memeorandum: That's my favorite kind of headline, because all I have to do is present the relevant facts. (Jim Treacher/The Daily Caller)

5:15 PM ET, May 22, 2012

Top Items:

Is This Obama's Party? — The president didn't come up through Democratic Party institutions, and now he has little organic connection to it. Not fair to compare him to Clinton, says Rendell. — (Getty Images / John Gress) — President Barack Obama took over the country in 2008 …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Vodkapundit, Wake up America, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Political Watch, Wall Street Journal, National Review, ABCNEWS and Politico

David Brooks / New York Times:

How Change Happens — Forty years ago, corporate America was bloated, sluggish and losing ground to competitors in Japan and beyond. But then something astonishing happened. Financiers, private equity firms and bare-knuckled corporate executives initiated a series of reforms and transformations.

Discussion: American Prospect, The Week, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, The New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, driftglass, Betsy's Page, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Instapundit

Matt Negrin / ABCNEWS:

Obama Camp Says Clyburn's ‘Raping’ Comment Is Inappropriate — The Obama campaign says a surrogate's use of the word “raping” to describe Mitt Romney's actions at his private-equity firm, Bain Capital, is inappropriate. — “I want to say to you: I don't take contributions from payday lenders.

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and Washington Free Beacon

Washington Post:
Poll: Obama, Romney in dead heat on economy

Yahoo! News:
Don't worry, Joe: It ain't so. Why Obama won't run with Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Molly Hunter / Yahoo! News:
Cory Booker ‘Fit To Be Tied’ After GOP's ‘I Stand with Cory Booker’ Email

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Political Economy and The Gateway Pundit

Matt Negrin / ABCNEWS:
Swinging at Bain, Obama Ignores What Private Equity Is

Discussion: CNN, Politico, The Hill, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Fox News, Washington Wire and Wake up America

Mj Lee / Politico:
Jim Clyburn: Romney ‘raping companies’

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

ABCNEWS:
Top Obama Donor Tied to Bain Layoffs

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Booker: I had ‘conversations’ with campaign

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon and Sister Toldjah

CNN:
TRENDING: Poll: Obama, Romney tied as race heats up

Discussion: Firedoglake, Campaign 2012, American Prospect, Weekly Standard and Politico

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Rendell: Hey, can you believe these Bain attacks from Obama?

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Campaign 2012, msnbc.com, CNN and Politico

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
10 Things Mitt Romney's Republican Primary Opponents Said About Bain

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, Brad DeLong, Hullabaloo and 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com

BuzzFeed: Romney Campaign Protests Biden Event With Cory Booker Heads

Charles C. Johnson / BREITBART.COM:

EXCLUSIVE: THE VETTING - DID OBAMA HAVE LOWER SAT SCORES THAN GEORGE W. BUSH? — President Barack Obama is hailed by his supporters and the mainstream media as one of the most brilliant men ever to hold the office. However, his refusal to release his academic records …

Discussion: Wonkette, Outside the Beltway and Bookworm Room

Charles Johnson / Little Green Footballs:

Fear the Vetting! Breitbart.com Bombshell Exclusive: We Don't Have Obama's SAT Scores! — It's one BOMBSHELL EXCLUSIVE after another at the site that Andrew Breitbart built! Man, these guys are ON FIRE! — Stand back, because the VETTING continues with an astounding new breaking news story …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

New Republican Ad Takes a Soft Shot at Obama — WASHINGTON — The ad is the work of two of the most fearsome players in Republican politics: Larry McCarthy, the producer behind the infamous Willie Horton commercial in 1988, and Crossroads GPS, the political battle squad founded by Karl Rove.

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, The Caucus, GOP 12, Hot Air, RedState, Politico, ABCNEWS, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider, Roll Call and Orlando Sentinel

New York Times:

Anatomy of an Ad: ‘Basketball’ — The most recent ad from Crossroads GPS, the super PAC founded by Karl Rove, strives to hit a delicate balance: how to craft the perfect line of attack against a president who remains well liked even by people who are considering voting against him. — Scripted Scenes

Discussion: Washington Monthly and CNN

Free Times:

THIS JUST IN — A video posted online that shows a former union leader in South Carolina smashing a piñata effigy of Gov. Nikki Haley has riled the national office of the AFL-CIO, which wants it taken down. — “Do you think we can get this video pulled,” asked a national AFL-CIO official …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Daily Caller, GOP 12, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, The Raw Story and NewsBusters.org

ABCNEWS:
South Carolina AFL-CIO Leader Bashes Nikki Haley Pinata

Discussion: National Review, Mediaite and Weasel Zippers

Rex Nutting / MarketWatch:

Obama spending binge never happened — Commentary: Government outlays rising at slowest pace since 1950s … WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Of all the falsehoods told about President Barack Obama, the biggest whopper is the one about his reckless spending spree.

