memeorandum: Obama kicks off re-election campaign in Columbus (Jim Provance/Toledo Blade)

12:40 PM 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.

Ted Strickland / CNN:

Strickland, Davis weigh in on crucial battleground states — (CNN) - With Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama focusing on Ohio and Virginia in recent days, two former leaders from those battleground states added their input Sunday on who will carry the states this fall.

Discussion: Politico

Carlo Munoz / The Hill:

Gingrich 'can't imagine' being VP — Days after ending his run for the GOP presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich said Sunday he would not accept the Republican vice presidential slot if offered, and said Romney should focus on picking a young running mate.

Discussion: CNN and Politico

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Rubio: Obama ‘has become like everyone else in Washington’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jim Provance / Toledo Blade:
Obama kicks off re-election campaign in Columbus

Discussion: BuzzFeed, The Gateway Pundit and ABCNEWS

New York Times:
Obama Formally Kicks Off Campaign With Rallies in Ohio and Virginia

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers and Gothamist

Glenn Thrush / Politico: Obama kickoff: Hope, change and Mitt

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Joe Biden Endorses Same-Sex Marriage — Vice President Joe Biden has endorsed same-sex marriage, becoming the highest ranking American official to back marriage for gay and lesbian people. His comments signify a split within the Obama administration and may pave the way for President Obama …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Raw Story, Washington Post, Guardian and Joe. My. God.

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Biden: ‘Comfortable’ giving equal rights to same-sex couples — Vice President Joe Biden voiced his support for same-sex couples having “the same exact rights” as heterosexual couples. — “I am Vice President of the United States of America,” Biden said on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ABCNEWS, CNN, Politico, BuzzFeed and Firedoglake

Arnold Schwarzenegger / Los Angeles Times:

GOP, take down that small tent — California's Republican Party used to work toward solutions. Now it's an exclusive club where members' ideological cards must be checked at the door. — From left: Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Nathan Fletcher. (National Archives, Bob Galbraith …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, State of the Union and CNN

Charles Mahtesian / Politico:

Schwarzenegger: GOP too narrow, rigid — Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the one-time darling of the California GOP who left office with almost no support within his party, resurfaces today with an Los Angeles Times op-ed that won't get him back in the GOP's good graces.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Mediaite

Glenn Harlan Reynolds / New York Post:

Spin of the Times: Bias cloaked as front-page news — It's no surprise to anyone who pays attention that mainstream media tilt their coverage in favor of Democrats and leftish ideas. But it's not confined to endless puff pieces about the president, or the ignoring of unpleasant facts.

Discussion: Althouse

Pamela Owen / Daily Mail:

Inside the Kowloon Walled City where 50,000 residents eked out a grimy living in the most densely populated place on earth — Once thought to be the most densely populated place on Earth, with 50,000 people crammed into only a few blocks, these fascinating pictures give a rare insight …

Washington Examiner:

Warren ancestry claim puts light on corrupt system — Washington Post editorial writer and liberal blogger Jonathan Capehart is puzzled. Why does the “non-issue” of Harvard law professor and Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren's Native American ancestry “require so much attention?” he asked last week.

Discussion: Althouse

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Sen. Ayotte: I'm more qualified to be president than Obama was — Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) argued she's more qualified to be president than President Obama was when he ran in 2008. — “I'll tell you this, I have great experience as attorney general in the state.

Discussion: Politico

Cristina Silva / Associated Press:

After GOP race, Gary Johnson wins Libertarian nod — LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is campaigning to win the White House as a Libertarian after receiving scant attention in the Republican presidential race. — Johnson easily became the party's presidential nominee …

Discussion: Washington Wire

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

BuzzFeed:
New Libertarian Nominee Gary Johnson Slams Republicans For Gay Staffer Flap

Discussion: Examiner and Politico

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: Little Green Footballs and Politico