memeorandum: Double Inanity — Twin studies are pretty much useless. (Brian Palmer/Slate Magazine)

12:35 AM ET, August 25, 2011

Top Items:

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Perry Zooms to Front of Pack for 2012 GOP Nomination — Leads Romney by 29% to 17% — PRINCETON, NJ — Shortly after announcing his official candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has emerged as rank-and-file Republicans' current favorite for their party's 2012 presidential nomination.

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Rick Perry/Barack Obama comparison in Twitter picture — David Limbaugh, the conservative author and brother of Rush, tweets an image you're likely to see again. — A spokesman for Rick Perry didn't respond to a request for comment on the photo, the origin of which is unknown.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Hullabaloo and National Review

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Perry Surges in Polls, Testing Romney's Strategy — Primary polls can be erratic, so the rule is not to get too worked up about any one set of numbers. But now there have been five surveys conducted since Rick Perry announced his presidential campaign — one each from Gallup …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Washington Post, Rasmussen Reports, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and Balloon Juice

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Perry leads nationally — In PPP's first national poll since Rick Perry's official entry into the Presidential race he's jumped out to a double digit advantage. Perry's at 33% to 20% for Mitt Romney, 16% for Michele Bachmann, 8% for Newt Gingrich, 6% for Herman Cain and Ron Paul, 4% for Rick Santorum, and 3% for Jon Huntsman.

Discussion: GOP 12, Outside the Beltway and The New Republic

Dan Berman / The Politico:
Romney tweaks climate stance

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, nation.foxnews.com and The Hill

Todd J. Gillman / Trail Blazers Blog:
Obama team scouts for anti-Perry Texans

Discussion: Campaign 2012

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Perry bids for front-runner title

Discussion: CNN

Jason McLure / Reuters:
Humans may not be main climate change source: Romney

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Obama team to Texas Democrats: It's time to start attacking Rick Perry

Discussion: The New Republic, Taylor Marsh and Wake up America

Poornima Gupta / Reuters:

Steve Jobs resigns from Apple, Cook becomes CEO — (Reuters) - Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs on Wednesday resigned as chief executive of Apple Inc in a stunning move that ended his 14-year reign at the technology giant he co-founded in a garage. — Apple shares dived as much as 7 percent …

Discussion: Moe Lane

Business Wire:

Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple — Tim Cook Named CEO and Jobs Elected Chairman of the Board — CUPERTINO, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Apple's Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Wire, DealBook, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Raw Story, Scared Monkeys and Clusterstock

msnbc.com:

Apple's Jobs, beset by health issues, resigns — Below: — Silicon Valley legend Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave for an undisclosed condition since Jan. 17, resigned as chief executive of Apple Wednesday, saying he could “no longer meet” the duties and expectations of the job.

Discussion: Brilliant at Breakfast and Reuters

MG Siegler / TechCrunch:
Steve Jobs Resigns As CEO Of Apple

Discussion: News Desk and Ricochet Conversation Feed

Nick Bilton / Bits:
Jobs Steps Down From Chief Executive Post at Apple

Discussion: New York Magazine, Man Are We Screwed and ThinkProgress

Apple:
Letter from Steve Jobs

Discussion: The Snitch and Winds of Change.NET, more at Techmeme »

Shira Ovide / Deal Journal:
Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO

Discussion: Opinion L.A. and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:

Tea Partier Tells Rep. Lujan, Life-Long American, To ‘Get Out Of Politics And Make Room For An American’ — The Tea Party continues to claim that racism, ethnocentrism, and xenophobia are not driving forces in its movement, but the actions of its members continue to belie those claims.

Discussion: The Reaction

Chuck Slothower / Farmington Daily Times:
Face time: Tea Party protesters greet Lujan

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Scott Stump / msnbc.com:

Cheney: My book will have ‘heads exploding’ in D.C. — Revelations include resignation letter kept locked in a safe in case of heart attack or stroke — Below: — updated 2011-08-24T19:33:23 — When former Vice President Dick Cheney releases his memoir early next week …

Discussion: Man Are We Screwed, emptywheel, Washington Post and Juanita Jean's

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Cheney kept secret resignation letter — Dick Cheney kept a secret resignation letter locked away in a safe in case he were ever to be incapacitated, the former vice president reveals in his new book. — The letter, which Cheney signed in March of 2001, was written because of the vice president's health.

Discussion: Media Decoder, Mediaite, News Desk and The Note

Josh Gerstein / The Politico:

Norman Rockwell painting sends rare White House message on race — President Barack Obama has taken a decidedly low-key approach to racial issues since he became America's first black president two years ago. But in a hallway outside the Oval Office he has placed a head-turning painting depicting …

Discussion: The Greenroom, Hullabaloo, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, CNN, Salon, Associated Press, Gallup, Booman Tribune and The Daily Caller

Matt Lewis / The Daily Caller:

Despite my hopes, Sen. Marco Rubio will not run for president in 2012. But that doesn't mean he won't soon be within a heartbeat of the presidency. As the New Yorker's Ryan Liza asked on Twitter: “Is it time to rename GOP primaries 'the contest to become Marco Rubio's running mate'?”

