memeorandum: Virgin America Enables In-Flight Voter Registration (Rebecca Elliott/BuzzFeed)

12:20 PM 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 …

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 Mahablog, Paul Krugman, Business Insider, The Glittering Eye, The Raw Story, Hullabaloo, p m carpenter's commentary, Taylor Marsh, Esquire 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, Weekly Standard, AEIdeas, UrbanGrounds 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, Weekly Standard, Taylor Marsh, 2012 Decoded, NBC New York, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air, americanthinker.com, Washington Examiner, Gothamist, About.com US Politics, GOP 12, New York Magazine and Associated Press

Rasmussen Reports:

50% Now View Paul Ryan Favorably; 43% Say He Was Right Choice — Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan's favorables are up after the first blush of national media exposure following Mitt Romney's selection of him as his vice presidential running mate. But as is generally the case with running mates …

Discussion: GOP 12, Ballot Box and Althouse

BuzzFeed:

The Return Of No-Risk Romney — No answer on Medicare, and no salsa music. Romney seems to want Ryan, but not the Ryan plan. — Romney speaks during a campaign event at Palacio De Los Jugos in Miami, Florida, on Monday. — Image by SAUL LOEB / Getty Images

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

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

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

Discussion: Brad DeLong

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Romney Campaign Chair Contradicts Candidate, Says Romney's Medicare Plan Is ‘Very Different’ From Ryan's Plan

Discussion: The Raw Story, The Maddow Blog and BuzzFeed

Wall Street Journal:
Stephens: Paul Ryan's Neocon Manifesto

Discussion: The Glittering Eye and CNN

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: Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, USA Today and AEIdeas

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

Discussion: Angry Black Lady Chronicles, New York Magazine, Forbes, FT Alphaville, The Incidental Economist, The Hinterland Gazette, National Review, 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

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

Discussion: Applesauce

Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org blogs:
Soledad O'Brien Caught Reading Liberal Blog During Heated Debate With Romney Adviser

Discussion: Viral Read, RedState, The Maddow Blog, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, NewsBusters.org, Betsy's Page, American Power and The Other McCain

Scott Johnson / Power Line:
A day at the fair — If you look around the Web …

Discussion: protein wisdom, USA Today and WRAL-TV

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

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

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

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

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

Rush Limbaugh:
Paul Ryan Pick Energizes the Campaign: We'll Win or Lose This Election on Ideas

Discussion: Althouse, The Atlantic Online, Business Insider and Ricochet Conversations Feed

William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion:
Hey Paul Ryan haters, your congressional insider trader suspect actually is Sheldon Whitehouse

Discussion: Cognitive Dissidence, naked capitalism, Wake up America, NewsBusters.org blogs, New York Magazine and The Other McCain

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, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

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, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Jawa Report and The Gateway Pundit

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

Francisco Alvarado / Riptide 2.0:

Mitt Romney Is Stumping in Miami at Eatery Owned by Convicted Coke Smuggler … Today, Mitt Romney is forgoing a Miami political campaign tradition by skipping over Versailles restaurant in Little Havana. Instead, Mittens will hobnob with a convicted cocaine smuggler.

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, The Buzz Florida Politics Feed, The Hinterland Gazette, Business Insider and Naked Politics

Associated Press:
Host for Romney event is a convicted drug dealer

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, New York Magazine and Balloon Juice

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

Boston Globe:

In Paul Ryan's home state, he supported US energy funds while decrying stimulus program — JANESVILLE, Wisc. — In 2009, as Rep. Paul D. Ryan was railing against President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package as a “wasteful spending spree,” he wrote at least four letters to Obama's secretary …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Cognitive Dissidence and Swampland

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Recall leaves Wis. voters exhausted for GOP Senate primary

Discussion: CNN

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

Rebecca Elliott / BuzzFeed:

Virgin America Enables In-Flight Voter Registration — Romney and Obama impersonators come along for the ride. — As part of the launch of its new direct flight line from San Francisco to Washington D.C., Virgin America debuted the first ever in-flight voter registration program this morning.

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 »