memeorandum: First Thoughts: All eyes on Illinois (msnbc.com)

8:10 PM ET, March 20, 2012

Top Items:

Newt Gingrich / CNN:

TRENDING: Campaign calls De Niro comment ‘inappropriate’ after Gingrich blast — (CNN) - President Barack Obama's reelection organization said Tuesday it was “inappropriate” for Robert De Niro to joke at a campaign fundraiser in New York Monday that America wasn't “ready for a white first lady.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, The Huffington Post, NewsBusters.org, Runnin' Scared, Mediaite, The Agonist, Guardian, The PJ Tatler, alicublog, Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop, NO QUARTER, The Daily Caller, Jammie Wearing Fools, Gothamist and The Page

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Gingrich says actor Robert DeNiro's racially themed first lady joke ‘inexcusable’ — Newt Gingrich blasted actor Robert DeNiro for a racially themed joke during his introduction of first lady Michelle Obama at a fundraiser in New York City on Monday night, calling the comments “inexcusable.”

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, iOwnTheWorld.com, Outside the Beltway, Politico and Booman Tribune

Brian Montopoli / CBS News:

CBS News early Illinois exit polls: 4 in 10 Romney, Santorum voters “have reservations” — (CBS News) More than four in ten of the people who voted for Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in Tuesday's GOP primary in Illinois “have reservations” about their choice, according to early CBS News exit polls.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Other McCain and Indecision Forever

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Polling on Romney's ‘dog problem’

Discussion: Ballot Box and Wonkette

Marc Ambinder / GQ:
Exclusive: GQ Reveals Romney's and Santorum's Secret Service Code Names

Discussion: News Desk, Jezebel, ABCNEWS, Online NewsHour, Fox News, USA Today, American Prospect, The Caucus, New York Magazine and Wonkette

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
In Illinois, Santorum's Chance at Nomination Is Slipping Away

Discussion: Hot Air, The Atlantic Online, CNN, Chicago Sun Times, Democracy in America, Washington Monthly, The American Conservative, The New Republic, Boston Globe, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, PJ Media, ABCNEWS and News Desk

Charles Mahtesian / Politico:
Illinois primary: 5 things to watch

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Indecision Forever, Washington Post, Washington Wire and Runnin' Scared

Elizabeth Williamson / Washington Wire:
2012 GOP Wives More Popular Than Husbands

Discussion: Hot Air

CNN:
The nuts and bolts of the Illinois primary

Discussion: Politico

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Illinois Exit Polls: Romney Gains in Relatability

Discussion: CNN and GOP 12

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Santorum outgunned 7 to 1 in Illinois, 21 to 1 in Chicago media market

Discussion: CNN, Firedoglake, Guardian, The Reaction, FiveThirtyEight, The Daily Dish, Washington Monthly and ABCNEWS

Los Angeles Times:
Economy forces Romney to change his tone

Discussion: NY Daily News, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Reuters, ABCNEWS, Daily Kos, The Hill and Wall Street Journal

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:

The Budget Wars: Why Obama and the GOP Are Light-Years Apart — If it seems like Republicans and Democrats are on different planets with their approach to budgeting, it's because they really are providing answers to completely different questions. — “This isn't just about math …

Discussion: American Prospect and Campaign 2012

Ezra Klein:

Paul Ryan's budget: Should the poor pay for deficit reduction? — Here's the basic outline of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's 2013 budget in one sentence: Ryan's budget funds trillions of dollars in tax cuts, defense spending and deficit reduction by cutting deeply into health-care programs and income supports for the poor.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill, ThinkProgress, PERRspectives, Guardian, Balloon Juice and Boston Globe

Washington Post:
Paul Ryan's budget is bad politics. Just ask Republicans.

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, The Daily Caller, Newsy, The Spectacle Blog and Fox News

Paul Ryan / Wall Street Journal:
The GOP Budget and America's Future

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, Maggie's Farm, Washington Wire, Firedoglake, The Incidental Economist, Politico, The Lonely Conservative, WE Blog, Power Line and Hot Air

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
GOP budget plan cuts deeply into domestic programs, reshapes Medicare, Medicaid

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Firedoglake, Ezra Klein, RedState, The Maddow Blog and Vodkapundit

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Reid: Sen. Wyden against Medicare reforms in Ryan budget

Discussion: Politico and ThinkProgress

Seung Min Kim / Politico:
For Democrats, GOP budget is Christmas in March

Discussion: Ezra Klein, Washington Post, The Caucus, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and Balloon Juice

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
No, Paul Ryan Does Not Want To Strengthen The Safety Net

Discussion: Ezra Klein, American Prospect, Booman Tribune, Nice Deb and The Maddow Blog

Jonathon M. Seidl / TheBlaze.com:

RICK SANTORUM REACTS TO OBAMA ALLOWING DAUGHTER TO VACATION IN MEXICO: ‘SET AN EXAMPLE’ — On Tuesday's Glenn Beck program, Rick Santorum responded to the news that the president allowed his 13-year-old daughter, Malia, to vacation in Mexico, despite a recent State Department travel warning for the country.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Mediaite, GOP 12 and Indecision Forever

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Media scrubs Malia Obama vacation story — The AFP, the Huffington Post and other websites have scrubbed a report about first daughter Malia Obama's Spring Break vacation. — On Monday, the AFP reported that Obama's daughter was vacationing abroad, along with a number of friends and 25 Secret Service agents.

