memeorandum: Mitt Romney leads the Drudge primary (Ben Smith/The Politico)

11:55 AM ET, June 12, 2011

Top Items:

Weiner Opts for Treatment as New Self Portraits Emerge — Dismissing calls by Democratic leaders for him to resign over a sexting scandal, Rep. Anthony Weiner says he's taking a leave of absence and checking himself in for treatment instead. — But as House lawmakers return to Washington …

Discussion: Power Line, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Fox Nation

TMZ.com:

Rep. Weiner Used Congressional Gym As Backdrop — Rep. Anthony Weiner took numerous photos of himself — clothed and partially nude — at the House Members Gym and sent them to at least one woman ... raising questions about whether he used Congressional resources in his online exploits.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Runnin' Scared, Gothamist, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:
Weiner Agrees to Get Treatment as Calls for Resignation Intensify

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Pelosi, Wasserman Schultz, Israel tell Weiner he should resign

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Fox Nation, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, Pajamas Media, Weigel, The Lonely Conservative, Scared Monkeys and Patterico's Pontifications

The Politico:
Abandoned, defiant Anthony Weiner seeks ‘treatment,’ House leave

Discussion: CNN, FrumForum, Washington Post, Ben Smith's Blog, Pajamas Media, Weasel Zippers, The Moderate Voice, National Review, New York Magazine and The Other McCain

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Democratic leaders call on Anthony Weiner to resign; Weiner seek “treatment”

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Raw Story and Los Angeles Times

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

GOP Voting Factors: Look Out for Marital Infidelity — Mitt Romney's religion is far less of a concern to potential Republican voters than it once was, and a candidate's race or sex are non-issues for vast majorities. But if a GOP contender supports gay civil unions — or has committed marital infidelity — all bets are off.

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Mitt Romney leads the Drudge primary — The Drudge primary has begun, and Mitt Romney is winning. — The former governor of Massachusetts may be the punching bag of the conservative media, ridiculed on blogs and talk radio as a plasticine, untrustworthy flip-flopper and the grandfather of the hated Obamacare.

Discussion: CNN and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

GOPers weigh in on candidate attributes — This is the kind of poll that should be pretty discouraging to Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, and Rudy Giuliani. … This part of the poll was less about individual candidates, and more about candidate attributes. Respondents were told …

Associated Press:

Gabrielle Giffords photographs released — PHOENIX — Two photos of a smiling Rep. Gabrielle Giffords were released early Sunday by her office, her hair shorn short but few other telling signs of her gunshot wound to the head. — The Facebook photos, the first clear snapshots of Giffords since …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, Balloon Juice, Guardian and New York Magazine

New York Times:

U.S. Underwrites Internet Detour Around Censors — The Obama administration is leading a global effort to deploy “shadow” Internet and mobile phone systems that dissidents can use to undermine repressive governments that seek to silence them by censoring or shutting down telecommunications networks.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and FrumForum, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Palin's E-Mails Undercut Simplistic Views of Her, Both Positive and Negative — JUNEAU, Alaska — In the three years since Sarah Palin stormed the national political stage, her brief tenure as governor of Alaska has often been reduced to caricature. Critics cast her as petty, preoccupied and disengaged.

BBC:

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed: Death is ‘blow’ for al-Qaeda — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the death of top African al-Qaeda militant Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is a “significant blow” to the group. — He and another militant were killed earlier this week in a shootout with police …

Discussion: Jihad Watch, Reuters and TalkLeft

Abdi Sheikh / Reuters:
Somalia says killed top African al Qaeda operative

Discussion: Washington Post, 1 The Long War Journal, Hot Air, Lisa Graas and Weasel Zippers

Todd Gregory / Media Matters for America:

Fox's Eric Bolling: Obama Is Hosting “Hoodlums” In “The Hizzouse” — During the opening of Fox Business' Follow the Money on Friday, Eric Bolling teased a segment about the White House hosting the president of Gabon by saying, “Guess who's coming to dinner? A dictator.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, Little Green Footballs, Balloon Juice, Oliver Willis and Hullabaloo

Molly Ball / The Politico:

Long-lost Sarah Palin surfaces in emails — ‘Can you flippinbelieveit?!’ Palin said to the news of her addition to the 2008 ticket. AP and Reuters photos — Once, there was a different Sarah Palin. — She was hands-on and averse to partisan politics.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool, Conservatives4Palin, Weasel Zippers, Guardian, newsfeed.time.com, New York Magazine, The Caucus, New York Times and Anchorage Daily News

Justin Elliott / Salon:

Alabama's harsh new immigration law explained — On Thursday, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley signed what both critics and backers agree is the toughest immigration law in the country. — Despite the relative lack of national media attention, the Alabama law includes more harsh measures …

Discussion: Washington Monthly