memeorandum: Wall Street big lavished gifts on mistresses in three countries: wife (Kieran Crowley/New York Post)

5:25 PM ET, August 15, 2011

Top Items:

Bachmann-Perry Overdrive — GOP voters are still searching for a unifying candidate. — The fight for the Republican Presidential nomination is finally getting underway in earnest, with Texas Governor Rick Perry bull-riding his way into the race and Michele Bachmann winning Saturday's straw poll in Iowa.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Salon, Don Surber, Booman Tribune, Balloon Juice, GOP 12 and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Michelle Goldberg / The Daily Beast:

A Christian Plot for Domination? — Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry aren't just devout—both have deep ties to a fringe fundamentalist movement known as Dominionism, which says Christians should rule the world. — With Tim Pawlenty out of the presidential race, it is now fairly clear …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, NewsBusters.org blogs, Weasel Zippers, Hullabaloo, Off the Kuff, Let Freedom Ring Blog, Suburban Guerrilla, The Daily Dish, Taylor Marsh, Gothamist, Firedoglake and CNN

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:

Rove warns GOP about electability — First, the Wall Street Journal was spooked about the Michele Bachmann/Rick Perry surge, and just now, Karl Rove issued a similar warning. … Earlier today, the WSJ wrote an op-ed that seemed to suggest that neither Michele Bachmann nor Rick Perry were particularly electable.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

The Ten Weirdest Ideas In Rick Perry's Fed Up — Rick Perry's November 2010 book Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington is not a typical “campaign book” from a political candidate. For starters, its forward is written by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, nominally one of Perry's rivals for the nomination.

Discussion: New York Magazine, National Review, Gawker, Paul Krugman and Questions and Observations

Roger Simon / The Politico:

Ron Paul remains media poison — I admit I do not fully understand Ron Paul and his beliefs. But I do understand when a guy gets shafted, and Ron Paul just got shafted. — On Saturday, the Ames Straw Poll was conducted in Iowa amid huge media interest and scrutiny.

Discussion: CNN

Timothy P. Carney / Washington Examiner:

Will no one rid the GOP of this troublesome congressman? — With Tim Pawlenty out of the race, only two active Presidential candidates scored more than 10 percent in Saturday's Iowa straw poll. Following the media coverage Sunday, you would never guess Congressman Ron Paul was one of them.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012 and AmSpecBlog

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

What a president ‘looks like’ — In advance of the 2008 presidential campaign, many high-profile figures in the media described Mitt Romney as someone who “looks like a president.” It was as if news outlets were thinking of central casting, and imagining who looked the part.

Discussion: Washington Post and Paul Krugman

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress: Conservatives Whine About Unfairness Of Quoting Rick Perry Accurately

Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Chris Christie's Cue

Discussion: Eunomia, The New Republic and msnbc.com

The Politico:
Rick Perry schools Michele Bachmann in Waterloo

First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: And then there were three

Discussion: The Politico, The Note and GOP 12

The Note:
Mitt Romney Dubs Obama's Trip the ‘Magical Misery Bus Tour’

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Wake up America, The Raw Story, CNN, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Don Surber and Political Punch

David Weigel / Slate:
Exit Tim Pawlenty

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Swampland, Eunomia, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Balloon Juice, The Daily Dish and ThinkProgress

The Note:
Rick Perry Takes On Obama And Romney In Iowa

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, Washington Monthly and Shakesville

New York Times:
After Iowa, Republicans Face a New Landscape

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, The Note, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Los Angeles Times, Swampland, The Caucus, Eunomia, Hot Air, Washington Monthly and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Beth Reinhard / NationalJournal.com:
Despite Bachmann's Success, the Real GOP Race is Now Perry vs. Romney

Discussion: Daily Kos, American Spectator, ThinkProgress and No More Mister Nice Blog

CNN:
Romney touts business experience; says most of his rivals don't have it

Discussion: The Caucus, Outside the Beltway, The Hill, GOP 12 and The Politico

Warren E. Buffett / New York Times:

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich — OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched. — While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan …

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
How Much Tax Should The Rich Pay?

