memeorandum: The next frontier in the case against Paul Ryan (Greg Sargent/Washington Post)

6:00 PM ET, August 15, 2012

Top Items:

The next frontier in the case against Paul Ryan — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have had some success in obscuring the health care debate by pointing out that Ryan's proposal does not change Medicare for people currently over 55 years old. This has allowed Republicans to blunt Dem attacks …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Applesauce, New York Times, Connecting.the.Dots, The New Republic, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Boehner holds call to calm House GOP — Jolted by concerns over the wave of Medicare-themed Democratic attacks sparked by Paul Ryan's vice presidential nomination, House Speaker John Boehner held a Tuesday evening conference call aimed at soothing jittery Republican members, POLITICO has learned.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Washington Monthly, Riehl World View and The Hinterland Gazette

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Romney Sees No Immediate Bounce From Ryan V.P. Pick — Support at 46% before naming Ryan, 47% after — PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney's standing in the presidential election campaign has not changed materially in the immediate days after his announcement of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate.

Discussion: Ballot Box, GOP 12, Lynn Sweet, Sky Dancing, Hot Air, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, USA Today, CNN, The Daily Beast, americanthinker.com, The Hinterland Gazette, The Buzz Florida Politics Feed, Washington Examiner and Hit & Run

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

When Cruelty Is Cute — I'd been wondering how long it would take Republicans to realize that Paul Ryan is their guy. — He's the cutest package that cruelty ever came in. He has a winning air of sad cheerfulness. He's affable, clean-cut and really cut, with the Irish altar-boy widow's peak …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, americanthinker.com and Prairie Weather

Katherine Boyle / Washington Post:
Ryan and Romney: A contrast in sartorial styles

Discussion: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Taegan Goddard's … and Balloon Juice

Ross Douthat / Campaign Stops:
Why Moderates Should Like Paul Ryan

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Booman Tribune and TBogg

Andrew Malcolm / Investor's Business Daily:
See for yourself why Romney picked Paul Ryan

Discussion: Hot Air

Waymon Hudson / The Huffington Post:
Paul Ryan: Poster Boy of Today's Extreme GOP

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and ThinkProgress

Politico:
Paul Ryan no help to Mitt Romney with Hispanics

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, New York Times, Ballot Box, ABCNEWS and New York State Immigrant …

Danny Shea / The Huffington Post:
Bill Maher Talks Paul Ryan, Sarah Palin & Medical Marijuana On HuffPost Live (VIDEO)

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, Mediaite, Hit & Run, The Raw Story and SQUATLO RANT

Fox News:

FBI probing shooting of guard at Family Research Council HQ — A security guard at the Family Research Council headquarters in Washington, D.C., was shot in the arm by a gunman who sources said expressed disagreement with the conservative group's policy positions.

Washington Post:

Security guard shot at Family Research Council in downtown D.C. — A security guard at the Family Research Council was shot and wounded Wednesday morning after a scuffle in the lobby of the group's headquarters in downtown Washington, authorities said. — D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier …

Discussion: National Review, Weasel Zippers, NewsBusters.org, Weekly Standard, New York Magazine, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Daily Caller and NOM Blog

WJLA-TV:

Family Research Council shooting leaves security guard wounded — A suspect in the shooting of a security guard at the headquarters of a downtown D.C. conservative Christian lobbying firm criticized the group's anti-gay stance before opening fire, a source tells ABC7.

Discussion: LifeNews.com, Christianity Today, Holy Bullies …, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Towleroad News #gay, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Joe. My. God., The Lonely Conservative, Box Turtle Bulletin, Atlas Shrugs, Balloon Juice, iOwnTheWorld.com, The PJ Tatler, NOM Blog and The Other McCain

GLAAD:

LGBT organizations release joint statement regarding the shooting at Family Research Council (FRC) — Joint statement regarding shooting at Family Research Council (FRC) from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organizations — We were saddened to hear news of the shooting …

Discussion: U.S. News, CNN, ThinkProgress, Truth Wins Out and Joe. My. God.

