memeorandum: Austerity geniuses, by @DavidOAtkins (Thereisnospoon/Hullabaloo)

3:25 PM ET, May 14, 2012

Top Items:

Ben White / Politico:

Obama's Wall Street problem — The giant $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase highlights a central problem in President Barack Obama's case for a second term: Four years after the financial crisis nearly brought the nation to its knees, very little appears to have changed.

Discussion: CNN, Wake up America, The Hill, Ezra Klein, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, ABCNEWS and CBS News

CNN:

Group's new ad pegs Obama to Wall Street — (CNN) - A conservative non-profit will spend $3.4 million to tie President Barack Obama to the financial industry in a minute-long television ad airing in seven general election battlegrounds, the group said Monday.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Politico, BuzzFeed, Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and The Hill

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Why We Regulate — One of the characters in the classic 1939 film “Stagecoach” is a banker named Gatewood who lectures his captive audience on the evils of big government, especially bank regulation — “As if we bankers don't know how to run our own banks!” he exclaims.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Firedoglake, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, ABCNEWS, The Mahablog, The Maddow Blog and Daily Kos

Bloomberg:
Romney Vowing Dodd-Frank Repeal Hits JPMorgan Risky Trades (Update 1)

Discussion: The Hill and ABCNEWS

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
Warren calls for Dimon to step down as New York Fed bank director

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

U.S. Acceptance of Gay/Lesbian Relations Is the New Normal — For third year, majority says gay/lesbian relations are morally acceptable — PRINCETON, NJ — The slight majority of American adults, 54%, consider gay or lesbian relations morally acceptable.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Advocate, Daily Kos, Political Insider, Reuters, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, CNN, The Daily Dish, Joe. My. God. and GayPatriot

CBS News:

Poll: Most Americans support same-sex unions — CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto. — A new CBS News/New York Times Poll shows a solid majority of Americans support legal recognition for same-sex couples …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, LGBTQ Nation, ThinkProgress, Human Rights Campaign and Joe. My. God.

Ann Althouse / Althouse:
Why Republicans should resist using the same-sex marriage issue against Obama.

Discussion: GayPatriot

Dalia Sussman / The Caucus:
Poll: Age and Partisanship Continue to Mark Divide Over Gay Marriage

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ABCNEWS, Daily Kos and The Times of Israel, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Allenand Jim Vandehei / Politico:

The un-McCain campaign — Mitt Romney and his top aides are building a strategy, partly by design and partly because of circumstance, around what they consider John McCain's disastrously run campaign in 2008. — The strategy: whatever McCain did, do the opposite.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, American Prospect, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Booman Tribune, Pirate's Cove, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice, GOP 12 and The Daily Pulp

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:
For VP, Romney Is Looking For An ‘Incredibly Boring White Guy’

Discussion: Politico and Dependable Renegade

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

EXCLUSIVE: Wisconsin Dems furious with DNC for refusing to invest big money in Walker recall — Top Wisconsin Democrats are furious with the national party — and the Democratic National Committee in particular — for refusing their request for a major investment in the battle to recall Scott Walker, I'm told.

Discussion: Daily Kos

weaskamerica.com:

Recall Fever — In the Midwest, it's not easy to find a more polarizing figure than Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. In a state where bold ideas are often rewarded, Walker's slash-and-burn rhetoric during his first months in office resulted in bringing national attention …

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Business Insider and The Gateway Pundit

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Obama targets Romney tenure at Bain Capital with new ad, website — President Obama is taking dead aim at Mitt Romney's record helming Bain Capital, debuting a new television ad, online video, and website that each depict the private equity firm as predatory and having engaged in “questionable business practices.”

Discussion: National Review, Little Green Footballs, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh, CNN and American Spectator

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Portman defends Romney's Bain record, jokes about VP nod

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Politico and Taegan Goddard's …

Alexander Burns / Politico: Obama's Bain ad: ‘Like watching an old friend bleed to death’ (Updated)

Byron Tau / Politico:
Ex-Obama adviser: Latest anti-Romney ad is ‘unfair’

Discussion: CNN and National Review

Michael O'Brien / msnbc.com:

Paul says he'll cease campaigning in coming primaries — Texas Rep. Ron Paul said Monday that he'll cease campaigning in upcoming caucuses and primaries, an announcement of symbolic, if not substantive, significance. — Paul, the libertarian-minded congressman who'd sought to convert …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

BuzzFeed:
Ron Paul Is Basically Dropping Out

Discussion: Indecision Forever

Ron Paul / CNN:
BREAKING: Ron Paul to end active campaigning

Discussion: Mediaite

New York Times:

After Obama's Decision on Marriage, a Call to Pastors — WASHINGTON — About two hours after declaring his support for same-sex marriage last week, President Obama gathered eight or so African-American ministers on a conference call to explain himself. He had struggled with the decision …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, USA Today, Mediaite, Towleroad News #gay, Yahoo! News, Hot Air, Religion Dispatches, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Bloomberg:

As European Austerity Ends, So Could the Euro — The euro currency is a malady that condemns at least a generation of Greeks, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese and Irish to the economic infirmary. — In these nations, unemployment rates are now at their highest levels in recent decades …

Discussion: Paul Krugman and National Review

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Beast:

Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obama: The First Gay President — The president's bold support shifted the mainstream. Andrew Sullivan on why it shouldn't be surprising—Obama's life as a biracial man has deep ties to the gay experience. — It was the spring of 2007, back when Barack Obama's bid …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Hit & Run, Addicting Info, Towleroad News #gay, Poynter, Advocate, Washington Post and The Daily Caller

Charles Mahtesian / Politico:

West Virginia frets over felon's performance — The nation has moved on after its brief fixation last week with the felon who won 41 percent against Barack Obama, but West Virginia continues to wrestle with the aftermath of its May 8 primary. — Phil Kabler of the Charleston Gazette reported …

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

The Left Is Getting Clobbered on Twitter — We are in the early stages of the 2012 campaign season, with a lot of battlespace preparation going on. In the skirmishing so far, one perhaps surprising media advantage has become clear: the right is clobbering the left on Twitter.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Outside the Beltway and Questions and Observations

Alyssa Rosenberg / ThinkProgress:

Why You Don't Have Stand-Alone HBO Go—And Why You Should Give HBO More Credit — There's been a lot of discussion over the past couple of days about why HBO hasn't made its content more widely available to non-cable subscribers. While I understand individual consumers are frustrated …

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Tina Brown explains Obama ‘gaylo’ — SIREN: President Barack Obama isn't actually gay. — But now that Tina Brown, Newsweek editor and grand dame of Manhattan publishing, has adorned him with the rainbow-colored “gaylo” and ordained him America's “first gay president,” it hardly seems to matter.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, Breaking News …, The Reaction and The Right Scoop

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

GOP Rep. Lankford Explains Why It Should Be Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay: 'It's A Choice Issue' — Rep. James Lankford (R-OK) told ThinkProgress last week that he believes someone should be able to be fired for his or her sexual orientation. — In a conversation on Capitol Hill …

Discussion: Mock, Paper, Scissors and Advocate