memeorandum: George W. Bush: President shouldn't be someone ‘who mirrors and inflames our frustration’ (MJ Lee/CNN)

1:20 PM ET, February 16, 2016

Top Items:

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Scalia's death could doom McDonnell and hurt Menendez — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell could wind up one of the biggest losers as a result of Justice Antonin Scalia's unexpected death and the potentially protracted battle shaping up over his replacement.

Discussion: ABC News and Washington Post

Harry Reid / Washington Post:

Reid to GOP: For the good of the country, stop your nakedly partisan obstruction — Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, is Senate minority leader. — We are entering uncharted waters in the history of the U.S. system of checks and balances, with potentially momentous consequences.

John Boehner / Independent Journal Review Opinion:

The Time I Tried To Persuade Antonin Scalia To Run For Vice President — JOIN THE TEAM FOR ADDED BENEFITS: — Create an Account OR Log In — FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: — Submit — x — Views — ShareTweetEmail + — Independent Journal Opinion is an opinion platform …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Week and National Review

Ari Melber / NBC News:

Obama Could Win SCOTUS Battle in This 17-Day Window — Senate Republicans are pledging to block any Supreme Court nomination by President Barack Obama until after November, hoping a Republican will replace him and fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia.

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, The Moderate Voice and Infowars

O. Kay Henderson / Radio Iowa:

Grassley hasn't decided whether to hold hearing on Obama's Supreme Court pick — Republican Senator Chuck Grassley isn't ready to say whether he'll convene a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on President Obama's nominee to fill the opening on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Discussion: Politico

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Carson: Republicans Wouldn't Wait To Replace Scalia If We Held The White House — “Then again, recognize that the two picks that the president has selected are ideologues, so there's really no reason to believe that his next pick wouldn't be an ideologue also.” — Matthew Cavanaugh / Getty Images

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
Reid warns GOP it will rue blocking Obama on court

Discussion: American Spectator and Washington Post

Chuck Schumer:
Republicans' Apples to Oranges Comparison on Supreme Court Nominees

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico and The Week

Timothy S. Huebner / New York Times:
In Election Years, a History of Confirming Court Nominees

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Des Moines Register:
Grassley's Supreme Court stance is all about politics

Discussion: Daily Kos

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
The Way America Picks Judges Is Stupid And Needs To Change

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Associated Press:
Texas judge disclosed details about Scalia's health

Discussion: ABC News, RedState, Associated Press, BizPac Review, Washington Post, The Week, Little Green Footballs and New York Magazine

New York Times:
More Republicans Say They'll Block Supreme Court Nominee

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The Federalist, Daily Kos, FiveThirtyEight, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES, electionlawblog.org, USA Today, Mediaite, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller and TheStreet.com

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
What Would Scalia Want in His Successor? A Dissent Offers Clues

Discussion: Above the Law, The Week, Politicus USA and CNN

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Trump, Clinton Still Have Big SC Leads — PPP's new South Carolina poll continues to find Donald Trump with a wide lead in the state. He's at 35% to 18% each for Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, 10% for John Kasich, and 7% each for Jeb Bush and Ben Carson. — What's striking about Trump's support …

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Morning Consult, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, addictinginfo.org, Taylor Marsh, alan.com, New York Times, Daily Kos, New York Magazine, Outside the Beltway, The Slot, Political Wire and The Right Scoop

Eli Stokols / Politico:

Rubio surges back to electrify South Carolina — EASLEY, S.C. — Marco Rubio carried a message to South Carolina: He is “at peace” with his failure in New Hampshire. — He doesn't mean it casually, as though he has simply come to terms with what happened Feb. 6, when Chris Christie commanded …

Discussion: The State, Hot Air, The Resurgent, No More Mister Nice Blog and American Bridge PAC

Jamie Self / The State:

