memeorandum: 5 things to watch in crowded Illinois primary (Alex Isenstadt/Politico)

9:40 AM ET, February 26, 2013

Top Items:

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:

Right cheers Bob Woodward ‘fact check’ — Conservatives in the media have found themselves armed with political ammunition in their battle with President Barack Obama over the impending sequester from a surprising source — Bob Woodward. — The journalism icon's fact check on the sequester …

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, NewsBusters blogs and The Daily Caller

Jake Sherman / Politico:

John Boehner's big bet — House Speaker John Boehner has dug in. — If the let-the-cuts-happen approach on the sequester seems risky — especially with President Barack Obama blaming Republicans for everything from kids not getting vaccines to long lines at the airport — the alternative for Boehner is worse.

Discussion: The Hill

New York Times:

The States Get the Bad News — In Kentucky, home of the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, residents woke up on Monday to news articles like these: Widespread government spending cuts that begin on Friday will cost 21,484 jobs in the state. A construction project at Fort Knox will come to a halt.

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Cincinnati.com, Hit & Run, Los Angeles Times and Daily Kos

Sabrina Siddiqui / The Huffington Post:

Ron Johnson: John Boehner Would Lose Speakership If He Caves On Taxes To Avert Sequester — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would lose his speakership if he agrees to new tax revenues to avert the across-the-board spending cuts that are set to kick in on March 1.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Fox News:

Dems, GOP at odds over portrayal of sequestration — Also in this playlist... This transcript is automatically generated — Good evening I'm — not only are Democrats and Republicans engaged in a pitched battle over looming cuts in the reduction of increased federal spending.

Discussion: Business Insider

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Sens. McCain and Graham to meet with Obama for talks on immigration

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers and Politico

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Republicans Sign Brief in Support of Gay Marriage — WASHINGTON — Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry …

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, msnbc.com, The Raw Story, Prairie Weather, Taegan Goddard's …, Towleroad News #gay, Joe. My. God., The Reaction and AllThingsD

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

5 things to watch in crowded Illinois primary — Guns, racial politics and a billionaire out-of-town mayor: The special House election to succeed disgraced former Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has featured all of those things in spades. — A National Rifle Association-friendly ex-congresswoman …

Discussion: Hot Air, First Read and msnbc.com

Paul Steinhauser / CNN: In Chicago election dominated by gun violence, New York's mayor makes big imprint

NBC's Taylor Hiegel / First Read:

CPAC to feature potential presidential candidates, GOP internal battle, and no Christie — Just months after their losses in the 2012 election, Republicans and conservatives are setting a vibrant — and crowded — stage at next month's closely watched political cattle call.

Discussion: The Week, The Fix, ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Twitchy and Talking Points Memo

Jim Acosta / CNN:
TRENDING: Christie not on CPAC's guest list

Discussion: Politico, The Maddow Blog, Mediaite, Daily Record and The Moderate Voice

Slate:

Entry 4: Forget Seth MacFarlane's sexist jokes. This was the End of Men Oscars. — To: Dan Kois and Troy Patterson — We're one reproductive-technology breakthrough away from not needing men at the Oscars — I promise to spare you a long-form exegesis of Seth MacFarlane's opening number …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Weasel Zippers and Washington Free Beacon

Lori Ziganto / Twitchy:
FLOTUS prop flop: Michelle Obama's use of military as props sparks disgust

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Doug Ross, Little Green Footballs, This ain't Hell …, Hot Air and Deadline.com

Luke Johnson / The Huffington Post:

Walter Jones, GOP Congressman, Hits Dick Cheney Over Iraq War — Dick Cheney, Video, HuffPolitics Blog, Walter Jones, Dick Cheney Water Jones, Walter Jones Dick Cheney, Walter Jones Iraq, Walter Jones Iraq War, Politics News — Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), an outspoken critic of the war in Afghanistan …

Discussion: The Hill, Taegan Goddard's … and The Raw Story

USA Today:

Former surgeon general C. Everett Koop dead at age 96 … Koop was surgeon general from 1982 to 1989. — C. Everett Koop, the former surgeon general who brought frank talk about AIDS into U.S. homes, has died at his home in Hanover, N.H., officials at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth said Monday.

