memeorandum: ‘Recall Walker’ campaign overshadows Wisconsin presidential battle (Mike Tobin/Fox News)

8:30 AM ET, April 4, 2012

Top Items:

Jan Crawford / CBS News:

Appeals court fires back at Obama's comments on health care case — (CBS News) In the escalating battle between the administration and the judiciary, a federal appeals court apparently is calling the president's bluff — ordering the Justice Department to answer by Thursday whether …

Mj Lee / Politico:

Rush Limbaugh: Obama ‘thug’ on Supreme Court — Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday joined the mass of conservative voices criticizing President Barack Obama's recent comments about the Supreme Court's decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, calling the president a “thug” on the air.

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh

Steven Hayward / Power Line:

Barack Obama, Constitutional Ignoramus — I'm grateful for the favor Obama did for us yesterday of exposing his extreme constitutional ignorance, with his comments on how it would be “unprecedented” for the Court to strike down a law passed by a “strong majority” in Congress.

Discussion: The Last Tradition, The Volokh Conspiracy, CBS News, Commentary Magazine and Instapundit

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

Fifth Circuit calls out DOJ lawyer: Is your boss now claiming that courts don't have the power to strike down laws? Update: A lawyer's take — Via Ace. Serious question for appellate lawyers: Is it S.O.P. for judges to introduce comments made outside the courtroom by one of the parties to the litigation in this way?

Discussion: Truth on the Market, Betsy's Page, The Daily Caller, Campaign 2012, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, Pundit & Pundette, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Volokh Conspiracy

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Pass the smelling salts! Obama ‘attacked’ SCOTUS! — To the fainting couch! Obama attacked the Supreme Court and threatened it with a backlash, should it strike down his tyrannical scheme to impose a government takeover of health care on the nation! — That's what many conservative writers …

Discussion: American Spectator, No More Mister Nice Blog, Bark Bark Woof Woof, The Heritage Foundation, The Hill, Mediaite, The Loyal Opposition, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Law Blog, The Maddow Blog and The White House

Ruth Marcus / Washington Post:
Obama's unsettling attack on the Supreme Court

Jay Carney / Fox News:
Judges order Justice Department to clarify Obama remarks on health law case

Discussion: Don Surber and Doug Ross

Eric Hananoki / Media Matters for America:

Fox News Anchor: “Thoughts? Did Obama Campaign Threaten Chelsea Clinton's Life 2 Keep Parents Silent?” — Heather Childers, a “straight news” anchor for the Fox News weekend program America's News Headquarters and co-host of Fox & Friends First, tweeted this afternoon: “Thoughts?

Discussion: Godfather Politics, Mediaite, Booman Tribune and The Raw Story

da Tagliare / Godfather Politics:

Did Barack Obama Campaign Threaten Life of Chelsea Clinton to Keep Parents Silent on Obama's Ineligibility? — Most people in the US, especially Democrats, believe that the Obama Birther Movement was started by Republicans and or the Tea Party. They believe it is a smear campaign aimed to tarnish the image of their hero of change.

Alex Alvarez / Mediaite:
Fox's Heather Childers Tweets: Did Obama Campaign Threaten To Kill Chelsea Clinton? Fox Responds To Mediaite

Discussion: Examiner, NewsHounds blog and The Moderate Voice

Alicia M. Cohn / Ballot Box:

Santorum on losses: We're beginning the ‘second half’ — Rick Santorum tried to spin his primary losses into a positive light on Tuesday, saying he's beginning the “second half” of his GOP presidential campaign. — The former Pennsylvania senator spoke after Maryland and Washington D.C.'s contests went …

Discussion: Don Surber, American Spectator and Politico

New York Times:

Romney Poised to Tighten Grip on Nomination — PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Mitt Romney was poised to tighten his grip on the Republican nomination on Tuesday with a victory in the Maryland primary and more significantly found himself in his first direct engagement with President Obama …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Washington Post, CNN, Politico, Ballot Box, Wall Street Journal, Hit & Run, News Desk, The Caucus and Mediaite

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:
Triumphant Romney: On to Pennsylvania

Discussion: Politico and The Week

Michael O'Brien / msnbc.com:
Romney wins GOP primaries in Maryland, D.C.