Discussion: Fox News and RedState

Mark Benjamin / Swampland:

Perry Compared Homosexuality to Alcoholism in 2008 Book — The origin of homosexuality has become something of a political litmus test for presidential candidates, almost akin to their stance on abortion. Candidates are now expected to explain whether or not they believe homosexuality is a hard-wired predisposition.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wonkette, ThinkProgress, Opinion L.A., New York Magazine and Towleroad News #gay

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Perry's problem: His extreme views are right there in black and white

Discussion: RedState, TPMDC, Daily Kos, Liberal Values, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Juanita Jean's

CBO's Latest 10 Documents:

BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: AN UPDATE — Text-only. — The United States is facing profound budgetary and economic challenges. At 8.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the $1.3 trillion budget deficit that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects for 2011 …

Discussion: Power Line, Washington Post, New York Times, Director's Blog, Real Time Economics, Don Surber, Firedoglake, Speaker, Hit & Run, Politics, Campaign 2012, SFGate, Hot Air, The Heritage Foundation, AmSpecBlog, Viking Pundit, National Review and The Glittering Eye

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Worse Than It Looks: CBO Says Economic Outlook More Dire Than Reported

Discussion: Reuters and Daily Kos

Tamara Abraham / Daily Mail:

Expensive massages, top shelf vodka and five-star hotels: First Lady accused of spending $10m in public money on her vacations — The Obamas' summer break in Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets.

Discussion: Proof Positive, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Pajamas Media, The Lonely Conservative, Power Line and UrbanGrounds

nationalzoo.si.edu:

National Zoo Animals React to the Earthquake … Great Apes — The earthquake hit the Great Ape House and Think Tank Exhibit during afternoon feeding time. — About five to ten seconds before the quake, many of the apes, including Kyle (an orangutan) and Kojo (a Western lowland gorilla) …

Discussion: News Desk and New York Magazine

Matt Cover / CNSNews:

Flashback: Obama in 2008: Adding $4 Trillion to National Debt ‘Unpatriotic’ — (CNSNews.com) - Although the national debt under President Barack Obama has increased $4 trillion since he took office in 2009, as a presidential candidate in 2008 Obama criticized then-President George W. Bush …

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and Pajamas Media

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

Terry Jeffrey: Biden's Obsequious Bow to Beijing — Vice President Joe Biden's talent for using many words to say little or nothing — or worse — was never more conspicuously displayed than during his trip to China. — At Sichuan University on Sunday, after Biden delivered a 4,600-word speech …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and Washington Times

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
So much for “pro-choice” — Gaffe (n): The accidental telling …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Pundit & Pundette, Townhall.com and Flopping Aces

Michael Howard Saul / Wall Street Journal:

9/11 Exclusion Spurs Outrage — Religious leaders are calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reverse course and offer clergy a role in the ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. — Rudy Washington, a deputy mayor in former Mayor Rudolph …

Discussion: New York Magazine and Gothamist

Leary / nation.foxnews.com:
Bloomberg Bans Clergy From 9/11 Ceremony but Ground Zero Mosque OK

Discussion: American Glob, The Gateway Pundit, PolitickerNY and Pajamas Media

Robert J. Barro / Wall Street Journal:

Keynesian Economics vs. Regular Economics — Food stamps and other transfers aren't necessarily bad ideas, but there's no evidence they spur growth. — Keynesian economics—the go-to theory for those who like government at the controls of the economy—is in the forefront of the ongoing debate on fiscal-stimulus packages.

Discussion: Washington Post, JustOneMinute and Ricochet Conversation Feed

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

Chicago Requires A License To Help People Fill Out The Paperwork To Get a Business Permit — An interesting story about municipal regulations piled upon municipal regulations in Chicago comes to me from IB. In Chicago, as in other large American cities, recent immigrants are disproportionately involved …

Discussion: Immigration and CARPE DIEM

Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:

If you're a famous guy with a head full of deep thoughts and nobody to tell you when it might be in your own best interest not to express them, Twitter is the best thing ever. As long as you've got your iPhone in hand, you can give the whole world instant, unfiltered access to your keenest insights …

Discussion: Hot Air, Pajamas Media, The Other McCain, New York Magazine, Ben Smith's Blog and nation.foxnews.com

Speaker:

Obama White House Must Back Its Backpedaling With Action on “One-Child” Policy — It's welcome news that a White House spokesman has clarified that the Vice President opposes China's repugnant “one-child” policy, as Speaker Boehner said Monday he hoped the White House would.

Discussion: Washington Times, National Review, The Daily Caller and Pundit & Pundette