memeorandum: Choice of Ryan Shifts the Focus From Economy to Ideology (Jeff Zeleny/New York Times)

1:45 PM ET, August 16, 2012

Top Items:

Joe Biden / WDBJ-TV:

Radford business owner declines request from Joe Biden's entourage to stop in store — The owner of Crumb and Get It says he doesn't agree with the Obama administration's policies. — Vice President Joe Biden visits Danville, Floyd, Wytheville — Republicans seize on Biden's ‘put you back in chains’ comment

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, BREITBART.COM, The Moderate Voice, Weekly Standard, The Jawa Report, Wake up America, Datechguy's Blog, The Gateway Pundit, The Hinterland Gazette, Riehl World View, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Is Today the Day? — Perhaps further fueling speculation that Barack Obama may replace Joe Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket with, say, Hillary Clinton, take a look at part of the president's schedule for today: — 10:15AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

Discussion: Power Line, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, National Review, BLACKFIVE, Fox News, Hot Air, Althouse and neo-neocon

Jonathan Martin / Politico:

Mission Impossible: Managing Joe Biden — BLACKSBURG, Va. — The most emotionally powerful minute of Joe Biden's two-day swing through rural Virginia almost didn't happen. — After the vice president paid a solemn visit Wednesday to the memorial honoring the victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting …

Discussion: The Fix, Taylor Marsh, Guardian, National Review, Mediaite, Poynter, CNN, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon and Weekly Standard, more at Mediagazer »

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

The ugly presidential campaign — The umbrage industry is working overtime this week. — Mitt Romney, the Republicans' presidential standard-bearer, is so outraged by President Obama's attacks that he called the president a hater: “Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, p m carpenter's commentary, The Mahablog, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

Fox News:
Ryan takes on Obama campaign over Biden ‘chains’ remark

Discussion: Politico, Conservatives4Palin, The Gateway Pundit and Mediaite

Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Mission Impossible: Managing Joe Biden

Discussion: Mediaite and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Washington Post:
Ryan pick presents new challenges for Biden

Discussion: Washington Wire, WBAY-TV, The Fix, ABCNEWS, Politico, Ballot Box, USA Today and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Washington Post:
Mr. Biden's Social Security promise falls flat

Discussion: Power Line

Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
President Obama: No Apologies, No Scolding for Joe Biden's Remark

Discussion: Reuters, Mediaite, Mail Online, The Fix, Scared Monkeys, Politico, First Read, USA Today, The Hill, ABCNEWS, New York Magazine, Weasel Zippers, CNN, Hot Air and Washington Post

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Fmr. Va. Gov. Douglas Wilder to Biden: ‘Slavery is nothing to joke about’

Discussion: Weekly Standard, The Hinterland Gazette, americanthinker.com, The PJ Tatler and Power Line

Rich Lowry / Politico:

Give 'em hell, Mitt! — On Medicare, the Romney campaign is borrowing the strategic logic of a long-ago military legend. — Taking command of the French 9th army in 1914 as it retreated before the Germans, Marshal Ferdinand Foch uttered his immortals words: “Hard pressed on my right.

Discussion: CNN and Cold Fury

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:

ANALYSIS: Paul Ryan's First Week — ANALYSIS:If Mitt Romney's decision to announce his vice presidential pick earlier than most other presidential candidates in modern political history was supposed to turn the campaign away from the personal (his record at Bain, his refusal to release …

Discussion: CNN, Politico and ABCNEWS

First Read:
Ryan on Medicare: ‘We want this debate’

Discussion: The Other McCain, Instapundit and American Spectator

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Marriage advocate pleads for civility — Yesterday's shooting at the conservative Family Research Council in downtown Washington, D.C., is symptomatic of a broader lack of civility in political discourse, the head of an organization promoting traditional marriage said Thursday.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Jordy Yager / The Hill:
Shooting spurs heated debate on gay rights, ‘hate group’ label

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Gay Politics, americanthinker.com, Towleroad News #gay, NOM Blog, American Power, Little Green Footballs and Twitchy

Tim Graham / NewsBusters.org:
Only ABC Offers Full Story on Shooting at FRC; CBS, NBC Blow It Off With Tiny Reports

Discussion: Washington Post, LifeNews.com, Associated Press and The Daily Caller

Associated Press:
Cops: LGBT volunteer shoots conservative group's guard

Discussion: UrbanGrounds, Shakesville, Power Line, The PJ Tatler, Truth Wins Out, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, GLAAD, tpmmuckraker …, The Jawa Report, Washington Times and Washington Post

Erick Erickson / RedState:
Human Rights Campaign Maintains Family Research Council is a “Hate Group”

Discussion: Good As You, NOM Blog and NewsBusters.org blogs

Mary Katharine Ham / Hot Air:
Cops: Suspect in FRC shooting volunteered at Washington LGBT center

Discussion: American Prospect, livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com, CNN, HillBuzz.org, BuzzFeed, Power Line, Jammie Wearing Fools, Shot in the Dark and American Power

New York Times:

