memeorandum: Davis: ‘Homemade explosive device’ sparked fire outside Fort Worth office (Mitch Mitchell/Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

12:35 AM ET, March 21, 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, The Caucus and BuzzFeed, 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

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Media scrubs Malia Obama vacation story

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

Jonathon M. Seidl / TheBlaze.com:
WHITE HOUSE ADMITS TO ASKING NEWS AGENCIES TO PULL MALIA OBAMA VACATION STORY

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Wonkette, International Business Times, Wizbang, alicublog, TBogg and The Lonely Conservative

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: Guardian, Firedoglake, The Other McCain, CNN, Taylor Marsh, The Reaction, FiveThirtyEight, Indecision Forever, Politico and GQ

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Illinois primary results: Mitt Romney crushes Rick Santorum — Mitt Romney crushed Rick Santorum in the Illinois primary Tuesday night, padding his delegate lead and once again forcing his Republican opponents to find another moment to mount a guerrilla challenge to his campaign.

Discussion: CNN, Scared Monkeys, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Chicago Tribune

Robin Bravender / Politico:

Rick Santorum in the black — Rick Santorum's campaign is in the black, thanks to his $9 million haul in February. — The former Pennsylvania senator ended last month with $2.6 million in the bank and just over $900,000 in debt, according to campaign finance filings released Tuesday.

Discussion: The Right Scoop

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

Discussion: Campaign 2012 and Los Angeles Times

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

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

Fox News:
Romney wins Illinois GOP primary, inches closer to nomination

Discussion: New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Lonely Conservative and Patterico's Pontifications

Matt Negrin / ABCNEWS:
Mitt Romney Projected to Win Illinois Primary, Santorum Second

Discussion: Politico and Mediaite

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

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

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

Jennifer Yingling / The Hill:
‘We have the votes’ to pass this budget in House, says the GOP's Paul Ryan

Discussion: Booman Tribune

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

Discussion: Politico and ThinkProgress

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

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

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 Huffington Post, News Desk, The Lede, 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, News One, southernstudies.org, No More Mister Nice Blog, MiamiHerald.com, Balloon Juice, The Moderate Voice, Shakesville and American Prospect

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

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’

Discussion: Hot Air, Campaign 2012, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Ed Driscoll, The PJ Tatler, Outside the Beltway and Booman Tribune

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, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, ABCNEWS, ThinkProgress and The Raw Story

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

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

Betsy Rothstein / FishbowlDC:

David Corn Has Showdown in Barnes & Noble — MSNBC Contributor and Mother Jones' Washington Bureau Chief David Corn apparently got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. — He was spotted in the Barnes & Noble at Union Station throwing a fit because his new book — his fifth …

Discussion: Don Surber and Instapundit

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, Hot Air, The Impolitic, The PJ Tatler, Michelle Malkin and The Moderate Voice

Mitch Mitchell / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Davis: ‘Homemade explosive device’ sparked fire outside Fort Worth office — A “homemade explosive device” was used to spark a small fire outside the Fort Worth office of state Sen. Wendy Davis, the senator said in a late-night news conference Tuesday. — Davis, D-Fort Worth …

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Daily Caller and Off the Kuff

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