memeorandum: Why Europeans Refuse to Reproduce (Peter Robinson/The Corner)

2:30 PM ET, March 13, 2008

Top Items:

Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11 — Obama's Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Has a History of What Even Obama's Campaign Aides Say Is ‘Inflammatory Rhetoric’ — Sen. Barack Obama's pastor says blacks should not sing “God Bless America” but “God damn America.”

Deacon / Power Line:

THE AUDACITY OF HATE — ABC News reports that Barack Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, says blacks should not sing “God Bless America” but “God damn America.” Wright thinks God should damn America for “treating our citizens as less than human” and “for [acting] like she is God and she is supreme.”

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:

Wright on film — Sure does feel like we're plunging into the abyss tonight. — Fox just posted a big Jeremiah Wright story, and the video is pretty gripping, and deeply racially confrontational. He begins by describing the Romans, who crucified Jesus, as Italians, and thus white, and more or less goes from there.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The New Republic, Tennessee Guerilla Women, Classical Values, JustOneMinute, Atlas Shrugs, Redstate and Taylor Marsh

Fox News:
Obama's Spiritual Mentor May Put Church in Hot Water

Discussion: Stop The ACLU, The Colossus of Rhodey, The Confluence, Redstate, Political Punch, TigerHawk, PoliGazette, Riehl World View and The Jed Report

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Wright's committee — Jeremiah Wright, in the news today …

Discussion: Trailhead

Mark Finkelstein / NewsBusters.org: Obama's Spiritual Guide: ‘God Damn America’

David Paul Kuhn / The Politico:

Support for war effort highest since 2006 — American public support for the military effort in Iraq has reached a highpoint unseen since the summer of 2006, a development that promises to reshape the political landscape. — According to late February polling conducted by The Pew Research Center …

Discussion: Think Progress, Jules Crittenden, Donklephant, Commentary, The Carpetbagger Report, Real Clear Politics, Middle Earth Journal, Political Machine, Pat Dollard, Hot Air, Right Wing News and The Jed Report

Karen DeYoung / Washington Post:
Study: Public unaware of Iraq toll

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The BRAD BLOG and JammieWearingFool

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
The Politico claims the Iraq war will help McCain

Discussion: USA Today, Wake up America, RADAMISTO and Taylor Marsh

Kenneth Thiesen / Berkeley Daily Planet:

Commentary: Why I Don't Support the Troops — In the recent political battle around the Marine recruiting station in Berkeley there has been much confusion around the concept or slogan of “supporting the troops,” but opposing the unjust wars of the Bush regime.

Discussion: Chicago Boyz, StephenBainbridge.com, Hot Air, Jules Crittenden, American Power, Little Green Footballs, PoliGazette, BLACKFIVE, Gathering of Eagles, Gateway Pundit, Pirate's Cove, A NEWT ONE, Right Wing News, Political Byline and Cold Fury

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

FIRST THOUGHTS: THE GREAT '08 PARADOX — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro — *** The great '08 paradox: Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the latest NBC/WSJ poll is the poor shape the GOP finds itself in today: The party's fav/unfav has increased (34%-49%) …

Discussion: MoJoBlog, The Huffington Post and marbury

Jackie Calmes / Wall Street Journal:

McCain, GOP May Have Cause for Hope — Latest Poll Helps Detail Reasons the Democrats Remain Deadlocked — Rarely have the stars aligned so squarely against the party in power in elections for the White House as it has for Republicans, the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll bears out.

Discussion: Hot Air, Weekly Standard Blog, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Strata-Sphere, Macsmind and TownHall Blog

Michael Sneed / Chicago Sun Times:

It's not him — The Spitzer shocker . . . Just who is Client No. 10? — Who is the procurer of prostitutes from Chicago who is mentioned anonymously in an unsealed FBI affidavit filed by the feds detailing operations of the Emperors Club, a sex-for-hire shop that allegedly ensnared embattled New York.

Discussion: The Swamp and Real Clear Politics

Borys Krawczeniuk / The Times-Tribune:

Poll: Hillary's negative rating rivals Santorum's — New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has something in common with former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum. A large percentage of Pennsylvania voters dislike both of them. — In fact, greater percentages of voters here have consistently viewed …

Discussion: Trailhead

New York Times:

Spitzer Fall Began With Bank Reports — Last July, the North Fork Bank raised a red flag about suspicious financial transactions involving Gov. Eliot Spitzer. But for several months, the electronic report languished unnoticed in a vast Treasury Department database in Detroit.

Discussion: Angry Bear, Firedoglake, protein wisdom, Rocky Mountain News and INTEL DUMP

Balkinization:
The Spitzer Case and the National Surveillance State

Discussion: Firedoglake and Megan McArdle

Daniel W. Reilly / The Crypt's Blogs:

Tempers Flare on FISA — Debate on a controversial electronic surveillance measure hasn't even begun on the House floor, yet tempers have already begin to flare on Thursday morning, with Republicans slamming the bill and the way in which it will be debated.

Discussion: Wake up America and Daily Kos

Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Bush Warns House on Surveillance

Discussion: The Swamp, The Strata-Sphere and The Page

Cynthia Needham / Providence Journal:

Bill to close prostitution loophole — PROVIDENCE — With the nation's eyes trained on former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's alleged involvement with a prostitute, Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill that would close the loophole in this state's laws that makes prostitution legal if it occurs indoors.

Dr. Rusty Shackleford / The Jawa Report:

Hi, I'm from the NY Times. Your Daughter is a Whore. — Ashley Alexandra Dupré, worth $5 grand for sex? — I wasn't shocked that we found out who Spitzer's whore was, what did shock me was that it was the New York Times that outed her. Isn't this better left to the National Enquirer?

Discussion: Outside The Beltway

Detroit Free Press:

Democrats propose do-over primary paid for by donors — LANSING — As negotiators continued to work Wednesday on developing an acceptable plan for a possible do-over Democratic presidential primary in Michigan, the prospect of a state-run — but party-funded — primary was raised …

Discussion: The Politico, New York Times, Associated Press, The Caucus, Politics Nation, MyDD, Commentary, MSNBC and TPM Election Central

Thomas Heath / Washington Post:

Carlyle Fund's Assets Seized — Leaders Fail to Stop Securities Sell-Off — A publicly traded affiliate of the Carlyle Group said yesterday that lenders were seizing its assets, sending the fund, Carlyle Capital, into insolvency. — The collapse of Carlyle Capital is the first time a Carlyle Group fund …

Discussion: AMERICAblog

Charles Babington / Associated Press:

Obama criticizes McCain on taxes — CHICAGO - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that Sen. John McCain reversed his position on President Bush's deep tax cuts in order to win the Republican presidential nomination, one of his sharpest criticisms yet of the Arizona senator he hopes to face this fall.