Erick Erickson / Twitchy:
Crosshairs: Left calls Family Research Council ‘hate group,’ reacts to shooting; Shooter yelled about FRC's ‘values’

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, National Review, Wonkette, The PJ Tatler and American Power

Fox News:
SOURCES: Gunman With Chick-Fil-A Bag Opens Fire At Conservatives

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Guardian

Carissa DiMargo / nbcwashington.com:
Security Guard Shot at Family Research Council in Downtown DC

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Steve Rothaus' Gay …

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Biden: 'Folks, Where's it Written We Cannot Lead the World in the 20th Century in Making Automobiles?' — In a speech today in Virginia, Vice President Joe Biden seemed to forget we're in the 21st century: — 'Folks, where's it written we cannot lead the world in the 20th century in making automobiles?," said Biden.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Gateway Pundit, The Lonely Conservative, neo-neocon, Washington Free Beacon, Instapundit, The Right Scoop and The PJ Tatler

Joe Biden / CNN:
Former Obama campaign co-chair: Biden's remarks ‘racial viciousness’

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Free Beacon, Politico and ABCNEWS

Katie Glueck / Politico:
Rudy Giuliani on Joe Biden: 'He isn't bright'

Discussion: Infowars, The Moderate Voice, Shot in the Dark, Taylor Marsh, Power Line, The Hinterland Gazette and Hot Air

CNN:
Former Obama campaign co-chair to stump for Romney

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, The PJ Tatler, Riehl World View, GOP 12 and Veracity Stew

First Read:
First Thoughts: Getting nasty

Discussion: The New Republic, ABCNEWS, americanthinker.com and White House Dossier

Associated Press:

Judge won't halt Pa. voter identification law — HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday refused to stop a tough new voter identification law from going into effect, which Democrats say will suppress votes among President Barack Obama's supporters.

Discussion: Slate, The Maddow Blog, CNN, theGrio, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway and p m carpenter's commentary

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Maher on voter ID: Black people don't have picture ID since they 'take the bus because they're poor' [VIDEO]

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:
BREAKING: Judge Upholds Pennsylvania Voter ID Law; Opponents To Appeal

Discussion: Election Law Blog, Philly.com and The Hinterland Gazette

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

A Romney first: over 40% of youth vote back him … More Photos — Popular in Politics — For the first time since he began running for president, Republican Mitt Romney has the support of over 40 percent of America's youth vote, a troubling sign for President Obama who built his 2008 victory …

Discussion: Ballot Box, CNN, Politico, AEIdeas, The Gateway Pundit, Wake up America and Hot Air

Suffolk University:

Unlikely/Unregistered Voter Poll with USA TODAY — Political opinion polls usually confine themselves to seeking out registered, likely voters. But what about the millions of adult U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote and choose not to? — The Suffolk University Political Research Center …

Discussion: The Fix, National Review, Firedoglake and Washington Examiner

Susan Page / USA Today:
Why 90 million Americans won't vote in November

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, ABCNEWS and The Agonist

Brooke Nevils / Rock Center with Brian Williams:

Ann Romney talks family, finances in exclusive interview: 'There's nothing we're hiding' — LLANGYNWD, Wales - About two hundred miles away from the Greenwich, England, arena where her purebred horse Rafalca competed in the London Olympics, Ann Romney stroked the nose of Magic, a Welsh pony.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Politico, The Huffington Post, The Fix, TBogg, The Hill, Associated Press, US Politics, The Maddow Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, The Raw Story, The Hinterland Gazette and Prairie Weather

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

Special ops group attacks Obama over bin Laden bragging, leaks — (Reuters) - A group of former U.S. intelligence and Special Forces operatives is set to launch a media campaign, including TV ads, that scolds President Barack Obama for taking credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden and argues …

Discussion: Hot Air, Guardian, ThinkProgress, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway, The Hinterland Gazette, The Daily Dish, Ballot Box, americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers, Althouse and The Agonist

Paul Walsh / Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Fiery protester outside General Mills dies days later on family errand — A Twin Cities man who staged a fiery protest outside General Mills headquarters in Golden Valley last week died several days later while running an errand, his family's minister said Wednesday.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Mediaite, The Raw Story and Joe. My. God.

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

A most poisonous campaign — No one expected Campaign 2012 to be positive or uplifting. The country's problems are too severe and the battle lines between Republicans and Democrats have been hardened by almost four years of conflict between the White House and Congress.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Outside the Beltway, The Fix and Prairie Weather

Lynn Beisner / Guardian:

I wish my mother had aborted me | Lynn Beisner — This is no 'I wish I'd never been born' howl of angst. I love my mother, and having an abortion would have given her a better life — If there is one thing that anti-choice activists do that makes me see red, it is when they parade …