memeorandum: George W. Bush opens up on Trump's war with the media, Russia and travel ban (Eun Kyung Kim/TODAY.com)

12:50 PM ET, February 27, 2017

Top Items:

Eun Kyung Kim / TODAY.com:

George W. Bush opens up on Trump's war with the media, Russia and travel ban — In his first in-depth interview since Donald Trump's inauguration, former President George W. Bush gave his take on the current commander in chief's first month in office, addressing Trump's attack on the media …

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Fox News Insider, Hot Air, IJR, AOL, TheBlaze, The Slot, Politicus USA and Althouse

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Bush breaks with Trump, calls media ‘indispensable to democracy’

Discussion: Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

Jeff Poor / Breitbart:
Bush 43 on Trump Travel Ban: ‘A Bedrock of Our Freedom Is the Right to Worship Freely’

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Mallory Shelbourne / The Hill:
George W. Bush: Media essential to democracy

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week and AOL

Wall Street Journal:

GOP's New Plan to Repeal Obamacare: Dare Fellow Republicans to Block Effort — GOP lawmakers gamble that setting bill in motion to strike Affordable Care Act will help break through intraparty disagreements — WASHINGTON—Republican leaders are betting that the only way for Congress …

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and The Week

Madeline Conway / Politico:

Trump: ‘Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated’ — President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that “nobody knew that health care could be so complicated” and told a group of governors that Obamacare is a “disaster” while also suggesting that the law's popularity is rising because Americans know its end is near.

Discussion: Political Wire

Oren Cass / National Review:

No, Obamacare Has Not Saved American Lives — The arguments of the law's defenders don't stand up to scrutiny. — Repealing the Affordable Care Act, Democrats say, will “make America sick again.” Bernie Sanders warns “36,000 people will die yearly as a result.”

Discussion: Instapundit

CBS News:

Ohio Gov. Kasich says House conservatives may cause “problem” passing Obamacare replacement — As Republicans try to figure out how to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Ohio Gov. John Kasich says they'll encounter “a problem” passing replacement legislation with some House conservatives …

Discussion: Axios and BizPac Review

Soumya Karlamangla / Los Angeles Times:
With Obamacare in jeopardy, California considers going it alone with ‘single-payer’ system

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Instapundit

Juliet Eilperin / Washington Post:
A divided White House still offers little guidance on replacing Obamacare

Discussion: Politicus USA and The Week

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:

Sean Spicer is losing his grip — Never let it be said that President Trump and his underlings don't work hard, especially when it comes to initiatives aimed at smearing and stymieing the White House press corps. Let's look at this crew's throughput over just the past three days.

Discussion: IJR, Vox, CNN, Politico, Raw Story, Axios and Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

Axios:

Exclusive: Spicer arranged CIA, GOP intelligence push-back — White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer personally picked up the phone and connected outside officials with reporters to try to discredit a New York Times article about Trump campaign aides' contact with Russia …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Common Dreams, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, emptywheel, The Guardian, Raw Story, Mother Jones, The Week, NBC News and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Claim: Reporter laughs at Trump aide's emotion over SEAL death — A Sunday Politico story about President Trump's press secretary cracking down on media leaks included a claim that the top-ranked woman in the White House communications office cried in frustration.

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Politico, Raw Story, Fox News, The Root, The Federalist, The Week, BizPac Review, Washington Monthly, Mediaite, Hullabaloo, The Slot, Daily Kos, Politicus USA and Political Wire, more at Mediagazer »

USA Today:

Here's how the worst flub in Oscar history went down — Oscar got it wrong, wrong, soooo wrong. The presenters announced the wrong Best Picture; Moonlight was the winner, not La La Land. — It was the biggest, most embarrassing, most awkward mistake in the history of the Academy Awards …

Discussion: Washington Post, Taylor Marsh and The Guardian

Megan Garvey / Los Angeles Times:
Correction: ‘Moonlight’ wins best picture. ‘La La Land’ was read in error

Discussion: Scared Monkeys and Balloon Juice

Michael Rothman / ABC News:
‘Moonlight’ wins best picture after ‘La La Land’ mistakenly announced

Monica Hesse / Washington Post: 'There's a mistake. ‘Moonlight,’ you guys won.': An Oscars shocker, in more ways than one

Variety:

Oscars: Australian Producer Jan Chapman Devastated by Mistaken In-Memoriam Photo — Another Oscars Gaffe: In Memoriam Video Included Photo of Living Woman — Leading Australian producer, Jan Chapman was “devastated” by another mistake in the Oscars telecast.

Discussion: TIME, Washington Post, TheBlaze, New York's PIX11, The Guardian, Mediaite, IJR, WCMH-TV, Fox News Insider, AOL, 6abc.com and The Week

James Hohmann / Washington Post:

The Daily 202: Democrats predict anti-Trump ‘tsunami’ in 2018 governor's races — THE BIG IDEA: As a House freshman, Jay Inslee lost reelection in 1994 because of voter frustration with Bill Clinton's first two years as president. Tom Foley, who represented an adjacent district …

New York Times:

Trump to Ask for Sharp Increases in Military Spending, Officials Say — WASHINGTON — President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a budget for the coming fiscal year that would include sharp increases in Defense Department spending; major cuts to other agencies …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, RedState, Axios, Politico, New York Magazine, Reuters, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Fox News, Hot Air, TheBlaze, The Resurgent, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Mother Jones and KTLA

Jonathan Martin / New York Times: Primary for Virginia Governor Tests Power of an Anti-Trump Campaign

Monica Davey / New York Times:

He's a Local Pillar in a Trump Town. Now He Could Be Deported. — WEST FRANKFORT, Ill. — Ask residents of this coal-mining crossroads about President Trump's decision to crack down on undocumented immigrants and most offer no protest. Mr. Trump, who easily won this mostly white southern Illinois county …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and Eschaton

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:

The DNC isn't enough: Democrats demand more leadership changes — ATLANTA — The race for the Democratic National Committee leadership is over, resolved with a Tom Perez chairmanship and a deputy role for Keith Ellison that momentarily quelled even the angriest Bernie Sanders-wing protesters in the room.

Discussion: Common Dreams, ABC News and The Hill

Veronica Stracqualursi / ABC News: The Note: GOP congressman calls for special prosecutor for Trump-Russia

David Weigel / Washington Post:
Why did Keith Ellison lose the DNC race?

Discussion: American Greatness, Common Dreams and Matt Bruenig

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

Trump, Archenemy of Truth — Donald Trump's unrelenting assault on the media is in fact an assault on the implacability of truth, the notion of accountability and the power of free speech. It is also a bit of a bow to the conspiracy theorizing that Trump is wont to do.

Discussion: Raw Story

Alissa J. Rubin / New York Times:

Geert Wilders, Reclusive Provocateur, Rises Before Dutch Vote — SPIJKENISSE, the Netherlands — He wants to end immigration from Muslim countries, tax head scarves and ban the Quran. He is partly of Indonesian heritage, and dyes his hair bright blond. He is omnipresent on social media …