memeorandum: François Hollande's Victory Sharpens European Austerity Debate (Alan Cowell/New York Times)

6:30 PM ET, May 7, 2012

Top Items:

Mark Halperin / Swampland:

The View from One Prudential Plaza: Why the Obama Campaign Is So Confident About Beating Romney — President Obama pauses while speaking at a campaign event in Columbus, Ohio, on May 5, 2012 — Barack Obama's decision to base his re-election campaign outside of Washington seems to be working pretty darn well.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, GOP 12, ABCNEWS and Taylor Marsh

BuzzFeed:

Romney Silent As Woman Says Obama Should Be Tried For Treason — A town hall bubbles over. — EUCLID, Ohio — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney didn't comment on a supporter's assertion that President Barack Obama should be tried for treason at a town hall event here.

Discussion: Plain Dealer, Mediaite, Race 4 2012, Daily Kos, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog and Guardian

James Hohmann / Politico:

Battleground Poll: Obama, Romney in dead heat — A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll finds a dead heat in the presidential race six months before the election. — Mitt Romney edged out President Barack Obama 48 percent to 47 percent among likely voters …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, The Other McCain, GOP 12, Business Insider, Campaign 2012, Wake up America, Weasel Zippers, LifeNews.com, Hit & Run, ThinkProgress, White House Dossier, No More Mister Nice Blog, msnbc.com, American Spectator, The Page, Associated Press and National Review

Susan Page / USA Today:

Swing states' poll: Big challenges loom for Obama, Romney — Six months out, it's a tie. — The first USA TODAY/Gallup Swing States Poll since the GOP settled on a presumptive nominee shows big challenges for each side: Mitt Romney in generating enthusiasm and a personal connection with his supporters …

Discussion: Politico, Business Insider, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, 2012 Decoded, Guardian, Hot Air, Mediaite, Campaign 2012, CNN, GOP 12, The Hill and National Review

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Obama team: Romney must rebuke ‘extreme voices’ after ‘treason’ call at rally — President Obama's campaign is looking to seize on a pair of controversial comments by supporters at Mitt Romney's town hall meeting in Cleveland Monday, calling on the presumptive Republican nominee to “stand up to the extreme voices in his party.”

Discussion: Politico, Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Barack Obama Accused Of Treason At Mitt Romney Town Hall (VIDEO)

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Politicker, Indecision Forever, Washington Free Beacon and Associated Press

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Romney Refuses To Stand Up To Woman Who Says Obama Should Be ‘Tried For Treason’

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Washington Post, The Maddow Blog, Weasel Zippers and The Stranger …

Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Obama-Romney Race Competitive in 2012 Swing States

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Politico, msnbc.com, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, American Prospect, The Daily Caller, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice and GOP 12

Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
It's the Economy, Smartypants

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, ABCNEWS and CNN

Adam Goldman / Associated Press:

US: CIA thwarts new al-Qaida underwear bomb plot — WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA thwarted an ambitious plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, The Associated Press has learned.

Discussion: The Hill, Guardian, New York Magazine, Politicker, Mediaite, Gothamist, ThinkProgress, Poynter, Business Insider and The Stranger …, more at Mediagazer »

msnbc.com:
Report: CIA foiled al-Qaida plot to destroy US-bound airliner

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Hot Air

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Those Revolting Europeans — The French are revolting. The Greeks, too. And it's about time. — Both countries held elections Sunday that were in effect referendums on the current European economic strategy, and in both countries voters turned two thumbs down.

Tim Mak / Politico:
Blogs: A French lesson for Obama

Discussion: Facebook, ABCNEWS and Human Events

The Independent:
Nabila Ramdani: François Hollande will strike fear into the hearts of the rich

Discussion: The Daily Caller, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Associated Press, Telegraph and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

Alan Cowell / New York Times:
François Hollande's Victory Sharpens European Austerity Debate

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The New Republic and ThinkProgress

Matthew Lee / Associated Press:

Clinton hopes to see female US president — KOLKATA, India (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday she has no desire to make another run for the White House but hopes to see an American woman president in her lifetime. — Politely turning aside questions …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Outside the Beltway, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller and Shakesville

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:

Hillary Clinton : I will see a woman in White House — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday the United States will have a female president in her lifetime — but it won't be her. — Clinton said at a town hall meeting in Kolkata, India, that she wants to see “that final glass ceiling broken,” The Associated Press reported.

