memeorandum: Tim Kaine keeps up strong fundraising with $2.2M quarter (Cameron Joseph/Ballot Box)

10:20 AM ET, April 3, 2012

Top Items:

Obama warns ‘unelected’ Supreme Court against striking down health law — President Obama, employing his strongest language to date on the Supreme Court review of the federal health care overhaul, cautioned the court Monday against overturning the law — while repeatedly saying he's “confident” it will be upheld.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, BREITBART.COM, GOP 12, Right Wing News, The Lonely Conservative, Scared Monkeys, The Mental Recession, Questions and Observations, Taylor Marsh, National Review, Doug Ross and NO QUARTER

New York Sun:

Ex Parte Obama — It's been a long time since we've heard a presidential demarche as outrageous as President Obama's warning to the Supreme Court not to overturn Obamacare. The president made the remarks at a press conference with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.

Discussion: RedState, Instapundit and neo-neocon

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Hearings Hurt Public Regard for both Health Care Law and Supreme Court — While most Americans say last week's Supreme Court hearings on the 2010 health care law did not change their views of the law or of the Court, they did more harm than good to the image of both.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and Guardian

Ben Feller / Associated Press:

Wary of activist court, Obama defends health law — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Monday issued a rare, direct challenge to the Supreme Court to uphold his historic health care overhaul, weighing in with a vigorous political appeal for judicial restraint.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Suburban Guerrilla

Michael A. Memoli / Los Angeles Times:
Obama: Overturning healthcare law would be ‘extraordinary step’

Discussion: The Sundries Shack, The Mahablog, Shot in the Dark and Daily Kos

Michael Barone / Real Clear Politics:
Americans Are Worrying About the Constitution Again

Discussion: Global Public Square and Maggie's Farm

Jeff Mason / Reuters:
Obama takes a shot at Supreme Court over healthcare

Discussion: Don Surber, americanthinker.com, Hot Air, The Greenroom, TIME Ideas and Hit & Run

Rose Garden / The White House:
Joint Press Conference by President Obama, President Calderon of Mexico, and Prime Minister Harper of Canada

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, Law Blog, White House.gov Blog, SCOTUSblog and Balkinization

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:
SLIDESHOW: Health Care Before The Court

Discussion: Zandar Versus The Stupid and Hullabaloo

Sorourke / nation.foxnews.com:
Obama Takes Aim at Supreme Court, Calls Them ‘Unelected Group of People’

Discussion: RedState, Weekly Standard and Weasel Zippers

Quinnipiac University:

Santorum Leads Romney In Pennsylvania GOP Primary, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; ‘etch A Sketch’ Rap Unfair To Romney, Republicans Say — Favorite Son Rick Santorum leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 41 - 35 percent among likely voters in Pennsylvania's Republican presidential primary …

Discussion: GOP 12, PoliticsPA, Ballot Box, USA Today, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, ABCNEWS and Associated Press

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:

GOP Insiders Say Race Is Over, But Do Voters Agree? (The Note) — MILWAUKEE, Wis. — When we look back on this year's Wisconsin primary, we'll probably think of it as the moment when everything changed — The Badger State, which holds the most consequential of today's three primaries …

Discussion: GOP 12, Swampland and Washington Post

Washington Examiner:
Newt aims for Gingrich flavor in Romney platform

Discussion: The Other McCain and Hot Air

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
Despite edge in delegates, Romney struggles to put Santorum away

Discussion: CNN

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Romney Could Net 50 Delegates From Maryland and D.C.

Discussion: USA Today, JSOnline, Taegan Goddard's …, The Green Papers, Washington Post, PJ Media, The Huffington Post and Wake up America

Alister Bull / Reuters:

Obama takes on Republicans over tax fairness — (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, seizing on Republican plans to slash deficits that the White House sees as a potent vote winner for Democrats in this year's election, slammed his opponents on Tuesday to reinforce his claim that they favor the rich.

