memeorandum: Drenched in Campaign Silliness (Quin Hillyer/American Spectator)

11:35 AM ET, March 13, 2012

Top Items:

Obama Approval Rating Shows Serious Slip in New Poll — Despite improving job growth and an extended Republican primary fight dividing his would-be opponents, President Obama is heading into the general election season on treacherous political ground, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Stephanie Condon / CBS News:

Poll: Obama's approval rating sinks to new low — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — (CBS News) President Obama's approval rating has hit the lowest level ever in CBS News polling, according to the latest CBS News/New York Times survey.

Discussion: Don Surber, Outside the Beltway, The Confluence, CANNONFIRE, Scared Monkeys, Rumproast, americanthinker.com, Power Line, Jammie Wearing Fools, The Hill, Althouse, BREITBART.COM, Patterico's Pontifications and Michelle Malkin

Steven Mufson / Washington Post:

Voters blame president for gas prices, experts say not so fast — How much does the president have to do with the price of gasoline? — A lot, say American voters. According to oil experts and economists, not so much — at least in the short term. — Today's oil prices are the product …

Discussion: Washington Times, ThinkProgress, Questions and Observations, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, Ezra Klein, ABCNEWS, Pirate's Cove, Cafe Hayek and Prairie Weather

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Oh my: Obama's approval rating hits new low in CBS poll — Second look at the “war on women”? … The bad news? Even with his job approval headed down the toilet, O still leads all four GOP candidates head to head. The good news? If CBS is right about gas prices weighing down his ratings …

Discussion: Salon, Washington Monthly, CBS News and iOwnTheWorld.com

Mickey Kaus / The Daily Caller:
Psst! Obama lost the birth control mandate debate

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Los Angeles Times, Firedoglake, American Prospect and Hot Air

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
U.S. on pace for $1 trillion deficit

Discussion: americanthinker.com and Questions and Observations

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

Alabama and Mississippi primaries: Mitt Romney could seal deal in Dixie — RICHLAND, Miss — In a topsy-turvy GOP primary, where the unexpected has been the norm, such a final plot twist may be altogether fitting: the Mormon Yankee who thinks cheese grits are a revelation effectively seals the nomination in Alabama and Mississippi.

Discussion: msnbc.com, Shakesville, Taegan Goddard's …, BuzzFeed, CNN and BuzzFeed

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Polling in Deep South Has Posed Challenges

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, americanthinker.com, Swampland and Guardian

Quin Hillyer / American Spectator: Drenched in Campaign Silliness

Chris Gentilviso / The Huffington Post:
Rick Santorum: ‘Tell That To A Plant, How Dangerous Carbon Dioxide Is’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: Associated Press, US Politics, Little Green Footballs and The Reaction

Dennis Woltering / WWL-TV:
Santorum leads GOP candidates in La., exclusive WWL-TV poll shows

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and msnbc.com

Richard A. Oppel Jr / New York Times:
Gingrich's Presence Could Aid Romney in Alabama Primary

Discussion: The Caucus, Washington Post and The Page

Sarah Palin / Facebook:

Let's Talk About the Real Issues, Mr. President — The far Left continues to believe American voters are not smart enough to grasp the diversionary tactics it employs to distract us from the issues our President just doesn't want to talk about - issues that affect us all every day and must be addressed.

Discussion: Politico, Weasel Zippers, Israel Matzav, The Gateway Pundit, Cold Fury and The Mental Recession

Ben Shapiro / BREITBART.COM:

OBAMA TARGETS BREITBART, PALIN, HANNITY WITH HEAVILY-EDITED AD — The Obama re-election campaign has released an internet ad targeting Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, and Breitbart.com. Coming up short in the fundraising department and under fire for President Obama's longtime association …

Discussion: protein wisdom, Conservatives4Palin and Patterico's Pontifications

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Rush Limbaugh Syndicator Suspends National Ads For Two Weeks — Radio-Info.com reports that Premiere Networks, which syndicates the Rush Limbaugh show, told its affiliate radio stations that they are suspending national advertising for two weeks. Rush Limbaugh is normally provided …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Maddow Blog, The Mahablog, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, NewsHounds blog, rubber hose, The Raw Story, The Impolitic, The Last Tradition, Mediaite and skippy the bush kangaroo, more at Mediagazer »

Radio-Info.com:
Rush syndicator tells news/talk affiliates not to run its barter spots for 2 wks

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Cagle Post and Addicting Info

Andrew Malcolm / Investor's Business Daily:

Online, liberals far less tolerant than normal people — Not exactly shocking news for those exposed to them for years, but the respected Pew Research Center has determined that political liberals are far less tolerant of opposing views than regular Americans.

