Top Items:
The Caucus:
Santorum Suspends Presidential Campaign — Updated Rick Santorum suspended his presidential campaign on Tuesday, bowing to the inevitability of Mitt Romney's nomination and ending his improbable, come-from-behind quest to become the party's conservative standard-bearer in the fall.
Discussion:
CNN, American Prospect, CBS Philly, ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, Washington Examiner, FiveThirtyEight, driftglass, No More Mister Nice Blog, Advocate, The Gateway Pundit, The Blotter, Outside the Beltway, Human Rights Campaign, New York Times, News Desk, Above the Law, Taylor Marsh, americanthinker.com and Fox News
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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:
CNN, CBS News, Michelle Malkin, protein wisdom, Politico, ABCNEWS, Donklephant, The Other McCain, Wake up America, neo-neocon and Pirate's Cove
Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:
Rick Santorum ends presidential campaign after conceding to Mitt Romney in phone call — After calling Mitt Romney to say he is ending his presidential campaign, Rick Santorum announced the end of his presidential campaign Tuesday during a press conference in Pennsylvania, his home state.
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:
The Hill, ABCNEWS, American Prospect, Hot Air, Nice Deb, msnbc.com, ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, Shakesville, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, 2012 Decoded, The Maddow Blog, Swampland, Little Green Footballs, Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, GOP 12, The Page, Politico, Taegan Goddard's …, Campaign 2012, Vodkapundit, Yahoo! News, CNN, Ballot Box, Ezra Klein, New York Magazine, American Power, Washington Wire, Conservatives4Palin and Pew Research Center …
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:
CNN, Gawker, CANNONFIRE, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, Truth Wins Out and The Huffington Post
Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama leads Romney by 13 in Colorado — Barack Obama's opened up a 13 point lead on Mitt Romney in Colorado at 53-40. He's gained 11 points in the state since December when he led just 47-45. — The formula for Obama's gains is the same in Colorado as it is everywhere.
Discussion:
Ballot Box and The Colorado Independent
Politico:
Rick Santorum drops 2012 campaign for president — Rick Santorum announced Tuesday afternoon that he is ending his campaign for the presidency, effectively closing out the GOP primary season and cementing Mitt Romney's status as his party's presumptive nominee.
Discussion:
CNN, The New Republic and NetRight Daily
Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
How Romney can solve his woman problem
How Romney can solve his woman problem
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Booman Tribune, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Mahablog, Fox News and The Huffington Post
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Santorum quits the race
Mj Lee / Politico:
Herman Cain drops Newt Gingrich, ready to back Mitt Romney
Herman Cain drops Newt Gingrich, ready to back Mitt Romney
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, The Hill, Indecision Forever, LifeNews.com, Liberal Values and New York Magazine
Michael O'Brien / msnbc.com:
Rick Santorum suspends his 2012 presidential campaign at an event in Gettysburg, Pa.
Rick Santorum suspends his 2012 presidential campaign at an event in Gettysburg, Pa.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune
Steve Benen / Associated Press:
Santorum stands down — A week ago today, Rick Santorum …
Santorum stands down — A week ago today, Rick Santorum …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Campaign 2012, RedState, The Barrometer, ThinkProgress and The Right Sphere
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Santorum Folds
Santorum Folds
Discussion:
Politico, New York Magazine and The Daily Dish
The Fox Mole / Gawker:
Announcing Our Newest Hire: A Current Fox News Channel Employee — What follows is the inaugural column of a person we are calling The Fox Mole—a long-standing, current employee of Fox News Channel who will be providing Gawker with regular dispatches from inside the organization.