Discussion: Modeled Behavior

The Politico:
Buffett: I beg you to raise my taxes

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, CNN and JammieWearingFool

Jennifer Epstein / The Politico:
Obama: Warren Buffett is right on the money

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Daniel Indiviglio / The Atlantic Online:
Should Billionaires Pay Lower Taxes Than You Do?

Discussion: National Review and AmSpecBlog

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Texas Unmiracle — As expected, Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, has announced that he is running for president. And we already know what his campaign will be about: faith in miracles. — Some of these miracles will involve things that you're liable to read in the Bible.

Discussion: Washington Post, Campaign 2012, Felix Salmon, dallasmorningviewsblog …, Little Green Footballs, Paul Krugman, Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos and National Review

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Fact checking Rick Perry's announcement speech — Well, goodbye Tim Pawlenty, hello Rick Perry. — The Texas governor announced that he is running for president on Saturday, just hours before the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa that ended Pawlenty's presidential aspirations.

Discussion: Indecision Forever, The Nation, Daily Kos, Erica Grieder and Swampland

Clifford Krauss / New York Times:
In Texas, Perry Has Ridden an Energy Boom

Discussion: Pajamas Media

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Miracles, myths, and mirages

Discussion: The Mahablog

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:

A Businessman in Congress Helps His District and Himself — VISTA, Calif. — Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Heritage Foundation, Washington Monthly, iWatch News, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Caller, The Impolitic, Daily Kos and The Page

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Issa's office slams New York Times's ‘hit piece’

Discussion: JammieWearingFool

Azi Paybarah / PolitickerNY:

Bill Clinton: Rick Perry is a ‘Good-Looking Rascal,’ But His Platform ‘Is Crazy’ — Bill Clinton at the IAFF conference in Manahttan on August 15, 2011. (photo credit: azi paybarah / observer) — Bill Clinton said newly announced presidential candidate, Republican Governor Rick of Texas was a …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, GOP 12, Weasel Zippers, Gawker, TPMDC, Pajamas Media, Gothamist, Althouse and Columbian

Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:

Ed Rendell: Hillary Clinton can't resist White House run — Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said on Monday he doesn't believe Hillary Clinton is ready to retire from public life and the possibility of someday becoming the first female president “would probably be too much for her to resist.”

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Weasel Zippers

New York Post:
Andy has upHill fight to win in '16: top Dem

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Raw Story

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

‘Iron my shirt’ — When Texas Gov. Rick Perry took his jacket off for a question-and-answer session in Waterloo last night, he joked about his attire. — “This shirt has a few wrinkles in it; it's not my wife's fault,” he said. — The line seemed very Texas, and a bit less directed …

Discussion: Slate Magazine

KLPW Radio:
Rick Perry Introduces Himself as 2012 Contender to Iowa Voters

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and New York Magazine

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Another tight Wisconsin recall — While last week's Wisconsin votes on recalling Republican state senators drew national attention, the votes tomorrow on recalling three Democrats is worth keeping an eye on. — Sources on both sides tell me they expect Democrats to struggle …

Right Reformer / Red Racing Horses: Breaking News: We Have a Barn Burner in SD-12 Between Kim Simac and Jim Holperin

Kieran Crowley / New York Post:

Wall Street big lavished gifts on mistresses in three countries: wife — He's an aging Wall Street fat cat who could put even the most lusty young lothario to shame. — John Duffy, 62, the married CEO of the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods investment bank, has lavished millions of dollars' worth of homes …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Gothamist, Dealbreaker and New York Magazine

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

Mitt Romney Mistakes New Hampshire For Iowa (VIDEO) … Mitt Romney , Elections 2012 , Mitt Romney Iowa , Mitt Romney New Hampshire , American Bridge For The 21st Century , Mitt Romney 2012 , Mitt Romney For President , Mitt Romney Gaffe , Mitt Romney Gaffes , Politics News

Discussion: Daily Kos