memeorandum: Obama: Debt, deficits were ‘baked into the cake’ (Politico)

7:50 PM ET, June 12, 2012

Top Items:

Obama Is Losing A Stunning Amount Of African-American Support In North Carolina — WATCH: What Obama's Embarrassing Primaries — In Kentucky And Arkansas Last Month Mean — President Barack Obama is rapidly losing support among African-American voters in North Carolina …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Sister Toldjah, Instapundit, Ballot Box, Race 4 2012 and National Review

Caitlin McDevitt / Politico:

Spike Lee: Obama win not a sure thing — Spike Lee is predicting a tough road to reelection for President Obama. — “This thing is not a lock,” the filmmaker told GQ in a recent interview. “It is not a lock that President Obama is getting a second term and people have to really rekindle the enthusiasm that we had the first time.”

Discussion: GQ, Weasel Zippers and Mediaite

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney holds small lead in NC — PPP's newest North Carolina poll finds Mitt Romney leading Barack Obama 48-46. It's a small lead but still significant in that it's the first time we've found Romney ahead in our monthly polling of the state since October.

Discussion: Ballot Box, Politico, Firedoglake, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Guardian, Pat Dollard and Business Insider

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Obama's Jewish Support Drops 22 Points in New York

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Washington Examiner:
Now union members are deserting Obama

Discussion: Rasmussen Reports and Gallup

Politico:
Obama: Debt, deficits were ‘baked into the cake’

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Deborah Charles / Reuters:
Michelle Obama to Ann Romney: have fun campaigning

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Magazine

Jonathan Allen / Politico:
Does Mitt Romney need ‘Obamacare’?

Discussion: CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog and iOwnTheWorld.com

Neil King Jr / Washington Wire:
Black Support for Obama Ebbs In North Carolina

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Rasmussen Reports:
Iowa: Romney 47%, Obama 46%

Discussion: GOP 12 and Ballot Box

Jeff Weiner / Orlando Sentinel:

George Zimmerman's wife arrested, charged with perjury — At her husband's bond hearing, Shellie Zimmerman was asked repeatedly about money. Among the questions: How much did the couple collect in donations through the PayPal account George Zimmerman set up on his website?

Discussion: Black Youth Project, New York Magazine, First Draft, Gawker, Colorlines and Outside the Beltway

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: George Zimmerman's wife arrested on perjury charge — Shellie Zimmerman is accused of lying under oath at her husband's bail hearing. Mug shot: — You can read the full statement of probable cause HERE. ABC News is reporting that bond has been set at $1,000.

Casey Glynn / CBS News:
Shellie Zimmerman, wife of George Zimmerman, arrested for perjury

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Riptide 2.0, JOSHUAPUNDIT and Riehl World View

msnbc.com:
Shellie Zimmerman, wife of Trayvon Martin killer, arrested on perjury charge

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and JustOneMinute

Jeff Weiner / Orlando Sentinel:
Zimmerman ‘does not properly respect the law,’ judge says in order revoking bond

Discussion: Daily Kos

Democracy Corps:

Shifting the Economic Narrative — What is clear from this fresh look at public consciousness on the economy is how difficult this period has been for both non-college-educated and college-educated voters - and how vulnerable the prevailing narratives articulated by national Democratic leaders are.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Wire, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, Hot Air, ABCNEWS, The Daily Beast, Weasel Zippers, The Democratic Daily and Connecting.the.Dots

BuzzFeed:

Clintonites Hit The Panic Button For Obama — Carville, Greenberg, Penn, and Schoen all say the re-elect is off course. The Obamans have always loved criticism from Clintonworld. — (Getty Images / MANDEL NGAN) — Former aides to President Bill Clinton are calling for a dramatic shift …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice and Ed Driscoll

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:

Did He Get the Memo? Obama Sticks to Script on Stump — (Image credit: Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo) — BALTIMORE - As some high-profile Democrats question the focus of his pitch for a second term, President Obama today stuck closely to his well-worn script, telling a group of 500 donors …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal and Weasel Zippers

Alexander Burns / Politico:
Dems call for fresh message, warn of ‘impossible headwind’

Discussion: Mediaite

Jordy Yager / The Hill:

Sen. Cornyn calls on Holder to resign — Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Tuesday called on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign. — Cornyn, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), has long been critical of Holder, but had so far resisted pushing for Holder to step down.

