memeorandum: The Scholar and the Rascal (Ross Douthat/New York Times)

1:10 PM ET, March 4, 2012

Top Items:

3/4: Santorum and Romney Neck and Neck in Ohio — Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are locked in a tight battle in the race for the Republican nomination in Ohio. Among likely Republican primary voters including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate, early voters …

Discussion: Politico, The Caucus, Washington Post, Hotline On Call and The Page

First Read / msnbc.com:

NBC News/Marist poll: Santorum, Romney neck and neck in Ohio — By NBC News Senior Political Editor Mark Murray — Two days until Super Tuesday and the pivotal Ohio Republican presidential primary, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are running neck and neck in the Buckeye State …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

Meghashyam Mali / Ballot Box:

Two polls find Romney, Santorum tied in Ohio — GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has pulled into a statistical dead heat with rival Rick Santorum in Ohio, two new polls find. — A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday shows Romney and Santorum tied with 32 percent support …

Discussion: Politico, Reuters and The Moderate Voice

ABCNEWS:
‘This Week’ Transcript: Newt Gingrich and David Axelrod

Discussion: Washington Post

Fox News:
Romney notches fifth straight win with Washington state GOP caucuses

Discussion: The Daily Weekly and Hit & Run

James Hohmann / Politico:
Mitt hits 5 straight in Wash.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, The Maddow Blog and Scared Monkeys

CNN:
CNN projects Romney will win Washington state caucuses

Discussion: Hot Air, Los Angeles Times, State of the Union, Big Government, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Other McCain, Campaign 2012, americanthinker.com, Washington Monthly and Balloon Juice

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Romney Takes Washington Ahead of a Big Election Day

Discussion: Instapundit, FiveThirtyEight, The Moderate Voice, A plain blog about politics, Mediaite and The Caucus

Cincinnati.com:
Enquirer Endorsement: Romney deserves Ohio's support

Discussion: Ballot Box and GOP 12

Aaron Gould Sheinin / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Gingrich carries double-digit lead into Georgia primary

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Washington Wire and msnbc.com

Vicki Needham / Ballot Box:
Cleveland Plain Dealer endorses Romney

Discussion: CNN, Plain Dealer and Politico

Rush Limbaugh:

A Statement from Rush — For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke. — I think it is absolutely absurd …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, Examiner, Associated Press, The Raw Story, Politico, ABCNEWS, Los Angeles Times, Runnin' Scared, New York Magazine, blogs.forbes.com/johnmcquaid, Washington Post, Sad Hill News, Sky Dancing, The Gateway Pundit, Babalú Blog, NewsHounds blog, ECHIDNE of the snakes, American Power, JustOneMinute, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, The Jane Dough, Scholars and Rogues, Whiskey Fire, Washington Examiner, The Sundries Shack, Daily Kos, Mediaite, No More Mister Nice Blog, Little Green Footballs, Addicting Info, TalkLeft, The Daily Dish, Hullabaloo, The Caucus, Outside the Beltway, CBS News, American Spectator, The Last Tradition, The Lonely Conservative, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, The Mahablog, ThinkProgress, Mock, Paper, Scissors, KDVR.com is the website …, Don Surber, Campaign 2012, The Page, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily What, msnbc.com, Althouse, Wake up America and The Right Scoop

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Have You No Shame, Rush? — AS a woman who has been viciously slashed by Rush Limbaugh, I can tell you, it's no fun. — At first you think, if he objects to the substance of what you're saying, why can't he just object to the substance of what you're saying? Why go after you in the most personal and humiliating way?

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Angry Bear, Prairie Weather and Althouse

Faiz Shakir / ThinkProgress:

Sixth Advertiser — Carbonite — Drops Limbaugh Despite His ‘Apology’ Because He's Beyond The ‘Bounds Of Decency’ — Moments ago, Carbonite - a company providing backup software for computers - announced that it will no longer advertise on Rush Limbaugh's show.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Examiner, The Raw Story, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, carbonite.com and The Impolitic

The Huffington Post:
Rush Limbaugh Apologizes To Sandra Fluke For Calling Her A ‘Slut’

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, NewsBusters.org and News One, more at Mediagazer »

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Rush: “I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke”; Update: Ironic tweet of the day

Discussion: Balloon Juice, NO QUARTER, Mediaite, American Power, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed, Little Green Footballs and Michelle Malkin

Vinnie / The Jawa Report:
Rush Limbaugh Apologizes To Sandra “Not A Slut, I Just Like Having Sex Alot” Fluke

Discussion: The Last Tradition, Pirate's Cove, Little Green Footballs, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller and Sky Dancing

BBC:

Dublin patron saint's heart stolen from Christ Church Cathedral — The preserved heart of Dublin's patron saint has been stolen from the city's Christ Church Cathedral, officials say. — The thief would have needed metal cutters to prise open the iron bars protecting the wooden heart-shaped box holding St Laurence O'Toole's heart.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Fausta's Blog

Keith O'Brien / Telegraph:

We cannot afford to indulge this madness — Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's most senior Catholic, sets out his opposition to the Government's plans to legalise gay marriage. — Elton John and David Furnish entered into a civil partnership in 2005 and now have a one-year-old son , born to a surrogate mother

Discussion: Althouse, Towleroad News #gay and Guardian

Mickey Kaus / The Daily Caller:

It's not because Breitbart was combative — A friend emails, with results of a near-scientific experiment: — I just watched John Avlon's Daily Beast commentary about the ugly tweets celebrating Andrew's passing. His underlying logic, like some other commentary I've read …

Discussion: protein wisdom

Philip Klein / Campaign 2012:

TEXT: Obama's remarks to AIPAC — Here are President Obama's prepared remarks to AIPAC's policy conference this morning. — March 4, 2012 — Remarks of President Barack Obama - As Prepared for Delivery — AIPAC Policy Conference — Washington, D.C. — March 4, 2012 — As Prepared for Delivery -

Discussion: Guardian and The Spectacle Blog

Mark Landler / New York Times:
Israel's Backers in Aipac Press Obama to Harden Iran Policy

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Agonist, The Spectacle Blog, Israpundit, Israel Matzav and americanthinker.com

Jamie Klatell / The Hill:
Obama's AIPAC speech will be pivotal for holding onto Jewish voters in 2012

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, Politico, The Agonist, Power Line and Zandar Versus The Stupid

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Scholar and the Rascal — THE right-wing provocateur Andrew Breitbart and the neoconservative scholar James Q. Wilson, who died within 48 hours of each other last week — Wilson at the age of 80, Breitbart so unexpectedly at 43 — had one important thing in common: They were both prominent conservatives …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, National Review, Balloon Juice and Daniel W. Drezner

Annys Shin / Washington Post:

A million-dollar mortgage goes unpaid for years while couple fights foreclosure — The eviction from their million-dollar home could come at any moment. Keith and Janet Ritter have been bracing for it — and battling against it — almost from the moment they moved into the five-bedroom …

Discussion: EconLog and Booman Tribune

Inside Bay Area:

Three Occupy Oakland protesters arrested for robbery and a hate crime, both felonies — OAKLAND — Three Occupy Oakland protesters suspected of stealing an Oakland woman's wallet and making offensive remarks about her perceived sexuality were charged Friday with robbery and committing a hate crime, both felonies, authorities said.