memeorandum: May PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey (Public Religion Research Institute)

5:55 PM ET, May 10, 2012

Top Items:

Jason Horowitz / Washington Post:

Mitt Romney's prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents — BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Mitt Romney returned from a three-week spring break in 1965 to resume his studies as a high school senior at the prestigious Cranbrook School. Back on the handsome campus …

Discussion: Mediaite, CNN, Washington Monthly, Power Line, The Hill, Bloomberg, The Huffington Post, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Politicker, The Moderate Voice, The Caucus, Politico, BuzzFeed, nation.foxnews.com, PoliticusUSA, Los Angeles Times, LGBTQ Nation, The Other McCain, BuzzFeed, Via Meadia, Reuters, Addicting Info, Human Rights Campaign, The Atlantic Wire, msnbc.com, ABCNEWS, I Should Be Laughing, Guardian, RedState, The Daily Caller, Washington Wire, Taking Note, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012, Poynter, Hullabaloo, FreakOutNation, US Politics, Rod Dreher, Wonkette, No More Mister Nice Blog, Booman Tribune, The Gateway Pundit, Business Insider, Indecision Forever, The Reality-Based Community, National Review, New York Magazine, GOP 12, The Maddow Blog, The New Republic, The Right Sphere, The PJ Tatler, protein wisdom, The Lonely Conservative, Shakesville, Mother Jones, Towleroad News #gay, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Dish, Daily Kos, Blue Mass Group, Althouse, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Gay Politics and Joe. My. God., more at Mediagazer »

Emily Friedman / ABCNEWS:

Romney Camp on Defense Over ‘Pranks’ — ABC News' Emily Friedman, Emily Stanitz and Steven Portnoy report: — One of Mitt Romney's closest friends and a high school classmate has been asked by the Romney campaign to come out and offer “supporting remarks” in defense of the candidate following …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, The Right Scoop, RedState, The Right Sphere, Daily Kos, The PJ Tatler and Guardian

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The Content of Romney's Character — A young Mitt Romney, relaxing with friends. — It is a horrendous coincidence of timing for Mitt Romney that the day after President Obama ceased his elaborate wink-and-nod game and endorsed gay marriage, Jason Horowitz reports that Romney bullied a gay classmate at his prep school.

Discussion: Mother Jones

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:

Mitt Romney Outed As Anti-Gay High School Bully — Last year's string of heartbreaking suicides by young members of the LGBT community who had been bullied by their classmates led hundreds of celebrities, sports teams, politicians and ordinary citizens to record “It Gets Better” videos.

Discussion: Advocate, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post and Business Insider

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Cutting-edge reporting from WaPo: Let's take an in-depth look at ... Romney's cruel high-school pranks — And so the general election media coverage begins. I guess the Washington Post ran out of stories based on Seamus the Roof-Ridin' Dog. Despite demonstrating zero curiosity …

Discussion: Washington Post, PoliticusUSA, The Hill, Business Insider, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney apologizes for high school pranks that ‘might have gone too far’

Discussion: Politicker, Hot Air, Daily Kos, GayPatriot and Wonkette

Justin Sink / The Hill: Romney on prank: ‘Back in high school I did some dumb things’

Tlc / The Talk of the Times:
Young Obama Bullied....A Girl

Discussion: Instapundit and National Review

Washington Post:
Mitt Romney's prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents

Discussion: Mediaite and The Raw Story

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Romney Apologizes For ‘Hijinks’ But Won't Acknowledge Specific Attack

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Little Green Footballs, American Prospect, Campaign 2012, Balloon Juice, Gawker, Shakesville, Towleroad News #gay and The Daily Dish

Washington Post: Mitt Romney's prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents

Bristol Palin:

Hail to the Chiefs - Malia and Sasha Obama — Is anyone really surprised by the fact that President Obama came out of the closet for gay marriage? What was most surprising is when he explained how his position (supposedly) “evolved,” by talking to his wife and daughters: … Let's pause for just one second.

