memeorandum: The incredible shrinking labor force (Brad Plumer/Ezra Klein)

1:25 AM ET, May 6, 2012

Top Items:

Alexander Marlow / BREITBART.COM:

OBAMA LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN IN EMPTY ARENA — Barack Obama launched his campaign in unspectacular fashion today at Ohio State University, the largest college in the crucial swing state. A photo posted to twitter by Mitt Romney's campaign spokesman Ryan Williams reveals sparse attendance.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, The Gateway Pundit, Left Coast Rebel, Scared Monkeys, Speak With Authority, Rumproast, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, RedState, Sad Hill News and Washington Post

Jamie Klatell / The Hill:

The gloves come off as Obama launches reelection campaign — COLUMBUS, Ohio - The gloves are off. — Opening what is likely to be a bitter and grueling election, President Obama held his first official campaign rally here in the Buckeye State, cranking up his populist pitch while slamming …

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com, Hollywood Reporter, The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and The Other McCain

New York Times:

Obama Formally Kicks Off Campaign With Rallies in Ohio and Virginia — COLUMBUS, Ohio — President Obama sought to rekindle the passion of his 2008 victory with a pair of huge rallies on Saturday that signaled a new, politically aggressive phase in the debate over the country's direction …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, New York Times and Gothamist

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Obama kickoff: Hope, change and Mitt — Richmond, Va. — President Barack Obama has been in campaign mode for months, but he made it official Saturday in front of enthusiastic young supporters at two events that illustrated some old strengths and significant new hurdles for the incumbent.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Hot Air, New York Magazine and The Gateway Pundit

CNN:
Obama outlines case for re-election at first official campaign rally

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Guardian

George Talbot / Breaking News from the Press-Register:

Alabama politician Bill Johnson ‘obsessed’ with donating sperm — Bill Johnson, a former Alabama gubernatorial candidate, has left his wife and family in Prattville to be with babies he secretly conceived as a sperm donor in New Zealand. — Johnson's wife, Kathy Hale Johnson …

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Little Green Footballs and Politico

David Fisher / New Zealand Herald:

Sperm donor ‘left me for babies’ — The heartbroken wife of a politician who secretly acted as a sperm donor behind her back says he has left her to be with babies conceived with other women. — Speaking from her home in the United States, Kathy Johnson says her husband Bill has returned …

Discussion: The Raw Story

BuzzFeed:

New Libertarian Nominee Gary Johnson Slams Republicans For Gay Staffer Flap — Johnson, who just landed the official Libertarian Party nomination, indicts Republicans for the treatment of a gay Romney staffer. “It speaks volumes to the intolerance that continues to be present in the Republican Party.”

Discussion: Associated Press, Examiner and Politico

Mike Riggs / Hit & Run:
Judge Jim Gray Is the 2012 Libertarian Party Vice Presidential Nominee

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice and The Raw Story

Steven Greenhouse / New York Times:

Jobs Few, Grads Flock to Unpaid Internships — Confronting the worst job market in decades, many college graduates who expected to land paid jobs are turning to unpaid internships to try to get a foot in an employer's door. — While unpaid postcollege internships have long existed in the film …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:

Bill Maher Tears Into Romney For Giving Money To Mormon Church Instead Of Directly To Charity — On last week's edition of Real Time, Bill Maher argued during the panel discussion that Mitt Romney should be giving money to an actual charity rather than just the standard tithe to the Mormon church.

Discussion: The Raw Story and The Other McCain

Anne Sorock / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:

“Julia”: Obama marketing machine fail — In the days since the unveiling of the Obama campaign's cartoon Julia, critics on both the left and the right have laughed off the cradle-to-grave depiction of life with Big Brother handling everything for “its women”:

Discussion: New York Times and Doug Ross

Chris McGreal / Guardian:

US should return stolen land to Indian tribes, says United Nations — UN's correspondent on indigenous peoples urges government to act to combat ‘racial discrimination’ felt by Native Americans — A United Nations investigator probing discrimination against Native Americans has called …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Israel Matzav, The Agonist, Conservatives4Palin and Weasel Zippers

Brad Plumer / Ezra Klein:

The incredible shrinking labor force — If the same percentage of adults were in the workforce today as when Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be 11.1 percent. If the percentage was where it was when George W. Bush took office, the unemployment rate would be 13.1 percent.

Discussion: Brad DeLong, The Talking Dog, Althouse, Daily Kos and Washington Post

Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: Former President Clinton opposes NC amendment that would ban gay marriage — RALEIGH, N.C. — Former President Bill Clinton has recorded an audio advertisement opposing North Carolina's proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Advocate