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, BuzzFeed, Agence France Presse, National Review, NewsBusters.org, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, Hit & Run, The Volokh Conspiracy, Wake up America, The Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Moonbattery, Mediaite and iOwnTheWorld.com, more at Mediagazer »

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Rick Santorum: President Obama Shouldn't Let Daughter Go To Mexico (VIDEO)

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Montreal Gazette:
Obama's daughter spends spring break in Mexico

Discussion: Maggie's Notebook and The Raw Story

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:

Fox News Commenters React to Trayvon Martin: ‘Good Shot Zimmy’ — I don't even know what to say about this any more; the comments about Trayvon Martin at Fox News are just unbelievable. — Here's the article: Department of Justice Opens Investigation Into Case of Black Teenager Killed by Neighborhood Watch Captain |

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Fox News and Booman Tribune

Emily Bazelon / Slate:

Why Trayvon Martin's Killer Remains Free — Florida's self-defense laws have left Florida safe for no one—except those who shoot first. — Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman has not been charged. — family handout

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, New York Times, News Desk, Change of Subject, The Lede, The American Conservative, The Huffington Post, Feministing, The Mahablog and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Frances Robles / MiamiHerald.com:

Lawyer: Girl on phone with Trayvon Martin moments before he was shot — Mounting pressure in Trayvon Martin case succeeds in prompting a federal probe as well as an investigation by a state grand jury. — FROBLES@MIAMIHERALD.COM — Miami Gardens teenager Trayvon Martin was on the phone …

Discussion: iWatch News by The Center …, Daily Kos and The Mahablog, more at Mediagazer »

Beth Kassab / Orlando Sentinel:

“Stand your ground” law goes too far — You can't say we weren't warned. — Back in 2005, opponents of Florida's first-of-its-kind “stand your ground” law said it wouldn't be long before we'd see shootouts in the streets — all in the name of self-defense.

Discussion: In America, ThinkProgress, Taylor Marsh, southernstudies.org, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice, MiamiHerald.com, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville, American Prospect and News One

Blue Texan / Crooks and Liars:

CBS's Mark Knoller Falsely Claims Debt Has Increased More Under Obama Than Bush — Mark Knoller is the White House correspondant for CBS Radio, and a first-class right-wing tool. Monday night, he posted an article titled, “National debt has increased more under Obama than under Bush,” …

Mark Knoller / CBS News:

National Debt has increased more under Obama than under Bush — (CBS News) The National Debt has now increased more during President Obama's three years and two months in office than it did during 8 years of the George W. Bush presidency. — The Debt rose $4.899 trillion during the two terms of the Bush presidency.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Wake up America, The Lonely Conservative, IMAO, Michelle Malkin, iOwnTheWorld.com, Pirate's Cove and The PJ Tatler

CBS New York:

Bloomberg Strikes Again: NYC Bans Food Donations To The Homeless — Has The Mayor Totally Eaten Away At The Public's Desire To Do Good? — NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Mayor Michael Bloomberg's food police have struck again! — Outlawed are food donations to homeless shelters because the city …

Discussion: New York Post, Politicker, Michelle Malkin, The PJ Tatler, The Impolitic and The Moderate Voice

David Segal / New York Times:

For LSAT, Sharp Drop in Popularity for Second Year — Legal diplomas are apparently losing luster. — The organization behind the Law School Admission Test reported that the number of tests it administered this year dropped by more than 16 percent, the largest decline in more than a decade.

Discussion: TaxProf Blog, Instapundit and Law Blog

Ben Geman / The Hill:

GOP lawmaker entertains Obama ‘birther’ notions — Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), a top member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on Tuesday said he's not yet convinced that President Obama's birth certificate is legitimate. — “I am, shall we say, looking at all the evidence,” …

Discussion: ABCNEWS and ThinkProgress

The 1600 Report:

Obama to fast track southern portion of Keystone XL Pipeline — President Obama plans to announce in Cushing, Oklahoma Thursday that his administration will expedite the permit process for the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline, a source familiar with the president's announcement tells CNN.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and ThinkProgress