Top Items:
Washington Post:
Obama holds key leads on Romney, as economy malaise looms over reelection bid — With the general-election campaign beginning to take shape, President Obama holds clear advantages over Mitt Romney on personal attributes and a number of key issues, but remains vulnerable to discontent …
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Hill, Little Green Footballs, Los Angeles Times, ABCNEWS, Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, ThinkProgress, Politico, Swampland, Shakesville, CNN, Hot Air, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, 2012 Decoded, The Page, Ballot Box, The Maddow Blog, Taegan Goddard's …, GOP 12, New York Magazine, Campaign 2012, Vodkapundit, Ezra Klein, American Power, Washington Wire, Pew Research Center … and Conservatives4Palin
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Rick Santorum to drop out of the presidential race — Rick Santorum will announce Tuesday that he is suspending his presidential campaign, all but bringing to a close the 2012 GOP presidential contest and formally handing the nomination to Mitt Romney, according to an official close to the campaign.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, New York Magazine and ThinkProgress
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Santorum exits presidential race — Rick Santorum will drop out of the presidential race Tuesday afternoon, a campaign consultant told The Hill, essentially guaranteeing Mitt Romney the GOP nomination. — Santorum will announce that he is suspending his campaign at an event in his home state …
Discussion:
protein wisdom and GOP 12
Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
How Romney can solve his woman problem — Mitt Romney's electoral trouble with women — more precisely with college-educated women — is real enough. Recent polling has Romney trailing President Obama by 18 points among this group in Ohio, with similar gaps in other battleground states.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Fox News, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Huffington Post
The Caucus:
Santorum to Suspend Presidential Campaign — Rick Santorum is suspending his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, according two of his advisers, bowing to the inevitability of Mitt Romney's nomination and ending his improbable, come-from-behind quest to become …
Discussion:
New York Times, Outside the Beltway, GOP 12, ABCNEWS and Yahoo! Politics!
Mj Lee / Politico:
Herman Cain drops Newt Gingrich, ready to back Mitt Romney — Herman Cain made clear Tuesday that he is ready to throw his support behind Mitt Romney, making no mention of his endorsement of Newt Gingrich. — “I have always said I will support whoever the nominee is and it looks …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Hill, LifeNews.com and New York Magazine
Rick Santorum / CNN:
BREAKING: Santorum to suspend campaign
BREAKING: Santorum to suspend campaign
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, msnbc.com, Hot Air and Liberal Values
Darius Dixon / Politico:
George W. Bush: Wish tax cuts not in my name — George W. Bush said Tuesday that he wishes the tax cuts originally approved under his watch didn't carry the burden of his family name. — “I wish they weren't called the Bush tax cuts,” the former president said as he kicked off …
RELATED:
Steve Schaefer / Exile On Wall Street:
George W. Bush: I Wish They Weren't Called The Bush Tax Cuts — Former U.S. President George W. Bush called for pro-growth tax policies to create a more robust private sector Tuesday morning in a rare public appearance. — Growing the public sector is easy, Bush said, “just raise taxes.”
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Maddow Blog, GILL REPORT, The Raw Story and Dependable Renegade
Megan DeMarco / New Jersey Online:
Gov. Christie: Nation turning into ‘people sitting on a couch waiting for their next government check’
Gov. Christie: Nation turning into ‘people sitting on a couch waiting for their next government check’
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and Campaign 2012
Chris Isidore / CNNMoney.com:
Bush wishes his name wasn't attached to tax cuts
Bush wishes his name wasn't attached to tax cuts
Discussion:
Wonkette and No More Mister Nice Blog
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Health-care law will add $340 billion to deficit, new study finds — President Obama's landmark health-care initiative, long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation's budget woes over the next decade, according to a new study by a member of the board that oversees Medicare financing.
