memeorandum: Russia's Putin seeks Kremlin return, critics cry foul (Reuters)

11:50 AM ET, March 4, 2012

Top Items:

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

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, 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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, carbonite.com, Balloon Juice 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: NO QUARTER, Balloon Juice, American Power, BuzzFeed, The Daily Caller, ECHIDNE of the snakes, 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, Sky Dancing and Mediaite

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, The Moderate Voice and Reuters

Marist Poll:

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: Washington Post and The Page

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 and Outside the Beltway

ABCNEWS:

‘This Week’ Transcript: Newt Gingrich and David Axelrod — STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning and welcome to “This Week.” — STEPHANOPOULOS (voice-over): Super Tuesday showdown. — NEWT GINGRICH, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I came here to recruit you. — STEPHANOPOULOS: Mitt Romney survives a scare in his home state.

Discussion: Washington Post

Fox News:

Romney notches fifth straight win with Washington state GOP caucuses — Mitt Romney heads into Super Tuesday with a five-state winning streak under his belt, after cruising to victory in the Washington state caucuses Saturday night. — The contest was a blip when compared …

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Ballot Box and GOP 12

CNN:
CNN projects Romney will win Washington state caucuses

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

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

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

Vicki Needham / Ballot Box:
Cleveland Plain Dealer endorses Romney

Discussion: CNN, Plain Dealer and Politico

ABCNEWS:
Why Rick Santorum's Ohio Delegate Fiasco Could Get Messy

Discussion: The Caucus and 2012 Decoded

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 and Guardian

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.

Reuters:

Russia's Putin seeks Kremlin return, critics cry foul — (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin sought a convincing victory in Russia's presidential election Sunday to strengthen his hand in dealing with the biggest protests of his 12-year rule, but faced allegations of widespread fraud.

Discussion: Pat Dollard and americanthinker.com

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.

Discussion: CBS San Francisco, Reuters, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, KTVU-TV, americanthinker.com, Power Line and Moe Lane

Jonathan H. Adler / The Volokh Conspiracy:

Koch v. Cato — A View from Cato — My friend Jerry Taylor, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, offered me his perspective on the Koch-Cato dispute. Jerry's obviously sympathetic to Cato President Ed Crane, but he also offers a fair amount of detail about recent events …

Discussion: Cafe Hayek, US Politics, Washington Post, Brad DeLong, Concurring Opinions and The American Conservative

Fox News:

John Edwards asks judge not to destroy sex tape — GREENSBORO, N.C. - John Edwards has asked a judge not to destroy a sex tape he made with his former mistress Rielle Hunter that was slated for destruction under a settlement reached last week, WRAL-TV reported.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Associated Press:
Edwards asks that sex tape not be destroyed

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Business Insider

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Israel's Backers in Aipac Press Obama to Harden Iran Policy — WASHINGTON — On the eve of a crucial visit to the White House by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, that country's most powerful American advocates are mounting an extraordinary public campaign to pressure President Obama …