memeorandum: Kerry's Pitch on Iran Deal Falls Flat With Skeptics in Congress (Bloomberg Business)

8:10 AM ET, April 14, 2015

Top Items:

Marco Rubio Is a Polished Performer, but He's Out of Position — Marco Rubio, who announced his bid for the presidency on Monday in a call to donors, has been called the “best communicator” in the Republican Party. Over and over and over again. — But he has little to show for it.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Israel Matzav, Bloomberg Business, Booman Tribune, The Reaction, Talking Points Memo, Advocate, Hot Air, The Atlantic Online, Denny Burk, NPR, Outside the Beltway and Rhode Island Public Radio

Erick Erickson / Fox News:

Why Marco Rubio has a real shot at 2016 Republican nomination — Feb. 27, 2015: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks in National Harbor, Md. (AP) — Ted Cruz remains a conservative favorite in 2016. In 2012, the establishment backed his Senate opponent in Texas, then Lt. Governor David Dewhurst.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Rubio Takes Aim at the Left — Marco Rubio launched his presidential campaign this afternoon with an event in Miami. In my opinion, Rubio understands, and is able to speak to, the current mood of most Americans better than any of the other candidates of either party.

Chris Good / ABC News:
Marco Rubio Would Reopen Gitmo, Reverse Obama Foreign Policy

Discussion: mrctv.org/videos, Bloomberg Business, New York Times, Associated Press and BuzzFeed

Bloomberg Business:
Will the GOP Get Behind Marco Rubio's Immigration Evolution?

Discussion: ABC News and ThinkProgress

Arlette Saenz / ABC News:
Marco Rubio Running For President in 2016: ‘I Can Lead This Country’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Fox News, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic Online, CNN, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, Liberaland, The Hill, Weekly Standard, PoliticusUSA, National Journal, FiveThirtyEight, Shakesville, New York Times and Politico

Brian Beutler / The New Republic:
Marco Rubio Is the Most Disingenuous Republican Running for President

Discussion: New York Magazine, Taylor Marsh, National Review, New York Times, Jay Bookman, Washington Post, ABC News, Washington Monthly, Bloomberg View, The National Memo, Booman Tribune and Hot Air

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Hillary Clinton, Just an Unrecognized Burrito Bowl Fan — Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign is all about “everyday Americans,” she made clear in announcing it on Sunday. — On Monday, she showed how unassuming she herself could be. — Driving to Iowa for her first campaign swing …

Discussion: Business Insider, CBS DC, Hot Air, The Democratic Daily and Twitchy

Wall Street Journal:

Clinton on Road Trip to First Events in Iowa — Democratic candidate makes stops in Pennsylvania and Ohio as she drives to state with first caucuses — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is spending her first days as a presidential candidate on a road trip from New York to Iowa in a van that she calls “Scooby.”

ABC News:
Hillary Clinton Makes Surprise Pit Stop at Chipotle in Ohio During Presidential Roadtrip

Discussion: Guardian, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Mashable, New York Post, New York Times, Yahoo Politics, OnPolitics, Associated Press, The Daily Caller and CNN

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Nate Silver to Vox: Stop stealing our charts! … FiveThirtyEight founder and statistics guru Nate Silver has accused Ezra Klein's Vox.com of stealing other people's charts without attribution. — “Yo, @voxdotcom: Y'all should probably stop stealing people's charts without proper attribution,” he tweeted Monday.

Discussion: Poynter and FishbowlNY, more at Mediagazer »

Ezra Klein / Vox:

How Vox aggregates — I started as a blogger in the pre-social web, when the only way to build an audience was to have other sites quote or link to your work. Those links didn't drive a ton of traffic back to the original site, but they drove some, and sometimes you would get a new regular reader out of the deal.

