memeorandum: Another dose of sickly economic news weakens Obama's reelection odds (James Pethokoukis/The Enterprise Blog)

12:30 AM ET, June 1, 2012

Top Items:

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Romney supporters shout down Axelrod criticism of former governor's record — President Obama and Mitt Romney protesters faced off Thursday at a press conference in Boston featuring senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod. — Speakers at the outdoor event were framed …

Discussion: Politico, BuzzFeed, RealClearPolitics Video Log, American Glob, CNN, nation.foxnews.com, Booman Tribune, The Raw Story and Liberal Values

ABCNEWS:

Mitt Romney Visits Solyndra Amid Attack on Obama Jobs Record — An auction sign stands at the entrance Solyndra LLC building in Fremont, California, U.S., Nov. 2, 2011. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/ Getty Images) — FREMONT, Calif. - Mitt Romney arrived at the shuttered headquarters …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Right Sphere, Weasel Zippers, Indecision Forever, The Enterprise Blog and Michelle Malkin

CNN:

Romney makes surprise visit to Solyndra — The visit - kept a secret by the campaign until shortly before the candidate and the press arrived at the site - offered a hulking visual to accompany Romney's repeated criticism of Obama over the Solyndra scandal. — Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker

Discussion: Washington Post, Ballot Box, Daily Kos and Swampland

Jim Vandeheiand Mike Allen / Politico:

To GOP, blatant bias in vetting — On the front page of its Sunday edition, the New York Times gave a big spread to Ann Romney spending lots of time and tons of money on an exotic genre of horse-riding. The clear implication: The Romneys are silly rich, move in rarefied and exotic circles, and are perhaps a tad shady.

Discussion: Boston Globe, his vorpal sword, Mediaite, Mother Jones, Booman Tribune, NewsBusters.org, Guardian, Poynter, American Prospect, New York Magazine, Rumproast, Little Green Footballs, No More Mister Nice Blog, Weekly Standard, TBogg and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Bill Clinton / CNN:
TRENDING: Bill Clinton, predicting Obama win, calls Romney's business career ‘sterling’

Discussion: Politico and Weasel Zippers

Devin Gordon / GQ:
Five Points About Politico's Hatchet Job On NYT and WaPo

Discussion: Politico, NoisyRoom.net, Weekly Standard, The Monkey Cage, Taylor Marsh, Talking Points Memo and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Tim Mak / Politico:
Deval Patrick aims for Mitt Romney, hits Obama

Discussion: Power Line, Weasel Zippers, RedState, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, CNN and Connecting.the.Dots

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:
Mitt Romney crashes Solyndra

Discussion: CNN, The PJ Tatler and Pirate's Cove

Washington Examiner:
Combative Romney team hits Obama coast-to-coast

Discussion: CBS News, Power Line, Hot Air and Ed Driscoll

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
New York Times, Washington Post Defend Against Politico's Media Bias Claims

Discussion: Indecision Forever

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:
Mega-donors: Quit picking on us

Discussion: Hullabaloo, American Prospect, Washington Free Beacon, ABCNEWS and The Heritage Foundation

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Mitt Romney's Solyndra trip stirs up bad memories for White House

Discussion: The Hill

Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Romney Feared W.H. Conspiracy To Stop Secret Solyndra Presser

Discussion: The Caucus, The Maddow Blog, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Raw Story and American Spectator

Manuel Roig-Franzia / Washington Post:

John Edwards acquitted on one count as jury deadlocks on five others and judge declares mistrial — GREENSBORO, N.C. — Johnny Reid Edwards, a honey-voiced North Carolina lawyer who parlayed his boyish good looks and inspiring personal history as the son of a mill-worker into a meteoric political rise …

Discussion: Hot Air, msnbc.com, Taylor Marsh and Balloon Juice

James Hill / ABCNEWS:
John Edwards Not Guilty on 1 Count, but Admits Moral Failing; Mistrial on 5 Other Counts

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:
For Edwards, Mistrial on 5 of 6 Counts

Discussion: CNN, Guardian and Althouse

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Edwards case: Mistrial

Discussion: ABCNEWS and CNN

Lucy Madison / CBS News:
Edwards not guilty on 1 count; mistrial declared on other 5 counts

Discussion: Sunlight Foundation Blog, Associated Press, The Agonist and Daily Kos

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

It's official: Bill Clinton heading to Wisconsin to campaign against Scott Walker — Former President Bill Clinton has decided to go to Wisconsin to campaign against Scott Walker in the final days of the battle over whether to recall the Wisconsin Governor, a move that could give a boost …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Free Beacon, ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Guardian, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, Firedoglake, Wake up America, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos and Hotline On Call

Kevin Bogardus / Ballot Box:
Public sector union head says Dems could do more for Wisconsin recall

Discussion: CNN

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:
Wisconsin reaches for the last resort

Discussion: Mother Jones, msnbc.com, aflcio.org, Hullabaloo and Daily Kos

Jeremy W. Peters / Media Decoder:

Producer of Obama Video on Fox News Loses CNN Job Offer — The Fox News producer behind a provocative four-minute anti-Obama video that aired Wednesday and caused the network considerable embarrassment has found his career on ice. — The producer, Chris White, had been offered a job by CNN before the video was broadcast.

