memeorandum: So much for Sam's Club — The departure of Tim Pawlenty … (Ben Smith/Ben Smith's Blog)

1:10 PM ET, August 14, 2011

Top Items:

Pawlenty Drops Out of Republican Race — Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, left, at Thursday's debate in Ames, Iowa, with Jon M. Huntsman Jr. and Newt Gingrich. — DES MOINES — Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, dropped his bid for the Republican nomination for president …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Los Angeles Times, Jamie Dupree Washington …, Des Moines Register, Washington Post, NO QUARTER, Paul Krugman, The Reaction, The Monkey Cage, The Other McCain, ThinkProgress, FiveThirtyEight, New York Magazine, Balloon Juice, American Power, The Daily What and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Political Punch:

Pawlenty Drops Out of Presidential Race After Disappointing Straw Poll Finish — Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is dropping out of the Republican presidential contest, after a disappointing third place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll yesterday. — “We needed to get some lift to continue …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Washington Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Washington Monthly, Online NewsHour, The Daily What, Talking Points Memo, Swampland, Daily Kos, The Other McCain, TPMDC, The Political Carnival and The Daily Caller

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

So much for Sam's Club — The departure of Tim Pawlenty this morning won't have a major impact on a race that had already taken shape without him — that's why he dropped out. — The move makes clear that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has fully seized the space Pawlenty sought to occupy, of the established conservative alternative.

Discussion: The Daily Dish

Catalina Camia / USA Today:

Tim Pawlenty ends presidential campaign — Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty said today he will end his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. — Pawlenty informed his supporters in a conference call and then announced his decision on ABC's This Week.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Moe_Lane's blog, The Politico, Towleroad News #gay and Conservatives4Palin

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:

Bachmann says she can win independents in general election — The morning after her win in the Ames straw poll, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) argued that she could appeal to independent and Democratic leaning voters in a general election and dismissed the challenge from new contender Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:

Michele Bachmann wins the Ames Straw Poll — Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., center, arrives at a breakfast before the GOP Ames Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AMES, Iowa — Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann scored …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Reaction, Mother Jones, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Prairie Weather, A plain blog about politics, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, The Politico, Hit & Run, The Note, nation.foxnews.com, LewRockwell.com Blog and New York Magazine

Jon Ward / The Huffington Post: Ames Win Positions Michele Bachmann As Rick Perry's Top Obstacle To Be Anti-Romney (VIDEO)

The Politico:
Tim Pawlenty drops out of presidential race

Discussion: ABCNEWS, CNN, Runnin' Scared, Salon and The Caucus

Brian Bakst / Associated Press:
Ex-Minn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty ends White House bid

Discussion: Hot Air, Reuters, Betsy's Page, Outside the Beltway, Instapundit and Michelle Malkin

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Bachmann Wins Iowa Straw Poll

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Right Wing News, CNN and Connecting.the.Dots

Des Moines / Iowa Caucuses:
Michele Bachmann wins Iowa Straw Poll

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Other McCain, Washington Post, The Politico, New York Times, CNN and Outside the Beltway

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
Bachmann Wins Iowa, For Now: The Ticker

Discussion: The Other McCain, Don Surber and GOP 12

Molly Ball / The Politico:
Rick Perry's presidential run reorders 2012 landscape

Discussion: Booman Tribune, New York Magazine and Wake up America

Ballot Box:
Bachmann wins Ames straw poll; Ron Paul takes second, Pawlenty distant third

Discussion: The Note, The Hill, CNN, Weasel Zippers, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, GOP 12 and The Moderate Voice

CNN:
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll

Discussion: The Politico, The Note and Washington Monthly

Fox News:
Perry Makes It Official: He's Running for President

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and 2012 Election Central

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:
Rick Perry announces he will join 2012 presidential field to challenge President Obama

Discussion: The Nation, Balloon Juice and Rick Perry for President

New York Times:

White House Debates Fight on Economy — WASHINGTON — As the economy worsens, President Obama and his senior aides are considering whether to adopt a more combative approach on economic issues, seeking to highlight substantive differences with Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail rather …

Discussion: TalkLeft, Clusterstock, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Impolitic, The Strata-Sphere and The Hill

Calculated Risk:

White House Debates Doing Little or Nothing — This is depressing ...from the NY Times: White House Debates Fight on Economy … Tax incentives are the “bigger idea”? It sounds like the debate is between doing nothing and doing very little. — If I arrived on the scene today …

Discussion: Clusterstock, emptywheel and Grasping Reality …

Mark Thoma / Economist's View:
White House Debates Giving Up on Helping the Economy

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Don Surber and Grasping Reality …

Charles Dameron / Wall Street Journal:

Rick Perry's Crony Capitalism Problem — The presidential candidate's signature economic development initiative has raised questions among conservatives. — Gov. Rick Perry's presidential pitch goes something like this: During one of the worst recessions in American history, he's kept his state “open for business.”

Discussion: Riehl World View

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

A Theory of Everything (Sort of) — LONDON burns. The Arab Spring triggers popular rebellions against autocrats across the Arab world. The Israeli Summer brings 250,000 Israelis into the streets, protesting the lack of affordable housing and the way their country is now dominated by an oligopoly of crony capitalists.

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

Clyburn hopes to use supercommittee post to tackle wealth gap — A leading House Democrat is hoping to use his prestigious seat on the deficit-cutting supercommittee to close the growing gully that divides the rich and the poor in America. — Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.) …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative

Davidswanson / War Is A Crime .org:

California Democratic Party May Dump Its Progressive Caucus for Proposing a Primary Challenge to Obama — On July 30th the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party passed a resolution proposing that a primary challenge be offered to Obama next year.

Discussion: naked capitalism and Corrente