memeorandum: Is Ben Carson 2016's sleeper candidate? (Alexandra Jaffe/The Hill)

5:45 PM ET, March 8, 2014

Top Items:

Terrorism not ruled out in disappearance of Malaysia Airlines jet — BEIJING — Malaysian officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane Saturday said they were not ruling out terrorism — or any other causes — as reports emerged that two Europeans listed …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The PJ Tatler and The Gateway Pundit

Malaysia Airlines:

MH370 Flight Incident — The families of all passengers on board MH370 are being informed. The flight was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew - comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants) and 12 crew members. — An international search and rescue mission was mobilized this morning.

Discussion: New York Times, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, Hinterland Gazette, Scared Monkeys, KTLA 5 and The Gateway Pundit

Simon Denyer / Washington Post:

Malaysia Airlines plane vanishes over South China Sea; Vietnamese reportedly spot oil slicks — BEIJING — Vietnamese air force planes have spotted two large oil slicks that officials believe are from a Malaysia Airlines flight that suddenly vanished from air traffic control screens …

Discussion: Red Alert Politics and Booman Tribune

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:

Is Ben Carson 2016's sleeper candidate? — Neurologist Ben Carson could be 2016's sleeper presidential contender. — You won't find him in early polls, and he doesn't make headlines for huddling with top advisers in primary states. — Carson is lauded for his plainspoken yet forceful ability …

Discussion: Politico, NationalJournal.com and No More Mister Nice Blog

George F. Will / Washington Post:

The IRS's behavior taxes credulity — What's been said of confession — that it is good for one's soul but bad for one's reputation — can also be true of testifying to Congress, so Lois Lerner has chosen to stay silent. Hers, however, is an eloquent silence.

Discussion: Hot Air, Power Line, The Democratic Daily and Cafe Hayek

David Martosko / Daily Mail:
IRS caves on Lois Lerner documents, will provide Congress with ALL of her emails since tea party targeting scheme began

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and The Heritage Foundation

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Bachmann: ‘Our Movement At Its Core Is An Intellectual Movement’ — Warning that the government is trying to appropriate the roles of the family and the church, Michele Bachmann told CPAC attendees today that the conservative movement must fight back because it is “at its core is an intellectual movement” …

Discussion: Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, Liberaland and The Raw Story

Todd S. Purdum / Politico:

Why the Cold War isn't back — German Chancellor Angela Merkel's private analysis that Vladimir Putin is living “in another world” struck a chord because Russia's military incursion into Crimea does feel like a blast from the Cold War past of twilight struggle, eyeball-to-eyeball brinkmanship …

Discussion: Liberal Values and Liberaland

Joseph Gerth / Courier-Journal:

McConnell waves musket, falls flat at CPAC — The normally sharp-shooting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell may have misfired on Thursday when he took to the stage at the Conservatives Political Action Conference brandishing a gun. — The gun was actually an award from the National Rifle Association …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and PoliticusUSA

Condoleezza Rice / Washington Post:

Will America heed the wake-up call of Ukraine? — Condoleezza Rice was secretary of state from 2005 to 2009. — “Meet Viktor Yanukovych, who is running for the presidency of Ukraine.” Vladimir Putin and I were standing in his office at the presidential dacha in late 2004 …

Discussion: NO QUARTER USA NET and Hot Air

Leon Wieseltier / The New Republic:
Ukrainian Lessons for an American President

Discussion: Washington Post, The Dish and Hot Air

Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times:

Republicans question Iowa's key role in presidential balloting — The GOP's Iowa caucus winners have fallen short of the nomination in recent years. And the straw poll held each election cycle has been further off-base, prompting calls to scrap it. — Campaign workers for Rep. Michele Bachmann huddle …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:

Paul: Bill Clinton a ‘throwback to a sort of troglodyte time’ — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Friday knocked former President Clinton as a “throwback to a sort of troglodyte time,” where men took advantage of women in the workplace. — Speaking to The Hill prior to his appearance …

Discussion: Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA and Taylor Marsh

Alexandra Jaffe / The Hill:
Paul electrifies conservative base

Discussion: CNN and Politico

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

The uninsured aren't buying what the ObamaCare marketplace is selling. — ObamaCare is now in the sixth and final month of its extended inaugural open-enrollment period. If you want to buy medical insurance through the exchange—a big if, we realize—you have until the end of the month to do it …

Discussion: Josh Blackman's Blog, The Global Warming …, The PJ Tatler and Talking Points Memo