memeorandum: Syria says U.S. allied to “terrorists” in country (Marwan Makdessi/Reuters)

6:00 PM ET, May 12, 2012

Top Items:

Rand Paul / CNN:

Sen. Paul: I didn't think Obama's ‘views on marriage could get any gayer’ — (CNN) - Sen. Rand Paul on Friday brushed off Barack Obama's recent reversal on same-sex marriage by saying he didn't think the president's views “could get any gayer.” — The remarks from the Republican senator …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:

Mitt Romney uses Jimmy Carter as campaign weapon — FORT LUPTON, Colo. — For President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney is an obvious throwback to another era — a stiff Father Knows Best type who straps the dog to the station wagon and marries his high-school sweetheart.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and No More Mister Nice Blog

Ginger Gibson / Politico:

Evangelicals: Mitt Romney hit right note — LYNCHBURG, Va. — Evangelical leaders praised Mitt Romney's speech today at Liberty University, saying that the Mormon candidate was right to acknowledge his religious differences with other Christian voters. — “It was an acknowledgment …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Virginia / CNN:

Romney builds inter-faith bridge in Liberty U commencement address — Lynchburg, Virginia (CNN) - Mitt Romney used the commencement address he delivered Saturday at Liberty University to draw lines between the faith of the evangelical university - especially its founder, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell - and his own.

Discussion: Politico and ABCNEWS

Kathie Obradovich / Des Moines Register:
Rand Paul: GOP needs Paul supporters to grow

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Sam Baker / Ballot Box:
Romney only touches on gay marriage in evangelical college speech

Discussion: CNN

Chip Reid / CBS News:
Romney address at Liberty Univ. sparks controversy

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:

Mitt Romney's Support Of Same-Sex Adoption Lasts One Day — Among Mitt Romney's timid responses this week after President Obama's endorsement of marriage equality was an admission that he was “fine” with same-sex couples adopting children, saying, “that's something that people have a right to do.”

Discussion: Mediaite, Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog and ABCNEWS

Maggie Haberman / Politico:

Bush '04 pollster: Change in attitudes on gay marriage across the board — Former President George W. Bush's pollster for his 2004 re-election, Jan van Lohuizen, has put out a memo to Republican operatives suggesting a shift in the way the GOP discusses same-sex marriage, a piece flagged by Jonathan Martin.

Discussion: Gawker, Mediaite and Towleroad News #gay

Matthew Shelley / NationalJournal.com:

Romney Backs Away From Gay Adoptions — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Friday backed away from his support of adoptions by gay couples, saying that he simply “acknowledges” the legality of such adoptions in many states.

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, The Moderate Voice, Wonkette, Hullabaloo and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Top GOP Pollster to GOP: Reverse On Gay Issues

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Libertarian Patriot and Guardian

Walt Cronkite / NationalJournal.com:
Romney Says He's ‘Fine’ With Gay Couples Adopting Children

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Wonkette

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Businessman Says He Lost Hundreds of Customers After Attacks by Obama Campaign — Businessman Frank Vandersloot, the CEO of Melaleuca, has been targeted by the Obama campaign after donating money to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. “Three weeks ago, an Obama campaign website …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Jawa Report, The Daily Banter, Weasel Zippers, protein wisdom, Wake up America, The Gateway Pundit, Rush Limbaugh, Wall Street Journal and Hot Air

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Is Romney Pulling Away? — It is, of course, way too early to get cocky. But Republicans have to be happy with the way current polling is going. In this morning's tracking poll at Rasmussen Reports, Mitt Romney leads Barack Obama by a stunning 50%-42%. Rasmussen's matchup is a rolling three …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Daily Caller, nation.foxnews.com and Weasel Zippers

Jessica Gavora / Washington Post:

Obama's ‘Julia’ ad and the new Hubby State — “The Life of Julia,” the Obama campaign's new interactive Web ad, follows a cartoon everywoman, Julia, through the milestones of a middle-class American life: education, work, motherhood, retirement. One milestone is pointedly missing: marriage.

Discussion: Hot Air and Althouse

Kirk Johnson / New York Times:

Whooping Cough Epidemic Hits Washington State — MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Whooping cough, or pertussis, a highly infectious respiratory disease once considered doomed by science, has struck Washington State this spring with a severity that health officials say could surpass the toll of any year since …

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Vulnerable Dem senators balk at Obama's gay marriage stance — Senate Democrats facing difficult reelections are breaking with President Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage, a sign the issue is politically dangerous in battleground states. — Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.) and Claire McCaskill …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wake up America and Mediaite

Associated Press:

Around world, Obama's presidency a disappointment — In Europe, where more than 200,000 people thronged a Berlin rally in 2008 to hear Barack Obama speak, there's disappointment that he hasn't kept his promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and perceptions that he's shunting blame …

Discussion: Israel Matzav, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice and Conservatives4Palin

Paul Berman / The New Republic:

An Islamic Reformer Who Can't Be Silenced — In the April 5 edition of The New Republic I published an essay called “The Thought Police” on Islamist campaigns to suppress independent thinking, as described in a Hudson Institute human rights report by Paul Marshall and Nina Shea.

Discussion: Michael J. Totten's blog