memeorandum: Obama dismisses GOP Benghazi probe as political ‘sideshow’ (Julian Pecquet/The Hill)

2:20 PM ET, May 13, 2013

Top Items:

I.R.S. Focus on Conservatives Gives G.O.P. an Issue to Seize On — WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service's special scrutiny of small-government groups applying for tax-exempt status went beyond keyword hunts for organizations with “Tea Party” or “Patriot” in their names …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, The Plum Line, CANNONFIRE, Nice Deb, Hot Air, NewsBusters blogs, Weasel Zippers, Hit & Run, JustOneMinute, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller, The Hugh Hewitt Show, No More Mister Nice Blog, msnbc.com, The Caucus, Politico and The Daily Beast

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Carl Bernstein: IRS targeting not Watergate — Journalist Carl Bernstein said President Barack Obama is no Richard Nixon on Monday, and he would know. — “It's terrible,” Bernstein said of the IRS's targeting of conservative groups during an appearance on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.” “Outrageous.

Discussion: Yahoo! News, CNN and Althouse

Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:

Is Impeachment Only a Matter of Time? — Official White House Photo by Pete Souza — Over the weekend, the Internal Revenue Service faced criticism for targeting Tea Party organizations and other conservative groups for heightened scrutiny. This included nonprofits that criticized the government …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, A plain blog about politics, The Daily Caller and Vox Popoli

New York Times:

Who Can Take Republicans Seriously? — It is time for President Obama to abandon his hopes of reaching a grand budget bargain with Republicans. — At every opportunity since they took over the House in 2011, Republicans have made it clear that they have no interest in reaching a compromise with the White House.

Discussion: Campaign for America's Future and The Hill

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Newt Gingrich ties IRS scandal to Obamacare — ‘How can you put Obamacare under the Internal Revenue Service?’ Gingrich asked. AP Photo — Close — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Monday said the IRS's targeting of conservative groups could be a huge problem for President Barack Obama …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Crooks and Liars, Washington Free Beacon and BizPac Review

CNN: Obama: Alleged IRS political targeting ‘outrageous’

Ginger Gibson / Politico:
New bill would boost penalties on IRS lawbreakers

Discussion: CNN, Weasel Zippers and Daily Kos

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
IRS targeted groups critical of government, documents from agency probe show

Discussion: The Fix, The Week, The Maddow Blog, Fox News, The Spectacle Blog, Scared Monkeys, Right Wing Watch, Post Politics and The PJ Tatler

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama calls IRS's targeting of conservative groups ‘outrageous’

Discussion: Politico

Wall Street Journal:
Wider Problems Found at IRS

Fox News:
IRS scrutiny went beyond Tea Party, targeting of conservative groups broader than thought

Discussion: Rush Limbaugh, Red Alert Politics and The Lonely Conservative

Aehorton / BuzzFeed:
Newt Gingrich doesn't know what a smartphone is and he made a video to talk about it.

Discussion: TechCrunch

Jonathan Karl / ABCNEWS:
IRS IG Report: Targeting Conservatives Began In 2010

Discussion: NewsBusters blogs, Conservatives4Palin, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Real Science

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
IRS targeted conservatives as early as 2010: WSJ; Update: ABC corroborates

Discussion: Yahoo! News, Twitchy, Politico, National Review, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler and Patterico's Pontifications

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
A Full Accounting At The IRS

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and TheBlaze.com

Washington Post:
IRS wrongdoing threatens to become a major issue for Democrats

Discussion: New York Times, Rothenblog, The Fix, Hot Air and The Strata-Sphere

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Gingrich On IRS Scandal: Obama Admin. Profiles Patriots, But Not Terrorists

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Raw Story and Dependable Renegade

First Read:

First Thoughts: The White House's terrible, horrible Friday spills over — The White House's terrible, horrible Friday spills over... Why the IRS story packs a bigger political punch... The White House's slow response to both the IRS and Benghazi stories... Q&A time for Obama …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico, The Dish, National Review, The PJ Tatler and The Week

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama on Benghazi: 'There's No There There' — At a press conference today at the White House, President Obama said “There's no there there” on criticism of how his administration handled the Benghazi terror attack: — “And suddenly three days ago this gets spun up as if there's something new to the story …

Discussion: protein wisdom and The Lonely Conservative

Politico:

John Boehner's biggest fixation: Benghazi — House Speaker John Boehner has avoided taking firm positions on almost every major policy issue this year. — Guns — talk to the Judiciary Committee. Immigration — let the Senate lead the way. Budget — Paul Ryan's over there.

