memeorandum: Michele Bachmann wins the Ames Straw Poll (Chris Cillizza/Washington Post)

11:30 PM ET, August 13, 2011

Top Items:

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

Michele Bachmann wins the Ames Straw Poll — Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., center, arrives at a breakfast before the GOP Ames Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AMES, Iowa — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann scored …

Discussion: Hot Air, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, The Politico, Hit & Run, A plain blog about politics, The Huffington Post, nation.foxnews.com, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, American Glob, Election Law Blog, New York Magazine and LewRockwell.com Blog

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Why Ames Actually Matters — It is easy to make fun of the Ames Straw Poll. It can't exactly be described as democratic when you — or the candidate hoping to secure your vote — have to pay your way into the polls. — But Ames has a pretty good predictive track record.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Hot Air, Washington Post, Runnin' Scared, Outside the Beltway, News Desk, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, Roll Call, CNN and The Hill

Toby Harnden / blogs.telegraph.co.uk:

Fried food and retail politics at the Iowa State Fair — On the eve of the Ames Straw Poll, the Republican candidates made a last push for votes at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines - a huge spectacle in which cattle, pigs and horses are on display as well as politicians and Iowans queue …

Discussion: Mediaite, BAGnewsNotes, TBogg, emptywheel, Wonkette, Radio Iowa and Roger Ailes

Frances Martel / Mediaite:

CNN's Don Lemon: Marcus Bachmann ‘Elbowed Me Into A Golf Cart’ — The strangest story of the Ames Straw Poll seems to have happened long before the poll itself. CNN anchor Don Lemon reported on a “very disturbing” incident with Rep. Michele Bachmann, who he claimed had his security …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Raw Replay, Right Wing News and CNN

Ashley Parker / New York Times:

Promising Better Direction, Perry Enters Race — CHARLESTON, S.C. — Gov. Rick Perry of Texas announced Saturday that he was running for president, declaring it was “time to get America working again” as he sought to offer the Republican Party a well-rounded candidate who appeals …

Discussion: The Caucus, The Politico, Erica Grieder, Salon, Newshoggers.com, Outside the Beltway, HotAirPundit and The Maddow Blog

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Bachmann Wins Iowa Straw Poll — AMES, Iowa — Michele Bachmann's high-intensity, Tea Party-inspired critique of President Obama propelled her to a first-place finish in the straw poll here Saturday, giving her presidential campaign a boost even as the field of rivals expanded to include Texas governor Rick Perry.

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, The Daily Dish and Connecting.the.Dots

Molly Ball / The Politico:

Rick Perry's presidential run reorders 2012 landscape — CHARLESTON, S.C. - It sounds like a political fairy tale: Months of campaigning by nearly a dozen candidates have left Republicans restless and worried. No one quite fits the bill. Less than six months remain before the primaries.

Discussion: New York Magazine

CNN:

Bachmann & Paul camps getting supporters to the straw poll — Ames, Iowa (CNN) - Need an early indication that Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota could do very well at Saturday's GOP presidential straw poll in Ames, Iowa? — Here's one: A source close to the Bachmann campaign tells CNN …

Discussion: The Note, Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico and The Daily Caller

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
Bachmann Wins Iowa, For Now: The Ticker

Discussion: The Other McCain, GOP 12 and Don Surber

Fox News:
Perry Makes It Official: He's Running for President

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and 2012 Election Central

CNN:
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll

Discussion: The Note, Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Ballot Box:
Bachmann wins Ames straw poll; Ron Paul takes second place

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, The Hill and msnbc.com

msnbc.com:
SC Gov. Haley: Perry's ‘timing was brilliant’

Discussion: GOP 12 and Freedom's Lighthouse

The Note:
Bachmann Hammers Home Iowa Roots In Straw Poll Speech: “Everything I Needed to Know in Life I Learned in Iowa”

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, TPMDC and blogs.abcnews.com

CNN:
Perry announces presidential bid

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Reaction and The Moderate Voice

Chicago Sun Times:
Texas Gov. Perry jumps into 2012 Republican race

Discussion: Washington Times, Associated Press, Iowa Caucuses and Conservatives4Palin

Iowa Caucuses:
Gay teen who heckled Bachmann speaks

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Molly Ball / The Politico:
Ames Straw Poll: A viewers guide

Discussion: CNN, The Note, Gothamist and Booman Tribune

Mhovey / Rick Perry for President:

Why I'm Running — What I learned in my 20's traveling the globe as an Air Force pilot, our current president has yet to acknowledge in his 50's - that we are the most exceptional nation on the face of the earth. — As Americans, we believe freedom is a gift from God, and government's prime function is to defend it.

Discussion: Freedom's Lighthouse, Democracy in America, The Atlantic Online, Wizbang, Taylor Marsh, New York Magazine and Hot Air

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Obama campaign: Perry's record a ‘carbon copy’ of DC Republicans — Texas Gov. Rick Perry's (R) record is a “carbon copy” of Washington Republicans, President Obama's reelection campaign said of the newest candidate for the GOP presidential nomination. — The Obama campaign sought …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and Ben Smith's Blog

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
Rick Perry announces he will join 2012 presidential field to challenge President Obama

Discussion: The Politico, TheGazette, Balloon Juice and Guardian

Nicholas Confessore / New York Times:
Money No Obstacle as Perry Joins G.O.P. Race

Discussion: The Politico, CNN, The Hill, The Note, The Moderate Voice, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Wire and George's Bottom Line

Niall Stanage / Ballot Box:
Perry's entrance to shake up the Republican presidential field

Discussion: CNN, Ben Smith's Blog, The Note and Wake up America

Norman Podhoretz / Wall Street Journal:

What Happened to Obama? Absolutely Nothing. — He is still the same anti-American leftist he was before becoming our president. — It's open season on President Obama. Which is to say that the usual suspects on the right (among whom I include myself) are increasingly being joined …

Discussion: Neptunus Lex, LewRockwell.com Blog, The Daily Dish and Mother Jones

New York Times:

White House Debates Fight on Economy — WASHINGTON — As the economy worsens, President Obama and his senior aides are considering whether to adopt a more combative approach on economic issues, seeking to highlight substantive differences with Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail rather …

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

They have no idea what they're doing — Journalistic standards and modern political norms place some restrictions on what a reporter can and will say in a news article. It's what too often leads to unhelpful he-said-she-said reporting ("Eric Cantor today said two plus two equals five; Democrats and mathematicians disagreed").

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Atlantic Online, The Reality-Based Community and New York Times

BART:

Statement on temporary wireless service interruption in select BART stations on Aug. 11 — Organizers planning to disrupt BART service on August 11, 2011 stated they would use mobile devices to coordinate their disruptive activities and communicate about the location and number of BART Police.