memeorandum: Israel election: Netanyahu's Likud storms to victory (BBC)

9:10 AM ET, March 18, 2015

Top Items:

Jodi Rudoren / New York Times:

Netanyahu Soundly Defeats Chief Rival in Israeli Elections — TEL AVIV — After a bruising campaign focused on his failings, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel won a clear victory in Tuesday's elections and seemed all but certain to form a new government and serve a fourth term …

Discussion: Slate, Washington Post, The Hugh Hewitt Show, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Week, McClatchy Washington Bureau, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway, Liberaland, Daily Kos, The Times of Israel, CANNONFIRE and Politico

John Podhoretz / New York Post:

Netanyahu gambles his career and scores breathtaking victory — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech to supporters at party headquarters in Tel Aviv. — When it comes to elections, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu is the political equivalent of a scrambling quarterback.

Discussion: Power Line, Wall Street Journal, Commentary Magazine, Scared Monkeys and Betsy's Page

Michael Crowley / Politico:

Bibi wins big — As Netanyahu seems set to return to power, his relations with the Obama White House appear to reach a new low. — Hours before complete results were tallied, Netanyahu was claiming a comeback victory. Getty — Barack Obama might have hoped for a leadership change …

Discussion: New York Times, The Tower, The Week and The PJ Tatler

Jerusalem Post:

In victory speech, Netanyahu says he will seek ‘strong, stable government’ — Netanyahu closes gap: Likud leads Zionist Union in 1 ... Netanyahu declares victory in Knesset race; Herzog sa... “Hail, hail, Bibi,” Likud adherents chanted as Netanyahu took to the podium on Wednesday.

Discussion: Power Line, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Washington Post

Gil Hoffman / Jerusalem Post:
Netanyahu declares victory in Knesset race; Herzog says Likud celebration is premature

Discussion: Commentary Magazine, Reuters and Washington Free Beacon

Isabel Kershner / New York Times:
Deep Wounds and Lingering Questions After Israel's Bitter Race

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, National Review, The Daily Caller, Mashable, Politico, Washington Post, Raw Story, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, New Atlanticist, Lawfare and Slate

BBC:
Israel election: Netanyahu's Likud storms to victory

Discussion: The Talking Dog and New York Magazine

Haaretz:
LIVE BLOG: Netanyahu: The right-wing is in danger - Arabs are voting in droves

Discussion: Guardian, Common Dreams, Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews, The Daily Caller, Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online, NPR, RealClearWorld, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Hit & Run, Politico, Booman Tribune, Washington Times and New Yorker

Josef Federman / Associated Press:
Israel's Netanyahu declares victory in tight race

Discussion: China.org.cn, Associated Press, See it First, The Gateway Pundit and FOX News Radio

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Netanyahu Clarifies His Chilling Vision for Post-Democratic Israel

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Federalist, Slate, Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money and New York Times

Jerusalem Post:
Race to the Knesset: Follow the latest Election Day updates

Discussion: BarbWire.com, The Daily Caller, US News, The Tower, “The Lid”, Hot Air, New York Times, Moe Lane, The Gateway Pundit, Mondoweiss, Fox News and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jonathan Beck / The Times of Israel:
Netanyahu pounded for expressing worry over high Arab turnout

Discussion: Jerusalem Post, The PJ Tatler, Power Line and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Mickey Kaus quits Daily Caller after Tucker Carlson pulls critical Fox News column — The blogger Mickey Kaus has quit his job at The Daily Caller after the conservative site's editor-in-chief, Tucker Carlson, pulled a critical column about Fox News from the site, Kaus told the On Media blog on Tuesday.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Vox Popoli, Mediaite, Roger Ailes, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Little Green Footballs, more at Mediagazer »

Politico:

Rep. Aaron Schock resigns — Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock is resigning his seat in Congress. — The 33-year-old Republican has been dogged by questions about his spending of taxpayer and campaign dollars. On Monday afternoon, POLITICO posed a lengthy set of questions about charging …