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Times, Daily Kos and The Hill

Kevin Cirilli / Politico:

Donald Trump: Obama might have lost — Donald Trump said Monday that if the details surrounding the IRS targeting tea party groups and last week's Benghazi hearing had come out last fall, President Barack Obama might not have won reelection. — “This is a big, big story that is probably …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and americanthinker.com

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
Obama dismisses GOP Benghazi probe as political ‘sideshow’

Discussion: Politico

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:
Benghazi, IRS Create Perfect Storm Threatening Obama's Credibility

Discussion: Brendan Nyhan, The Plum Line, americanthinker.com, Conservatives4Palin, Yahoo! News and Balloon Juice

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Obama: Benghazi talking points fight a ‘side show’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

David Jackson / USA Today:
Obama may be asked about Benghazi, IRS

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, National Review and First Read

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Voters trust Clinton over GOP on Benghazi — PPP's newest national poll finds that Republicans aren't getting much traction with their focus on Benghazi over the last week. Voters trust Hillary Clinton over Congressional Republicans on the issue of Benghazi by a 49/39 margin …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog and Daily Kos

John Avlon / The Daily Beast:

With Benghazi Video, Karl Rove Kicks Off 2016 With Hillary Clinton Hit — The permanent campaign has arrived, and it's carried on a wave of dark money, writes John Avlon. — Less than five months after Barack Obama began his second term, the 2016 presidential campaign kicked off this weekend …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Dish and Taylor Marsh

Dana Ford / CNN:

19 injured in New Orleans parade shooting — (CNN) — Abdul Aziz believes he was standing right next to a shooter Sunday when gunmen opened fire at a Mother's Day parade in New Orleans, injuring 19 people. — “Everyone around me, except me, was shot,” he said. “I was pretty fortunate to get away.”

Discussion: Fox News, Crooks and Liars, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Shakesville, Taylor Marsh, The Reaction, WVUE-TV, Scared Monkeys, Mediaite and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Los Angeles Times:
New Orleans shooting: 3 sought after 19 shot during Mother's Day parade

Discussion: AMERICAblog, susiemadrak.com and Booman Tribune

CBS News:

Bill Gates on Steve Jobs: We grew up together — We've seen plenty of Bill Gates on television, but we'd never seen him get emotional before. It was a striking, yet subtle moment in Gates' 60 Minutes interview this week when Charlie Rose asked him about his longtime business rival, the late Steve Jobs.

Discussion: Guardian, The Verge, Daily Mail, The Week and Mashable

Vince Lattanzio / Philadelphia News …:

Gosnell Jury: “We're Hung on 2 Counts” — After 10 days deliberating the case, jurors say they can't reach a consensus on two counts — Defense attorney Jack McMahon delivers his closing argument in the capital murder trial of former abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell.

Discussion: The Raw Story, RH Reality Check, The Spectacle Blog and theGrio

Cindy Adams / New York Post:

Clintons freeze out Weiner — Bill and Hillary Clinton will not support Anthony Weiner in his dream of becoming mayor even though they love his wife, Huma Abedin, sources say. “The Clintons wish Weiner would just disappear. Every time he pops up, it's a reminder of Bill's scandal with Monica Lewinsky …

Discussion: Politico, Yahoo! News, First Read and The Daily Caller

The Huffington Post:

Pat Buchanan Calls For ‘Southern Strategy’ Against Latinos, Immigrants — Pat Buchanan has a plan to win more white voters for the GOP. — In an article published by the website World Net Daily last week, Buchanan describes increased black voter turnout and Latino demographic growth as a “crisis for the Grand Old Party.”

Bloomberg:

Holding Ourselves Accountable — By Matthew Winkler 2013-05-13T04:11:33Z — As I wrote in “The Bloomberg Way,” our guide for reporters and editors, “The appearance of impropriety can be as damaging to a reputation as doing something improper. Because we hold others accountable for disclosure, we expect the same of ourselves.