memeorandum: The Clear Case for the Gas Tax (New York Times)

4:00 PM ET, August 16, 2011

Top Items:

Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:

Perry on Bernanke: 'I dunno what y'all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas' — Texas Governor Rick Perry, who entered the presidential campaign on Saturday, appeared to suggest a violent response would be warranted should Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke …

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:

Karl Rove Piles On Rick Perry: Bernanke Line ‘Not A Presidential Statement’ — It's no secret that Team George W. Bush and Team Rick Perry are not exactly close. And with Perry flailing after he accused Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke of “almost treasonous” behavior …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, DownWithTyranny! and Talking Points Memo

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Rick Perry campaign not disavowing implied threat to Bernanke — I asked Rick Perry's spokesman if the campaign is offering clarification of his widely discussed suggestion yesterday that Texas would offer some “real ugly” frontier justice to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke if he were to print money between now and election day.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Campaign 2012, Little Green Footballs, Slate, No More Mister Nice Blog, TPMDC and National Review

Brent Budowsky / Pundits Blog:

Rick Perry will self-destruct within 30 days — Rick Perry talks treason about the Federal Reserve Board. Treason is a capital offense. Is Perry suggesting the death penalty for Federal Reserve Board members? — Rick Perry says Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will have a tough time if he goes to Texas.

Discussion: The Note

John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:

Rick Perry's Serious Unforced Error — Today in Iowa, Rick Perry was asked about the Federal Reserve and, in a halting 45-second answer, went off on chairman Ben Bernanke: “If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I dunno what y'all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, AmSpecBlog, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, The Maddow Blog, Salon, CNN, AlterNet, The Daily Dish, Sister Toldjah, The Mahablog, The Politico and Outside the Beltway

The Note:

Does President Obama Love America? Rick Perry: ‘You Need To Ask Him’ — ABC News' Michael Falcone and Arlette Saenz report: — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Just hours after presidential candidate Rick Perry said that he would be the kind of president who would be “passionate” about America …

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress, Reuters, theGrio, Mediaite, Public Policy Polling, The Politico, Weasel Zippers, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Reid Report, Power Line, AMERICAblog News, msnbc.com, The Gateway Pundit, Ben Smith's Blog, Althouse, Gawker and New York Magazine

Political Math:

Rick Perry And Texas Job Numbers — Full disclosure: I don't like Rick Perry for our next president. I have my reasons that aren't worth going into here. However, when I was watching the GOP debate and pro-Perry people started bringing up Rick Perry's job numbers as a cudgel against other candidates …

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wake up America, The Daily Dish, New York Times and Washington Post

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Perry warns of Fed treason, challenges Obama

Discussion: ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Politico, Red Dog Report, Online NewsHour, USA Today, Campaign 2012, NY Daily News, White House Dossier, PolitickerNY and New York Times

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Rick Perry suggests predator drones for border patrol

Discussion: The New Republic, The Jawa Report and nation.foxnews.com

Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Rick Perry Thinks ‘Printing More Money’ Is ‘Almost Treason’ Because It Would Help The Economy And Thus Obama

Discussion: Booman Tribune and Talking Points Memo

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Perry Suggests Fed Is ‘Almost Treasonous’

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos and TPMDC

Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:
Romney vs. Perry: How the Numbers (and the Calendar) Stack Up

Discussion: ABCNEWS and The Note

Rasmussen Reports:

GOP Primary: Perry 29%, Romney 18%, Bachmann 13% — Texas Governor Rick Perry, the new face in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has jumped to a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann with the other announced candidates trailing even further behind.

Discussion: Washington Wire, GOP 12, Campaign 2012, Red Dog Report, The Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, TPMDC, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, National Review, Red Racing Horses, HotAirPundit and Don Surber

Steven Rattner / New York Times:
Republican Extremism, Bad Economics

Discussion: Washington Post, Campaign 2012, NationalJournal.com, AmSpecBlog and The Mahablog

CNN:
Paul zings rivals in new ad

Discussion: msnbc.com, TPMDC and Ben Smith's Blog

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:

Ryan for President? — Paul Ryan is in the final stages of deciding on a presidential run. — Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan is strongly considering a run for president. Ryan, who has been quietly meeting with political strategists to discuss a bid over the past three months …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Wire, The Hill, Roll Call, Hot Air, AmSpecBlog, National Review, Outside the Beltway, Salon, GOP 12, Chicago Boyz, PoliPundit.com, Eunomia, Daily Kos, Pajamas Media, Campaign 2012, msnbc.com and The New Republic

Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:

Talk to Ryan? It'll cost you — It will cost $15 to ask Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) a question in person during the August congressional recess. — The House Budget Committee chairman isn't holding any face-to-face open-to-the-public town hall meetings during the recess …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Raw Story, Washington Monthly, The Impolitic, Daily Kos, Hotline On Call and The Political Carnival

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Karl Rove thinks Chris Christie and Paul Ryan are wavering on 2012

Discussion: GOP 12, Washington Post, RedState and PoliPundit.com

Liz Goodwin / Yahoo! News:

Silicon Valley billionaire funding creation of artificial libertarian islands — Pay Pal founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel has given $1.25 million to an initiative to create floating libertarian countries in international waters, according to a profile of the billionaire in Details magazine.

