memeorandum: MEMORANDUM — Re: America's Comeback Team (Mitt Romney for President …)

4:30 PM ET, August 17, 2012

Top Items:

Paul Ryan — THE TOPLESS PHOTO — THE TOPLESS PHOTO — EXCLUSIVE — Here it is ... the very first photo of Paul Ryan's mysterious athletic physique ... REVEALED!!! — TMZ has (finally) obtained a photo of Mitt Romney's running mate — sans shirt — taken roughly 6 years ago ... right before Ryan got hooked on the P90X workout.

Discussion: Politico, The Lonely Conservative, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Towleroad News #gay, Taylor Marsh, Viral Read, Wake up America, ABCNEWS, The Hill, FishbowlDC, Business Insider, The Hinterland Gazette, New York Magazine and The Other McCain

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:

Mitt Romney's Whiteboard Blues — ANALYSIS: Everything you need to know about how this week went for Mitt Romney can be summed up in one word: whiteboard. — There he was in Greer, S.C., with a black dry-erase marker in hand scrawling out on a wood-framed whiteboard how — in his view …

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Wake up America, CNN and Politico

Politico:

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan pursue united front strategy — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan plan to campaign together again sooner than aides had originally planned, likely twice next week, as part of a new offensive to take on the touchy issue of Medicare, campaign officials tell POLITICO.

Discussion: CNN, The Maddow Blog, Los Angeles Times, The Caucus, BuzzFeed, Daily Kos, First Read, Washington Post, Connecting.the.Dots and The Daily Caller

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

Romney's present, Ryan's future — Vice-presidential picks are always judged by their effect on the coming election. They rarely have any. — They haven't had a decisive influence since Lyndon Johnson carried Texas for John Kennedy in 1960. (That and Illinois put Kennedy over the top.)

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Associated Press, AEIdeas, Politico, p m carpenter's commentary and Betsy's Page

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The Morning Plum: Romney and Ryan muddy the Medicare waters

Discussion: ThinkProgress, 2012 Decoded, ABCNEWS, BuzzFeed, CNN and Brad DeLong

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Romney advisers confirm it: We're running a ‘just trust me’ campaign

Discussion: The Political Carnival, New York Times and Angry Black Lady Chronicles

Wall Street Journal:
The Mediscare Boomerang — ObamaCare gives Republicans a chance …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Speaker.gov, Hot Air, Scared Monkeys and ABCNEWS

Mitt Romney for President of the United States …:
MEMORANDUM — Re: America's Comeback Team

Discussion: The Other McCain, USA Today, Hot Air and The 1600 Report

Matt Rhoades / Barack Obama:

Letter from Jim Messina to Matt Rhoades — Dear Matt: — I am writing to ask again that the Governor release multiple years of tax returns, but also to make an offer that should address his concerns about the additional disclosures. Governor Romney apparently fears that the more he offers …

Discussion: Democracy in America, NY Daily News, National Review, Washington Wire, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, The Reality-Based Community, Politico, The Daily Dish, Taylor Marsh, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Booman Tribune, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, GOP 12, Swampland and The Caucus

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

White House piles on Obama call for Romney to release tax forms — The White House on Friday piled on to the Obama campaign's call for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to release more of his tax records. — White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said voters think transparency is …

Discussion: CNN and Algemeiner.com

CNN:
TRENDING: Obama camp: Let's make a deal on tax returns. Romney camp: No.

Discussion: Associated Press, Wake up America, CANNONFIRE and Outside the Beltway

David Jackson / USA Today:
Romney declines Obama deal on tax return releases

Discussion: Firedoglake, Michelle Malkin and American Spectator

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Hateful speech on hate groups — Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, posted an alert on its blog Tuesday: “Paul Ryan Speaking at Hate Group's Annual Conference.” — The “hate group” that the Republicans' vice presidential candidate would be addressing?

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Hot Air, Mother Jones, rightwingwatch.org, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Sky Dancing, Box Turtle Bulletin, Hit & Run, The Other McCain, American Power, The Raw Story, Weasel Zippers, PoliticusUSA, Holy Bullies … and The Reality-Based Community

Christian Newswire:

LivePrayer to File $100 Million Lawsuit Against Southern Poverty Law Center — Contact: Rev. William Keller, LivePrayer.com, 727-420-7005 — Bill Keller, the world's leading Internet Evangelist and the founder of LivePrayer.com, with over 2.4 million subscribers worldwide reading …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, NOM Blog, Joe. My. God. and National Review

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:
Family Research Council head puts blame on Law Center

Discussion: Washington Monthly, GLAA Forum, Associated Press and BuzzFeed

Bernie Becker / The Hill:

Unemployment rate rises in 44 states — Close to 90 percent of states saw their unemployment rates rise in July, a potentially worrisome development for President Obama's reelection campaign. — The Labor Department reported Friday that 44 states in all saw their jobless rate go up, with four states seeing no change at all.

