memeorandum: Mitt Romney: ‘I have worn a garbage bag for rain gear myself’ (Felicia Sonmez/Washington Post)

4:05 PM ET, March 1, 2012

Top Items:

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012) — With a terrible feeling of pain and loss we announce the passing of Andrew Breitbart. — Andrew passed away unexpectedly from natural causes shortly after midnight this morning in Los Angeles. — We have lost a husband, a father, a son …

Charlie Spiering / Campaign 2012:

Liberals celebrate death of Andrew Breitbart — As news broke this morning of the tragic death of Conservative journalist Andrew Breitbart, liberals celebrated the news on Twitter.

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Washington Free Beacon, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, his vorpal sword, The Daily Dish and Randy's Roundtable

Fox News:

Andrew Breitbart dies of ‘natural causes’ — DEVELOPING ... Widely read conservative Internet publisher Andrew Breitbart has died, his attorney confirms. — The websites he founded ran a statement Thursday morning announcing that Breitbart, 43, died “unexpectedly from natural causes” in Los Angeles shortly after midnight.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Pharyngula, MLive.com, American Spectator, The Confluence, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, neo-neocon, Roger L. Simon, CANNONFIRE and Moonbattery

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Breitbart, RIP — I was ... I am stunned to hear of the death of Andrew Breitbart. I don't think there's much of anything I agreed with him about, which is an understatement. My interactions with him were first friendly, then later heated and vexed, though maybe not unfriendly even then.

Discussion: Campaign 2012 and National Review

Jack Mirkinson / The Huffington Post:

Andrew Breitbart Dead: Conservative Blogger Dies Suddenly At 43 … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Video, Andrew Breitbart, Andrew Breitbart Dead, Andrew Breitbart Dies, Media News — Andrew Breitbart, the conservative blogger and journalist, died suddenly on Thursday morning, according to his website Big Journalism.

Discussion: SQUATLO RANT, TBogg, The Daily Dish, Mediaite, The Heritage Foundation and Truthdig

Brendan Smialowski / ABCNEWS:
Andrew Breitbart: Rick Santorum Mourns Conservative Firebrand

Discussion: USA Today

Yahoo! News:
Click to see more photos — Breitbart was pronounced dead …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, The Gateway Pundit and Corrente

Michelle Malkin:
DEVASTATING: Andrew Breitbart, R.I.P.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Mediaite, New York Times, Wake up America and The Radio Equalizer, more at Mediagazer »

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
(TheDC/AP) Conservative publisher Andrew Breitbart has died …

Discussion: The Prudence Paine Papers, Outside the Beltway, NewsBusters.org, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Vodkapundit, Freedom's Lighthouse and LifeNews.com

Rush Limbaugh:
Andrew Breitbart: Bulldog for the Cause

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Althouse

Tim Mak / Reuters:
Andrew Breitbart dead at 43

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Guardian, msnbc.com and The Political Carnival

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Breaking: RIP, Andrew Breitbart; Update: Collapsed while taking a walk near home

Discussion: JustOneMinute, RedState and Mediaite

CNN:
Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart dead at 43

Discussion: L.A. NOW, Informed Comment, Wonkette, US Politics and Library Grape

Thomas Lifson / americanthinker.com:
Stunning news: Andrew Breitbart has died (Updated)

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Randy's Roundtable, Gawker and Indecision Forever

R. Stickney / KNSD-TV:
Andrew Breitbart Dead at 43

Discussion: Conservatives4Palin and Joe. My. God.

Politico:

Blunt amendment defeated in Senate — The Senate defeated Sen. Roy Blunt's amendment to allow employers to refuse to cover health services Thursday, dealing Republicans a high-profile setback in the fight over the Obama administration's contraception coverage mandate.

Discussion: tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, Associated Press, Little Green Footballs, The Democratic Daily, Boston Globe, The Daily What, Indecision Forever, Mediaite, Religion News Service, Bangor Daily News, Balloon Juice and American Prospect

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:

Senate Defeats Blunt Amendment to Stop Obama HHS Mandate — The Senate voted today against an amendment to restore the religious liberty protections for employers who don't want to be forced to pay for birth control or drugs that may cause abortions in their employee health plans.

