memeorandum: Romney econ adviser posts deport-seniors joke on blog (Glenn Thrush/Politico)

11:10 PM ET, March 20, 2012

Top Items:

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: BuzzFeed, Mediaite, ABCNEWS, Indecision Forever and GOP 12

BuzzFeed:

Story About White House Scrubbing Obama Daughter Travel Story Has Now Been Scrubbed — Citing security concerns, Politico removes a detail about Malia Obama's trip to Mexico. Point taken. — The White House's campaign to scrub a story from the internet yesterday about Malia Obama's trip …

Discussion: Media Decoder, BuzzFeed and The Caucus, more at Mediagazer »

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM2012 — Rick Santorum: President Obama Shouldn't Let Daughter Go To Mexico (VIDEO) — Rick Santorum said President Obama set a bad example and potentially endangered American tourists by letting his daughter Malia go to Mexico on a spring break vacation.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

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

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

Discussion: Maggie's Notebook and The Raw Story

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, Guardian, CNN, The Other McCain, Taylor Marsh, Indecision Forever and GQ

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Polling on Romney's ‘dog problem’ — Mitt Romney's ‘dog problem’ has received tons of media attention in the last week so we decided to do a poll about it. Here's what we found: —20% of voters have a favorable opinion of Romney's treatment of dogs to 29% with an unfavorable opinion.

Discussion: Ballot Box, New York Magazine and Wonkette

Timothy Stenovec / The Huffington Post:
Illinois Primary 2012 Results MAP (REAL-TIME DATA)

Discussion: Campaign 2012 and Los Angeles Times

Fox News:
Romney wins Illinois GOP primary, Fox News projects

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, msnbc.com, The Lonely Conservative, Washington Post, GOP 12 and Patterico's Pontifications

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Illinois primary results: Mitt Romney crushes Rick Santorum

Discussion: CNN and Scared Monkeys

Jonathan Tilove / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Survey: Rick Santorum has sizable lead over Mitt Romney heading into Saturday's La. primary

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, GOP 12 and Balloon Juice

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

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, The Atlantic Online, CNN, Democracy in America, Politico, Washington Monthly, The Reaction, Chicago Sun Times, The American Conservative, The New Republic, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Runnin' Scared, PJ Media, News Desk and ABCNEWS

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:
Better-Off, Better Educated Voters Boost Romney in Illinois

Discussion: Mediaite

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

Discussion: Hot Air

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: his vorpal sword, American Prospect and Campaign 2012

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

Discussion: Politico and ThinkProgress

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

Discussion: Mail Online, The Hill, National Review, New York Times, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Newsy, The Spectacle Blog and msnbc.com

Ezra Klein:
Paul Ryan's budget: Should the poor pay for deficit reduction?

Discussion: CBO's Publications, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, The Hill, Washington Monthly, PERRspectives, Guardian, Balloon Juice and Boston Globe

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

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

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

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

Discussion: msnbc.com, ThinkProgress, Maggie's Farm, Washington Wire, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Fox News, The Incidental Economist, WE Blog, Politico, The Lonely Conservative, Power Line and Hot Air

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

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

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: Fox News, Hullabaloo 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: New York Times, The Raw Story, field negro, The Lede, The Huffington Post, News Desk, Change of Subject, The American Conservative, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Mahablog, more at Mediagazer »

Frances Robles / MiamiHerald.com:
Lawyer: Girl on phone with Trayvon Martin moments before he was shot

Discussion: iWatch News by The Center …, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Beth Kassab / Orlando Sentinel:
“Stand your ground” law goes too far

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

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.”

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, Ed Driscoll, The PJ Tatler, iOwnTheWorld.com, Outside the Beltway and Booman Tribune

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

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

John Celock / The Huffington Post:

Abortion Bill: Arizona GOP Legislator Says Women Should Witness Abortions … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Arizona Republicans, Abortion, Abortion Rights, Anti-Abortion, Arizona Politics, Video, Arizona Democrats, Arizona Legislature, Birth Control, Matt Heinz, Women's Health …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Arizona Republic:
Arizona lawmaker wants to go further on abortion laws

Discussion: Angry Black Lady Chronicles

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: CNN, ABCNEWS, Angry Black Lady Chronicles and ThinkProgress

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Romney econ adviser posts deport-seniors joke on blog — Greg Mankiw, the Harvard professor who serves as one of Mitt Romney's top economic advisers, has managed to take a shot at two key constituencies - Hispanics and seniors - in a single linked post on his popular economics blog.

Discussion: Greg Mankiw's Blog and 24Ahead

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, Hot Air, Politicker, Michelle Malkin, The Impolitic, The PJ Tatler 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

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, Hot Air, ThinkProgress and Fuel