memeorandum: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks with vice presidential running mate … (First Read)

11:45 AM ET, August 14, 2012

Top Items:

GOP pros fret over Paul Ryan — You've heard them on television and read them on POLITICO — cheerful, defiant statements from Republican political professionals about Mitt Romney's bold masterstroke in tapping Paul Ryan as his running mate, and turning the 2012 presidential race into a serious …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Caucus, Washington Wire, New York Times, The Maddow Blog, The Raw Story, americanthinker.com, Booman Tribune, Mediaite, Ballot Box, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Hinterland Gazette, Taylor Marsh, p m carpenter's commentary and Wall Street Journal, more at Mediagazer »

David A. Stockman / New York Times:

Paul Ryan's Fairy-Tale Budget Plan — PAUL D. RYAN is the most articulate and intellectually imposing Republican of the moment, but that doesn't alter the fact that this earnest congressman from Wisconsin is preaching the same empty conservative sermon. — Thirty years of Republican apostasy …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Glittering Eye, The Raw Story, Business Insider, Taylor Marsh, Hullabaloo, p m carpenter's commentary and Prairie Weather

Guy Benson / Townhall.com:

Brutal: CNN Torches DWS on Medicare Falsehoods — Let me say this right up front: Congratulations to Wolf Blitzer for being a relentless, responsible journalist. If you value the truth, this interview is a pleasure to watch. If you have even an ounce of human compassion for the in-over-her-head target …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Scared Monkeys, Wake up America, The Other McCain, Esquire, Betsy's Page, Weekly Standard, UrbanGrounds, AEIdeas and Business Insider

Susan Page / USA Today:

Gov. Chris Christie to deliver keynote at GOP convention — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will deliver the keynote address that launches the Republican National Convention in two weeks, telling USA TODAY he plans to make an “emphatic” argument on behalf of GOP approaches and shared sacrifice to face the nation's biggest challenges.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Taylor Marsh, 2012 Decoded, Outside the Beltway, NBC New York, americanthinker.com, CNN, Scared Monkeys, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, Washington Examiner, Gothamist, About.com US Politics, GOP 12, New York Magazine and Associated Press

Emily Goodin / Ballot Box:

GOP concerned Ryan could cost party House and Senate seats — Republicans strategists are worried that Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) addition to the presidential ticket will cost their party House and Senate seats this fall. — Their concern: Democrats will successfully demonize Ryan's budget plan …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, CNN, Washington Post, emptywheel, ThinkProgress, Politico, Swampland, Booman Tribune, The Caucus and The Hill

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

Romney Campaign Chair Contradicts Candidate, Says Romney's Medicare Plan Is ‘Very Different’ From Ryan's Plan — Just a day after Mitt Romney told reporters, “my plan for Medicare is very similar to [Paul Ryan's] plan for Medicare,” former New Hampshire governor and Romney campaign chair …

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, BuzzFeed and The Political Carnival

Wall Street Journal:

Stephens: Paul Ryan's Neocon Manifesto — America's real interests, he understands, come from our deepest values. — Last summer, the chairman of the House Budget Committee made a foray into foreign-policy land with a speech to the Alexander Hamilton Society in Washington …

Discussion: The Glittering Eye and CNN

BuzzFeed:
The Return Of No-Risk Romney

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
A strong solo debut for Ryan — with Romney's script

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ABCNEWS, Boston Globe, ABCNEWS, New York Times and Washington Post

First Read:
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks with vice presidential running mate …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, USA Today, AEIdeas and Washington Post

Suzy Khimm / Washington Post:
Paul Ryan's biggest budget cuts are to Medicaid, not Medicare

Discussion: Angry Black Lady Chronicles, New York Magazine, FT Alphaville, The Incidental Economist, Forbes, National Review, The Hinterland Gazette, Washington Monthly, PoliticusUSA and Mother Jones

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:
Medicare Rises as Prime Election Issue

Discussion: New York Magazine, NO QUARTER, The Monkey Cage, USA Today, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Runnin' Scared

