memeorandum: O'Malley preparing ‘ground work’ for potential 2016 run (Dan Merica/CNN)

4:35 PM ET, February 3, 2014

Top Items:

Margaret Sullivan / The Public Editor's Journal:

As the Latest Christie Story Evolved, The Times Should Have Noted a Change — In the digital age, news evolves before our very eyes. A story breaks and goes online with perhaps a few rough paragraphs. Soon after, more details are added, new angles explored and writing is tuned up.

Discussion: CNN, Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, NewsHounds blog, Capital New York and Power Line, more at Mediagazer »

Joseph Curl / Washington Times:

What has happened to the New York Times? — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — What has happened to The New York Times? — The Gray Lady, America's Paper of Record, where readers turn to find “All the News That's Fit to Print,” has gone off the deep end. — Last Friday, the paper published a huge story.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Mark Lagerkvist / New Jersey Watchdog:
GOV. CHRISTIE'S NJ STATE POLICE BODYGUARD BUSTED FOR THEFT Report by Mark Lagerkvist

Discussion: NorthJersey.com, Talking Points Memo, NBCNews and Mediaite

Yahoo! News:
A year after snub, Chris Christie will speak at CPAC 2014

Discussion: Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, Post Politics, Daily Kos, OnPolitics, CNN, NBCNews, Politico and ABC News

Elizabeth Titus / Politico:
Subpoenaed Christie staffer Christina Renna resigns

Discussion: CNN, Hinterland Gazette, The Raw Story and Firedoglake

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:

The Middle Class Is Steadily Eroding. Just Ask the Business World. — In Manhattan, the upscale clothing retailer Barneys will replace the bankrupt discounter Loehmann's, whose Chelsea store closes in a few weeks. Across the country, Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants are struggling …

Discussion: AEIdeas, Business Insider and ParaPundit

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

A STARTLING DISCOVERY … American “business,” a concept that runs from your local pharmacist to Goldman Sachs, which then steals it all and runs away, pronounces itself startled that, having worked diligently at its highest levels to burn the entire house down, it is now difficult to see the TV clearly through all the smoke.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Eschaton

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Not waiting for Clinton, Md. Gov. O'Malley prepares for possible presidential bid — Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is moving ahead with preparations for a possible presidential bid and said in an interview that if he's going to lay the groundwork for a national campaign …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Liberaland, Booman Tribune, Taegan Goddard's … and Guardian

Dan Merica / CNN:
O'Malley preparing ‘ground work’ for potential 2016 run

Discussion: Politico and OnPolitics

Juan Williams / The Hill:
Benghazi a 2016 proxy battle

Discussion: CNN

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Coca-Cola's Multicultural Super Bowl Ad Really Angered Conservatives — Not many people expected the Seattle Seahawks to steamroll the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Less surprising was the right-wing outrage over an ad featuring a patriotic hymn performed in multiple languages.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Right Wing Watch, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Allen B. West and The Raw Story

Allen West / Allen B. West:

Coca Cola ad on Super Bowl — American's brand? Hm. — I'm watching the Super Bowl, looks like good defense (Seattle) is trouncing good offense (Denver) when a Coca Cola commercial came on and it started rather patriotically with the words of “America the Beautiful.”

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs, The Daily Banter, 24Ahead, The Raw Story, Hinterland Gazette and Right Wing News

Bloomberg:

Kerry Tells Senators That Obama Syria Policy Is Collapsing — Two prominent Republican senators say that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told them — along with 13 other members of a bipartisan congressional delegation — that President Barack Obama's administration is in need of a new …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Questions and Observations, Mediaite and Weekly Standard

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:
Senators: Kerry Admits Obama's Syria Policy Is Failing

Discussion: New York Times, The Daily Caller, Lawfare and Hot Air

Fred Hiatt / Washington Post: Senators say John Kerry admitted U.S. failure in Syria

Fox News:

TRANSCRIPT: Bill O'Reilly interviews President Obama — BILL O'REILLY, HOST: Mr. President, thank you for doing this. — BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Great to be with you. — O'REILLY: Really appreciate it. — I want to get some things on the record.

Discussion: Politico, New York Times, protein wisdom, Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh, The Gateway Pundit, americanthinker.com, The Other McCain, Althouse, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, The Heritage Foundation, Business Insider, Scared Monkeys, Daily Kos and NPR

Patrick Hynes / New Hampshire Journal:

Shaheen: ‘Pay more’ to keep your doc,' won't say if she'd vote for O-Care again — Americans who have lost access to their health care providers due to ObamaCare may be able to get their old doctors back but only if they are “willing to pay more.” That's Sen. Jeanne Shaheen's (D-NH) …

Discussion: Power Line, The PJ Tatler and Washington Free Beacon

Emilie Lamb / New York Post: Betrayed by the President and ObamaCare

Benjamin Wallace / New York Magazine:

Here, Let Ezra Explain — What is D.C.'s most famous young policy wonk doing leaving the Washington Post? Trying to start a news organization he thinks could one day eclipse it. — On January 24, at five in the morning after his final day at the Washington Post …

Discussion: The Dish, Marginal Revolution and Capital New York, more at Mediagazer »

Lane Brown / Vulture:

In Conversation: Lorne Michaels … TWEET THIS QUOTE

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, CNN, Mediaite, Weekly Standard, NewsBusters, Power Line and The Gateway Pundit

ThinkProgress:

Elizabeth Warren Proposes Replacing Payday Lenders With The Post Office — The Postal Service (USPS) could spare the most economically vulnerable Americans from dealing with predatory financial companies under a proposal endorsed over the weekend by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Discussion: Riehl World News

Sen. Elizabeth Warren / The Huffington Post:
Coming to a Post Office Near You: Loans You Can Trust?

Discussion: Business Insider, The Raw Story and Hullabaloo

Amy Goldstein / Washington Post:

HealthCare.gov can't handle appeals of enrollment errors — Tens of thousands of people who discovered that HealthCare.gov made mistakes as they were signing up for a health plan are confronting a new roadblock: The government cannot yet fix the errors. — Roughly 22,000 Americans …

Discussion: National Review, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, Hit & Run, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, americanthinker.com, Weekly Standard and Washington Free Beacon

Sandhya Somashekhar / Washington Post:

Study: Abortion rate at lowest point since 1973 — The abortion rate in the United States dropped to its lowest point since the Supreme Court legalized the procedure in all 50 states, according to a study suggesting that new, long-acting contraceptive methods are having a significant impact in reducing unwanted pregnancies.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The National Memo, Hot Air, The Week, Washington Monthly, Gawker, The Dish, New York Times, The PJ Tatler, BillMoyers.com and The Atlantic Online

CNN:

Officials: Michigan killer on loose — (CNN) — Locked in a gas station bathroom, the woman whispers into her cell phone, an escaped Michigan murderer banging on the door. — “He didn't say where, exactly, he just said somewhere far,” she says in a 911 call, telling the dispatcher …