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Christian Heinze / The Hill:
Gingrich: I should tattoo my forehead ‘All the way to Tampa’
Gingrich: I should tattoo my forehead ‘All the way to Tampa’
Discussion:
Indecision Forever
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 …
Discussion:
The POH Diaries, Daily Kos, Hot Air and Althouse
RELATED:
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:
Mediaite, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and Campaign 2012
Steve Schaefer / Exile On Wall Street:
George W. Bush: I Wish They Weren't Called The Bush Tax Cuts
George W. Bush: I Wish They Weren't Called The Bush Tax Cuts
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Jane Dough, The Maddow Blog, GILL REPORT, The Raw Story and Dependable Renegade
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The Bogus Obamacare-Deficit Study — Little did Obama know there is no Medicare crisis. — The Washington Post has an apparent blockbuster story today. It reports that a new study finds that Obamacare will increase the budget deficit, not decrease it, as the Congressional Budget Office has found:
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, ACS Blog, Ezra Klein, National Review, Brad DeLong and Lawyers, Guns & Money
RELATED:
Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:
Health-care law will add $340 billion to deficit, new study finds
Health-care law will add $340 billion to deficit, new study finds
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:
The Brody File, American Prospect, Washington Monthly, Politico, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Indecision Forever, GOP 12, Mother Jones and Swampland
Jeffrey Lord / American Spectator:
Huckabee Show Opens With Staged Caller — Wow. — As we often say here: you just can't make it up. — Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee took his first phone call of his new talk radio call-in show yesterday. From “Mike in San Francisco.” Remember: the show is being positioned …
Discussion:
Politico, Mediaite, GOP 12 and Riehl World View
John Cook / Gawker:
New York Times Reporter Blasts Boss In Email to 150 of His Best Friends — A few weeks ago, New York Times science and health reporter Don McNeil sent out a scathing email to colleagues attacking Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. for piloting a “ghost ship” and running off to the Himalayas …
Discussion:
New York Magazine and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
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, US Politics and Crooks and Liars
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 …
Maureen O'Connor / Gawker:
‘I May Give Up Writing and Work as a Butler’: Interview with John Derbyshire — After publishing an article advising his children to avoid black people, writer John Derbyshire lost his column at uber-conservative magazine The National Review and weathered a firestorm of outrage this weekend.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Wire, rightwingwatch.org, The Spectacle Blog, First Draft, Vox Popoli and National Review
Jordan Michael Smith / Salon:
Bush aide blasts torture — Philip Zelikow tried to warn Bush on interrogations. Now he's penned an authoritative article on how he was ignored — The Bush administration hasn't heard the last from Philip Zelikow. After the rediscovery last week of his long lost 2006 anti-torture memo …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress and Unqualified Offerings
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, Gawker, National Review, Clayton Cramer's Blog and Instapundit
Cynthia Sewell / Idaho Statesman:
KKK mailing renews resolve of Idaho legislator — Cherie Buckner-Webb, right, talking with fellow Democratic Rep. Elaine Smith during a committee meeting, said of the KKK: “I can't hate them. Harboring hatred against anyone is not OK for me.” — When Rep. Cherie Buckner-Webb travels around …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and The Raw Story
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Crossroads debuts $1.7M ad buy slamming Obama energy policies — A conservative political action committee is going up with a new television commercial — backed by a $1.7 million ad buy — slamming President Obama's energy policies. — The ad, titled “Too Much,” accuses the president …
Discussion:
CNN
Nick R. Martin / tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPMMuckraker — Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Legal Bulldog Faces Disbarment — If things went differently, Andrew Thomas might have had a bright career in Arizona politics. — In six years as the top prosecutor in Maricopa County, he stood side-by-side with Sheriff Joe Arpaio and earned …
Discussion:
emptywheel, The Raw Story, Booman Tribune, Colorlines, Talking Points Memo and ThinkProgress
Centers for Disease Control:
NCHS Data Brief — Number 89, April 2012 — Birth Rates for U.S. Teenagers Reach Historic Lows for All Age and Ethnic Groups — Brady E. Hamilton, Ph.D., and Stephanie J. Ventura, M.A. — Key findings — Data from the Natality Data File, National Vital Statistics System
Discussion:
Hit & Run, thechart.blogs.cnn.com, Economix, Ezra Klein and TheGazette