memeorandum: Obama's Worst Week, Pawlenty's Best (Wall Street Journal)

11:15 AM ET, June 9, 2011

Top Items:

Weiner's Wife Is Pregnant — Their marriage has become the subject of intense speculation and scrutiny amid an embarrassing online sex scandal. — Now, Representative Anthony D. Weiner and Huma Abedin are about to make news of a different kind: they are expecting their first child.

Karoun Demirjian / Las Vegas Sun:

Another Rep. Weiner sexting partner emerges, reluctantly — WASHINGTON - The identity of another of Rep. Anthony Weiner's social media sexting partners is emerging, but this time, by accident. — Lisa Weiss, Ginger Lee, and Megan Broussard were all too eager to provide the details …

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Magazine and Patterico's Pontifications

Kirsten Powers / The Daily Beast:
Anthony Weiner's Ex: He Lied to Me

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, Datechguy's Blog, Associated Press, Pundit & Pundette, JammieWearingFool, US News, neo-neocon, National Review, Mediaite, CNN, BizzyBlog, Althouse, Fox Nation and Washington Post

Lisa Lambert / Reuters:

New jobless claims unexpectedly rise — A woman browses job openings at a job fair in Los Angeles, California, October 12, 2010. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Scared Monkeys and The Lonely Conservative

Bob Willis / Bloomberg:

Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Climb in the U.S. — U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, a sign that the labor market is struggling to gain traction. — Jobless claims increased by 1,000 to 427,000 in the week ended June 4, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, The Page and Shakesville

The U.S. Department of Labor:
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Discussion: BizzyBlog and Hot Air

Bloomberg:

Obama Team Eyes Payroll Tax Break for Employers — President Barack Obama's advisers have discussed seeking a temporary cut in the payroll taxes businesses pay on wages as they debate ways to spur hiring amid signs that the recovery is slowing, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, Don Surber, The New Republic, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Money Game and The Hill

Neil King Jr / Wall Street Journal:

New Whispers of Perry 2012 Bid — For months, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has told potential donors and Republican higher-ups he has no interest in running for the White House in 2012. — But over the past two weeks, political advisers and friends say, Mr. Perry has changed his tune on a possible presidential campaign.

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Note, Washington Post, BizzyBlog, Texas Politics, Hotline On Call and Hot Air

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Economy's Woes Shift the Focus of Budget Talks

Discussion: Washington Post

Andrew Breitbart / Big Government:

Statement on Opie & Anthony's Illicit Capture and Release of Photograph — Earlier today, a photograph resembling one that I had withheld from publication in the Weinergate saga was released without my knowledge or permission. — Prior to the publication of our story on BigGovernment.com …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Mediaite, Patterico's Pontifications, Taylor Marsh, Gawker, The Other McCain, Rumproast, Politisite, Weigel, The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice, Salon, No More Mister Nice Blog, Doug Ross, American Power, REPUBLICAN REDEFINED and The Atlantic Wire

Fox News:
It's Out: Purported X-Rated Weiner Photo on Internet

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Wall Street Journal, Watts Up With That?, Pajamas Media, AmSpecBlog, Mediaite, Hot Air, Fox Nation, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Taylor Marsh, The Atlantic Wire, Little Green Footballs, Althouse, Wake up America and The Raw Story

Jonathan Allen / The Politico:
Dems start bailing on Weiner

Dan Gillmor / Guardian:
Andrew Breitbart and the unwilling suspension of disbelief | Dan Gillmor

Discussion: Boing Boing

Mark Mazzetti / New York Times:

U.S. Is Intensifying a Secret Campaign of Yemen Airstrikes — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has intensified the American covert war in Yemen, exploiting a growing power vacuum in the country to strike at militant suspects with armed drones and fighter jets, according to American officials.

Discussion: Voice of America, Associated Press, ThinkProgress, Salon, americanthinker.com, The Reaction, In the Arena, Weasel Zippers, PoliPundit.com, Global Public Square, Washington Post and FrumForum

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:

Romney draws early fire from conservatives over views on climate change — It seemed like a straightforward question on a second-tier issue: Would Mitt Romney disavow the science behind global warming? — The putative Republican presidential front-runner, eager to prove his conservative bona fides …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway, Weigel, EnviroKnow, Conservatives4Palin and Power Line

Darren Samuelsohn / The Politico:
Mitt Romney: No apologies on climate change stance

Discussion: Hot Air and TPMDC

Ta-Nehisi Coates / New York Times:

You Left Out the Part About ... Last weekend, like seemingly half the country, I took my son to see “X-Men: First Class,” the latest, and best, big-screen incarnation of the popular comic book franchise. — My son and I represent two generations of X-fans.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Jon Huntsman's no-names strategy — Jon Huntsman is trying out a novel strategy: running for president without criticizing the incumbent by name. — Since returning from his post as ambassador to China last month, Huntsman has made scant mention of the man who appointed him in May 2009—President Barack Obama.