Discussion: CBS News, Weasel Zippers and The Last Tradition

Justin Sullivan / ABCNEWS:
Exit Polls: How Romney Won

Discussion: Firedoglake

Jason Hanna / CNN:
Romney sweeps Tuesday contests

Discussion: Hot Air, Yahoo! News, msnbc.com, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, The Reaction, NPR, The Week, Washington Wire, New York Times and The Hill

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

NBC issues apology on Zimmerman tape screw-up — NBC has completed its investigation into the mishandling of the police dispatcher's conversation with George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case. And the process ends with a finding of error, plus an apology. Here is the statement just issued by the network:

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Orlando Sentinel, Connecting.the.Dots, Fox News, Althouse, Taylor Marsh, New York Times, Sister Toldjah, Mediaite, Gawker, The Week and Nice Deb, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:

NBC News Admits ‘Error’ of Edited 911 Call in Trayvon Martin Controversy (Video) — The network has concluded its investigation into the “Today” broadcast, expressing “regret” for the situation and apologizing to viewers. — NBC News said Tuesday it has concluded an investigation …

Discussion: Conservative Hideout 2.0, Weasel Zippers, TalkLeft, NewsBusters.org, The PJ Tatler and Israpundit

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

Obama blasts Republican budget plan as ‘radical vision’ for the nation — President Obama delivered a stern and stinging rebuke of the Republican budget plan Tuesday, charging that his GOP rivals seek to impose a “radical vision” on the nation by creating a form of “social Darwinism” that pits the poor against the wealthy.

Discussion: CNN, AlterNet and Bark Bark Woof Woof

Newt Gingrich / CNN:
Gingrich not pleased after shout out from Obama

Discussion: Politico

Mark Landler / New York Times:
Obama Attacks House G.O.P. Budget

Discussion: USA Today, International Liberty, Angry Bear, American Thinker, The Enterprise Blog, The Loyal Opposition, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, CNN, Salon, BuzzFeed, American Prospect and Truthdig

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Obama Frames the Economic Choice for November

Discussion: msnbc.com

Ezra Klein: Introducing Obama's opponent in 2012: Paul Ryan

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:

Analysis: Obama's Worst Speech Yet — Today we witnessed something truly remarkable. Barack Obama managed to out-do himself by uncorking what very well may have been the most dishonest, demagogic, and bitterly partisan speech of his presidency. I render that assessment as someone …

Discussion: Nice Deb, America's Right, Hot Air, ThinkProgress and Hullabaloo

The White House:

Remarks by the President at the Associated Press Luncheon — Washington, D.C. — THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Please have a seat. Well, good afternoon, and thank you to Dean Singleton and the board of the Associated Press for inviting me here today.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Newshoggers.com, Taylor Marsh, National Review, Jay Bookman, Ezra Klein, The Maddow Blog, Firedoglake, Weasel Zippers and Poynter

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Three times Obama has said ‘marvelous’ — President Obama took a dig at Romney today for describing Paul Ryan's budget plan as “marvelous.” — “Marvelous... is a word you don't often hear about budgets,” he said. “That's a word you don't often hear generally.” — Except:

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Atlantic Online, The Hill and USA Today

ABCNEWS:
Ryan Responds to Obama Criticism, Says President Is ‘More Partisan and Desperate by the Day’

Discussion: Hot Air and protein wisdom

Steven Senne / ABCNEWS:
Paul Ryan: More Risk Than Reward As Veep Pick?

Discussion: USA Today

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:

Sarah Palin's ‘rogue’ pick for VP: Allen West — Sarah Palin says there's one name at the top of her list if the Republican Party wants to “go rogue” in its pick for the vice presidential nominee: Rep. Allen West. — The former vice presidential candidate told Fox News's Sean Hannity …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Dylan Stableford / Yahoo! News:
Sarah Palin on ‘Today’: Mitt Romney should not be afraid to go ‘rogue’ with VP choice

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Dependable Renegade

Javier Manjarres / The Shark Tank:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz's “Jewbag” Mini-Me — Jew-on-Jew hate is nothing new, but within the Democratic National Committee, this is clearly unchartered territory. DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz's ol' staffer and newly named the DNC's Jewish Outreach Liason Dani Gilbert refers …

Discussion: Naked Politics, The Last Tradition, BREITBART.COM, The Lid, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, small dead animals and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

Wide Racial, Partisan Gaps in Reactions to Trayvon Martin Coverage — Most Republicans See ‘Too Much’ Coverage — OVERVIEW — The Trayvon Martin shooting is the public's top story for the second consecutive week. But interest in the teenager's death is deeply divided along partisan, as well as racial, lines.

Discussion: Politico

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:

Texas judge confronts Obama administration over ‘judicial restraint’ statement — A federal judge in Texas is demanding that the Department of Justice clarify whether President Obama's dig about “judicial restraint” means the administration thinks the Judicial Branch has no right to overturn unconstitutional laws.

Discussion: ThinkProgress