Discussion: The Spectacle Blog

Associated Press:
C. Everett Koop Dead: Former Surgeon General Dies At 96

Discussion: New York Times, Joe. My. God., Outside the Beltway, alan.com and Crooks and Liars

Betsy Woodruff / National Review:

Farrakhan Cheers Hagel's ‘Jewish Lobby’ Comment — Chuck Hagel may not be having much luck winning over Republican senators, but at least someone is aware of his moral fiber — Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam. Yesterday he delivered his annual address at the Saviours …

Discussion: Hot Air, Mediaite, Betsy's Page, Power Line, BREITBART.COM and Atlas Shrugs

Yaakov Lappin / Reuters:

Gaza rocket slams South for first time since truce — Grad explodes in Ashkelon; first such attack by terrorists in Gaza since the ceasefire following Operation Pillar of Defense. — Palestinian terrorists broke a three month ceasefire on Tuesday and fired a rocket from Gaza into southern Israel.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Algemeiner.com and Jihad Watch

Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:

Assemblyman Defends Wearing Blackface to Party — A prominent Brooklyn assemblyman defended himself on Monday after attracting attention for wearing blackface to a party he hosted this weekend to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim. — The assemblyman, Dov Hikind, a Democrat …

Discussion: Politicker, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Download, The Hinterland Gazette, Taking Note, Washington Free Beacon and Eschaton

Hunter Walker / Politicker:
Dov Hikind Parties Down for Purim in ‘Black Basketball Player’ Costume

Discussion: CBS New York, Gothamist, NBCNews.com, NY Daily News, The Daily Caller, BuzzFeed, The Raw Story and Capital New York

Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:

Most Say Spending Cuts Would Have Major Impact on Economy, Military — Little Partisan Difference in Views of Sequester's Impact — OVERVIEW — While many Americans may be resigned to seeing automatic spending cuts in the budget sequester go into effect, the public is concerned about the potential impact of the reductions.

Discussion: Business Insider, First Read and Talking Points Memo

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Virginia's Governor Bob McDonnell Thinks You're an Idiot — at 8:00 a.m. Bob McDonnell will go to CPAC and address the Faith & Freedom Coalition Prayer Breakfast. For those of you who attend this event, you will be sitting staring at a liar. — If you are a conservative, remember Bob McDonnell thinks you're an idiot.

Discussion: Washington Post, Booman Tribune, Hot Air, Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze.com and The Other McCain

Wall Street Journal:
A Cavalier Fiasco — Virginia Republicans try to elect the next Democratic Governor.

Discussion: International Liberty and NetRight Daily

Andrew Dugan / Gallup:

Democrats Enjoy 2-1 Advantage Over GOP Among Hispanics — Democratic dominance consistent across all age groups — WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Hispanic adults are more than twice as likely to identify as or lean Democratic than Republican, according to Gallup Daily tracking data collected throughout 2012.

Discussion: Politico and The Daily Caller

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Dems, GOP tee up rival sequester bills in Senate as deadline nears — Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate are teeing up rival bills aimed at shielding their members from blame when an $85 billion cut to federal spending takes effect on Friday. — The Senate will vote this week …

Discussion: msnbc.com

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

DOJ to Federal Judge: We Can Force Your Wife to Violate Her Religion — (CNSNews.com) - While presenting an oral argument in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last fall, a lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department told a federal judge that the Obama administration believed …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and protein wisdom

David Brooks / New York Times:

Our Second Adolescence — In Friday's column, I wrote that the Obama administration has no plan to avoid the sequester save raising taxes on the rich. That was unfair. The White House approach is not what I would like, but it is more balanced than I described. — Humiliation is a good teacher.

Discussion: Mother Jones

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

GOP lawmaker: Obama using fake Twitter messages in fight over gun control — A Texas Republican on Monday said President Obama's gun control campaign is a fraud based on fake messages over Twitter. — Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) accused Obama of trying to make support for his position look stronger …

Discussion: Joe For America, Power Line, The Other McCain, The PJ Tatler, This ain't Hell … and National Review

Palestinian Media Watch:

Protocols of the Elders of Zion alive and well in the PA — Old Antisemitic forgery alive and well in the PA: — The Protocols of the Elders of Zion — Op-ed published by Palestinian news agency Ma'an: — “One wonders if the Jews belong to some other kind of human species …

Discussion: Jihad Watch and The Jawa Report