memeorandum: Wave of Attacks in Iraq Leaves at Least 68 Dead (New York Times)

1:10 PM ET, August 15, 2011

Top Items:

Warren E. Buffett / New York Times:

Stop Coddling the Super-Rich — OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched. — While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan …

The Politico:

Buffett: I beg you to raise my taxes — Warren Buffett, the third wealthiest man in the world with a net worth of around $80 billion, is demanding the U.S. government make the rich like him pay higher taxes and says they should no longer be protected like endangered “spotted owls.”

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, CNN and JammieWearingFool

The Politico:

Rick Perry schools Michele Bachmann in Waterloo — WATERLOO, Iowa — Rick Perry came to Michele Bachmann's home town Sunday evening and schooled the newly minted Iowa front-runner in her native state's demanding retail political culture. — The day after Perry announced his candidacy …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Ben Smith's Blog, msnbc.com, Red Racing Horses, Online NewsHour, Boston Globe, Balloon Juice, NY Daily News, The Caucus, Campaign 2012, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine, GOP 12, The Note, Weekly Standard and The Hill

Wall Street Journal:

Bachmann-Perry Overdrive — GOP voters are still searching for a unifying candidate. — The fight for the Republican Presidential nomination is finally getting underway in earnest, with Texas Governor Rick Perry bull-riding his way into the race and Michele Bachmann winning Saturday's straw poll in Iowa.

Discussion: GOP 12, Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune, Don Surber, Taegan Goddard's …, The New Republic and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

Chris Christie's Cue — This has been a clarifying week for the 2012 election. Thursday's Republican debate reminded everyone why Mitt Romney is the front-runner, as his rivals left the former Massachusetts governor more or less untouched. Saturday's Ames straw poll disposed of Tim Pawlenty …

Discussion: msnbc.com

New York Times:
After Iowa, Republicans Face a New Landscape

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, The Daily Dish and The Caucus

David Weigel / Slate:
Exit Tim Pawlenty

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Texas Unmiracle — As expected, Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, has announced that he is running for president. And we already know what his campaign will be about: faith in miracles. — Some of these miracles will involve things that you're liable to read in the Bible.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, Paul Krugman, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Miracles, myths, and mirages

Discussion: The Mahablog

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

The Ten Weirdest Ideas In Rick Perry's Fed Up — Rick Perry's November 2010 book Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington is not a typical “campaign book” from a political candidate. For starters, its forward is written by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, nominally one of Perry's rivals for the nomination.

Discussion: Paul Krugman and Questions and Observations

Rick Perry / The Daily Beast:
Rick Perry's Ruthless Drive to Win

Discussion: Campaign 2012, TBogg, Let Freedom Ring Blog, Taylor Marsh, Firedoglake, Connecting.the.Dots, Hullabaloo and The Reality-Based Community

Richard Dunham / blog.chron.com:
Videos: Rick Perry's announcement speech and his first campaign ad

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Washington Monthly

David Paul Kuhn / Real Clear Politics:

At 39 Percent, Obama's Reminded the Worst Could Lie Ahead — There it was: 39 percent. Floor broke. Threshold crossed. The close of Barack Obama's awful week. One more awful August. On Sunday, for the first time in his presidency, Obama's public approval rating dipped below 40 percent in the Gallup Poll.

Discussion: The Hill, TPMDC, NewsBusters.org blogs, Political Punch and The Daily Caller

CBS News:
With dismal approval polls, Obama hits the road

Discussion: Syracuse Post-Standard, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Truthdig and Scared Monkeys

Sam Youngman / The Hill:
Obama returns to the campaign trail with Midwest bus tour

Discussion: CNN, The Maddow Blog and The Heritage Foundation

Eric Lichtblau / New York Times:

A Businessman in Congress Helps His District and Himself — VISTA, Calif. — Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Monthly, Crooks and Liars, iWatch News, Daily Kos and The Page

Kieran Crowley / New York Post:

Wall Street big lavished gifts on mistresses in three countries: wife — He's an aging Wall Street fat cat who could put even the most lusty young lothario to shame. — John Duffy, 62, the married CEO of the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods investment bank, has lavished millions of dollars' worth of homes …

Discussion: Dealbreaker and New York Magazine

The Note:

Mitt Romney Dubs Obama's Trip the ‘Magical Misery Bus Tour’ — ABC News' Emily Friedman (@EmilyABC) reports: — A new web video and harsh criticism emerged from the Mitt Romney camp today as President Barack Obama launched his three-day bus tour that will make stops in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Don Surber and Political Punch

Reuters:

Pakistan gave China access to secret U.S. aircraft involved in bin Laden raid, paper says — ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan gave China access to the previously unknown U.S. “stealth” helicopter that crashed during the commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May despite explicit requests …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Hot Air, Financial Times, Outside the Beltway and The Gateway Pundit

Reuters:
Pakistan let China see crashed U.S. “stealth” copter

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, emptywheel, BLACKFIVE, Campaign 2012 and This Just In

Peter Nicholas / Los Angeles Times:

Democrats urge Obama to be more aggressive on jobs — Many want the president to stand up to Republicans and push for bigger, more ambitious programs to boost the economy. — Job seekers attend a job fair in San Jose. With the national unemployment rate still above 9% …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Suburban Guerrilla

Joe Garofoli / SFGate:

Todd Palin answers woman who calls Palins a “sellout” at Sarah Palin Iowa event (VIDEO) — Des Moines, Iowa — As we told you the other day, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hasn't decided yet to run for president. One big question she will have to answer is why she quit after only two years as governor.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Towleroad News #gay and Raw Replay

Christian Heinze / GOP 12:

Cain aims for fifth place in New Hampshire — Herman Cain tells Fox News this morning that, to his campaign, fifth is first. … Cain was fifth in the Ames straw poll on Saturday (almost sounds like he thinks the straw poll was the caucuses, and that Iowa is done).

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Politico and TPMDC

The Official Google Blog:

Supercharging Android: Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility — Since its launch in November 2007, Android has not only dramatically increased consumer choice but also improved the entire mobile experience for users. Today, more than 150 million Android devices have been activated worldwide …

Discussion: Bloomberg, TechCrunch, L.A. Times Tech Blog, AllThingsD, Clusterstock, CNET News, Globe and Mail, FT Alphaville and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »

John Stevens / Daily Mail:

Bernie Madoff ditched by his wife of 52 years as she seeks reconciliation with son — The wife of Bernard Madoff has severed ties with the disgraced Wall Street financier and not seen him for more than six months, it has been revealed. — Ruth Madoff, who has been married to the convicted fraudster …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Gothamist and Clusterstock

CNN:

Steady job or healthy environment: What would you choose? — Editor's Note: Soledad O'Brien's documentary “Battle for Blair Mountain: Working in America” airs at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET Sunday, August 14, and 8 p.m. ET Saturday, August 20. Follow the discussion on Twitter with the hashtag #battleforblair.

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Speakeasy

Right Reformer / Red Racing Horses:

Breaking News: We Have a Barn Burner in SD-12 Between Kim Simac and Jim Holperin — As part of our ongoing efforts to provide you with original political content, Red Racing Horses has commissioned a poll of the 8/16 Recall Election between Kim Simac (R) and Jim Holperin (D).

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and Taegan Goddard's …