memeorandum: Rep. Bob Turner to challenge Gillibrand in New York Senate race (Josh Lederman/Ballot Box)

2:20 PM ET, March 13, 2012

Top Items:

The Obama Poll Drop Mystery: Explained! — Yesterday morning, a new Washington Post poll showed a sharp drop in President Obama's approval rating, from 50 percent approval (and 46 percent disapproval) to the reverse. People on Twitter started tittering. Jonathan Bernstein insisted it was all just random statistical noise.

Discussion: American Prospect, Indecision Forever, Business Insider, The Caucus, Ezra Klein, The Daily Dish, The New Republic, Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, Outside the Beltway and The Huffington Post

New York Times:

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.

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: The Hill, Washington Times, National Review, Campaign 2012, Questions and Observations, Pirate's Cove, Ezra Klein, Mediaite, The Enterprise Blog and Cafe Hayek

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: Wake up America, Don Surber, Outside the Beltway, msnbc.com, The Confluence, CANNONFIRE, Scared Monkeys, americanthinker.com, Jammie Wearing Fools, Rumproast, Weekly Standard, Power Line, The Hill, INSTAPUTZ, BREITBART.COM, Althouse and Patterico's Pontifications

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

Discussion: JustOneMinute, National Review, LifeNews.com, Los Angeles Times and Wake up America

Shannen W. Coffin / National Review:
New York Times: It's Just a Poll. Nothing to See Here.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, CBS News and Cold Fury

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Oh my: Obama's approval rating hits new low in CBS poll

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

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

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, 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: CNN, Washington Wire, msnbc.com, The Moderate Voice, Christian Science Monitor, Hot Air, Los Angeles Times, Connecting.the.Dots, Shakesville, BuzzFeed, New York Times, Washington Post, Ballot Box and The Page

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

Discussion: Time, The Other McCain, Crooks and Liars, Guardian and americanthinker.com

Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:
Alabama Governor Says He Voted for Santorum

Discussion: Guardian and CNN

Quin Hillyer / American Spectator: Drenched in Campaign Silliness

Greg Giroux / Bloomberg:
Super-PAC Ads Dominate Republican Race in Alabama, Mississippi

Discussion: Washington Monthly, WWL-TV, ThinkProgress, Politico, Business Insider, al.com, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, ABCNEWS, Hot Air and The Caucus

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

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

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Santorum warns GOP shouldn't pick party's nominee too quickly

Discussion: CNN and Ballot Box

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: Little Green Footballs, Washington Wire, Power Line, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Israel Matzav, The Mental Recession and Cold Fury

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: Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, protein wisdom, Conservatives4Palin and Patterico's Pontifications

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: protein wisdom, 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: Mediaite and Mashable!

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Pew: Liberals most intolerant online

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Ed Driscoll and The Daily Caller

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 Moderate Voice, Mother Jones, The Maddow Blog, NewsHounds blog, Taylor Marsh, Prairie Weather, The Raw Story, rubber hose, Mediaite, Washington Post and The Last Tradition, more at Mediagazer »

David Frum / The Daily Beast:
Mike Huckabee Brings on Rush Limbaugh's Decline

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Mahablog, News Desk, The Impolitic, Mediaite and Runnin' Scared

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

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Political Carnival, Cagle Post and Addicting Info

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: Rumproast, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Right Sphere, The Reality-Based Community and Wonkette

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: Archives of Internal …, Gothamist, Opinion L.A., Truthdig, Jezebel, Guardian and americanthinker.com

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: Townhall.com, JustOneMinute, Feministing, NewsBusters.org blogs, Mediaite and The PJ Tatler

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
HBO's ‘Game Change’ promoted by same PR firm that represents Sandra Fluke

Discussion: protein wisdom

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 Impolitic, The Mahablog, National Review and The Raw Story

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

Discussion: Wonkette, JONATHAN TURLEY and Business Insider

Jack Brammer / Lexington Herald-Leader:

House panel turns down anti-bullying bill despite pleas from parents — FRANKFORT — After an emotional debate, the House Education Committee voted down an anti-bullying bill Tuesday that identified classes of students who might be harassed by their peers. — The vote came after parents …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

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: Mediaite and The Heritage Foundation

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

KHVO:

Romney's Son Stumps For Candidate In Hawaii — HONOLULU — Local Mitt Romney supporters took their campaign to the streets of Laie this evening — “We need him. This country needs him,” said Laie resident Dave Lewis. — Mitt Romney stayed behind but helping to drum up support …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Indecision Forever

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:

Church Puts Legal Pressure on Abuse Victims' Group — Turning the tables on an advocacy group that has long supported victims of pedophile priests, lawyers for the Roman Catholic Church and priests accused of sexual abuse in two Missouri cases have gone to court to compel the group to disclose …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, rightwingwatch.org, Joe. My. God. and Campaign 2012

Frank Bruni / New York Times:

One-Way Wantonness — Hussy. Harlot. Hooker. — Floozy. Strumpet. Slut. — When attacking a woman by questioning her sexual mores, there's a smorgasbord of slurs, and you can take your rancid pick. Help me out here: where are the comparable nouns for men? What's a male slut?

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Moderate Voice, The Volokh Conspiracy, Runnin' Scared, the daily howler, Addicting Info, Daily Kos, CNN, Sister Toldjah, American Spectator and JONATHAN TURLEY, more at Mediagazer »

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Biden: Obama 'would've been a one-term president' if bin Laden mission had failed — President Obama would have ended up a one-term president if last summer's mission to kill Osama bin Laden had failed, according to Vice President Biden. — Biden, speaking Monday night at a small fundraising event …

Discussion: Mediaite