FIRST ON BUZZ: After debate, Trump still tops SC GOP presidential race — Poll: Trump at 35%; Cruz and Rubio follow with 18% each — Democratic frontrunner Clinton leads Sanders by 21-point margin — Sanders making gains among critical African-American voters, but still trails by 40 points

Discussion: Power Line, RedState, Political Insider blog, Hit & Run, Washington Post, Raw Story, Mediaite, Politico, Shakesville, Breitbart, Kansas City Star, The Last Refuge, Political Wire, Hullabaloo, ABC News and Florida Politics

Mark Hensch / The Hill:
South Carolina poll: Trump up 17 points ahead of primary

Discussion: Infowars, Washington Post, The Week, RedState and New York Times

Jon Ralston / Washington Post:
Nevada is no longer a ‘lock’ for Hillary Clinton

Discussion: RedState and Political Wire

Nick Gass / Politico:
National poll: Sanders closing the gap with Clinton

Discussion: New York Magazine and The Week

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:
Donald Trump Says He's ‘Very Seriously’ Considering Suing Ted Cruz

Discussion: Hot Air, abc11.com and Associated Press

Nick Gass / Politico:
Jeb: Trump ‘fears me’

Discussion: The Hill, Yahoo Politics and The Week

Adam Gabbatt / Guardian:
Donald Trump leaves supporters cold as he accuses Rubio of ‘excess sweating’

Discussion: Politicus USA

Rush Limbaugh:
My Take on the GOP Debate — RUSH: Short version …

Discussion: TPNN, Althouse, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and The Right Scoop

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:

How the war in Iraq is haunting the 2016 presidential contest — More than a decade later, the war in Iraq is still haunting those who supported it — especially those running for president. — In the Democratic contest, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has pried open the door on Hillary Clinton's 2002 vote in support of the war.

Discussion: ABC News

MJ Lee / CNN:
George W. Bush: President shouldn't be someone ‘who mirrors and inflames our frustration’

Discussion: Independent Journal Review, Hot Air and Washington Examiner

Michael Falcone / ABC News:
The Note: Trump Takes On — Everybody

Discussion: Political Insider blog, Washington Post, American Spectator, Truth Revolt, Associated Press and abc11.com

Lawrence H. Summers / Washington Post:

It's time to kill the $100 bill — It's time to go after big money … Harvard's Mossavar Rahmani Center for Business and Government, which I am privileged to direct, has just issued an important paper by senior fellow Peter Sands and a group of student collaborators.

Discussion: Infowars

Ben Schreckinger / Politico:

Campaigns secretly prep for brokered GOP convention — Mysterious outside groups are asking state parties for personal data on potential delegates, Republican campaigns are drawing up plans to send loyal representatives to obscure local conventions, and party officials are dusting off rule books …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Isiah Carey / KRIV:

US Marshals arresting people for not paying their federal student loans — HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Believe it or not, the US Marshals Service in Houston is arresting people for not paying their outstanding federal student loans. — Paul Aker says he was arrested at his home last week for a $1500 federal student loan he received in 1987.

Discussion: Raw Story, Moe Lane and addictinginfo.org

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard / Telegraph:

German ‘bail-in’ plan for government bonds risks blowing up the euro — 'If I were a politician in Italy, I'd want my own currency as fast as possible: that is the only way to avoid going bankrupt,' said German ‘Wise Man’ — A new German plan to impose “haircuts” on holders …

Discussion: naked capitalism and Vox Popoli

Dan Riehl / Breitbart:

Ben Carson: Trump ‘Could Easily Collapse’ — Republican Presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson tells Breitbart News Daily host Stephen K. Bannon he's in the race for the long haul, adding, “We have a situation in our party where people at the front could easily collapse.

Discussion: Politico and Right Wing Watch

Dan Merica / CNN:

Hillary Clinton barks like a dog to slam Republicans — Reno, Nevada (CNN)Hillary Clinton's stump speech has gone to the dogs. — Not really. But Clinton told a colorful story on Monday in Reno that ended with the former secretary of state barking like a dog.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Althouse