memeorandum: Why Congress Won't Pass A Jobs Bill: ‘Obama Is On The Ropes; Why Do We Appear Ready To Hand Him A Win?’ (Matthew Yglesias/ThinkProgress)

4:30 PM ET, September 12, 2011

Top Items:

Rick Perry / USA Today:

I am going to be honest with the American people — The first step to fixing a problem is honestly admitting there is a problem. America's goal must be to fix Social Security by making it more financially sound and sustainable for the long term. But Americans deserve a frank and honest discussion …

CNN:

New CNN Poll: Perry on top when it comes to electability — Tampa, Florida (CNN) - Hours before the start of the first-ever CNN/Tea Party Republican debate, a new national survey indicates that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is maintaining his lead in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

A.Killough / CNN:

TRENDING: Jindal to endorse Perry — Tampa, Florida (CNN) - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is backing Rick Perry for president, a major endorsement for the Texas governor as the campaign for the Republican nomination enters the crucial fall stretch of the primary calendar, a source tells CNN.

Discussion: GOP 12, Campaign 2012, Randy's Roundtable, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, National Review, The Daily Caller and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Turner poised for big upset — Republican Bob Turner is poised to pull a huge upset in the race to replace Anthony Weiner as the Congressman from New York's 9th Congressional District. He leads Democrat David Weprin 47-41 with Socialist Workers candidate Christopher Hoeppner at 4% and 7% of voters remaining undecided.

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Mike Huckabee dings Rick Perry, says Mitt Romney more ‘electable’ — Mike Huckabee rapped Rick Perry for his Social Security comments on Laura Ingraham's radio show, and suggested that Tim Pawlenty lined up behind Mitt Romney because he may be the more “electable” choice.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Replay, Campaign 2012 and National Review

Stanley Kurtz / National Review:
Perry and the Ponzis — Is Texas governor and Republican …

Discussion: RedState

Tim Pawlenty / National Review:
My Endorsement: Mitt Romney for President

Discussion: Hot Air, A plain blog about politics, ThinkProgress, Swampland, The Greenroom, The Lonely Conservative, The Washington Independent, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Taylor Marsh, Moe Lane and Political Insider

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Pawlenty endorses Romney

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, New York Magazine, Mediaite, The Other McCain, Indecision Forever, The Crawdad Hole and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Brent Budowsky / Presidential Campaign:
Why Ron Paul scares Rick Perry

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Rick Klein / Politics:
Fred Malek: ‘Too Late’ for Palin to Run; GOP Nominee Will Be Perry or Romney

Discussion: GOP 12 and Taegan Goddard's …

Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:
Bachmann called Social Security ‘a tremendous fraud’ in 2010

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012 and Pajamas Media

David Weigel / Slate:
Pawlenty Announces Bid to Be Mitt Romney's Vice President

Discussion: Washington Post

Russell Berman / The Hill:
Conservatives join liberals in opposing Obama's payroll tax cut extension

Discussion: The Politico, USA Today, Washington Post, CNN, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, iOwnTheWorld.com and ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*

Byron York / Campaign 2012:
Despite Social Security, older voters like Perry

Discussion: Washington Post, Politics, Questions and Observations, nation.foxnews.com, The Other McCain, iOwnTheWorld.com and The Gateway Pundit

A.Killough / CNN: Biden discounts Perry's ‘Ponzi scheme’ remark on Social Security

The Politico:

GOP grumbles about jobs plan — House Republicans may pass bits and pieces of President Barack Obama's jobs plan, but behind the scenes, some Republicans are becoming worried about giving Obama any victories — even on issues the GOP has supported in the past.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Business Insider, Little Green Footballs, Washington Post, TPMDC, Rasmussen Reports, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway, Booman Tribune, Mother Jones, Daily Kos, AmSpecBlog and The Maddow Blog

Zeke Miller / Business Insider:

REVEALED: Obama's Jobs Plan To Raise $400 Billion In Taxes — White House Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew outlined President Barack Obama's plan to pay for his $447 billion jobs plan — mostly through tax increases. — Lew said itemized tax deductions and exemptions …

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Pajamas Media and PoliPundit.com

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

Obama proposes raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for $447 billion jobs bill — President Obama would fund his $447 billion plan to create jobs largely by raising taxes on wealthier families, White House aides said Monday after the president again called on Congress to support the package.

