memeorandum: Obama's Third-Party History (Stanley Kurtz/National Review)

2:45 PM ET, June 7, 2012

Top Items:

Poll: Barack Obama in dead heat with Mitt Romney in Michigan as popularity slips — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, left, and President Barack Obama / AP — President Barack Obama's popularity in Michigan has slipped in recent months, leaving him in a dead heat …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, National Review, Hot Air, GOP 12 and msnbc.com

Joe Conason / The National Memo:

Did Young Mitt Romney Impersonate A Police Officer? Another Witness Says Yes — Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy — When Mitt Romney was a college freshman, he told fellow residents of his Stanford University dormitory that he sometimes disguised himself …

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Jack & Jill Politics, Mediaite and The New Civil Rights Movement

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Boom: Romney, RNC beat Obama's May fundraising — Mitt Romney's presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee raised a combined $76.8 million in May, outdistancing President Obama and the Democratic National Committee by a wide margin. — The RNC announced on Twitter: “The RNC and @MittRomney raised $76.8M in May.”

Discussion: CNN, Daily Kos, Washington Free Beacon and BuzzFeed

Frances Martel / Mediaite:
Lawrence O'Donnell Breaks New Mitt Romney Scandal: He Maybe Had A Police Uniform?

Discussion: The Hope For America

Quinnipiac University:
Romney Trails Obama By 5 Points In Virginia, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Gay Marriage …

Discussion: GOP 12 and Ballot Box

Luke Johnson / The Huffington Post:
Jeb Bush: I Hope Mitt Romney Would Accept 10-To-1 Spending Cuts To Revenue Deal

Discussion: National Review and The Hope For America

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Breaking: Romney/RNC outraises Obama/DNC by nearly $17 million in May

Discussion: Associated Press, Outside the Beltway, The Ulsterman Report and The Gateway Pundit

Stanley Kurtz / National Review:

Obama's Third-Party History — On the evening of January 11, 1996, while Mitt Romney was in the final years of his run as the head of Bain Capital, Barack Obama formally joined the New Party, which was deeply hostile to the mainstream of the Democratic party and even to American capitalism.

Discussion: protein wisdom, Power Line, Rush Limbaugh, Bookworm Room, Moonbattery, Weasel Zippers, The Daley Gator, Pundit & Pundette, The PJ Tatler and The Caucus

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

Obama is killing the Democratic Party — President Obama, I have frequently argued, has been fabulous for the conservative movement. He spurred the creation of the tea party. He helped the GOP win the House majority in 2010 and make big gains in the Senate.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, americanthinker.com, Ricochet Conversations Feed, American Prospect, Campaign Stops and The Enterprise Blog

Jesse Helfrich / The Hill:
Obama frets after ‘terrifying’ recall vote

First Read / msnbc.com:
Obama on defensive

Discussion: Boston Globe and New York Times

The Caucus:

New Poll: The Supreme Court and the Health Care Law — More than two-thirds of Americans hope the Supreme Court will overturn some or all of the 2010 health care law, according to a new poll conducted by The New York Times and CBS News. Just 24 percent said they hoped the court “would keep the entire health care law in place.”

Discussion: Hot Air, Associated Press, ABCNEWS, The Volokh Conspiracy, Ezra Klein, The Moderate Voice, Wake up America, Connecting.the.Dots and Taegan Goddard's …

Jonathan Allen / Politico:
How SCOTUS could help Congress save billions

Discussion: Vodkapundit

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:
Sebelius: 'We'll be ready' if Supreme Court strikes healthcare law

Discussion: Politico, Weasel Zippers and TheBlaze.com

George W. Bush / CNN:

CNN Poll: George W. Bush only living ex-president under 50% — Washington (CNN) - More than three years after leaving office, former President George W. Bush remains unpopular with the public, according to a new national poll. — A CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that two-thirds …

Discussion: Politico, NY Daily News, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wake up America, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, The Hill, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Althouse and Towleroad News #gay

Politico:
Clinton aides: Bill screwed up

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, Jammie Wearing Fools and CNN

CNN:
Major GOP donor ready to give big donation to pro-Romney super PAC

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Ballot Box, Washington Post, New York Magazine and GOP 12

Molly Ball / The Atlantic Online:

The Romney Campaign's ‘Route to 270’ Doesn't Get to 270 — A pollster's presentation aims at an electoral college victory strategy, but falls a bit short of the goal. — If you're a politician who wants people to give money to your campaign — but I repeat myself — it helps to convince those well-off donors that you can win.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Politico and Althouse

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Election Forecast: Obama Begins With Tenuous Advantage — The first look at the 2012 FiveThirtyEight presidential forecast has Barack Obama as a very slight favorite to win re-election. But his advantage equates to only a two-point lead in the national popular vote, and the edge …

Discussion: Business Insider, Guardian and American Prospect

Michael Barbaro / New York Times:

The Candidate Next Door — ON Dunemere Drive, it seems as if just about everyone has a gripe against the owners of No. 311. — The elderly woman next door complains that her car is constantly boxed into her driveway. A few houses over, a gay couple grumbles that their beloved ocean views are in jeopardy.

