memeorandum: Grandmama Mia! — WASHINGTON — WHEN my brother Michael … (Maureen Dowd/New York Times)

5:25 PM ET, April 12, 2015

Top Items:

Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid — Ending two years of speculation and coy denials, Hillary Rodham Clinton announced on Sunday that she would seek the presidency for a second time, immediately establishing herself as the likely 2016 Democratic nominee.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Why Hillary Clinton Is Probably Going to Win the 2016 Election — This is not a toss-up. — Shares — Unless the economy goes into a recession over the next year and a half, Hillary Clinton is probably going to win the presidential election. The United States has polarized into stable voting blocs …

Discussion: Daily Kos, NPR, Addicting Info, National Review and Guardian

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Grandmama Mia! — WASHINGTON — WHEN my brother Michael was a Senate page, he delivered mail to John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, who had offices across the hall from each other. — He recalled that Kennedy never looked up or acknowledged his presence, but Nixon would greet him with a huge smile.

Discussion: Mediaite, Hot Air, Washington Post, RedState and The Huffington Post

Jennifer Epstein / Bloomberg Business:

Hillary Clinton Makes it Official: 'I'm Running for President' — “When families are strong, America is strong,” the Democrat says in a video. — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended the suspense on Sunday afternoon, announcing that she will seek the White House in 2016.

Discussion: The Federalist, Bloomberg View, The Diplomat and Politico

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
For Republicans, ‘Stop Hillary’ campaign begins in earnest

Discussion: Hullabaloo, The Agonist and CNN

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Why does Hillary Rodham Clinton want to be president?

Discussion: The Federalist, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Taylor Marsh and New York Times

New York Times:

A New Phase in Anti-Obama Attacks — It is a peculiar, but unmistakable, phenomenon: As Barack Obama's presidency heads into its twilight, the rage of the Republican establishment toward him is growing louder, angrier and more destructive. — Republican lawmakers in Washington and around …

Discussion: BREITBART.COM, The Daily Banter, The Gateway Pundit, Liberaland, RedState and American Power

Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly:

What Divides Us — By now you might have read what Dick Cheney said to Hugh Hewitt this week about President Obama. When I heard about it I struggled with whether to react or simply dismiss it as just more nonsense coming from the lunatics in the Republican Party.

Discussion: Progress Pond

Washington Post:

Thousands dead, few prosecuted … On a rainy night five years ago, Officer Coleman “Duke” Brackney set off in pursuit of a suspected drunk driver, chasing his black Mazda Miata down rural Arkansas roads at speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour. When the sports car finally came to rest in a ditch …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Brooklyn Hit With Anti-Hillary Street Art — A source sends along these photos from Brooklyn today of anti-Hillary Clinton signs everywhere. Clinton is expected to announce her presidential campaign later today. The campaign's headquarters are located in Brooklyn.

Discussion: BizPac Review and Moe Lane

Michael Goodwin / New York Post:

Oh Hill no! Clinton's stale presidential plan wrong for nation — America's moved on, but Hillary hasn't. — More than five years ago, a Clinton confidant matter-of-factly described for me Hillary's Plan. She would resign as secretary of state after President Obama's first term …

Discussion: Roger's Rules and The Gateway Pundit

John F. Burns / New York Times:

The Things I Carried Back — CAMBRIDGE, England — THE light was fading on the hills above the Arno, and my closest friend in the careworn ranks of foreign correspondents was sitting cross-legged on a canopied Chinese daybed, in a lovely old tree-shaded house in his native village, a brisk walk from the heart of Florence.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Michael C Bender / Bloomberg Business:

Bloomberg Politics National Poll: Rand Paul, Jeb Bush Face Primary Obstacles — Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul may have a problem with women, and Jeb Bush already has been written off by a large share of potential primary voters, according to a new Bloomberg Politics national poll …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Nancy Dillon / NY Daily News:

California cop accused of tickling, tampering with corpse of man killed by police — A California cop is on paid leave for allegedly tickling and tampering with the corpse of a man shot and killed by police - and the dead man's outraged family wants answers, their lawyer said.

Discussion: Mediaite

Business Standard:

Overtures to Cuba change dynamic for Obama at summit meeting — Ever since his first foray to the Summit of the Americas three months after taking office, President Barack Obama has seen one bone of contention frustrate his efforts to reach out to America's hemispheric neighbours: the fact that Cuba was blackballed from the gathering.

Discussion: Washington Monthly