memeorandum: Bush gave Bachmann fashion advice (Ginger Gibson/The Politico)

5:15 PM ET, November 21, 2011

Top Items:

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Romney, Gingrich Now Top Choices for GOP Nomination — Gingrich's support on the rise this month — PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans are most likely to name Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich as their first choice for their party's 2012 presidential nomination, with Herman Cain close behind.

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, 2012 Decoded, Outside the Beltway, LifeNews.com, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, The Political Carnival, Hot Air, Washington Wire, GOP 12, The Moderate Voice and americanthinker.com

Washington Examiner:

Newt Gingrich was a lobbyist, plain and simple — Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) arrives for a meeting in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill March 31, 2011 in Washington, DC. Gingrich met with about 20 freshman Republican members of Congress and discussed ways …

Discussion: The Politico, National Review, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, The PJ Tatler, Outside the Beltway, American Spectator, ABCNEWS, Campaign 2012, Betsy's Page and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

A.Killough / CNN:
Gingrich at top of pack for first time in CNN polling

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …

Brent Budowsky / Pundits Blog:
Ron Paul is surging, an Iowa and New Hampshire front-runner and powerful third-party possibility

Discussion: CNN

Susan Page / USA Today:
Rising from the pack, Gingrich invites scrutiny

Discussion: Firedoglake, Harry's Place, Daily Kos, Ben Smith's Blog and msnbc.com

David Frum / New York Magazine:

When Did the GOP Lose Touch With Reality? — Some of my Republican friends ask if I've gone crazy. I say: Look in the mirror. — It's a very strange experience to have your friends think you've gone crazy. Some will tell you so. Others will indulgently humor you. Still others will avoid you.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Impolitic, Business Insider, iOwnTheWorld.com, ProfessorBainbridge.com, Outside the Beltway, The Other McCain and Booman Tribune

Doug Stanglin / USA Today:

Poll: ‘Occupy’ movement fails to capture Americans' interest — A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows that the “Occupy” movement has failed to capture the attention of a majority of Americans, indicating either ambivalence toward it or lack of interest. — The poll finds that 56% of Americans surveyed …

Discussion: PolitickerNY, Runnin' Scared, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers and The Politico

Zaid Jilani / ThinkProgress:
Artist Behind Iconic ‘HOPE’ Poster Makes New One For Occupy Wall Street

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Towleroad News #gay and The Sideshow

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Occupy our consciences — Everyone on the left side …

Discussion: Campaign 2012, New York Times, National Review and TomDispatch, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Malcolm / Investor's Business Daily:

The ‘Dump Obama’ movement has begun; Guess who'd replace him? — Faced with peanut-sized Jimmy Carter poll numbers, disturbing big-donor reluctance, unacceptable unemployment and depressing economic forecasts, President Obama heads back on the road tomorrow to do what he always does when in trouble:

Discussion: The Greenroom, FITSNews, Ballot Box, The New Republic, Daily Kos, Swampland, Indecision Forever and Wake up America

Wall Street Journal:

The Hillary Moment — President Obama can't win by running a constructive campaign, and he won't be able to govern if he does win a second term. — When Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson accepted the reality that they could not effectively govern the nation if they sought re-election to the White House …

Judd Gregg / The Hill:
Where in the world is Obama?

Discussion: Washington Wire, Washington Monthly, Betsy's Page, americanthinker.com, ABCNEWS and The Lonely Conservative

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Romney: Defense cuts ‘like holding a gun to your own head’

Discussion: The Politico, msnbc.com and Guardian

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

When Did Liberals Become So Unreasonable? — If every Democratic president disappoints, maybe there's something wrong with our expectations. Tough love from a fellow traveler. — “The disappointment and disillusionment with President Clinton are widespread.” —Bob Herbert, New York Times, 1993

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, Booman Tribune, The Daily Dish, Democracy in America, The Huffington Post, News Desk and Ben Smith's Blog

New York Times:

Deficit Deal Fell Apart After Seeming Agreement — WASHINGTON — The one sliver of real hope came a week ago, in the darkened Capitol on the Sunday night after Veterans Day. — Called away from dinner tables, the Jets-Patriots game on television and, in one case, a soccer team party …

Discussion: Reuters, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic Online, The Politico, Iowa Caucuses, Firedoglake, The Hill, TalkLeft, The Maddow Blog, Prairie Weather, USA Today, Bankrupting America, The Caucus, Brilliant at Breakfast and Washington Post

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
No, ‘both sides’ aren't equally to blame for supercommittee failure

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Center for American Progress, New York Times, Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Online, The Impolitic and The New Republic

Peter Wallsten / Washington Post:
Supercommittee's failure pushes Bush tax cuts to forefront of 2012 campaign

Discussion: American Prospect, USA Today, Hot Air, Open Congress and Daily Kos

Tim Mak / The Politico:

Left blogs cheer supercommittee's collapse — Judging by the reaction from the blogosphere, the deficit supercommittee's failure is a victory for the left. — Liberal bloggers are praising the widely expected collapse in bipartisan talks and the apparent failure of supercommittee to come …

Discussion: CNN, Wake up America, Washington Post and Crooks and Liars

First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Worst. Congress. Ever?