Discussion: The Hill and The PJ Tatler

Amy Bingham / ABCNEWS:
Chelsea Clinton's Childhood: No Pizza, Cartoons on Weekdays

Discussion: Gretawire

BuzzFeed:

Mitt Romney Was Arrested For Disorderly Conduct In 1981 — The charges were dropped after Romney threatened to sue. “I was not a disorderly person,” Romney said. — Mitt Romney campaigns in Pittsburgh. — It's a little reported anecdote, but in 1981 presumptive Republican Presidential …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Catholic Bandita, Naked DC, Daily Kos, GOP 12 and Indecision Forever

Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin:

Obama administration advises new French president: For sake of world economy, don't raise taxes and increase spending — “Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes...” — President Obama was quick to invite France's Socialist president-elect to Washington for a visit, but the White House …

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, Weasel Zippers and Campaign 2012

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
WATCH: White House Hounded By Questions About Obama's Same-Sex Marriage Position For 21 Minutes

Discussion: Firedoglake, ABCNEWS and Towleroad News #gay

BuzzFeed:
Report: Rahm Emanuel Doubts New French President

Discussion: Washington Post, Guardian, Elysée and Hullabaloo

Adweek:

Secret Meeting Has ‘Washington Post’ Buzzing As paper struggles, big-name journalists meet with the paper's top business exec By Lucia Moses — Washington Post staffers are buzzing about a secret meeting between some 10 big-name Post journalists including Dana Priest, David Finkel and Carol Leonnig …

Discussion: Poynter, FishbowlDC, Mediaite, Capital New York, Politico, New York Magazine and JIMROMENESKO.COM, more at Mediagazer »

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:
The Washington Post Is In Even Worse Shape Than You Think

Discussion: The Other McCain, Poynter, JIMROMENESKO.COM and Eschaton, more at Mediagazer »

Amanda Terkel / The Huffington Post:

Rick Berg, GOP Senate Candidate In North Dakota, Stumped On Minimum Wage (VIDEO) … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Video, North Dakota, North Dakota Democratic Party, Heidi Heitkamp, Minimum Wage, Rick-Berg, Rick-Berg-Campaign-Ad, Politics News — WASHINGTON — Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.) …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Maddow Blog

BuzzFeed:

Delta Pulls “Daily Show” Ads After Catholic Complaints — Catholic League chief Bill Donohue is still on his campaign against Jon Stewart for a weeks-old “vagina manger” bit. The next target: Kellogg's. — Catholic League president Bill Donohue declared an early victory in his campaign …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Mediaite

Daily Mail:

ENDANGERED SPECIES IN CHINESE MEDICINES — Chinese alternative medicines contain traces of endangered species, a study has found. — Many of the remedies are more than 2,000 years old - and claim to be alternative methods for curing disease. — The use of rhino horns in Chinese medicines has been widely criticised.

Discussion: China Real Time Report, National Review, Newsy, LifeNews.com and NewsBusters.org blogs

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

This 93-Year-Old Grandmother Is Suing Pennsylvania Over Voter ID Laws — The first time Viviette Applewhite went to the polls, she cast her vote for John F. Kennedy. But this year, a strict new voter identification law will likely prevent the now-93-year old woman and many others in Pennsylvania …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and FreakOutNation

Bloomberg:

Look Who's Pushing Homeowners Off the Foreclosure Cliff — One of the more confounding aspects of the U.S. housing crisis has been the reluctance of lenders to do more to assist troubled borrowers. After all, when homes go into foreclosure, banks lose money.

Discussion: Eschaton

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

Comparing Gary Johnson to Past Libertarian Party Nominees — He has the most executive experience and the potential to win votes from conservatives and liberals. — Over the weekend the Libertarian Party decided that Gary Johnson would be its presidential nominee. He's likely to appear on the ballot in all 50 states.

Discussion: A plain blog about politics and The Snitch

Kevin Sieff / Washington Post:

Secret U.S. program releases high-level insurgents in exchange for pledges of peace — KABUL — The United States has for several years been secretly releasing high-level detainees from a military prison in Afghanistan as part of negotiations with insurgent groups, a bold effort to quell violence …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, The Enterprise Blog, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Power Line, The Jawa Report, Reuters, New York Magazine, This ain't Hell …, Atlas Shrugs and The PJ Tatler

ABCNEWS:

Rob Portman: No More Mr. Nice Guy — He's polite, smart and a little nerdy. But as Rob Portman has climbed to the top of the list of potential running mates for Mitt Romney, the political world is now seeing a different side of him: the attack dog. — Just over the past week …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and GOP 12