memeorandum: Ted Cruz once called Trump ‘utterly amoral’ and a ‘sniveling coward.’ Then he worked to save his presidency. (Mike DeBonis/Washington Post)

9:25 PM ET, February 15, 2020

Top Items:

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:

Mike Bloomberg for years has battled women's allegations of profane, sexist comments — NEW YORK — As Mike Bloomberg celebrated his 48th birthday in 1990, a top aide at the company he founded presented him with a booklet of profane, sexist quotes she attributed to him.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News, CNN, HuffPost, POLITICUSUSA, Law & Crime, TheBlaze and Althouse

Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:

Why D.C.'s Mayor Endorsed Michael Bloomberg — Michael Bloomberg, who will enter the Democratic Presidential primaries on Super Tuesday, on March 3rd, and has already spent more than three hundred million dollars on his campaign, has risen to third place in an average of national polls of Democratic primary voters.

Discussion: The Atlantic

Rachel Sharp / Daily Mail:

BREAKING: Mike Bloomberg ‘wants Hillary Clinton as his running mate’, sources close to his campaign tell Drudge — Mike Bloomberg is considering Hillary Clinton as his running mate, source says Polling found the Bloomberg-Clinton combination would be a formidable force to take on Trump …

Discussion: New York Post, The Last Refuge, Power Line, TheBlaze and Twitchy

Washington Post:

The Portable Bloomberg: The Wit & Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg — This booklet was given to Mike Bloomberg on his 48th birthday in 1990. It was produced by Elisabeth DeMarse, Bloomberg L.P.'s former chief marketing officer. “Yes, these are all actual quotes,” DeMarse wrote in the introduction.

Discussion: Redstate, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Vanity Fair and The Guardian

Zeeshan Aleem / Vox:

A new report raises more questions about Bloomberg's alleged sexism and sexual harassment — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at an event at Texas' Buffalo Soldier National Museum. Mark Felix/AFP /AFP via Getty Images — Bloomberg faces these questions …

Discussion: NBC News, The Hill, Raw Story and ABC News

New York Times:

Bloomberg's Billions: How the Candidate Built an Empire of Influence — In the fall of 2018, Emily's List had a dilemma. With congressional elections approaching and the Supreme Court confirmation battle over Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh underway, the Democratic women's group was hosting a major fund-raising luncheon in New York.

Discussion: Common Dreams, Mother Jones, The Week and Eschaton

Evan Semones / Politico:
Drudge floats the implausible: A Bloomberg-Clinton ticket

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Fox News

Washington Post:

Barr's internal reviews and re-investigations feed resentment, suspicion inside Justice Dept. — The Justice Department in the Trump era has repeatedly tasked U.S. attorneys from far-flung offices to parachute into politically explosive cases in Washington, raising concerns among current …

Discussion: Power Line, POLITICUSUSA, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Contemptor, Law & Crime and UPI

New York Times:

Trump's Prying Becomes Source of Distress for Justice Department Lawyers — After a week of tumult, some career prosecutors expressed concerns about political interference and the attorney general's response to the president weighing in on the prosecution of an associate.

Discussion: Washington Post

The Boston Globe: William Barr must go

Max Boot / Washington Post:
This is how democracy dies — in full view of a public that couldn't care less

Discussion: NBC News, RealClearPolitics, Power Line and The Guardian

Shan Wu / The Daily Beast:
Bill Barr Is Wrecking the Justice Department, And It May Never Recover

Discussion: One America News Network, Palmer Report, Raw Story, Breitbart and Letters from an American

Associated Press:

Sanders attacks moderate rivals as voting begins in Nevada — LAS VEGAS (AP) — Progressive firebrand Bernie Sanders jabbed his more moderate rivals on Saturday for taking campaign cash from billionaires as Democratic officials at some sites across Nevada were overwhelmed by long lines …

Discussion: Washington Post

Dan Balz / Washington Post: The Democratic nomination contest doesn't look like any from the past