Allahpundit / Hot Air: Video: Lifelike talking-points robot doesn't like being reminded that Ryan's Medicare plan won't affect seniors

First Read:
Romney struggles to get square with Ryan's Medicare plan

Discussion: Applesauce

Richard Danielson / Tampa Bay Times:
Marco Rubio to introduce Mitt Romney at RNC

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Politico, USA Today, GOP 12 and ABCNEWS

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:
Ron Wyden Takes Issue With Mitt Romney Linking Him to Paul Ryan

Discussion: The Maddow Blog, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, ThinkProgress, Questions and Observations, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Washington Post

Derek Thompson / The Atlantic Online:
Are Liberals Being Unfair to Paul Ryan?

Discussion: Brad DeLong

Politico:
Paul Ryan's voting record: Big-spending conservatism

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

BuzzFeed:
New Senior Romney Advisor Called Ryan Entitlement Reform Plans “Irresponsible...A Bad Idea”

Discussion: Politico, Cagle Post, Connecting.the.Dots, New York Times, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Colorlines, PoliticusUSA and The Hinterland Gazette

Jon Ralston / Las Vegas Sun Blogs:

McCain rebuts Reid on Romney, says “nothing in his tax returns shows he did not pay taxes” — Arizona Sen. John McCain said today that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is wrong about his assertion that Mitt Romney did not pay taxes for 10 years, saying his team that vetted the presumptive GOP nominee in 2008 found no such thing.

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

Zack Colman / Ballot Box:
White House touts wind energy against Romney

Discussion: New York Times, Politico and GOP 12

Evan McMorris-Santoro / livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com:

Boehner's Office Says Obama Avoiding Personal Responsibility For Drought — On its website and in an email Monday, House Speaker John Boehner's office said President Obama needs to take personal responsibility for the drought ravaging the Midwest. — Obama, “continues to blame anyone …

Discussion: Financial Times, Washington Post, The Maddow Blog, Speaker.gov, Balloon Juice, The Hill, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Dependable Renegade

Matthew Boyle / The Daily Caller:

Whistle-blower, documents: Ill. state workers forced to attend Pelosi, Jesse Jackson Jr. event on taxpayer dime — Documents and a whistle-blower affidavit obtained by The Daily Caller charge that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Jawa Report and The Gateway Pundit

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

‘Four More Beers!’ Chant Greets Obama; Buys Beers for 10 People, Save Romney Supporter — In Iowa last night, a chant of “four more beers!” broke out for President Obama, and he offered to buy beers for 10 people, but not for a supporter of Mitt Romney. Via the pool report:

ABCNEWS:

Twice-Jilted Pawlenty Sat on VP Secret — REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK by SHUSHANNAH WALSHE (@shushwalshe) — Tim Pawlenty was passed over as a presidential running mate twice. But to a reporter sitting on his front lawn during what must have been a difficult time — getting passed …

Discussion: BuzzFeed and ABCNEWS

PREMIUM FISHER:

My Sister Paid Progressive Insurance to Defend Her Killer In Court — I've been sending out some impertinent tweets about Progressive Insurance lately, but I haven't explained how they pissed me off. So I will do that here as succinctly as possible. There's a general understanding that says …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mashable!, PointOfLaw Forum and Boing Boing

David Shepardson / detroitnews.com:

Treasury: U.S. to lose $25 billion on auto bailout — Washington -The Treasury Department says in a new report the government expects to lose more than $25 billion on the $85 billion auto bailout. That's 15 percent higher than its previous forecast. — In a monthly report sent to Congress on Friday …

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation and Weasel Zippers

Jason Lange / CNBC:
U.S. Treasury increases auto bailout cost estimate

Discussion: The Hill, Politico and Wake up America

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

More questions raised about Fareed Zakaria's work — Columnist and TV host Fareed Zakaria, who acknowledged plagiarizing parts of a magazine article last week, appears to have also published without attribution a passage from a 2005 book. — Zakaria's 2008 book, “The Post-American World …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Poynter and The Atlantic Online, more at Mediagazer »