memeorandum: Top Earners Can Find Ways Around Buffett Rule (Richard Rubin/Bloomberg)

10:45 AM ET, April 13, 2012

Top Items:

Jonathan Martinand Maggie Haberman / Politico:

The Draperizing of Mitt Romney — The Draperizing of Mitt Romney is under way. — He may not drink or cheat, and he lacks the fictional ad-maker's charisma, but Democrats, despite the potential perils of such a strategy, remain determined to paint Romney as a throwback to the “Mad Men” …

Discussion: Media Decoder and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:

This Is What A Twitter Firestorm Looks Like — The outrage over Hilary Rosen's criticism of Ann Romney peaked, and has begun to fall.

Discussion: Townhall.com, ABCNEWS, New York Times, Hot Air and Politico

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:

Joe Biden: ‘War on women is real’ — Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday he believes the right's “war on women is real” and could be particularly salient during the multiple Supreme Court appointments he expects to come during the next president's term. — “I think the war on women is real …

Discussion: Shakesville, Weasel Zippers, CNN, The Daily Caller, Jammie Wearing Fools, Washington Post, Mediaite and USA Today

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

The Battle of All Mothers — Hilary Rosen and the misogynistic foundation of contemporary feminism. — In a February article about the unwieldily named Democratic National Committee chairman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, The Wall Street Journal noted that “Obama advisers have occasionally told …

Discussion: Vox Popoli, Don Surber, Salon, Campaign 2012, Newsy and The Huffington Post

Matt K. Lewis / The Daily Caller:

The flap over Hillary Rosen's comments disparaging stay-at-home-moms like Ann Romney has gotten a lot of play. I've been on the record (okay, on Twitter) mocking the feigned Republican outrage. Something about it just didn't sit well with me. — This, of course, puts me at odds with the Republican …

Discussion: RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Scared Monkeys and Business Insider

ABCNEWS:
Obama Rejects Rosen's Comments on Ann Romney

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, The PJ Tatler, Mediaite, Power Line, Slate, Donklephant, Washington Post, Business Insider, Guardian, CNN, nation.foxnews.com, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Politico and The Spectacle Blog

New York Times:
Obamas and Bidens to Release Tax Returns

Discussion: msnbc.com and Economist

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org blogs:
NOW Prez: Ann Romney Lacks ‘Life Experience’ And ‘Imagination’

Discussion: Hot Air and americanthinker.com

Maggie Haberman / Politico:
Romney fundraising appeal off Rosengate in 3, 2, 1...

Discussion: alicublog and Althouse

BuzzFeed:
Stay At Home Motherhood Isn't A Luxury, Census Data Shows

Discussion: The Caucus

CNN:
Rosen apologizes over comments against Ann Romney

Choe Sang-Hun / New York Times:

Failed North Korean Launch a Setback for Kim Jong-un — SEOUL, South Korea — For the new North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, who completed the last step in his hurried ascension to power in Pyongyang on Friday, his government's failure to put a satellite into orbit is a $1 billion humiliation.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, The Gateway Pundit and Outside the Beltway

Reuters:

Embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may try nuclear test — (Reuters) - North Korea said its much hyped long-range rocket launch failed on Friday, in a very rare and embarrassing public admission of failure by the hermit state and a blow for its new young leader who faces international outrage over the attempt.

Discussion: FP Passport and New York Magazine

Wall Street Journal:
North Korean Launch Fails

Discussion: Washington Post, americanthinker.com, The BLT, CNN and TVNewser

Ju-min Park / Reuters:
North Korea's rocket launch ends in failure: South Korea

Discussion: GILL REPORT and Little Green Footballs

Telegraph: North Korea acknowledges rocket failure

Associated Press:
North Korea fires long-range rocket

Discussion: Guardian, ABCNEWS and CNN

Tim Schwarz / CNN:
North Korea rocket appears to have broken up

Discussion: Politico, Foreign Policy, Stars & Stripes, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, iOwnTheWorld.com, News Desk and Campaign 2012

New Jersey Online:

Newark Mayor Cory Booker taken to hospital after rescuing woman from house fire — NEWARK — Newark Mayor Cory Booker was taken to a hospital tonight for treatment of smoke inhalation he suffered trying to rescue his next-door neighbors from their burning house.