Discussion: Dean's World, LewRockwell.com Blog, Roger Ailes and Balloon Juice

David Jackson / USA Today:

Obama clashes with Tea Party member — President Obama came face-to-face with the Tea Party last night in Iowa, clashing with members during and after a town hall last night. — Ryan Rhodes, a group leader in the Hawkeye State, stood up and shouted a question during a town hall asking …

Discussion: Yahoo! News, nation.foxnews.com, The Daily Caller, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Daily Dish, The Iowa Republican, Don Surber and The Lonely Conservative

Greta Van Susteren / Gretawire:
Here is the fiery exchange the President found himself in!

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, The Jawa Report, Mediaite and NewsBusters.org blogs

CNN:

All shook up: Bachmann flubs Elvis birthday — (CNN)-Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann stepped all over Elvis Presley's blue suede shoes while stumping Tuesday, when she mistakenly wished “The King” a “Happy Birthday.” — August 16 actually marks the 34th anniversary of Presley's death.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, TPMDC and Campaign 2012

Matthew Hendley / The Daily Pulp:

Allen West's Response to Request That He Cut Ties With Anti-Islamic Extremists: “NUTS!” — The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations sent a letter to Rep. Allen West at the beginning of the month with a request — quit palling around with Islamophobes.

Discussion: Jihad Watch, Rhymes With Right, iOwnTheWorld.com and Israel Matzav

The Politico:
Rep. Allen West weighs Senate run

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and HotAirPundit

Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:

Note to pundits: The problem isn't the GOP field. It's the GOP. — Here's what you need to know about the Republican candidate field: this is it. No one starts running for president in August, less than six months before the voters start getting involved in Iowa and New Hampshire, and has any chance at all.

Discussion: Eunomia, Ross Douthat, AMERICAblog News, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:
Gibbs: 'We're not running against Bush'

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:

On mortgage rates, Obama wants proposal for how government can keep big role — PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES - The Freddie Mac office in McLean, Va. — President Obama has directed a small team of advisers to develop a proposal that would keep the government playing a major role …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, CEPR, ThinkProgress, Via Meadia, The Heritage Foundation, emptywheel, Suburban Guerrilla, The Lonely Conservative and The Hill

David Saleh Rauf / The Politico:
Obama checks in on Foursquare

Discussion: White House.gov Blog, msnbc.com, New York Magazine and TechCrunch

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Congressional Job Approval Ties Historic Low of 13% — Disapproval rating of 84% highest in Gallup annals — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' evaluation of the job Congress is doing is the worst Gallup has ever measured, with 13% approving, tying the all-time low measured in December 2010.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, The Politico, The Hill, Hotline On Call, The Daily Caller, Poll Watch Daily, Top of the Ticket, AMERICAblog News and JOSHUAPUNDIT

Leslie Rosenberg / Media Matters for America:

The Rush Limbaugh School Of Economics: Sean Hannity Further Improves Unemployment Rate Inherited From Bush — Is Sean Hannity a Dittohead? — Last week, Rush Limbaugh fabricated unemployment data to attack Obama, claiming that the president “ inherited ... an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.”

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Mr. Media Training:

Why Obama Press Secretary Jay Carney Needs To Go — President Obama's poll numbers are now languishing at the 40 percent mark - the lowest of his presidency. Given his low approval ratings and the tumultuous U.S. economy, he desperately needs a press secretary who can help advance his message …

Discussion: nation.foxnews.com

Barak Ravid / Haaretz:

U.S. Senator seeks to cut aid to elite IDF units operating in West Bank and Gaza — Senator Patrick Leahy claims Shayetet 13 unit, undercover Duvdevan unit, and the Israel Air Force Shaldag unit are involved in human rights violations in occupied territories.

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Ben Smith's Blog, Weasel Zippers, ThinkProgress, The Gateway Pundit, Mondoweiss and Israel Matzav

Nick Davies / Guardian:

NoW reporter's letter reveals phone-hacking cover-up — Disgraced royal correspondent Clive Goodman's letter says phone hacking was ‘widely discussed’ at NoW meetings — • Read Clive Goodman's letter to News International — Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson …

Discussion: News Hounds, msnbc.com, The Politico, Deadline.com, The Daily What, Company Town, New York Magazine and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

What Is Business Waiting For? — When the German economy turned south after the 2008 financial crisis, the pain was mitigated by a program known as “Kurzarbeit.” — The word means short work. Instead of laying off workers, German companies cut back their hours.

Discussion: Fortune, Brilliant at Breakfast, Prairie Weather and The Impolitic