Discussion: Politicker, Business Insider, Advocate, LGBTQ Nation, Wonkette, BuzzFeed, TBogg, Mediaite, Human Rights Campaign, Outsports, GOP 12, ABCNEWS, Gawker, Good As You, Truthdig and Hit & Run

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

House strikes back on gay marriage — Just hours after President Barack Obama publicly backed gay marriage, the House struck back and passed a measure aimed at reinforcing the Defense of Marriage Act. — With a 245-171 vote, the House voted to stop the Justice Department from using taxpayer funds …

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

News Analysis: Obama's Watershed Move on Gay Marriage — President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage on Wednesday was by any measure a watershed. A sitting United States president took sides in what many people consider the last civil rights movement, providing the most powerful evidence …

Aliyah Shahid / NY Daily News:

Bristol Palin rips President Obama for listening to daughters Malia, Sasha on supporting gay marriage — Palin — a single mom herself — argued children are raised in homes where there is both a mother and a father — Bristol Palin ripped President Obama on Thursday for allowing his daughters …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and ABCNEWS

Charles Mahtesian / Politico:
Barack Obama's seven states of grief over gay marriage

Discussion: Salon, Rush Limbaugh, americanthinker.com, Towleroad News #gay, The PJ Tatler, US Politics and National Review

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Black voters in NC supported Amendment One by 2-1 margin

Discussion: Politico, ABCNEWS, Weasel Zippers and RedState

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:
Biden With the Assist: Veep Again Dumb Like a Fox

Discussion: Hotline On Call, 2012 Decoded and Weasel Zippers

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Why ABC's Robin Roberts got the exclusive

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Gawker, Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop, TVNewser, Washington Free Beacon and ABCNEWS

Carlo Munoz / The Hill:
House Armed Services vote bans gay marriage on military bases

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Los Angeles Times

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:
Obama and Romney Alike Face Political Risks on Gay Marriage

Discussion: CBS News, The Daily Caller, CNN and GOP 12

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama on Biden: ‘Got Out a Little Bit Over His Skis’ — Vice President Joe Biden is at least part of the reason President Barack Obama came out in favor of same sex marriage yesterday, the president admitted in the interview on the issue with ABC's Robin Roberts:

Discussion: Hot Air, justoneminute.typepad.com, GayPatriot, Althouse and Instapundit

John H. Cushman Jr / The Caucus:
Biden Got Out ‘Over His Skis,’ Says Obama

Discussion: Politico, Outside the Beltway, Connecting.the.Dots, New York Times, Mother Jones and Weekly Standard

CNN:
Source: Obama had planned marriage announcement on ‘The View’

Discussion: Hot Air, TVNewser, Politico and NO QUARTER

Rasmussen Reports:

Wisconsin Recall Election: Walker 50%, Barrett 45% — Embattled Republican Governor Scott Walker holds a five-point lead over his newly nominated Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in Wisconsin's special recall election. — A new Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey shows that 50% …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, Weekly Standard, The PJ Tatler and National Review

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama Ad Claims to Have Helped Man Get a Job, but Man Claims Employment Since 2006 — Matt Negrin of ABC reports that “A new ad by Obama tells the story of Brian Slagle, an autoworker in Ohio who says he was laid off and ‘scared to death’ until the president swooped in to save the industry.”

Discussion: msnbc.com and The Right Sphere

Matt Negrin / ABCNEWS:
Spotlight on Autoworker in Obama's Latest Ad

Discussion: Toledo Blade, Business Insider, Wake up America and Balloon Juice

Ryan J. Reilly / tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMMuckraker — Justice Department Sues Sheriff Joe Arpaio Over Alleged Latino Abuse — The Justice Department finally filed suit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, accusing the Arizona official of engaging “in a pattern or practice …

Discussion: The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Instapundit and Stinque

New York Times:
Justice Department Sues Arizona Sheriff

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Noah Bierman / Boston Globe:

Records shed more light on Elizabeth Warren's minority status — A second law school, the University of Pennsylvania, has touted Elizabeth Warren as a minority faculty member in an official school publication, according to an online document obtained by the Globe.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and The PJ Tatler

James Hansen / New York Times:

Game Over for the Climate — GLOBAL warming isn't a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read a recent interview with President Obama in Rolling Stone in which he said that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves “regardless of what we do.”

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy, ThinkProgress, Politico and Pirate's Cove

BuzzFeed:

How Barack Obama Lost Hollywood — Last time they fell in love, volunteered, gave millions, but now “they hate him.” Can gay pride and a Clooney bash make his star twinkle again? — Source: flickr.com — LOS ANGELES, Calif. — On Tuesday night, comedian Jon Lovitz stood in the green room …

Discussion: Rational Irrationality, Hot Air and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse — The first shock came when Mordechai Jungreis learned that his mentally disabled teenage son was being molested in a Jewish ritual bathhouse in Brooklyn. The second came after Mr. Jungreis complained, and the man accused of the abuse was arrested.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Mondoweiss and CNN

TMZ.com:

George Clooney's House Under Mega-Lockdown for President Obama Event — George Clooney's L.A. home is getting the Fort Knox treatment for his big Obama fundraiser tonight — because TMZ has learned, security's so tight ... even the back-up has back-up. — Law enforcement sources tell TMZ …

Discussion: Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller and FishbowlDC