memeorandum: Kerry mocks Florida's reported ban on ‘climate change’ (Timothy Cama/The Hill)

1:30 PM ET, March 12, 2015

Top Items:

David Von Drehle / TIME:

The Clinton Way … Photograph by Spencer Platt-Getty Images

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, Weekly Standard, Maggie's Farm, Poynter, The Week, Business Insider, Washington Post and The Huffington Post

New York Times:

Democrats See No Choice but Hillary Clinton in 2016 — They shrug off questions about Hillary Rodham Clinton's email habits. They roll with the attacks on her family's foundation, the big checks from foreign governments, the torpid response of her not-yet-campaign.

Discussion: ABC News, Business Insider, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, OnPolitics, Washington Post, NBC News and Weekly Standard

Elias Isquith / Salon:

The media s**t-show is back: Why coverage of Hillary Clinton has been an embarrassment — A bit less than a year ago, Politico Magazine released an in-depth piece by Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman about Hillary Rodham Clinton's long and incredibly fraught relationship with the national, mainstream media.

Discussion: USA Today, CNN, Slate, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Fox News and Washington Post

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:

Taxpayer tab for Clinton Inc.: $16 million — Bill Clinton and his office have received more money through the Former Presidents Act than any other ex-president — By Election Day 2016, taxpayers will have paid out more than $16 million to fund Bill Clinton's pension, travel …

Discussion: Hot Air, America Rising, New York Magazine, The Hill, Daily Kos, Bloomberg Business, Fox News and Business Insider

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg View:
Democrats Have No Bench? Be Serious.

Discussion: Washington Post and The PJ Tatler

Washington Post:
Absence of 2016 competition for Clinton raises stakes for Democrats

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Fiscal Times, Fox News, The Federalist, Wall Street Journal, Hot Air, Liberal Values and prospect.org/blogs …

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Hillary Clinton has little to fear from Martin O'Malley

Discussion: Bloomberg Business and The Hill

Washington Post:
Some top Democrats are alarmed about Clinton's readiness for a campaign

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, CBS DC, Betsy's Page, New York Times, Weekly Standard, Business Insider and National Journal

Susan Weich / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Two police officers are shot in Ferguson — FERGUSON • Two police officers were hit by gunfire early Thursday outside the Ferguson police department. — The shots were fired as police were confronting protesters who had gathered outside the police station.

New York Times:
2 Police Officers Shot in Ferguson ‘Ambush’ Are Released From Hospital

Discussion: ABC News, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic Online and Common Dreams

Kate Munsch / Reuters:
Two police officers shot in Ferguson, Missouri, after chief quits

Discussion: PUNDIT PRESS

Fox News:
Two officers shot, seriously injured outside Ferguson police department

Discussion: Power Line, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Fox News Insider, New York Times, Washington Post, The Right Scoop, Booman Tribune, The Gateway Pundit and The Week

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

GOP, Bibi hurt Israel, USA — While the recalcitrant rightist government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has left Israel more isolated in the world than at any time since 1948, Bibi's ill-advised recent speech to a joint session of Congress could reduce a historically nonpartisan …

Discussion: Politico and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

New York Times:

Republican Idiocy on Iran — After helping to ignite a firestorm over a possible nuclear agreement with Iran, Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, is now sort of acknowledging his error. “Maybe that wasn't exactly the best way to do that,” he said on Fox News on Tuesday.

Discussion: CNN, Concord Monitor, Prairie Weather, Baltimore Sun, The Week and BostonGlobe.com

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Iran letter blowback startles GOP — John McCain: “It was kind of a very rapid process. Everybody was looking forward to getting out of town because of the snowstorm.” — Some Republican senators admitted Wednesday they were caught off guard by the backlash to a letter warning Iranian leaders …

Discussion: The Hill, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, Hinterland Gazette, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Free Beacon and Newsmax

New York Times:
Iran's Top Leader: GOP Letter Points to US ‘Disintegration’

Discussion: Fars News Agency, Power Line, Mediaite and Political Wire

Timothy Cama / The Hill:

Kerry mocks Florida's reported ban on ‘climate change’ — Secretary of State John Kerry mocked Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) and his deputies Thursday amid reports that the state's environmental agency banned employees from mentioning climate change. — Though he did not mention Florida by name …

Discussion: Politico and Talking Points Memo

Steve Benen / msnbc.com:
Kerry teaches Rubio the basics about the Middle East

Discussion: First Draft, ThinkProgress and Hullabaloo

Kristina Wong / The Hill:
Kerry: ‘Utter disbelief’ at Iran letter

Discussion: American Spectator and Instapundit

David Weigel / Bloomberg Business:

How a Lindsey Graham Joke Turned into a Coup Plot Against the Government — Does Lindsey Graham want to overthrow Congress? Not quite. — Well, you can't catch everything. This past Sunday, I was one of a handful of reporters listening to South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham …

Discussion: Hot Air and Mediaite

Amanda Taub / Vox:
Lindsey Graham: as president I would deploy the military against Congress

Discussion: FreakOutNation, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Hit & Run and Ben Swann Truth In Media

BBC:

Sir Terry Pratchett, renowned fantasy author, dies aged 66 — Fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett has died aged 66, having had Alzheimer's disease for eight years. — “The world has lost one of its brightest, sharpest minds,” said Larry Finlay of his publishing company, Transworld.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Mary Sue, The Week, Telegraph, Bleeding Cool Comic Book …, Poynter and Alas, a Blog

William Saletan / Slate:

An Open Letter to 47 Republican Senators of the United States of America from Iran's Hard-Liners — You have opened our eyes. We are brothers. — Dear senators: — Thank you for your letter of March 9 explaining your system of government. We were unfamiliar with the complexity of your laws.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Bloomberg View

Sarah Mimms / National Journal:

Conservatives Keep Losing to Leadership. Can They Change the Game? — Stymied again and again on the House and Senate floor, tea party members need to take the fight outside. — Conservatives came to Washington labeling President Obama as enemy number one.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, RedState, Bloomberg View and McClatchy Washington Bureau

Journal Star:
Rep. Aaron Schock brushes off calls for resignation, says he's ‘not going anywhere’

Discussion: Chicago

Gallup:

Story Highlights — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans continue to name the government (18%) as the most important U.S. problem, a distinction it has had for the past four months. Americans' mentions of the economy as the top problem (11%) dropped this month, leaving it tied with jobs (10%) for second place.

Discussion: Washington Times, Washington Post, The Week and Associated Press

Rich Lowry / Politico:

Tom Cotton's Truth Bomb — Critics of the senator's letter to Tehran are missing the point. — It is inarguable that as a matter of domestic law a subsequent president can get out of the agreement at will — this would be true even if it were a treaty — and Congress can pass laws …

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Hillary Clinton Tackling an Urgent Task: Building a Press Team — Hillary Rodham Clinton's team of advisers is moving quickly to build a communications team that will handle her campaign's messaging and play a crucial role in responding to attacks from opponents and critical news coverage …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Business Insider and Washington Post

Politico:

Foreign policy alters contours of GOP race — International issues have come front and center. — Politico Illustration / istock, AP and Getty images — Two days after signing the Senate GOP's letter to Iranian leadership Monday, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul found himself stretching to square …