Discussion: American Prospect

Wall Street Journal:

GOP, Romney to Raise Funds Jointly — In a move that shows Republicans are coalescing around the party's front-runner, Mitt Romney plans to begin raising money jointly with the Republican National Committee this week as both the candidate and the GOP brace for an expensive general-election fight against President Barack Obama.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Ballot Box, USA Today, msnbc.com, New York Times, ABCNEWS, Race 4 2012, GOP 12, Politico and New York Magazine

Ken Thomas / Associated Press:
Obama campaign targets Romney ties to oil

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Jammie Wearing Fools

Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler:
Video: Obama Campaign Disables Credit Card Verification, Accepts Donation from ‘Nidal Hasan’

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Hot Air, Power Line and The Mental Recession

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Hillary Clinton Won't Join Barack Obama On Campaign Trail

Discussion: Politico, USA Today, Weekly Standard, Power Line and New York Magazine

New York Times:

Divide and Discriminate — When a light is shined into the dark corners of American politics, it's never pleasant to see what scurries away. Last week, a federal judge in Maine unsealed memos from the National Organization for Marriage, one of the most prominent groups fighting against same-sex marriage.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

Trayvon Martin - Are There Any Media People In New York City? — There is a conference on voice biometrics in New York city April 3-4. Will any media be there? — Jeralyn Merritt, the Talk Left defense attorney, oftens finds herself in odd positions during the media meltdowns involving politically fashionable defendants.

Discussion: TalkLeft and Hit & Run

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
The Self-Refuting Expert Witness The Orlando Sentinel Is Touting

Discussion: DISSENTING JUSTICE, Feministing and CNN

Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:

Trayvon Martin - Is Everything You Think You Know Just Media BS? — As a launch point, let me pick up on this throw-away comment made by Rod Dreher in his own comments section: — I do think Zimmerman was a paranoid guy — I make this judgment based on his frequent 911 calls over the past year …

Discussion: Althouse

CBS News:

Axelrod: Romney “oblivious” to everyday life — (CBS News) — A top campaign adviser to President Obama Tuesday called Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney “oblivious” to the concerns of everyday Americans and suggested he is living in a different era.

Discussion: Shakesville and Jammie Wearing Fools

Washington Post:

GSA chief resigns amid reports of excessive spending — The chief of the General Services Administration is resigning and two of her top deputies have been fired amid reports of excessive spending at a training conference at a luxury hotel that featured a mindreader, a clown and a comedian.

Discussion: Brendan Nyhan, The Heritage Foundation, The Daily Caller, Politico, The Jawa Report, msnbc.com, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, ABCNEWS, Hit & Run and Washington Free Beacon

Robinson / nation.foxnews.com:

Another Obama Solar Company Goes Bankrupt ...Taxpayers Lose $2 BILLION? — Solar Trust of America seeks bankruptcy protection after trouble getting federal loan — WILMINGTON, Del. — A California solar energy company that was unable to meet a deadline for an Energy Department loan guarantee …

Discussion: Associated Press, The PJ Tatler, Marathon Pundit, The Lonely Conservative and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Katy Stech / Wall Street Journal:
Solar-Project Developer Files for Chapter 11

Discussion: Power Line and Watts Up With That?

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:

'A Conservative Coup d'Etat' — How do our current political struggles look from outside? Here is a note from a reader in Holland, in response to The Hill's (never corrected) headline about the 51-47 “defeat” of a bill in the Senate: — The reader says:

Discussion: Booman Tribune, US Politics, The New Republic, Hot Air, Master Feed, Prairie Weather, The Maddow Blog, News Desk and Washington Monthly

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:

Tim Kaine keeps up strong fundraising with $2.2M quarter — Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) kept up his torrid fundraising pace by raising $2.2 million since January 1, his campaign announced Tuesday morning. — Kaine now has $4.4 million cash on hand for his Senate race …

Discussion: CNN

Susan Page / USA Today:

Don't say ‘no’ to South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — BAMBERG, S.C. - Walking down the tree-lined streets where she grew up, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley remembers the day she was presented with a beach ball at the Wee Miss Bamberg pageant — not for winning, but as a consolation prize when she and her sister were disqualified.

Discussion: Politico