Discussion: TPMDC, Washington Monthly and Mother Jones

Christina Bellantoni / Roll Call:

Administration Willing to Go It Alone — “You should pass this jobs plan right away.” — If only it were that easy for President Barack Obama to get Congress to implement his agenda. — Many of Obama's priorities have sputtered and stalled, and the president blames gridlock in Washington …

Discussion: Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

Sam Youngman / The Hill:

Obama proposes tax hikes on wealthy to pay for $447B jobs bill — The White House said Monday that President Obama wants to pay for his $447 billion jobs bill by raising taxes on the wealthy and businesses. — Jack Lew, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) …

Discussion: National Review and Outside the Beltway

Yahoo! News Canada:
Obama proposing tax hikes to pay for jobs bill

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:
Why Congress Won't Pass A Jobs Bill: ‘Obama Is On The Ropes; Why Do We Appear Ready To Hand Him A Win?’

Discussion: The Politico, The Mahablog and Washington Monthly

Rose Garden / The White House:
Remarks by the President on the American Jobs Act

Discussion: Washington Monthly, White House.gov Blog, About.com US Liberal Politics and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Examiner:
Barone: Obama buys the drinks other guys pay for

Discussion: Pajamas Media and The Lonely Conservative

Paul Krugman:

Shocking Barro — People have been asking for my reaction to Robert Barro's op-ed, so I finally went and read it. And I have to say that I'm shocked by the laziness - he's not even trying to present a coherent argument. — I mean, here's the structure of what he says:

Discussion: Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, Modeled Behavior, JammieWearingFool and New York Times

Tyler Cowen / Marginal Revolution:
What might be Robert Barro's argument?

Discussion: Modeled Behavior, Grasping Reality … and Economist's View

Nina Chestney / Reuters:

Al Gore in 24-hour broadcast to convert climate skeptics — (Reuters) - Former President Al Gore will renew his 30-year campaign to convince skeptics of the link between climate change and extreme weather events this week in a 24-hour global multi-media event.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway, Michelle Malkin, Mediaite, Watts Up With That?, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and Questions and Observations

Turki Al-Faisal / New York Times:

Veto a State, Lose an Ally — The United States must support the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this month or risk losing the little credibility it has in the Arab world. If it does not, American influence will decline further, Israeli security will be undermined …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Attackerman, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Dish, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, ThinkProgress, emptywheel and Israel Matzav

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org:

Morning Joe Skirmish As Smiley Recycles ‘Bush Lied’ — A skirmish broke out on Morning Joe today as Tavis Smiley claimed President George W. Bush “lied” the USA into the war in Iraq. Joe Scarborough and—surprisingly— Jon Meacham forcefully refuted Smiley's slur.

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com and Hot Air

John Cook / Gawker:
The Most Nerve-Wracking Moment of George W. Bush's Presidency Was When He Threw a Ball

Discussion: Washington Post

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

An Impeccable Disaster — On Thursday Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank or E.C.B. — Europe's equivalent to Ben Bernanke — lost his sang-froid. In response to a question about whether the E.C.B. is becoming a “bad bank” thanks to its purchases of troubled nations' debt …

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Walter Russell Mead / Via Meadia:
Europe Slips As Greece Falls

Discussion: New York Times and Lawrence Person's …

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Angry Rumsfeld cancels N.Y. Times — Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Monday canceled his subscription to The New York Times after columnist Paul Krugman characterized the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks as “an occasion for shame.” — Rumsfeld tweeted, “After reading Krugman's …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Gawker, Slate, Outside the Beltway and FishbowlDC

Oshea / Public Notice:

MEMO: National poll on government regulations — DATE: SEPTEMBER 12, 2011 TO: PUBLIC NOTICE FROM: NICHOLAS THOMPSON & BRIAN TRINGALI RE: KEY FINDINGS FROM NATIONAL SURVEY The Tarrance Group is pleased to present Public Notice with the key findings from a survey of N=801 registered “likely” voters across the country.

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Money & Company, The Daily Caller and GayPatriot

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

EPA regulation forces closure of Texas energy facilities, eliminates 500 jobs — Texas energy company Luminant announced on Monday new burdensome Environmental Protection Agency regulations are forcing it to close several facilities, which will result in about 500 job losses.

Discussion: Hot Air, nation.foxnews.com and Pajamas Media