Discussion: CBS News, JustOneMinute, Politico, CNN, Indecision Forever, News Desk, Mediaite, msnbc.com, Business Insider, Gawker, Jezebel, Wonkette, newsfeed.time.com, Taegan Goddard's … and New York Magazine

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Harvard Prof. Alan Dershowitz: Zimmerman Arrest Affidavit ‘Irresponsible And Unethical’ — Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz appeared on MSNBC's Hardball where fill-in host Michel Smerconish asked him his opinions of the arrest warrant issued and carried out for alleged Trayvon Martin murderer, George Zimmerman.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, JustOneMinute, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, Macsmind, msnbc.com, Orlando Sentinel and Trayvon Martin

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

Fox News Poll: Romney Edges Obama as Approval of President Drops — April 11: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, waves before addressing an audience during a campaign event, in Warwick, R.I.AP — Republican Mitt Romney holds a slim edge over President Obama …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Weekly Standard, americanthinker.com, GILL REPORT, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, American Power, Politico and Jammie Wearing Fools

Politico:

Newt Gingrich rents donor list to raise cash — Desperate times in the Newt Gingrich camp have called for desperate measures. — Scrambling to dig himself out of a $4.5 million hole, the former House speaker has resorted to renting his presidential campaign's most valuable asset - its donor list - for as much as $26,000-a-pop.

Discussion: Hot Air and BuzzFeed

Dylan Stableford / Yahoo! News:
Newt Gingrich: ‘CNN is less biased than Fox’

Discussion: Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, The Hill, NewsHounds blog, The Caucus, CNN and TVNewser

Melody Guyton Butts / Durham Herald-Sun:

Ailes lectures young journalists — CHAPEL HILL - Fox News chief Roger Ailes offered more than a few words of advice Thursday in a room filled mostly with young journalists, starting with a recommendation that elicited at least a few eye rolls: “I think you ought to change your major.”

Discussion: GOP 12 and TVNewser, more at Mediagazer »

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama Hammered for ‘Jetting Around,’ Taking Vacations While Americans Suffer — President Obama, during an interview with St. Louis's KMOV, was hammered for “jetting around, [taking] different vacations and so forth, sometimes ... under the color of state business.”

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Alia Beard Rau / Arizona Republic:

Brewer signs bill banning most abortions after 20 weeks — Gov. Jan Brewer has signed a bill into law banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and making numerous other changes to abortion regulations. — The new law will likely go into effect sometime in July, depending on when the Legislature ends its session.

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Allison Yarrow / The Daily Beast:
Governor Jan Brewer Signs Arizona's Extreme New Abortion Law

Discussion: Firedoglake, Jezebel, iOwnTheWorld.com and Mother Jones

Mark Tapscott / Campaign 2012:

What's Color of Change hiding about itself? — Coca Cola executives who recently decided to stop supporting the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) did so in response to demands from an obscure left-wing activist group, Color of Change (COC). So were executives of giant candy-maker Mars …

Discussion: ALEC

Richard Rubin / Bloomberg:

Top Earners Can Find Ways Around Buffett Rule — The highest-earning U.S. households have ways to escape President Barack Obama's Buffett rule with tax-planning techniques that would limit their liability and undermine the proposal's purpose. — Those affected taxpayers …

Timothy P. Carney / Campaign 2012:
The real Buffett Rule: Tax cuts for corporate jets

Discussion: Hit & Run

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Cannibalize the Future — One general rule of modern politics is that the people who talk most about future generations — who go around solemnly declaring that we're burdening our children with debt — are, in practice, the people most eager to sacrifice our future for short-term political gain.