memeorandum: GOP clown car runs into ditch (Roger Simon/Politico)

5:35 PM ET, January 25, 2015

Top Items:

Roger Simon / Politico:

GOP clown car runs into ditch — Simon says the Republican Party's clown car has become a clown van. — DES MOINES — The Republican Party's clown car has become a clown van. — With nearly two dozen possible presidential candidates, the GOP is having a seriousness deficit.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Yahoo! News and Bloomberg Politics

Anomaly / FreakOutNation:

Unhinged Woman Climbs Onstage At Iowa Freedom Summit, Starts Rambling Incoherently — At the “Iowa Freedom Summit,” Sarah Palin delivered a one of her strangest speeches yet and even Scott Conroy from RealClearPolitics, described it as the “strangest speech I've ever seen Sarah Palin deliver.”

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

Sarah Palin delivers ‘bizarro’ speech to Iowa Freedom Summit and Twitter users react hilariously — DON'T MISS STORIES. FOLLOW RAW STORY! — Appearing at Iowa Congressman Steve King's Freedom Summit, star speaker Sarah Palin spoke from a binder of notes, delivering a string …

Discussion: If You Only News, Talking Points Memo, Israpundit, Hullabaloo and Right Wing Watch

Rick Klein / ABC News:
For Republicans at Campaign Kickoff, Sideshows Precede Big Show

Discussion: Politico

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

Scott Walker takes Iowa by storm — DES MOINES, Iowa — Scott Walker's stock is soaring after a triumphant return to Iowa. — The Wisconsin Republican governor delivered a pitch-perfect speech to a room packed with influential Hawkeye State conservatives on Saturday …

Discussion: Prairie Weather, Politico and Althouse

Des Moines Register:

Last Slide — No one seemed to regret the absence of Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush from the stage during a marathon session of conservative political theater in Iowa, as a string of GOP speakers urged Iowa Republicans not to buckle to the establishment. — A parade of nine Republicans …

Jennifer Shutt / Politico:

Denis McDonough's slip of the tongue — White House chief of staff Denis McDonough suffered a slip of the tongue Sunday when he offered the first name of an American woman held hostage by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. — In an interview with host George Stephanopoulos on ABC's …

Discussion: ABC News, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript: White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough

Discussion: Politico

BBC:

Greece election: Exit polls signal big Syriza win — Exit polls suggest a historic victory for the anti-austerity Syriza party in Greece's general election. — The polls indicate that Syriza took between 36% and 38% of the total vote, with the ruling New Democracy party a distant second with 26%-28%.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Gawker, New York Times, Bloomberg and Eschaton

Reuters:
Greek leftists Syriza aim for landmark election win

Discussion: Bloomberg, Forbes, NPR and Hot Air

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:

Obama administration to propose new wilderness protections in Arctic refuge — Alaska Republicans declare war — The Obama administration will propose setting aside the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness, the White House announced Sunday …

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg Politics, NPR, New York Times, White House.gov Blog, InsideClimate News, Hot Air and Hullabaloo

Jason Silverstein / NY Daily News:

Two dead in murder-suicide inside bustling Home Depot in Chelsea: cops — Police said two men were shot inside a Home Depot on W. 23rd Street. The shooter was found dead at the scene and the other man was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. — Two people are dead in a murder-suicide …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Talking Points Memo, New York Post, Gothamist, Gawker, New York Magazine and 7online.com

Noam Scheiber / New York Times:

De Blasio, Obama and a Flawed Vision of Liberalism — MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO recently got some good news in his standoff with the Police Department. In the first major poll conducted after the high-profile murder of two patrolmen, 69 percent of New Yorkers said they objected to police officers' turning …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Timothy Cama / The Hill:

Pope's visit to stoke climate fight — Pope Francis's visit to the United States this fall will give him an important stage to push for climate change policies, in a year when global warming is shaping up to be a central issue both for the Vatican and Washington.

Discussion: FOX News Radio

Jerusalem Post:

Fox news anchor blasts Netanyahu's ‘dicey’ politics of ‘sneaking’ into Congress for speech — New York Times: Netanyahu speech to Congress will har... 'Netanyahu damaging Israel's ties with US for one ele... Chris Wallace expresses “shock” over the prime minister's decision to come to Washington over Obama's head.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Politico and The PJ Tatler