Discussion: The Caucus, Mediaite, Booman Tribune, msnbc.com, TheBlaze.com, New York Magazine, Prairie Weather, Hit & Run, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, TBogg, Gothamist, The Rightnewz, The Daily Dish and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Hemingway / Weekly Standard:
NYT: Mitt Romney Still Bullying Gays... With His House

Discussion: GayPatriot, Capital New York and Ricochet Conversations Feed

BuzzFeed:

Did President Obama Just Make A Blowjob Joke? — So says the pool report from his gay and lesbian fundraiser at L.A.'s Beverly Wilshire tonight. Incredibly awkward. — Obama speaks during a campaign event at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills tonight. — (Getty Images / JEWEL SAMAD)

Discussion: Guardian, Rush Limbaugh, JustOneMinute, Althouse, Business Insider, Indecision Forever, The Sundries Shack, iOwnTheWorld.com, Betsy's Page, americanthinker.com and Riehl World View

Los Angeles Times:
President Obama gets enthusiastic welcome at L.A. gay event

Discussion: Jammie Wearing Fools, NewsBusters.org blogs, Hot Air, Politico, Mediaite, GayPatriot and Business Insider

American Center for Law and Justice ACLJ:

Bloggers' Free Speech Rights Under Attack — Free speech is under attack. Conservative writers are now facing threats against themselves, their families, and their livelihoods merely because they've aggressively investigated the history and funding of radical liberals.

Discussion: National Review, protein wisdom, The Camp Of The Saints, ABCNEWS, Patterico's Pontifications, Datechguy's Blog and NoisyRoom.net

Michelle Malkin:
ACLJ steps up to defend bloggers targeted over Brett Kimberlin coverage

Discussion: The Jawa Report, The Other McCain, RedState and The Daley Gator

John / The City Square:

San Franciscans protest against Obama — Barack Obama, America's Fundraiser-in-Chief, visited San Francisco today in search of still more campaign cash. Because San Francisco, home to Nancy Pelosi, has a reputation as America's most liberal city, one might think that The One would be safe from criticism here.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Examiner and Moonbattery

Larry / Fund47:
The Press Lines Up to Interview San Francisco Tea Partiers at Obama Fundraisers

Discussion: The Jawa Report

Paul Krugman:

Estonian Rhapsody — Since Estonia has suddenly become the poster child for austerity defenders — they're on the euro and they're booming! — I thought it might be useful to have a picture of what we're talking about. Here's real GDP, from Eurostat: — So, a terrible — Depression-level …

Discussion: International Liberty, Politicker, Hit & Run, Weasel Zippers, Washington Free Beacon, Questions and Observations, New York Magazine, American Glob, FP Passport, NewsBusters.org blogs, americanthinker.com, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, Mediaite, World Now, The Raw Story and Campaign 2012

Melissa Jeltsen / The Huffington Post:
President Of Estonia Slams Paul Krugman: ‘Smug, Overbearing & Patronizing’

Discussion: Politicker

Manu Raju / Politico:

Secret talks under way about ‘fiscal cliff’ — A growing number of lawmakers are alarmed that Congress's do-nothing posture ahead of the year-end fiscal cliff could provoke a massive voter backlash and economic catastrophe if they don't start laying the groundwork right now to cut a deal.

Discussion: Grist and Political Insider

Nick Allen / Telegraph:

Foie-mageddon: California in one last foie gras binge before statewide ban — A foie gras frenzy is under way in California as the state prepares to become the first in America to ban the controversial delicacy. — California's decision to ban foie gras - pictured above in its pate form …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Via Meadia and Babalú Blog

Jack Cashill / American Thinker:

What the Media Choose Not to Know about Trayvon — Unnerved by an unspoken mix of political bias and racial queasiness, the major media have chosen to know as little about Trayvon Martin as they know about Barack Obama. — As a case in point, consider this boy vs. man fable spun by the New York Times' Charles Blow:

New York Post:

Stuyvesant HS students hold ‘Slutty Wednesday’ to protest school's strict dress code policy — Nearly 100 smarties at the city's top-performing high school bared their bodies in “risque” outfits yesterday to denounce their school's conservative dress code — which bans the exposure of shoulders, midriffs, lower backs, bras and undies.