memeorandum: Bachmann sends Hamas Congressman Hakim Muhammad (aka Keith Ellison) response to Muslim Brotherhood propaganda (Pamela Geller/Atlas Shrugs)

9:20 AM ET, July 16, 2012

Top Items:

When Did Romney Step Back From Bain? It's Complicated — When Mitt Romney was running for governor of Massachusetts a decade ago, Democrats went before a state commission to demand that he be struck from the ballot. Their argument: After taking over the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City …

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, Marbury, The Caucus, The Page, Washington Post and American Power

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Policy and the Personal — A lot of people inside the Beltway are tut-tutting about the recent campaign focus on Mitt Romney's personal history — his record of profiting even as workers suffered, his mysterious was-he-or-wasn't-he role at Bain Capital after 1999, his equally mysterious refusal …

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Newshoggers.com and Paul Krugman

Philip Rucker / Washington Post:
Romney tries to regain momentum with new focus on Obama's ‘political payoffs’

Discussion: Right Wing News, New York Magazine, Politico and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Brian Knowlton / The Caucus:
Romney Faces Mounting Attacks on Bain and Taxes

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Page

Sal Gentile / msnbc.com:
Former Bain Capital partner says Romney was ‘legally’ CEO of Bain Capital until 2002

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Huffington Post, The Daily Dish, emptywheel, American Power, The Reaction, Little Green Footballs, ThinkProgress, Brad DeLong, Hullabaloo and News Desk

Scott Thuman / WJLA-TV:
President Barack Obama talks Romney, campaign, chili, doodling, shooting pool

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Hill

Elise Foley / The Huffington Post:
Ed Gillespie: Mitt Romney ‘Retired Retroactively’ From Bain Capital

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Firedoglake, CANNONFIRE, Booman Tribune, New York Magazine, American Power, Mother Jones, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Hill

Agence France Presse:

‘Monica, Monica’ chants taunt Clinton in Egypt — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was taunted by chants of “Monica, Monica” by tomato-throwing demonstrators as she visited the Egyptian port city of Alexandria on Sunday. — The chants, referring to the Monica Lewinsky scandal when her husband …

Discussion: Mediaite, Jezebel and Gretawire

Reuters:

Egyptians pelt Clinton motorcade with tomatoes — CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters threw tomatoes and shoes at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's motorcade on Sunday during her first visit to Egypt since the election of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. — A tomato struck an Egyptian official …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, americanthinker.com, Outside the Beltway, Instapundit, Jammie Wearing Fools and New York Magazine

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
Bachmann sends Hamas Congressman Hakim Muhammad (aka Keith Ellison) response to Muslim Brotherhood propaganda

Discussion: I'm a Man! and Israpundit

msnbc.com:
Christians snub Cairo meeting with Clinton, claim US backs Islamists

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Jihad Watch, Associated Press and Atlas Shrugs

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:

July panic for Obama — for good reason — Why has the Obama team been publicly wailing about losing out to Mitt Romney in the money race? Why would the president accuse his opponent of not merely being wrong or unqualified but criminal? After all, the polls are tied, so why so much worry in Obamaland?

Discussion: The Other McCain, The Spectacle Blog, Maggie's Farm and Hot Air

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Mitt Romney rips Obama camp's ‘dishonesty’ — Mitt Romney on Monday accused President Barack Obama of running a “campaign based on falsehood and dishonesty,” while brushing aside suggestions from anxious conservatives to alter his campaign strategy. — “A campaign based on falsehood …

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com

WAVY-TV:
One-on-one with President Obama

Discussion: Ballot Box, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Riehl World View and ABCNEWS

Manu Raju / Politico:
Kristol: ‘Crazy’ not to show taxes

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, Mediaite, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Liberal Values and New York Magazine

James Warren / The Daily Beast:

Richard Posner Bashes Supreme Court's Citizens United Ruling — Richard Posner is the most influential conservative judge outside the Supreme Court. And he thinks its campaign-finance ruling encourages bribery. James Warren on Posner's latest shot—and Scalia's gun love.

Adam Skaggs / Politico: Mitch McConnell dead wrong on DISCLOSE Act

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Microsoft and NBC Complete Web Divorce — On Sunday night, MSNBC.com did something that successful Web sites almost never do: it renamed itself. — The site became NBCNews.com, signifying the end of a relationship between NBC and Microsoft that dates back to the earliest days of the commercial Web.

Discussion: msnbc.com, FishbowlDC, TechCrunch, Guardian, New York Magazine and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Steven Musil / CNET:
Microsoft and NBC officially call it quits

Discussion: Informed Comment and Scared Monkeys

New York Post:

Obama wedding registry fund-raising strategy not a hit with brides — President Obama's bizarre marriage-theme fund-raising scheme — where he asks couples to request campaign donations from their guests in lieu of wedding gifts — has been a total flop. — The desperate initiative …

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:
Busy Month for Obama Campaign with Fundraisers in Switzerland, Sweden, Paris and Communist China

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, Scared Monkeys and I'm a Man!

Neil MacFarquhar / New York Times:

New Fighting in Damascus After Syria Denies Attack on Civilians — BEIRUT, Lebanon — New fighting was reported in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Monday, a day after the government denied that it had used heavy weapons to attack a small farming community, where United Nations monitors …

Discussion: Algemeiner.com and Guardian

BBC:
‘Fierce battles’ in Damascus area

Discussion: Guardian and The Moderate Voice

Guardian: Syria in state of civil war, says Red Cross

Sheldon Alberts / The Hill:

The Hill Poll: Voters say wealth is now an impossible dream — Nearly half (47 percent) of likely voters believe it is impossible for them to become wealthy in the course of their lifetime, according to a new poll for The Hill. — The survey, conducted as the heated political presidential …

Peter J. Boyer / The Daily Beast:

Romney's Palin Problem: Where's Her Convention Invite? — Mitt still hasn't invited Sarah to the GOP's nomination assembly in Tampa, and the Tea Party is livid. Peter J. Boyer on how the snub could sabotage Romney's tenuous ties to the grassroots—and why Palin is keeping the week open, just in case.

Discussion: Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Balloon Juice and Conservatives4Palin

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Thune Rising: GOP senator on Romney veepstakes and his future — Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has reemerged as a viable vice presidential candidate who would check many of the boxes Mitt Romney is looking for in a running mate. — He's an experienced legislator who has earned respect …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Weekly Standard and Influence Alley

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Americans: Healthcare Law Helps Some, Hurts Others — Democrats think law will benefit all; Republicans skeptical — PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of Americans say the U.S. healthcare law that the Supreme Court recently upheld as constitutional will make things better for those who do not …

Discussion: Politico

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

Pawlenty Looked at as Romney Running Mate — EAGAN, Minn. — It was four years ago this summer, when Tim Pawlenty ranked high on the list of John McCain's potential running mates, and Mr. Pawlenty and his wife, Mary, were plowing through a voluminous questionnaire probing deep into their finances …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Business Insider