
Adam Folk / Metro:
Thomas defends ideals of court — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told a packed dinner crowd of Augusta's judges, lawyers and politicians Tuesday that while discourse in American society seems to be growing coarser and angrier, the Supreme Court remains a bastion of respectful disagreement …
Discussion:
Above the Law and The Politico
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Think Progress:
ThinkFast: May 18, 2011 — Conservative Supreme Court Justice …
ThinkFast: May 18, 2011 — Conservative Supreme Court Justice …
Discussion:
Gawker, Wonk Room, Prairie Weather and The BLT
Tony Mauro / The BLT:
The Garner Transcripts: That v. Which, and Other Supreme Court Writing Tips
The Garner Transcripts: That v. Which, and Other Supreme Court Writing Tips
Discussion:
Law Blog and SCOTUSblog
Jordan Fabian / The Hill:
Obama campaign selling ‘birther’ T-shirts — President Obama isn't done trying to capitalize on claims that he was not born in the United States. — Last month, Obama released his long-form birth certificate to prove he was born in Hawaii and lampooned billionaire businessman Donald Trump …
Discussion:
CNN, Outside the Beltway and HotAirPundit
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Matthew Yglesias / Yglesias:
Catholic Church Investigation Says Hippies Made Catholic Priests Sexually Abuse Children — Laurie Goodstein reports on the release of an inquiry by American bishops into sex abuse scandals: … This hippie-blaming strategy seems unlikely to persuade anyone.
Discussion:
alicublog
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Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:
Church Report Cites Social Tumult in Priest Scandals
Church Report Cites Social Tumult in Priest Scandals
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Religion News Service, Salon, Gawker, Washington Post, Gothamist, Joe. My. God. and Philly.com
Bill Keller / New York Times:
The Twitter Trap — Last week my wife and I told our 13-year-old daughter she could join Facebook. Within a few hours she had accumulated 171 friends, and I felt a little as if I had passed my child a pipe of crystal meth. — I don't mean to be a spoilsport, and I don't think I'm a Luddite.
Discussion:
FishbowlNY, Outside the Beltway, Boing Boing, Gizmodo and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
Senator questions benefits to ‘adult baby’ — Coburn sees possible fraud — Stanley Thornton Jr., 30, is being fed with a bottle by his roommate, Sandra Dias. They were featured on National Geographic Channel's “Taboo” program. Sen. Tom Coburn is questioning their disability payment eligibility.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media and This ain't Hell …
New York Post:
IMF accuser in apt. for HIV vics — Dominique Strauss-Kahn may have more to worry about than a possible prison sentence. — The IMF chief's alleged sex-assault victim lives in a Bronx apartment rented exclusively for adults with HIV or AIDS, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Feministing, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit and Vox Popoli
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Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
AIPAC: Don't boo Obama — A reader forwards over an email from AIPAC President Lee Rosenberg to delegates to the organization's annual policy conference, which will feature President Obama's and Prime Minister Netanyahu's coming speeches to the organization.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Democrats' plan for millionaire surtax intended to soften up GOP — Senate Democrats are using their proposal to raise taxes on millionaires as a stalking-horse to force Republicans to accept other tax increases. — Democratic officials privately acknowledge that raising personal income tax rates …
Discussion:
New York Times, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, AMERICAblog News and Simply Left BehindThe …
Greg Miller / Washington Post:
CIA flew stealth drones into Pakistan to monitor bin Laden house — The CIA employed sophisticated new stealth drone aircraft to fly dozens of secret missions deep into Pakistani airspace and monitor the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, current and former U.S. officials said.
Discussion:
Danger Room, The Volokh Conspiracy, Gizmodo, SWJ Blog and FrumForum
Associated Press:
US slaps sanctions on Syria's Assad for abuses — WASHINGTON - The United States slapped sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad and six senior Syrian officials for human rights abuses over their brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, for the first time personally penalizing …
Discussion:
Hot Air and The News Tribune