memeorandum: Needed: Plain Talk About the Dollar (Christina D. Romer/New York Times)

9:45 AM ET, May 22, 2011

Top Items:

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Mitch Daniels won't run in 2012 — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told supporters in a midnight email early Sunday that he is opting against a 2012 presidential run, a decision that he said ultimately came down to family concerns. — The decision by the former political operative and favorite …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Note, Betsy's Page and FrumForum

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

Mitch Daniels won't run for president in 2012 — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels won't run for president in 2012. (AP Photo/South Bend Tribune, Greg Swiercz)Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels won't seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, a decision that could well throw the field open to other late entrants.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Prairie Weather

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:

Daniels Decides Against Republican Presidential Bid — Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana has decided not to seek the Republican presidential nomination, telling supporters in an e-mail message early Sunday that he decided against entering the race because of family considerations.

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Freedom's Lighthouse, A plain blog about politics and HotAirPundit

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Horton's ghost haunts GOP field — It's still early in the presidential race, so the opposition research dumps haven't really begun. But when the skeletons in the closets of 2012 GOP hopefuls begin to be revealed, the unique shape of the field — which will almost certainly feature a handful …

Discussion: Right Wing News, The Caucus and Booman Tribune

Associated Press:

Indiana's Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels rules out run for the White House — View Photo Gallery — Who's in and who's out?: Republicans are beginning to announce who will pursue a bid for the presidency. — WASHINGTON — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said early Sunday that he won't run …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Pundit & Pundette, Vox Popoli, Los Angeles Times and CBS News

Daniel Leblanc / Globe and Mail:

Ottawa won't back Obama's Mideast peace proposal — The Harper government is refusing to join the United States in calling for a return to 1967 borders as a starting point for Mideast peace, a position that has drawn sharp criticism from Canada's staunch ally Israel.

Discussion: Maggie's Farm, Weasel Zippers, Israel Matzav and FrumForum

Eric Johnson / Reuters:

Top Jewish Americans ponder support for Obama — (Reuters) - Some prominent Jewish Americans are rethinking their support for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election bid after he effectively called on Israel to give back territory it has occupied since 1967 to Palestinians.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and Israel Matzav

Guardian:

Obama wants Cameron to back Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders — US president will use visit to London to keep pressure on Israel for Middle East peace deal — Barack Obama will seek a joint Middle East agreement with David Cameron, insisting that a Palestinian state should be based …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and HotAirPundit

Rummelj / CNN:
State of the Union Early Bird for May 22, 2011

Discussion: The Note, BBC and Reuters

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Bibi-Barack Chess Game

Discussion: The only adult in the room, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post and Hendrik Hertzberg

Dore Gold / Wall Street Journal:
Israel's 1967 Borders Aren't Defensible

Discussion: Israel Matzav

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
House lawmakers push back against Obama's stand on 1967 borders

Discussion: Israel Matzav and iOwnTheWorld.com

Jacob Weisberg / Slate Magazine:

Fantasy Island — Are Republicans losing their grip on reality? — At a press conference last week, someone asked Chris Christie for his views on evolution vs. creationism. “That's none of your business,” the New Jersey governor barked in response. — This minor incident …

Discussion: The Mahablog, Crooked Timber and Yglesias

Christina D. Romer / New York Times:

Needed: Plain Talk About the Dollar — AT a recent news conference, Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, was asked about the falling dollar. He parried the question, saying that the Treasury secretary was the government's spokesman on the exchange rate — and, of course, that the United States favors a strong dollar.

Discussion: Jared Bernstein and Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality …

Dr. Milton R. Wolf / Washington Times:

Obamacare waiver corruption must stop — If some Americans deserve exemption from a bad law, then all Americans do — Selective enforcement of the law is the first sign of tyranny. A government empowered to determine arbitrarily who may operate outside the rule of law invariably embraces favoritism …

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel

Fox News:

Tea Party Favorite Herman Cain Joins 2012 GOP Race — Tea Party favorite Herman Cain announced his long-shot presidential candidacy to a raucous crowd in Atlanta Saturday, yelling, “I'm running for president of the United States and I'm not running for second.”

Aharding / CNN: Herman Cain officially announces presidential bid

Ryan Creed / ABCNEWS:
Herman Cain, Former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, Announces His Candidacy

Discussion: Oliver Willis

Gabrielle Saveri / Reuters:

Broadcaster silent as “Judgment Day” hours tick by — SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - With no sign of Judgment Day arriving as he had forecast, the 89-year-old California evangelical broadcaster and former civil engineer behind the pronouncement seemed to have gone silent on Saturday.

Discussion: Slate Magazine and Don Surber