memeorandum: What did Tim know? — The latest development in the Libor … (New York Post)

9:15 AM ET, July 13, 2012

Top Items:

ROMNEY NARROWS VP CHOICES; CONDI EMERGES AS FRONTRUNNER — Late Thursday evening, Mitt Romney's presidential campaign launched a new fundraising drive, ‘Meet The VP’ — just as Romney himself has narrowed the field of candidates to a handful, sources reveal.

Discussion: Politico, ABCNEWS, RedState, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys, Politicker, The Other McCain, Wizbang, New York Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner and FOX8.com

BuzzFeed:

Audio Exclusive: The Speech That Landed Condi On Romney's List — A call to “storm Washington D.C.” Speculation in Park City that “she wants to be Vice President.” — As the The Drudge Report-drives speculation that Condoleezza Rice is now a contender in the Republican veepstakes …

Discussion: Business Insider, Politico and The Daily Caller

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Romney to select VP before Republican convention

Discussion: CNN

Jason Cherkis / The Huffington Post:

Mitt Romney's Own 2002 Testimony Undermines Bain Departure Claim … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Elections 2012, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Video, Mitt Romney Bain, Mitt Romney Bain Capital, Bain, Bain Capital, Mitt Romney 2012, Mitt Romney Bain Departure, Romney Bain Capital, Politics News

Discussion: Fox News, The Maddow Blog, Washington Post, Eclectablog, Mediaite, US Politics, New York Times, American Power, Booman Tribune, Ballot Box, CNN, Wall Street Journal, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, Boston Globe, Mother Jones, Politico and Daily Kos, more at Mediagazer »

Ginger Gibson / Politico:

Bain barrage worries Republicans — On the facts, nothing terribly new was added to the Bain equation by the Boston Globe story charging that Mitt Romney controlled the company for three years longer than he previously claimed. Several fact-checking organizations said the charges …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay, Booman Tribune, CNN, msnbc.com, Pressthink, Eclectablog, The PJ Tatler and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Globe will not issue correction to Romney — Boston Globe editor Martin Baron emails Mitt Romney communications director Gail Gitcho:

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, US Politics, Towleroad News #gay, Guardian, Daily Kos, msnbc.com, BuzzFeed and emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »

Dan Primack / Fortune:

Docs prove Romney didn't manage Bain funds — New evidence for when Romney really left Bain Capital. — FORTUNE — Mitt Romney did not manage Bain Capital's investments after leaving to run the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, according to confidential firm documents obtained by Fortune.

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:
Obama won't apologize for staff on Bain

Discussion: CNN, BuzzFeed, Weasel Zippers and Weekly Standard

Henry Blodget / Business Insider:
Sorry, Mitt Romney, You Can't Be Chairman, CEO, And President Of A Company And Not Be Responsible For What It Does...

Discussion: Gotcha Media, The Huffington Post, USA Today, Mother Jones, Liberal Values, msnbc.com, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Washington Examiner, Hullabaloo, The Daily Dish, Little Green Footballs and Questions and Observations

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Bain Capital: Romney left in Feb. 1999

Discussion: Washington Post, The Lonely Conservative, Power Line and Dependable Renegade

Lindsey Boerma / CBS News:

Obama reflects on his biggest mistake as president — (CBS News) President Obama's biggest mistake during his first term, he told CBS News in an exclusive interview, has been putting policy over storytelling. — Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sat down Thursday with “CBS This Morning” …

Discussion: News Desk, Scared Monkeys, Questions and Observations, Pirate's Cove, Hot Air, GOP.com, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CNN, ABCNEWS, Jammie Wearing Fools, New York Magazine and Business Insider

CBS News:

Obama: Romney not necessarily qualified to think about “economy as a whole” — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — (CBS News) President Barack Obama questioned presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney's economic credentials, saying that while his tenure at private equity firm Bain Capital doesn't …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Jim Treacher / The Daily Caller:

I'm paraphrasing, but only slightly: … Well... no. — The Democrats' fallback position, again and again, is: “Well, people would agree with our policies if we could just make them understand our policies.” The truth is exactly the opposite, of course. People do understand their policies, which is why they disagree with them.