Discussion: Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Mediaite and CNNMoney, more at Mediagazer »

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:
Unlike Hillary Clinton, the entire GOP field is either obscure or unpopular

Discussion: Joe. My. God. and Talking Points Memo

Eli Stokols / Politico:

The GOP's plan to turn Hillary into Mitt Romney in a pantsuit — Republicans are readying a familiar template: The out-of-touch plutocrat who lives in a world of private planes, chauffeured vehicles and million-dollar homes. — Forget about the Arkansas days, the small-bore scandals …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Adweek

Hillary Clinton / Salon:
Dangers of a Hillary Clinton campaign: The disastrous centrism she desperately needs to avoid

Discussion: Campaign for America's Future and Crooks and Liars

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
An Unabashedly Liberal Hillary Clinton

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Liberal Values, Reuters, New York Times and Washington Post

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo: GOP Strategist: I Don't Need Hillary ‘To Drown Me In Estrogen’ (VIDEO)

Alaska Airlines Blog:

Statement on Alaska Airlines flight 448 — Flight 448, bound for Los Angeles, returned to Seattle shortly after departure today after it was discovered that a ramp agent was still in the cargo hold. The aircraft was in the air for 9 minutes. — After landing, the agent …

Discussion: Mediaite, KFOR-TV, New York Magazine, FOX2now.com and NPR

Michael Quander / WREG-TV:

Brutal attack at Memphis gas station caught on camera — MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Surveillance video showed a mob of rowdy high school students beating a man at a Crosstown gas station. — Police said a large group of Northwest Prep Academy students swarmed a BP gas station on Poplar and Cleveland.

Discussion: The Last Tradition and KFOR-TV

Bloomberg Business:

Kerry's Pitch on Iran Deal Falls Flat With Skeptics in Congress — Lawmakers skeptical about an Iran nuclear deal said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's plea for more time to complete an agreement did little to dissuade them from insisting that Congress must review any final plan.

Discussion: The Hill, Prairie Weather, Washington Post and The Times of Israel

Martin Matishak / The Hill:
King: Iran bill must be handled ‘responsibly’

Discussion: Daily Kos

Matt Apuzzo / New York Times:

Ex-Blackwater Guards Sentenced to Long Prison Terms in 2007 Killings of Iraqi Civilians — WASHINGTON — One former Blackwater security contractor received a life sentence on Monday and three others received 30-year sentences for killing unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square in 2007.

Discussion: Gawker

Washington Post:
Four Blackwater guards sentenced in Iraq shootings of 31 unarmed civilians

Discussion: Liberaland, FOX News Radio and The Week

Ashley Edwards / New York's PIX11:

EXCLUSIVE: Woman says Harlem tattoo parlor behind ‘Black Ink’ left her disfigured — HARLEM (PIX11) — Asabi Barner was a confident woman in her 30s. Her body was never something she felt a need to cover up, until now. — A tattoo coverup changed her life last year.

Discussion: FOX2now.com

Beth HealyGLOBE / BostonGlobe.com:

Former Gov. Deval Patrick to join Bain Capital — Deval Patrick is joining the Boston investment giant Bain Capital, where the former governor will start a new line of business, directing investments in companies that produce profits but also have a positive impact on social problems.

Discussion: Washington Times and Balloon Juice

Post and Courier:

Passenger: Walter Scott was dear friend, ‘helped me to become a better man’ — Pictured is Pierre D. Fulton, the passenger in the vehicle with Walter Scott the day Scott was shot and killed by a North Charleston police officer as he fled after a traffic stop. Provided

Discussion: Raw Story, The Last Refuge and Mediaite

Alejandro Alba / NY Daily News:

Revenge porn is now a specific crime in the UK — The UK has passed new legislation that punishes revenge porn with prison. — As of Monday, UK's Criminal Justice and Court Act considers revenge porn as a specific crime. If someone publicly posts racy images of their ex without consent …

Discussion: Telegraph, FOX News Radio, The Verge and Engadget

Jennifer Duffy / The Cook Political Report:

Florida Senate Race Moves to a Toss Up — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's decision to seek the Republican presidential nomination and thus forgo a re-election bid creates the second open GOP seat of the cycle. It also becomes the first Republican seat in the Toss Up column.

Discussion: OnPolitics

Heather / Latest from Crooks and Liars:

The Daily Show Pokes Fun At The Response To Clinton's 2016 Rollout — The Daily Show had a bit of fun with Hillary Clinton's big announcement this week. After mocking her fairly boring campaign video, host Jon Stewart praised Clinton for “not acting like she's dropping a bombshell with the announcement …

Discussion: Raw Story