Ecuador Grants Asylum to Assange, Defying Britain — CARACAS, Venezuela — Ecuador said on Thursday that it had decided to grant political asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Mr. Assange has been holed up for two months in the Ecuadorean embassy in London …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Guardian, American Spectator, Media Decoder, New York Magazine, News Desk and americanthinker.com, more at Mediagazer »

Reuters:
Britain warns Ecuador it could enter embassy to get Assange

Discussion: BBC, Taylor Marsh, National Review, US Politics and LewRockwell.com Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Lizzy Davies / Guardian:
Diplomatic row intensifies as Ecuador grants asylum to Julian Assange

Discussion: News Desk, New York Times, Crooks and Liars, Balloon Juice, Gawker and BBC, more at Mediagazer »

David Fahrenthold / Washington Post:

Artur Davis, who backed Obama in 2008, to speak at GOP convention — Former congressman Artur Davis, who officially seconded President Obama's nomination at the 2008 Democratic convention, said Wednesday that he will cap a remarkable political metamorphosis by addressing the Republican convention …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Outside the Beltway, AEIdeas, Hot Air, Politico, americanthinker.com, The Fix and The Political Carnival

Andrew Malcolm / Investor's Business Daily:
Ex-Obama pal decodes Joe Biden's racial-speak for other Americans

Discussion: protein wisdom and Moe_Lane's blog

DealBook:

No Criminal Case Is Likely in Loss at MF Global — A criminal investigation into the collapse of the brokerage firm MF Global and the disappearance of about $1 billion in customer money is now heading into its final stage without charges expected against any top executives.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Jawa Report, Outside the Beltway, emptywheel, The Awl, Brad DeLong and Jammie Wearing Fools

Rolling Stone:
Goldman Non-Prosecution: AG Eric Holder Has No Balls

Discussion: Firedoglake and CBS DC

Nick R. Martin / tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMMuckraker — Brewer's Immigration Blast At Obama Looks Like A Dud — At first blush, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer seemed to be defying the federal government once again on Wednesday night. — The Republican governor signed an executive order saying Arizona had no plans to give government benefits …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Los Angeles Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, KNXV, The Raw Story, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, The Political Carnival, Talking Points Memo and The Maddow Blog

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:
Gov. Jan Brewer defies W.H. on immigration

Discussion: ImmigrationProf Blog and New York Times

Karah-Leigh / Athens Daily News:

Red & Black student staffers walk out — The student editorial staff of the University of Georgia's The Red & Black newspaper walked out Wednesday evening after a non-student was named editorial director with final say on all editorial content. — The Red & Black's student editor-in-chief …

Discussion: Red & Dead, Sense of Events, Poynter, Instapundit and Inside Higher Ed, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Ferner / The Huffington Post:

Dave Mustaine, Megadeth Singer, Says Obama ‘Staged’ Aurora Shooting, Sikh Temple Shooting To Pass A Gun Ban (VIDEO) … FOLLOW: — Barack Obama , Denver News, Video, Dave Mustaine, Gun Rights, Aurora News, Aurora Shooting 2012, Batman Shooting 2012, Colorado Shooting 2012, Colorado Theater Shooting …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

TMZ.com:
Megadeth Singer Dave Mustaine — Barack Obama ‘Staged’ Aurora Shooting Massacre

Discussion: Rolling Stone, Wonkette, Reuters, Mediaite, SQUATLO RANT, The Moderate Voice, BuzzFeed, Shakesville, Gawker and New York Magazine

Investor's Business Daily:

Look Who the Press Is Blaming for the Ugly Campaign — Media Bias: What a surprise. Mitt Romney finally throws a counterpunch to a series of outrageous Obama campaign lies, and the press accuses Romney of going negative. The media's pro-Obama bias is a wonder to behold.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

CNN's O'Brien, Sununu wring fun from Medicare — Upon the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's running mate, Washington's chattering class predicted a turn toward substance, toward discussions of budget numbers and the tough choices faced by the country. They were right.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Balloon Juice

Paul Bond / Hollywood Reporter:
CNN's Soledad O'Brien Responds to Critics Who Claim She's Biased (Exclusive)

Discussion: National Review, NewsBusters.org blogs and NewsBusters.org

Kirsten Powers / The Daily Beast:

Paul Ryan's Youth Appeal — WHY MILLENNIALS LOVE RYAN — Boomers don't want to give up their sweet deal, but the rest of us in the screwed generation have reason to embrace Paul Ryan's ‘radical’ plans, writes Kirsten Powers. — Khalil Hamra / AP Photo — OBAMA, STAY OUT OF SYRIA!

Discussion: Hot Air, The PJ Tatler and Weekly Standard

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

President Obama Takes Questions from People Mag, Entertainment Tonight, Disses White House Press Corps — President Obama hasn't formally taken questions from the White House press corps in more than two months, while on the campaign trail in Iowa yesterday he made time for reporters from People Magazine and Entertainment Tonight.

Discussion: Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Riehl World View, ETonline.com, Pundit & Pundette and Politico