Discussion: Power Line

Michael Warren / Weekly Standard:
Obama: My Biggest Mistake Was Not ‘Telling a Story’ (Updated)

Discussion: CBS News, Ace of Spades HQ, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Lonely Conservative, Althouse and The PJ Tatler

Noah Rothman / Mediaite: Obama On Biggest Mistake Of His Presidency To CBS: Policy Was Right, Salesmanship Was Lacking

Washington Post:

D.C. officer investigated after comments about Michelle Obama alleged — A D.C. police officer who worked as a motorcycle escort for White House officials and other dignitaries was moved to administrative duty Wednesday after he allegedly was overheard making threatening comments toward Michelle Obama …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Politico, The Raw Story, The Hinterland Gazette, DCist, Gawker, msnbc.com, New York Magazine and ABCNEWS

Steve Mistler / Kennebec Journal:

LePage: IRS not far from Gestapo — Gov. Paul LePage Thursday attempted to clarify his recent comment comparing the Internal Revenue Service to the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police, during a fundraiser in Vermont. However, the governor may have reignited a controversy that's made national headlines.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Paul Heintz / Blurt:
At Brock Fundraiser, Maine Gov. Paul LePage Doubles Down on “Gestapo” Comment (AUDIO)

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Mediaite, Politico, Bangor Daily News, ThinkProgress, The Raw Story, The Maddow Blog, New York Magazine and Daily Kos

Charles Mahtesian / Politico:

How safe is the GOP House majority? — With four months to go until Election Day, the White House and the Senate are up for grabs but Democrats don't appear to be within striking distance of taking back the House. — That's the consensus of three of the top House handicappers …

Discussion: Sabato's Crystal Ball and Power Line

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Concerned as Syria Moves Chemical Stockpile — WASHINGTON—Syria has begun moving parts of its vast arsenal of chemical weapons out of storage facilities, U.S. officials said, in a development that has alarmed many in Washington. — The country's undeclared stockpiles of sarin nerve agent …

Discussion: Guardian, Reuters and Israel Matzav

Alex Fitzpatrick / Mashable!:

Facebook Monitors Your Chats for Criminal Activity [REPORT] — Facebook and other social platforms are watching users' chats for criminal activity and notifying police if any suspicious behavior is detected, according to a report. — The screening process begins with scanning software …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Concurring Opinions and KDVR.com

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

Rep. Jesse Jackson's political future in question — YURI GRIPAS/REUTERS - Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) walks up the steps of the U.S. Capitol in this photo from Dec. 2, 2011. Jackson has not been seen in public since June 8. — Hours before Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination …

Discussion: Moe Lane and Washington Free Beacon

Vivian Kuo / CNN:

Zimmerman FBI reports released — (CNN) — Florida's state attorney released FBI reports Thursday that may shed light on whether race played a role the night George Zimmerman shot and killed an unarmed teen. — The investigative reports are amid evidence in the second-degree murder case released …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Orlando Sentinel:
FBI interviews: No evidence Zimmerman a racist

Discussion: New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, The Raw Story and msnbc.com

Christopher Hope / Telegraph:

MI6 chief Sir John Sawers: ‘We foiled Iranian nuclear weapons bid’ — MI6 agents have foiled Iran's attempts to obtain nuclear weapons but the Middle Eastern state will succeed in arming itself within the next two years, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service has warned.

Discussion: Guardian and Israel Matzav

Annie Lowrey / New York Times:

In Latest Data on Economy, Experts See Signs of Pickup — WASHINGTON — Despite the recent run of disappointing economic data, a broad range of experts and forecasters expect the economy to improve slightly in coming months, thanks to lower oil prices and new signs of life from sectors like automobiles and housing.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and Economix

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:

Son of liberal financier George Soros launches anti-super PAC super PAC — It's a super PAC that hates super PACs. — Jonathan Soros, son of a prominent liberal financier, is helping to launch an independent advocacy group with hopes of spending up to $8 million targeting House lawmakers …

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:

The world desperately wants to loan us money — The Financial Times reports that there was record demand for 10-year Treasurys this week. “The $21 [billion] sale of 10-year paper sold at a yield of 1.459 per cent, the lowest ever in an auction.” William O'Donnell, a strategist at RBS Securities …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, Mother Jones, Wall Street Journal, The Maddow Blog, Washington Monthly, Brad DeLong and Economist's View

Matt Berman / NationalJournal.com:

How Congressional Republicans and Democrats Pay Women — What does $10,000 mean to you? Well, if you made something around the median in the U.S. last year, it could mean more than a fifth of your household income. — But what's $10,000 to you if you're a female Republican congressional staffer?

Discussion: Politico, ThinkProgress, Mediaite, DCist, A plain blog about politics and Daily Kos