memeorandum: Court security guards investigated for accepting baseballs autographed by Roger Clemens (Del Quentin Wilber/Washington Post)

4:40 PM ET, August 16, 2011

Top Items:

Rick Perry And Texas Job Numbers — Full disclosure: I don't like Rick Perry for our next president. I have my reasons that aren't worth going into here. However, when I was watching the GOP debate and pro-Perry people started bringing up Rick Perry's job numbers as a cudgel against other candidates …

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wake up America, The Daily Dish and Washington Post

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Perry on Bernanke: 'I dunno what y'all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas' — Texas Governor Rick Perry, who entered the presidential campaign on Saturday, appeared to suggest a violent response would be warranted should Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke …

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:

Karl Rove Piles On Rick Perry: Bernanke Line ‘Not A Presidential Statement’ — It's no secret that Team George W. Bush and Team Rick Perry are not exactly close. And with Perry flailing after he accused Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke of “almost treasonous” behavior …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Political Punch, DownWithTyranny! and Talking Points Memo

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Rick Perry campaign not disavowing implied threat to Bernanke — I asked Rick Perry's spokesman if the campaign is offering clarification of his widely discussed suggestion yesterday that Texas would offer some “real ugly” frontier justice to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke if he were to print money between now and election day.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, TPMDC, Slate, Little Green Footballs, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, The Note and National Review

John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:

Rick Perry's Serious Unforced Error — Today in Iowa, Rick Perry was asked about the Federal Reserve and, in a halting 45-second answer, went off on chairman Ben Bernanke: “If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I dunno what y'all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Campaign 2012, AmSpecBlog, The Maddow Blog, CNN, AlterNet, The Daily Dish, The Mahablog, Sister Toldjah, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, RedState and Salon

Brent Budowsky / Pundits Blog:

Rick Perry will self-destruct within 30 days — Rick Perry talks treason about the Federal Reserve Board. Treason is a capital offense. Is Perry suggesting the death penalty for Federal Reserve Board members? — Rick Perry says Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will have a tough time if he goes to Texas.

Discussion: The Note

The Note:

Does President Obama Love America? Rick Perry: ‘You Need To Ask Him’ — ABC News' Michael Falcone and Arlette Saenz report: — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Just hours after presidential candidate Rick Perry said that he would be the kind of president who would be “passionate” about America …

Discussion: CNN, Reuters, ThinkProgress, theGrio, Public Policy Polling, Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, The Reid Report, The Politico, AMERICAblog News, Power Line, msnbc.com, The Gateway Pundit, Ben Smith's Blog, Althouse and Gawker

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:
Rove slams Perry's comments about Bernanke

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Caucus, The Politico, Red Racing Horses, TPMDC and And So it Goes in Shreveport

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Perry warns of Fed treason, challenges Obama

Discussion: msnbc.com, Wall Street Journal, Red Dog Report, Online NewsHour, USA Today, Campaign 2012, NY Daily News, White House Dossier, The Politico, PolitickerNY and New York Times

Jonathan Weisman / Washington Wire:
Perry Points to ‘Idiotic’ U.S. Rule That Doesn't Exist

Discussion: TPMDC and Iowa Caucuses

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Rick Perry suggests predator drones for border patrol

Discussion: The New Republic, The Jawa Report and nation.foxnews.com

Neil Irwin / Washington Post:
Analysis: Perry's criticism of money-printing may portend more political pressure for Fed

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, AmSpecBlog, TheGazette and Balloon Juice

Peter Wehner / Commentary Magazine:
Re: Rick Perry's Serious Unforced Error

Discussion: Weekly Standard and The Caucus

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Rick Perry Thinks ‘Printing More Money’ Is ‘Almost Treason’ Because It Would Help The Economy And Thus Obama

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Talking Points Memo

Los Angeles Times:
Gov. Rick Perry's big donors fare well in Texas

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Political Carnival and American Power

Rasmussen Reports:

GOP Primary: Perry 29%, Romney 18%, Bachmann 13% — Texas Governor Rick Perry, the new face in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has jumped to a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann with the other announced candidates trailing even further behind.

