memeorandum: U.S. Was Net Oil-Product Exporter for First Time Since 1949 (Barbara Powell/Bloomberg)

5:25 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: Washington Monthly, The Democratic Daily, americanthinker.com, Balloon Juice, Washington Free Beacon, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Jack Shafer, Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Dish, his vorpal sword 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, CNN, The Democratic Daily, Pharyngula, American Spectator, MLive.com, The Confluence, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Roger L. Simon, neo-neocon, CANNONFIRE and Moonbattery

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: Balloon Juice, Mediaite, SQUATLO RANT, The Daily Dish, TBogg, Outside the Beltway, The Heritage Foundation and Truthdig

David Frum / The Daily Beast:

Andrew Breitbart, 1969-2012 — Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart listens to a question during an event at the Heritage Foundation April 21, 2011 in Washington, DC. , Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images — “Of the dead, speak nothing but what is good.”

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, david-frum and Weasel Zippers

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

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

Discussion: KNSD-TV, Ed Driscoll, RedState, Instapundit, Mediaite, Guardian, JustOneMinute and Conservatives4Palin

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, NewsBusters.org, New York Times, The Radio Equalizer and Wake up America, more at Mediagazer »

Rush Limbaugh:
Andrew Breitbart: Bulldog for the Cause

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

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

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Moderate Voice, The Prudence Paine Papers and Vodkapundit

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

Discussion: USA Today

Detroit Free Press:

Mitt Romney gets Michigan's at-large delegates — The Mitt Romney-Rick Santorum Michigan primary results just got a little more contentious. — Michigan's two at-large delegates to the Republican National convention will be awarded to Michigan native Mitt Romney, following a vote last night …

Discussion: GOP 12, Washington Post, msnbc.com, Guardian and Taegan Goddard's …

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: Swampland, The Raw Story and Wonkette

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Santorum accuses Romney of rigging Michigan's delegate distribution

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Saul Anuzis / That's Saul Folks!:
Saul Anuzis's Statement on Michigan's Delegate Allocation

Discussion: USA Today

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

Discussion: Reuters and CNN

William Petroski / Des Moines Register:
Grassley: GOP presidential race will be over next Tuesday with Romney as nominee

Discussion: Mediaite

Alicia M. Cohn / Ballot Box:
Sen. Grassley: GOP down to ‘person-and-a-half race’

Discussion: Politico

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

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

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama doing well in Wisconsin and beyond

Discussion: Politico and JSOnline

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: American Prospect, The Huffington Post, Associated Press, Little Green Footballs, No More Mister Nice Blog, Boston Globe, The Democratic Daily, The Daily What, Mediaite, Indecision Forever, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Bangor Daily News and Balloon Juice

Obama for America:

If Mitt Romney and a few Republican senators get their way, employers could be making women's health care decisions for them. — clytemnestras reblogged this from couldbeyourlife — raenbow reblogged this from thesongbeneath — tumbleflakes reblogged this from robot-heart-politics

Discussion: Firedoglake, BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, Campaign 2012, Feministing, The Maddow Blog, pandagon.net and Weekly Standard

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:
Senate Defeats Blunt Amendment to Stop Obama HHS Mandate

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review and protein wisdom

Robert Pear / New York Times:
Senate Kills G.O.P. Bill Opposing Contraception Policy

Discussion: The New Republic, Washington Monthly, JustOneMinute, Gothamist and Prairie Weather

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

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

tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMDC — GOP Struggles To Contain Birth Control Fallout

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Religion News Service, Daily Kos, Indecision Forever, Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake and Washington Post

Jonathan Weisman / The Caucus:
Boehner Vows to Continue Contraception Fight

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Indecision Forever and Daily Kos

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: Kochs 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: The Olympian and 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: Feministing, The Daily What, NewsHounds blog, Little Green Footballs, The Raw Story, Crooks and Liars, Hullabaloo, pandagon.net, Addicting Info and The Daily Dish

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: Los Angeles Times, 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