Discussion: Hot Air, americanthinker.com, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Patterico's Pontifications

Pew Internet:

Social networking sites and politics — Home - > - Reports - > - Social networking sites and politics - > - Main findings - > - Social networking sites and politics — Main findings — Social networking sites have become places where political conversation, debate, and proselytizing occur, especially during campaign seasons.

Discussion: Mashable!

Eryn Brown / Los Angeles Times:

All red meat is bad for you, new study says — A long-term study finds that eating any amount and any type increases the risk of premature death. — Eating any amount and any type of red meat increases the risk of premature death, a new study says. (William Thomas Cain / Getty Images / March 12, 2012)

Discussion: Opinion L.A., Jezebel, Guardian and americanthinker.com

New York Times:

U.S. Officials Debate Speeding Afghan Pullout — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is discussing whether to reduce American forces in Afghanistan by at least an additional 20,000 troops by 2013, reflecting a growing belief within the White House that the mission there has now reached the point of diminishing returns.

Discussion: Reuters, Firedoglake, Yahoo! News, ThinkProgress, The Hill, Daniel W. Drezner, Guardian, Washington Post, News Desk, FP Passport, Global Spin, Balloon Juice and Hullabaloo

Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:
White House won't change Afghan plan

Discussion: Politico

Richard Cohen / Washington Post:

Sarah Palin's foolishness ruined U.S. politics — At some point while watching HBO's absolutely smashing (and terrifying) movie “Game Change,” it occurred to me that Sarah Palin has ruined America. The movie has been scalloped out of the book by the same name and focuses on Palin, rather than on the entire 2008 presidential campaign.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Wonkette

Saul Loeb / National Post:

Dick Cheney cancels Toronto trip, says Canada is too dangerous — TORONTO — Former U.S. vice-president Dick Cheney has cancelled an April appearance in Toronto citing concerns Canada is too dangerous. — “He felt that in Canada the risk of violent protest was simply too high,” …

Discussion: The Raw Story and National Review

Associated Press:
Former US vice president deems Canada too dangerous for speaking visit

Discussion: Business Insider and JONATHAN TURLEY

Tim Carmody / Wired:

The Damning Backstory Behind ‘Homeless Hotspots’ at SXSW — It sounds like something out of a darkly satirical science-fiction dystopia. But it's absolutely real — and a completely problematic treatment of a problem that otherwise probably wouldn't be mentioned in any of the panels at South by Southwest Interactive.

Discussion: New York Times, The Verge, Gawker, American Power, Los Angeles Times, The Last Tradition, BuzzFeed, Colorlines, US Politics and Washington Free Beacon

BBC:
Homeless hotspots plan causes controversy for BBH ad agency

Discussion: Guardian, Gawker and Balloon Juice

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Specter says Obama ditched him after he helped pass health law — Former Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) writes in a new book that President Obama ditched him in the 2010 election after he helped Obama win the biggest legislative victory of his term by passing healthcare reform.

Discussion: Mediaite, Booman Tribune, Sky Dancing, Ricochet Conversations Feed, National Review, YID With LID, American Spectator, The Other McCain, CNN, Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, Power Line, The Spectacle Blog and Don Surber

Meredith / Senate Democrats:
Cloture filed on 17 Judicial nominations

Discussion: ACS Blog, Poliglot, Towleroad News #gay, Washington Blade and Politico

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

What if George W. Bush had done that? — President Barack Obama has forged a surprising consensus on opposite ends of the political spectrum: They wonder how on earth he gets away with it. — A series of recent moves — from aggressively filling his reelection war chest to green-lighting shoot …

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation

Rachel Leven / The Hill:

HHS weighs accepting men who have sex with men as blood donors — The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) is seeking comments on designing a pilot program to create “alternative donor deferral criteria” for gay men. — Currently, men who have had sex with other men (MSM) …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

James Pethokoukis / The Enterprise Blog:

Surprise! Obama has a secret plan to deal with a catastrophic U.S. debt crisis. Here's what might be in it — This is a stunner. In the new book The Escape Artists: How Obama's Team Fumbled the Recovery, journalist Noam Scheiber uncovers this tantalizing tidbit: … OK, let's take this step by step:

Discussion: Hit & Run

Guardian:

Rebekah Brooks among six arrested — Former Sun editor held by Operation Weeting detectives on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice — Rebekah Brooks is among six people arrested by Scotland Yard detectives on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice …

Discussion: New York Times, NewsHounds blog, Company Town, Deadline.com and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Sandra Fluke / CNN:

Slurs won't silence women — Editor's note: Sandra Fluke is a third-year law student at Georgetown University Law Center and has served as president of Georgetown Law Students for Reproductive Justice. — (CNN) — Last month, students from several Catholic universities gathered to send …

Discussion: Mediaite and The PJ Tatler