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review and protein wisdom

Patrick Caldwell / American Prospect:
Blunt Amendment Fails in the Senate

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post and Politico

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Senate Kills Blunt's Anti-Contraception Amendment

Discussion: Shakesville and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Senate rejects Blunt amendment to limit birth-control mandate

Discussion: The Hill, Wonkette, Washington Free Beacon and Crooks and Liars

Allen McDuffee / Washington Post:

Koch Brothers sue Cato Institute, president — Billionaires Charles and David Koch have filed a lawsuit against the libertarian Cato Institute, its president Edward Crane and a board member, according to court documents obtained by The Washington Post. — The complaint centers on the the handling …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Impolitic, The Sideshow, The Raw Story and LewRockwell.com Blog

Mike Allen / Politico: Exclusive: Koch brothers launch court fight over Cato

John S. Adams / Great Falls Tribune:

Chief U.S. District Judge sends racially charged email about president — HELENA — Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull on Wednesday admitted to sending a racially charged email about President Barack Obama from his courthouse chambers. — Cebull, of Billings, was nominated …

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
Bush-Appointed Federal Judge Sends Racist, Anti-Obama Email Comparing Interracial Sex To Bestiality

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Limbaugh Doubles Down On Sexist Attack Against Sandra Fluke, Demands She Post Sex Tapes Online — Yesterday, as ThinkProgress noted, conservative shock jock and strident women-basher Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown student who House Republicans wouldn't let testify …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, NewsHounds blog, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo and pandagon.net

Alexa Keyes / ABCNEWS:
Rush Limbaugh Says Wanting Insurance to Cover Birth Control Makes Sandra Fluke a ‘Slut’

Discussion: Politico, Rush Limbaugh and The Progressive Pulse

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

Mitt Romney: ‘I have worn a garbage bag for rain gear myself’ — In an interview with Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly on Wednesday night, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) made light of remarks he made over the weekend in which he poked fun at a group of poncho-wearing NASCAR fans.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Swampland, Wonkette and americanthinker.com

Rasmussen Reports:
National GOP: Romney 40%, Santorum 24%, Gingrich 16%, Paul 12%

Discussion: Detroit Free Press, Ballot Box, Christian Science Monitor, NO QUARTER, Shot in the Dark, Guardian, GOP 12, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, Los Angeles Times and Big Government

Peter Fenn / Pundits Blog:
The Republicans' panic attack: Is it over or just beginning?

Discussion: CNN

Bill Simmons / ESPN.com - null:

B.S. Report Transcript: Barack Obama — Bill Simmons: Welcome to the White House. Very proud to have the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, on the B.S. Report. This is your first podcast? — President Barack Obama: This is — well, I used to have my own podcast.

Discussion: Washington Post, Weasel Zippers, BuzzFeed, Hotline On Call, SBNation.com, Campaign 2012, Indecision Forever, Outside the Beltway, ESPN, Gawker and Jammie Wearing Fools

David A. Graham / The Atlantic Online:

Reports of the Republican Nominee's Doom Are Greatly Exaggerated — In the last few weeks, the GOP has succumbed to despair about beating Obama. Here are seven reasons he's still vulnerable. — Political journalists like to imagine ourselves as wise, discerning observers of the landscape.

Discussion: Hot Air

Lydia Saad / Gallup:
GOP Slightly Ahead in Voting Enthusiasm

Discussion: Firedoglake, Randy's Roundtable, americanthinker.com, Politico, Hot Air, CNN and Ballot Box

David Morgan / Reuters:
63 percent of voters back Obama birth control policy: poll

Discussion: The Political Carnival and Hullabaloo

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

The White House's Economic Case for Reelection in 13 Charts — Whether you love the president, hate the president, or think he's just in over his head, you'll want to see this. It's the Treasury Department's visual slideshow of the state of the economy, called simply The U.S. Economy in Charts …

Discussion: The Enterprise Blog and BuzzFeed

Fox News:

$5M paid to buy freedom for rights workers held in Egypt — CAIRO - Seven American rights workers are on a plane out of Egypt after the U.S. paid nearly $5 million in bail costs to secure their freedom. — Egyptian officials said the U.S. paid $300,000 each for 16 Americans, nine of whom were already out of the country.

Discussion: Jihad Watch