Associated Press: Sanders' bond with Latinos gets first test of many in Nevada

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

Ted Cruz once called Trump ‘utterly amoral’ and a ‘sniveling coward.’ Then he worked to save his presidency. — Donald Trump called him “Lyin' Ted” Cruz, mocked his wife's appearance and falsely suggested his father was involved in President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Discussion: Raw Story

Mike Memoli / NBC News:

Biden calls on Sanders to take accountability for supporters' threats — The message comes after the powerful Culinary Workers Union said supporters of the Vermont senator had “viciously attacked” its members. — LAS VEGAS — Joe Biden called on Bernie Sanders to accept greater accountability …

New York Times:

A Presidency Increasingly Guided by Suspicion and Distrust — Presidential paranoia is not a new phenomenon but Mr. Trump, burned by impeachment, seems to have elevated it to a governing philosophy of his White House. — WASHINGTON — President Trump suggested in recent days that he had …

Minyvonne Burke / NBC News:

Black college swimmer on team trip had gun pointed at his head by police — Jaylan Butler of Eastern Illinois University said officers threatened to blow his head off before it became clear they mistook him for a suspect. — A black student at Eastern Illinois University returning …

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Bloomberg Temptation — Will the Democrats try to replace Donald Trump with a power-hungry plutocrat? — For a long time the notion of a Michael Bloomberg presidential candidacy seemed like a Manhattan fancy, a conceit with elite appeal but no mass constituency, a fantasy for Acela riders …

Discussion: Nonzero Newsletter, Jacobin and BizPac Review

Maya King / Politico:

Deep cracks emerge in Biden's firewall — CHARLESTON, S.C. — His message is uninspiring. His ground game is flawed. After Iowa and New Hampshire, they're no longer convinced he can beat Donald Trump. — Interviews with two dozen South Carolina lawmakers, consultants and voters …

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, The Week and The Mind Shield

Christopher Caldwell / New York Times:

Bloomberg Is Right About the 2008 Financial Crash — It was brought about by a flawed attempt to use credit markets to broaden access to housing. — Mr. Caldwell is the author of “The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties.” — You would have thought that Michael Bloomberg …

Discussion: The Week and Washington Post

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:

This One Chart Explains Why the Kids Back Bernie — The kids are all left. Or, almost all Democratic voters under 30 are, anyway. — Blue America's gaping chasm of a generation gap has been a - if not the - defining feature of the Democratic primary race thus far.

WPTZ:

Gov. Scott gives endorsement in Presidential race — HIDE TRANSCRIPT SHOW TRANSCRIPT — Vermont Governor Phil Scott has endorsed a Presidential candidate, just 3 weeks before the Vermont primary. — He said he is backing Bill Weld, President Trump's Challenger on the March 3rd Ballot.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Politico, New York Post and TheBlaze

Tal Axelrod / The Hill: GOP governor endorses Weld in Vermont primary

USA Today:

This college was accredited by a DeVos-sanctioned group. We couldn't find evidence of students or faculty. — Chris Quintana Shelly ConlonUSA TODAY — SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Reagan National University was supposed to be a place of higher learning in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:

Trump eliminates funding for program honoring Ambassador Stevens, who was killed in Benghazi — The Trump administration has zeroed out of the State Department budget a request from a nonprofit entity set up in honor of J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador killed in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 terrorist attacks.

Discussion: Raw Story, One America News Network and Politico

David Knowles / Yahoo News:

Trump budget zeroes out funding for Stars and Stripes, the military's newspaper — pulled funding in its 2021 budget for Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military news organization that has published a daily newspaper continuously since World War II for troops stationed around the world.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, more at Mediagazer »

Courtney Subramanian / USA Today:

USA TODAY/Ipsos poll: For voters, Bernie Sanders outranks other Democrats - and Trump - on values, empathy — WASHINGTON - Is Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders likable enough to win the White House? A new USA TODAY/Ipsos poll released Friday suggests a lot of voters think so.

Discussion: New York Post