Discussion: Washington Wire, USA Today, Washington Post, NO QUARTER and UrbanGrounds

First Read / msnbc.com:
Gingrich: Super committee failure ‘good for America’

Discussion: The Hill, Gawker, The Caucus and Swampland

Sara Ganim / PennLive.com:

Alleged Jerry Sandusky victim leaves school because of bullying, counselor says — Victim One, the first known alleged victim of abuse by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, had to leave his school in the middle of his senior year because of bullying, his counselor said Sunday.

Discussion: minx.cc, The Atlantic Online, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, The Moderate Voice, Jammie Wearing Fools and Outside the Beltway

John Martin / Philly.com:
Ex-FBI Director Freeh to head PSU Sandusky probe

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:

Herman Cain and the Holy Land Experience — ORLANDO, Fla. — By the time Herman Cain took the stage, Jesus had already been crucified, resurrected and returned to Earth to collect the faithful once that day. — Cain made a campaign stop Friday at The Holy Land Experience …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Atlantic Online, Washington Monthly, Death and Taxes, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, Angry Black Lady Chronicles and Slate

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Boehner blames Obama for failure of supercommittee to reach a deal — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is blaming President Obama for the failure of the congressional supercommittee to reach a deal for cutting the federal deficit. — The Speaker's office sent out a memo Monday morning …

Discussion: Wonkette and Prairie Weather

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:
Lawmakers make last-ditch effort to reach supercommittee deal

Discussion: The Politico

A.Killough / CNN:

Perry signs Family Leader's controversial marriage vow — Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has signed the controversial marriage pledge from a social conservative group in Iowa, a spokeswoman said. — “I have received the signed copy,” Julie Summa …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and talk2action.org

Josh Hafner / Iowa Caucuses:
Rick Perry signs the Family Leader's marriage pledge

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Iowa Republican, The Raw Story, The Atlantic Online, Joe. My. God. and Truth Wins Out

Frank Rich / New York Magazine:

What Killed JFK — The hate that ended his presidency is eerily familiar. — Thanksgiving week is a milestone for Barack Obama, but not one that many are likely to commemorate. The president who seemed poised to inherit John F. Kennedy's mantle—in the eyes of Kennedy's last surviving child …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org blogs:

Mika Brzezinski's Anti-Newt Rant Drives Her To Emotional Brink — Shades of “Special Comment”! In a rant worthy of Keith Olbermann at the height of his Miss Precious Perfect histrionics, Mika Brezinski began today's Morning Joe by tearing into Newt Gingrich for his recent suggestion …

Discussion: The Other McCain, Michelle Malkin, Big Journalism, The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Romney Admits He Destroyed Government Records To Keep Them From Political Opponents — Last week, a Boston Globe investigation uncovered that former Gov. Mitt Romney's administration destroyed emails, purchased hard drives, and otherwise obliterated all digital records of his time as governor of Massachusetts.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Washington Monthly, On Liberty, The Raw Story, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, WBUR and ABCNEWS

Yahoo! Good Morning America:

Exclusive: CIA Spies Caught, Fear Execution in Middle East — In a significant failure for the United States in the Mideast, more than a dozen spies working for the CIA in Iran and Lebanon have been caught and the U.S. government fears they will be or have been executed …

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Atlas Shrugs and Maggie's Farm

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Boring Cruel Romantics — There's a word I keep hearing lately: “technocrat.” Sometimes it's used as a term of scorn — the creators of the euro, we're told, were technocrats who failed to take human and cultural factors into account. Sometimes it's a term of praise …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Felix Salmon, Prairie Weather, Hullabaloo and AMERICAN FUTURE

Libby A. Nelson / Inside Higher Ed:

Search form — By — For two months, the Occupy protests have focused attention on student loan debt. Today, a group that started with the Occupy movement will propose a solution: stop paying. — Under the campaign — which grew from the original Occupy Wall Street protest and is now known …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative and The PJ Tatler

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:

Romney tried beer, cigarette — Mitt Romney, in an upcoming interview with People Magazine. … Perfect timing, considering SNL's sketch over the weekend.

Discussion: The Daily Caller