Discussion: The Maddow Blog and Hullabaloo

Aurelius / Pundit Press:

Did White House Doctor Photo of President “Throwing” Football? — I'm not one for conspiracy theories. I prefer to base my opinions on demonstration fact that I can point to. However, after looking at an extremely odd photo of President Obama “throwing” a football, I have my doubts that this photo is real.

Discussion: Indecision Forever, Wonkette and Little Green Footballs

Manu Raju / Politico:
Dems wait by phone for Obama

Discussion: americanthinker.com

Mark Murray / msnbc.com:

NBC/WSJ poll: Obama's gay-marriage announcement a ‘draw’ — Two weeks after President Obama announced he supports gay marriage, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that his announcement — politically — looks to be a wash. — In the poll, a combined 17 percent says it makes them …

Discussion: Mediaite, Taegan Goddard's …, Politico, Outside the Beltway and ThinkProgress

Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:

That's my favorite kind of headline, because all I have to do is present the relevant facts. This is hardly the first time “CNN” and “dog poop” have been used in the same sentence, but this time it's literal. — CBS Atlanta: … But it gets even better, as David Stein discovered:

Discussion: The Daley Gator and iOwnTheWorld.com

PFC Auctions:

Lot 160 - Ronald Reagan Blood Vial — Current bid: £8,346.00 — Another user is currently the top bidder. — 2d 4h 18m 25s — Bidding allowed for registered users only. Register or Log in. — You are about to place a bid for: — Setting a Max Bid of: — If this is correct, click Place Bid.

Colleen Taylor / TechCrunch:

Kleiner Perkins Sued By Partner Ellen Pao, Alleging Sexual Harassment, Gender Discrimination — Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers, one of the most storied and well-respected venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, has been sued by Ellen Pao, an investment partner with the firm.

Discussion: Bits, The PJ Tatler, AllThingsD and Washington Free Beacon

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:

Dem-backed law may be downfall of Obama birth control mandate — The biggest legal threat to the White House's birth control mandate could come from a decades-old law that was championed by liberal Democrats, according to legal experts. — The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, NewsBusters.org, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, JustOneMinute, New York Times, iOwnTheWorld.com and Outside the Beltway

JJ Hensley / Arizona Republic:

Arpaio using deputy to help in Obama birth investigation — Sheriff Joe Arpaio's volunteer investigation into documents pertaining to President Barack Obama's residency status now includes the services of a taxpayer-funded deputy, according to Arpaio. — The deputy joined Mike Zullo …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, tpmmuckraker …, Fox News, Addicting Info, The Raw Story and Valley Fever

Marcus Stern / Reuters:

Gingrich's private ventures are going bankrupt — (Reuters) - ATLANTA - When he entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination in May 2011, Newt Gingrich was the prosperous head of a small empire commonly known as Newt Inc, which included both for-profit consultancies and nonprofit foundations.

Discussion: The Raw Story, Wonkette, New York Magazine and Talking Points Memo

Rasmussen Reports:

40% Now Say Trayvon Martin Shot in Self-Defense; 24% Say It Was Murder — As evidence continues to emerge from the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, Americans are becoming more convinced that his killer acted in self-defense and that the legal system will come to that conclusion.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Althouse

Sam Baker / The Hill:

HHS signs $20M PR contract to promote healthcare law — The Health and Human Services Department has signed a $20 million contract with a public-relations firm to highlight part of the Affordable Care Act. — The new, multimedia ad campaign is designed to educate the public about how to stay healthy …

Discussion: LifeNews.com, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Hit & Run, The Heritage Foundation, Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler, The Gateway Pundit, ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Susan Saulny / New York Times:

Black Mormons and the Politics of Identity — SALT LAKE CITY — When Marguerite Driessen, a professor here, entered Brigham Young University in the early 1980s, she was the first black person many Mormon students had ever met, and she spent a good bit of her college time debunking stereotypes about African-Americans.

Steve Kolowich / Inside Higher Ed:

Report: Robots stack up to human professors in teaching Intro Stats — By — Without diminishing learning outcomes, automated teaching software can reduce the amount of time professors spend with students and could substantially reduce the cost of instruction, according to new research.

Discussion: Via Meadia and Althouse