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Rep. Aaron Schock Resigns After Questions Raised About Finances

Discussion: Chicago, The Huffington Post, BillMoyers.com, Business Insider, Yahoo! News, Guardian and No More Mister Nice Blog

Jana Winter / The Intercept:

Cyanide Sent to White House — An envelope sent to the White House Mail Screening Facility on Monday tested positive for cyanide, according to an internal law enforcement document obtained by The Intercept. — The envelope listed a return address for a man who the alert says has a record …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, NBC News, New York Times, Washington Post, Fox News, Mediaite, NPR, New York Magazine and Politico

Laurie Goodstein / New York Times:

Largest Presbyterian Denomination Gives Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage — After three decades of debate over its stance on homosexuality, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Tuesday to change the definition of marriage in the church's constitution to include same-sex marriage.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Advocate, Raw Story, The Week and Joe. My. God.

Frank Turek / Townhall.com:
Why the 14th Amendment Can't Possibly Require Same-Sex Marriage

Discussion: BarbWire.com

Kay Steiger / ThinkProgress:

According To Dick Cheney, This Is Why President Obama Is The Worst President In His Lifetime — Former Vice President Dick Cheney said that President Barack Obama was “playing the race card” to excuse criticism of his record as president. — “I think they're playing the race card, in my view.

Discussion: Business Insider and Hinterland Gazette

Colin Campbell / Business Insider:
Dick Cheney accused Obama of ‘playing the race card’ in a Playboy interview

Discussion: FOX News Radio, Bloomberg Business, The Week, Liberaland, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Reaction, Balloon Juice and The Huffington Post

Carl Campanile / New York Post:

Activist allegedly tried to bait protesters with ‘kill cops’ script — A controversial conservative activist is being accused of trying to incite anti-police protesters by saying, “I wish I could kill some of these cops,” to provoke them into making outrageous statements.

Discussion: Liberaland, Raw Story, Balloon Juice and Little Green Footballs

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Holder goes out swinging — Attorney General Eric Holder is speaking his mind in his final days in office, swiping at GOP antagonists and leaving the Department of Justice on his own terms. — Holder has ridiculed Senate Republicans for delaying the nomination of his successor, Loretta Lynch …

Discussion: Instapundit

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

Why Hillary can win big — The most popular former president since the Second World War is John Kennedy. The most popular living former president is Bill Clinton. The most popular public figure in America is Pope Francis, whose favorable rating was a towering 78 percent in a recent Pew poll.

Associated Press:

Walker Aide Quits After Questioning Iowa's Role in Campaign — An aide to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's national political operation resigned late Tuesday after drawing heated criticism from the head of the Iowa Republican Party for questioning the state's early role in the presidential nominating process.

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg Business, RedState, National Review, Hot Air, OnPolitics and Mediaite

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Ben Carson Operative Deletes Tweets Telling Obama To “Bend Over Bitch,” Among Others — “I'm looking forward to McConnell shoving his fist up Obama's ass. Although, he will, no doubt, like it. #tcot” — The team building out Dr. Ben Carson's likely presidential campaign includes …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Hinterland Gazette

Craig Whitlock / Washington Post:

Pentagon loses track of $500 million in weapons, equipment given to Yemen — The Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen, amid fears that the weaponry, aircraft and equipment is at risk of being seized by Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials.

Discussion: The Week and Fox News

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

State: No record Hillary Clinton signed exit form — The State Department has no record that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a standard form declaring that she surrendered all official records before leaving her post in 2013, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, VodkaPundit, Liberal Values, The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys, Hot Air, Speaker.gov, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

Reuters:

Indonesia to call off search for AirAsia crash victims — (Reuters) - Indonesia will on Sunday end a search for the bodies of 56 people missing from an AirAsia (AIRA.KL) jet that crashed in the Java Sea in December, a national rescue agency official said. — AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost contact …

Discussion: The Week