Discussion: GOP 12, Ricochet Conversation Feed and Taylor Marsh

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Rudy's Running — I'm told by two reliable sources that Rudy Giuliani intends to run for the GOP nomination for president in 2012. He may throw his hat in the ring soon. — Rudy's theory of the race: In the fall of 2007, he decided he couldn't compete with both Mitt Romney and John McCain …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Raw Story, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, AmSpecBlog, Outside the Beltway, GOP 12, ThinkProgress, Pajamas Media and New York Magazine

Business Wire:

ExxonMobil Announces Three Discoveries in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico — IRVING, Texas—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) today announced two major oil discoveries and a gas discovery in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico after drilling the company's first post-moratorium deepwater exploration well.

Discussion: The Foundry

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
Exxon makes major oil discovery in Gulf

Discussion: YID With LID

Ann Althouse / Althouse:

Wisconsin protesters disrupt a Special Olympics ceremony! — In front of the Capitol today, protesters dressed as zombies stood between Governor Scott Walker and the group of Special Olympics participants he was honoring. — Quite aside from the unbelievable rudeness …

Discussion: Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, Sister Toldjah and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
It's come to this: Wisconsin liberals protest Scott Walker at ... Special Olympics ceremony

Discussion: Confederate Yankee, The Lonely Conservative, Washington Post, Weasel Zippers and New York Times

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Herman Cain Would Require Muslim Appointees To Take A Special Loyalty Oath — In March, formers Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain burst onto the presidential scene when he told ThinkProgress that he “will not” appoint Muslims in his administration. — Under intense pressure …

Discussion: Oliver Willis, Right Wing Watch, Outside the Beltway and firstamendmentcenter.org

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Cain doubles down, would require ‘loyalty proof’ from Muslims to serve in his administration

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

CBS News:

Obama approval rating falls below 50 percent — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — Updated 8 p.m. ET — President Obama's approval ratings fell to below 50 percent for the first time since …

Discussion: Hot Air, CBS News and msnbc.com

Simonhernandezarthur / CNN:

Joe Wilson endorses Pawlenty in South Carolina — Washington (CNN) - Republican presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty secured a major endorsement in the early primary state of South Carolina on Wednesday, picking up the support of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson. — Wilson will serve as co-chairman …

Discussion: The Politico, msnbc.com, The Hill, Washington Post, National Review and The Daily Caller

Caitlin McDevitt / The Politico:

Ann Coulter's book gets Matt Drudge's touch — Coulter is promoting her book ‘Demonic: How the LIberal Mob is Endangering America.’ — There's a flattering photo of Ann Coulter in a form-fitting white dress and pointy red shoes on the cover of her new book — the back cover, that is.

New York Times:

Citizens United's Outrageous Offspring — Judge James Cacheris gave the impression last week that he was considering putting right what he got wrong when he ruled in May that corporations are free to make direct donations to federal candidates. That first judgment directly contravened …

Richard Vedder / Wall Street Journal:

Time to Make Professors Teach — My new study suggests a simple way to cut college tuition in half. — No sooner do parents proudly watch their children graduate high school than they must begin paying for college. As they write checks for upwards of $40,000 a year …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, TaxProf Blog and The Big Picture

Glenn Thrush / The Politico:

President Obama's campaign expands its 2012 map — CHICAGO — President Barack Obama's campaign team is gaming out complex state-by-state scenarios for 2012 that anticipate uphill battles in recession-ravaged blue states — and new opportunities in Arizona and Georgia.

Discussion: Booman Tribune and FrumForum

New York Times:

In Reckless Fashion, Rapid Online Pursuits of Political Admirers — Gennette Cordova said she did not even think the photo was real. — It was nearly 9 p.m. on a Friday when Ms. Cordova, who was preparing to head out for the night with a friend, logged onto Twitter and discovered …

Discussion: American Power

David Weigel / Slate Magazine:

Confirmed: The Nomination Process Is Broken — Even Senate Republicans want to help speed up the presidential appointment process. — Dawn Johnsen doesn't want to complain. It's been one year and two months since she withdrew her nomination to lead the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and A plain blog about politics

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Democrats struggle to beat maverick Sen. Brown in Massachusetts — Scott Brown has spent most of his Senate career with a target on his back. But his maverick voting record and fundraising prowess have positioned him to achieve the unthinkable: winning statewide reelection in Massachusetts as a Republican.

Wall Street Journal:

Obama's Worst Week, Pawlenty's Best — The 2012 election is going to be fought over how we get economic growth. — If next year the American people pull the plug on the Obama presidency, mark down the past week as the beginning of the end . . . and what looks like the real beginning of Tim Pawlenty's candidacy.

Discussion: Eunomia, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Lonely Conservative and Betsy's Page

Wall Street Journal:

Eyes on Goldman-Libya Dealings — Regulators Are Examining Whether the Big Bank, and Others, May Have Broken Bribery Laws — U.S. securities regulators are examining whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other financial firms might have violated bribery laws in dealings with Libya's sovereign-wealth fund …

Discussion: Global Public Square, New York Magazine and Law Blog