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller and “The Lid”

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Dems block McCain resolution on special counsel for leaks

Discussion: CBS News and Michelle Malkin

Fox News:
Senator calls for Holder's resignation amid challenges over leak probe, Fast and Furious

Discussion: Hot Air

Fred Lucas / CNSNews:
Holder: ‘I Stuck by My Guns’

Discussion: Politico, Weasel Zippers and Althouse

Tim Mak / Politico:

Jeb Bush comments have blogs in uproar — Conservatives in the blogosphere lashed out at Jeb Bush for saying that Ronald Reagan and his father, George H.W. Bush, would not have fit well in the modern Republican Party, ripping the former Florida governor as a “RINO” and dismissing his “steaming pile of nonsense.”

Discussion: CNN, NewsBusters.org blogs, Babalú Blog, The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Power Line, GOP 12, pandagon.net and Riehl World View

Michael Stafford / Cagle Post:
Why I Gave Up On Being a Republican

Discussion: The Daily Beast

CBS Miami:

Doctors Release Pictures Of Causeway Cannibal Victim — MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Doctors have released photographs of Ronald Poppo, more than two weeks after the homeless man had much of his face chewed off during an attack by so-called Causeway Cannibal Rudy Eugene over the Memorial Day weekend.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Guardian, Riehl World View, The Raw Story and Gawker

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Follower Problem — If you go to the Lincoln or Jefferson memorials in Washington, you are invited to look up in admiration. Lincoln and Jefferson are presented as the embodiments of just authority. They are strong and powerful but also humanized. Jefferson is a graceful aristocratic democrat.

Discussion: Esquire, National Review, The Mahablog, First Draft, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Caller, Angry Bear, Balloon Juice, Philly.com and driftglass

Bruce Bartlett / Economix:

The Fiscal Legacy of George W. Bush — Bruce Bartlett held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations and served on the staffs of Representatives Jack Kemp and Ron Paul. He is the author of “The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform - Why We Need It and What It Will Take.”

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Daily Dish, Booman Tribune, The New Editor, Mother Jones, Liberal Values and Daily Kos

Politico:

Obama: GOP campaign fits in a single tweet — OWINGS MILLS, Md. — President Obama accused the Republicans of running a campaign focused exclusively on blame. — “You can pretty much put their campaign on a tweet and have some characters to spare,” Obama said at a fundraiser outside of Baltimore.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The PJ Tatler and Indecision Forever

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Feds sue Florida over voter purge — The Justice Department, as promised, filed suit Tuesday against the State of Florida over its plan to purge voter rolls. — The lawsuit says Florida's proposed purge violates federal law blocking such moves within 3 months of an election, like the primary coming up on August 14.

Discussion: CNN and The Hill

Kevin Bogardus / Ballot Box:
AFL-CIO to fight voter ID laws in six battleground states

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Washington Free Beacon

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

Times Have Changed, It's OK to Lie — Last month David Corn noted that Mitt Romney was claiming that “government” would control half the economy once Obamacare was up and running. He's still saying it, and today Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post gives it a score of four Pinocchios and says Romney should drop it.

Discussion: Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The New Republic and The Impolitic

Arlington, Va.:

Actor Kal Penn Meets With Young Obama Supporters in Arlington — Actor Kal Penn met with more than 100 young supporters of President Obama in Rosslyn and on Columbia Pike last night. — At Cafe Asia in Rosslyn, Penn spoke to a young professionals event about the importance of the upcoming presidential election.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit and The Hill

Reuters:

Top conservative says read my lips: Don't sign ‘no new tax’ pledge — Spinners and Winners — As a conservative Republican, Lindsey Graham has never had a problem promising not to raise taxes. Like almost every other Republican member of Congress, during his last re-election campaign …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Daniel W. Drezner, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Daily Beast

Joel Gehrke / Campaign 2012:

Obama: GOP stuck me with a steak dinner tab — President Obama subtly attacked Mitt Romney for being wealthy, suggesting that he hasn't “spent time in the real world” and so has not received the necessary preparation to occupy the White House. — “Those of us who have spent …

Discussion: Hot Air, GayPatriot, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Weasel Zippers, Conservatives4Palin and Pirate's Cove

Joe Scarborough / Politico:

Why I voted for Ron Paul — I operate on instinct. So I should not have been surprised by my own gut reaction to the absentee ballot that lay before me on the kitchen table. — I scanned the list for Republican primary candidates and let instinct take over. — Mitt Romney? Not on your life.

Discussion: Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Emily Heil / Washington Post:

White House softball team smoked by pot lobby's bats — Anyone notice a cloud hanging over the Mall last week? That might have been the White House softball team getting absolutely smoked by the team fielded by the marijuana lobby. — The One Hitters, the team of pro-pot activists, beat STOTUS (the Softball Team of the U.S.) 25-3.

Discussion: Wonkette

Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:

First-Ever Trans Senate Witness: ‘To Be Unemployed Is Very Devastating, Demeaning, And Demoralizing’ — This morning, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee held a hearing on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would extend employment protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.