Discussion: Washington Wire, GOP 12, Campaign 2012, TPMDC, Red Dog Report, The Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Red Racing Horses, HotAirPundit, National Review and Don Surber

CNN:
Paul zings rivals in new ad

Discussion: msnbc.com, TPMDC and Ben Smith's Blog

Steven Rattner / New York Times:
Republican Extremism, Bad Economics

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Campaign 2012, AmSpecBlog, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:
Romney vs. Perry: How the Numbers (and the Calendar) Stack Up

Discussion: Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Race 4 2012

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:

Ryan for President? — Paul Ryan is in the final stages of deciding on a presidential run. — Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan is strongly considering a run for president. Ryan, who has been quietly meeting with political strategists to discuss a bid over the past three months …

Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:

Talk to Paul Ryan? It'll cost you — It will cost $15 to ask Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) a question in person during the August congressional recess. — The House Budget Committee chairman isn't holding any face-to-face open-to-the-public town hall meetings during the recess …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Impolitic, Daily Kos and The Political Carnival

Liz Goodwin / Yahoo! News:

Silicon Valley billionaire funding creation of artificial libertarian islands — Pay Pal founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel has given $1.25 million to an initiative to create floating libertarian countries in international waters, according to a profile of the billionaire in Details magazine.

Discussion: Dean's World, LewRockwell.com Blog, Roger Ailes and Balloon Juice

David Jackson / USA Today:

Obama clashes with Tea Party member — President Obama came face-to-face with the Tea Party last night in Iowa, clashing with members during and after a town hall last night. — Ryan Rhodes, a group leader in the Hawkeye State, stood up and shouted a question during a town hall asking …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, nation.foxnews.com, Wonkette, The Daily Caller, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Daily Dish, The Iowa Republican, Don Surber and The Lonely Conservative

Greta Van Susteren / Gretawire:
Here is the fiery exchange the President found himself in!

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Jawa Report, Mediaite and NewsBusters.org blogs

Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:

Note to pundits: The problem isn't the GOP field. It's the GOP. — Here's what you need to know about the Republican candidate field: this is it. No one starts running for president in August, less than six months before the voters start getting involved in Iowa and New Hampshire, and has any chance at all.

Discussion: Eunomia, Ross Douthat, AMERICAblog News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos and Red Dog Report

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Karl Rove thinks Chris Christie and Paul Ryan are wavering on 2012

Discussion: GOP 12, Washington Post and PoliPundit.com

Matthew Hendley / The Daily Pulp:

Allen West's Response to Request That He Cut Ties With Anti-Islamic Extremists: “NUTS!” — The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations sent a letter to Rep. Allen West at the beginning of the month with a request — quit palling around with Islamophobes.

Discussion: Jihad Watch, Rhymes With Right, iOwnTheWorld.com and Israel Matzav

The Politico:
Rep. Allen West weighs Senate run

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and HotAirPundit

CNN:

All shook up: Bachmann flubs Elvis birthday — (CNN)-Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann stepped all over Elvis Presley's blue suede shoes while stumping Tuesday, when she mistakenly wished “The King” a “Happy Birthday.” — August 16 actually marks the 34th anniversary of Presley's death.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TPMDC and Campaign 2012

David Saleh Rauf / The Politico:

Obama checks in on Foursquare — Call him the social media commander in chief. — With his administration already devoted to using Twitter and Facebook, President Barack Obama is adding Foursquare — the location-based social networking service — to his social media résumé.

Discussion: Washington Wire, White House.gov Blog, msnbc.com and New York Magazine

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
On mortgage rates, Obama wants proposal for how government can keep big role

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, CEPR, Via Meadia, The Heritage Foundation, emptywheel, Suburban Guerrilla, The Lonely Conservative and The Hill

Leslie Rosenberg / Media Matters for America:

The Rush Limbaugh School Of Economics: Sean Hannity Further Improves Unemployment Rate Inherited From Bush — Is Sean Hannity a Dittohead? — Last week, Rush Limbaugh fabricated unemployment data to attack Obama, claiming that the president “ inherited ... an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Sentiment moving against Walker recall — Public sentiment in Wisconsin is moving against a recall of Scott Walker. Walker though remains very unpopular and if Russ Feingold chose to run against him in a recall election he would find himself in deep trouble.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, TPMDC and Talking Points Memo

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Congressional Job Approval Ties Historic Low of 13% — Disapproval rating of 84% highest in Gallup annals — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' evaluation of the job Congress is doing is the worst Gallup has ever measured, with 13% approving, tying the all-time low measured in December 2010.