RELATED:
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Bogus Obamacare-Deficit Study
The Bogus Obamacare-Deficit Study
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, Brad DeLong and National Review
Kate Zernike / New York Times:
Report Disputes Christie's Basis for Halting Tunnel — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey exaggerated when he declared that unforeseen costs to the state were forcing him to cancel the new train tunnel planned to relieve congested routes across the Hudson River, according to a long-awaited report …
MiamiHerald.com:
The Miami Marlins announced Tuesday morning that the team has suspended manager Ozzie Guillen for five games effective immediately after his comments about Fidel Castro. — In a news conference on Tuesday during which he began by speaking Spanish, Guillen said he felt like he had betrayed …
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, USA Today, The Reaction, Guardian, Hot Air and The Daily Pulp
RELATED:
Internet Broadcasting / WPLG-TV:
Guillen suspended after Castro comment
Guillen suspended after Castro comment
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Matt Stoller / Republic Report:
Corruption Responsible for 80% of Your Cell Phone Bill — Last year, a new company called Lightsquared promised an innovative business model that would dramatically lower cell phone costs and improve the quality of service, threatening the incumbent phone operators like AT&T and Verizon.
Discussion:
Suburban Guerrilla and Crooks and Liars
Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: George Zimmerman Launches Website, Features Vandalized Black Cultural Center — According to NBC News correspondent Mara Schiavocampo, George Zimmerman has launched a new website: … On the website — therealgeorgezimmerman.com — Zimmerman solicits donations to support his “living expenses and legal defense.”
RELATED:
BuzzFeed:
Paul Ryan Claims Secret Democratic Support — They'd come out for his budget but fear they'd “get killed. Ryan on Romney: An “earnest ... throwback to the '50s. Ryan with Romney on April 3. — (Getty Images / Scott Olson) — House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan told reporters in New York today …
Discussion:
Politico, GOP 12, Weekly Standard, Daily Kos, The Brody File and Swampland
Josh Boak / Politico:
Buffett rule not solution to debt, W.H. says — The Obama administration is emphasizing “fairness” over deficit reduction in its renewed pitch for the “Buffett rule” ahead of next week's scheduled Senate vote. — Introducing a minimum 30 percent income tax on millionaires …
RELATED:
Ashley Judd / The Daily Beast:
Ashley Judd Slaps Media in the Face for Speculation Over Her ‘Puffy’ Appearance — Ashley Judd's ‘puffy’ appearance sparked a viral media frenzy. But, the actress writes, the conversation is really a misogynistic assault on all women. — The Conversation about women's bodies exists largely outside …
Scott Jaschik / Inside Higher Ed:
Study suggests students grow less interested in promoting racial understanding — By — One stereotype about college is that the experience encourages students to be more interested in diversity and promoting racial understanding. To some this is a great virtue of higher education …
Discussion:
Maggie's Farm, National Review, Gawker, Clayton Cramer's Blog and Instapundit
Michael A. Memoli / Los Angeles Times:
Obama faces pressure over same-sex marriage — As the Democratic Party considers adding support for the issue to its official platform, the president is urged to give his blessing. — Momentum is building to declare official support for same-sex marriage in the Democratic Party's platform.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Minnesota Public Radio and The Maddow Blog
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Ryan says faith helped shape his budget — House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), whose budget plan recently passed the House in a party-line vote, says his faith contributed in shaping the proposal, which he says is consistent with Catholic teachings.
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Seth / GLAAD:
GLAAD, Miss Universe announce policy change to allow transgender women — GLAAD and the Miss Universe Organization today announced that the competition would become open to transgender women. The announcement comes just weeks after contestant Jenna Talackova was disqualified from the Miss Canada pageant because she is transgender.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Joe. My. God.
NOM Blog:
NOM's New DumpStarbucks.com Campaign Goes International — Contact: Anath Hartmann or Elizabeth Ray (703-683-5004) — “Today we go international, expanding DumpStarbucks.com campaigns into Mandarin, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish and Bahala.” —Brian Brown, NOM president—
Discussion:
The New Civil Rights Movement, Joe. My. God. and Towleroad News #gay
David Dayen / Firedoglake:
Food Stamp Program Crucial to Alleviating Poverty — Lessons: Unemployed men in soup kitchen, c. 1936 (National Archives) — Now that we've exposed the flaws from cutting welfare so it cannot provide adequate benefits during an historically bad recession, we can gather a new appreciation …
Discussion:
New York Times, USDA Economic Research Service, American Power and Eschaton