memeorandum: Last Slide — No one seemed to regret the absence of Mitt Romney … (Des Moines Register)

5:00 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

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: Talking Points Memo, Israpundit, Hullabaloo, Right Wing Watch and Crooks and Liars

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

Discussion: Politico

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
12 keys to the GOP presidential race right now

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Palin says she's ‘seriously interested’ in 2016 campaign

Discussion: Hot Air, Fox News, Algemeiner.com and Israpundit

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, Althouse and Politico

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 …

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, New York Times, NPR, Hot Air, White House.gov Blog, InsideClimate News and Hullabaloo

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

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: Mediaite and The Daily Caller

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

Discussion: Politico

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

Ed Vulliamy / Observer:

Jewish outrage as ship named after SS war criminal arrives in Europe — As Holocaust day nears, anger erupts at arrival in Rotterdam of the Pieter Schelte, the world's largest vessel — Leaders of Jewish communities and Holocaust memorial groups in Britain and the Netherlands have reacted …

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and Mediaite

Jeremy Gray / al.com:

Alabama probate judge association: ‘We cannot issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples’ — The Alabama Probate Judges Association issued a statement Saturday night saying despite Friday's federal court ruling, the state's probate judges cannot issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Advocate, Towleroad News #gay and The Huffington Post