Discussion: Power Line

Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

Discussion: Firedoglake and Calculated Risk

Christopher S. Rugaber / Associated Press:
Unemployment rates rise in 44 states in July

Discussion: The Fix, The PJ Tatler and business.time.com

BBC:

Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism — Judge Marina Syrova: “These three plus others... plotted together to undermine civil order, motivated by religious hatred” — Three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been jailed for two years after staging an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral.

Discussion: Guardian, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed, The Confluence, Shakesville, Instapundit, Joe. My. God. and The Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »

David M. Herszenhorn / New York Times:
Russian Punk Band Is Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Anti-Putin Stunt

Discussion: IHT Rendezvous, Emerging Europe Real Time, Hit & Run, Via Meadia, Media Decoder, News Desk, The Lede, Washington Free Beacon and Althouse

Washington Examiner:

Hillary rejected VP slot to ready her own 2016 run … Popular in Politics — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was pressed by her husband and a top Obama aide to consider replacing Vice President Joe Biden just a couple of weeks ago, claims the author of the New York Times bestseller “The Amateur.”

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Power Line, Washington Monthly, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
‘The Amateur’ author Ed Klein: Hillary dismissed VP possibility two weeks ago

Discussion: Hot Air, The PJ Tatler, The Lonely Conservative, Weasel Zippers and Power Line

Annie-Rose Strasser / ThinkProgress:

Geraldo Rivera: Napolitano Has Orchestrated A ‘Same-Sex Takeover’ Of Homeland Security — In an attempt to explain the allegations of sexual harassment at the Department of Homeland Security, Fox News host Geraldo Rivera on Friday resorted to saying that the few women in powerful roles …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:
Geraldo Investigates: Is There A ‘Lesbian Cabal’ Leading The Department Of Homeland Security?

Discussion: The Raw Story, Wonkette and Towleroad News #gay

David Simon:

Mitt Romney paid taxes at a rate of at least 13 percent. And he's proud to say so. — Can we stand back and pause a short minute to take in the spectacle of a man who wants to be President of The United States, who wants us to seriously regard him as a paragon of the American civic ideal …

Discussion: New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Dave Winer, Shakesville, The Hill, p m carpenter's commentary, Mediaite and theGrio

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Romney Says He Paid at Least 13% in Income Taxes

Discussion: News Desk and The Caucus

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:

City of San Francisco to place sharia-compliant disclaimers next to every AFDI pro-Israel bus ad — Scott Goldstein, President of Titan Transit advertising, just called me. Titan handles the outdoor ads for San Francisco MUNI and BART. — In an unprecedented move, the city of San Francisco …

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com and Joe. My. God.

CBS San Francisco:
Muni Not Taking Down Controversial ‘Jihad’ Ads On SF Buses

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

Doug Stanglin / USA Today:

Colorado U. to segregate dorms for students with gun permits — The University of Colorado will segregate dorms for students who have valid permits to carry concealed weapons, The Denver Post reports. — The newspaper says student housing contracts at CU-Boulder and CU-Colorado Springs …

Discussion: U.S. News and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

BBC:

Moscow bans gay pride for century — Nikolay Alexeyev has been campaigning for years for the right to stage gay parades in Russia — Moscow's top court has upheld a ban on gay pride marches in the Russian capital for the next 100 years. — Earlier Russia's best-known gay rights campaigner …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway and Towleroad News #gay

Matthew Mosk / ABCNEWS:

Secret ‘Menu’ Details Perks for Big Democratic Donors — Those seeking invites to the most lavish receptions at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, “gold ticket” access to “dialogues,” and private breakfast briefings with party luminaries, can expect a hefty price of admission.

Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:

One-Trick Pony Hack of the Day — Bill Galston. See also. — In addition to the foolish idea that it would be possible to reach a grand bargain if only the Obama campaign would unilaterally disarm and refuse “demagogue” the Ryan/Romney budget, it's important to ask the question of whether …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Obama's betrayal — In the innocent, bygone days of February, President Obama told NBC News that the campaign would get negative against him, but provided this assurance: “I think that you will be able to see how we conduct ourselves in the campaign. I think it will be consistent …

Discussion: Cafe Hayek and p m carpenter's commentary