Discussion: Addicting Info, Mediaite, Inside Cable News, The Impolitic, TVNewser, New York Magazine, The Moderate Voice, Media Matters for America, NewsBusters.org and Hot Air, more at Mediagazer »

John Hudson / The Atlantic Wire:
MSNBC Produced Its Own Anti-Romney Video in February

Discussion: Mediaite, NewsBusters.org, Inside Cable News, Wonkette, The Gateway Pundit, Yahoo! News and The Maddow Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Two Republican Judges Declare DOMA Unconstitutional — A three judge panel of The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit just handed down a decision declaring the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. Notably, the panel included Judges Juan Torruella and Michael Boudin …

Discussion: Hot Air, Religion Dispatches, ACS Blog, The Daily Dish, Moe Lane, Crooks and Liars, GayPatriot, The Raw Story, The New Civil Rights Movement, Balloon Juice and The Other McCain

Associated Press:
Appeals Court Rules Against Defense of Marriage Act

Discussion: SCOTUSblog, The Atlantic Online, National Review, The Heritage Foundation, Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, Wonkette, Outside the Beltway, Lawyers, Guns & Money, protein wisdom, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Star-Ledger Editorial Page, Althouse and The Stranger …

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
DOMA Opinion Analysis: Why Judge Michael Boudin Is Just Like 50 Cent

Discussion: American Prospect, The Huffington Post, Poliglot and The Daily Beast

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

House rejects bill penalizing doctors for sex-selective abortions — The House on Thursday rejected a Republican bill that would impose fines and prison terms on doctors who perform abortions for the sole purpose of controlling the gender of the child, a practice known as sex-selective abortion.

Discussion: Politico, LifeNews.com, Sister Toldjah, Mother Jones, Weasel Zippers, Indecision Forever, The Maddow Blog, The Daily Caller and Campaign 2012

Jake Sherman / Politico:
Boehner: ‘This election is about jobs’

Discussion: tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, Firedoglake, CNN, The Maddow Blog, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly and Politwoops

Bob Ivry / Bloomberg:

Woman Who Couldn'T Be Intimidated By Citigroup Wins $31 Million — Citigroup Whistle-Blower Wins $31 Mln Settlement — Sherry Hunt never expected to be a senior manager at a Wall Street bank. She was a country girl, raised in rural Michigan by a dad who taught her to fish and a mom who showed her how to find wild mushrooms.

Discussion: Firedoglake

Larry J. Sabato / Sabato's Crystal Ball:

Presidential Polling in June: Flip a Coin Instead? — “I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.” — Socrates — With all of the polls, models and history at their disposal, political analysts should be able to figure out who is going to win a November presidential election by June, right?

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, The Impolitic and The Moderate Voice

Boston Globe:

Warren says she told schools of heritage — Acknowledges identifying as Native American after hirings — Governor Deval Patrick (right) endorsed Elizabeth Warren's Senate candidacy at a campaign event on Wednesday. (Yoon S. Byun / Globe Staff) — Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth …

Rakates / CBS Baltimore:

Morgan State Univ. Student Charged With 1st-Degree Murder In Cannibalism Case — JOPPATOWNE, Md. (WJZ)— A chilling story unfolds in Harford County where family members find the chopped up body parts of a missing man. And now, the suspect admits to committing acts of cannibalism on that body.

Discussion: Clayton Cramer's Blog and The Raw Story

Jon Lafayette / Broadcasting & Cable:

Turner's Kent ‘Very Unhappy’ With Ratings Dive at CNN — Backs Cooper, Morgan, Burnett, but other shows may be replaced — Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent admitted to being “very unhappy” with CNN's primetime ratings, but said it won't resort to tricks to increase viewership.

Discussion: TVNewser, Inside Cable News and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Ilya Somin / The Volokh Conspiracy:

Asian-Americans, Affirmative Action, and Fisher v. Texas — The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that several Asian-American groups have filed an amicus brief opposing the University of Texas' affirmative action program, which is being challenged in Fisher v. Texas, an important affirmative action case before the Supreme Court:

Discussion: Belmont Club

Jessica Wohl / Reuters:

Wal-Mart ending membership in conservative group — (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's No. 1 retailer and the biggest seller of firearms in the United States, is dropping out of a U.S. conservative advocacy group that has been a lightning rod over voting and gun laws.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Raw Story, We Party Patriots, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos

Alex Alvarez / Mediaite:

CNN's Ashleigh Banfield: Pedophilia, Incest Often ‘Not By Choice,’ But Being Gay Is ‘A Lifestyle Choice’ — On Thursday morning, Early Start co-anchor Ashleigh Banfield felt compelled to weigh in on a story involving New Hope Baptist Church's Pastor Curtis Knapp, who made headlines for saying …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Advocate

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Wisecracks in White House As Bush Portrait Is Unveiled — WASHINGTON — When former President George W. Bush returned to the White House on Thursday to unveil his official portrait, he brought along his wife, Laura; his parents, George and Barbara; daughters, Jenna and Barbara …

Discussion: AMERICAN DIGEST, The Reaction and Sense of Events