memeorandum: We cannot afford to indulge this madness (Keith O'Brien/Telegraph)

12:25 PM ET, March 4, 2012

Top Items:

3/4: Santorum and Romney Neck and Neck in Ohio — Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are locked in a tight battle in the race for the Republican nomination in Ohio. Among likely Republican primary voters including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate, early voters …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post, Hotline On Call and The Page

First Read / msnbc.com:

NBC News/Marist poll: Santorum, Romney neck and neck in Ohio — By NBC News Senior Political Editor Mark Murray — Two days until Super Tuesday and the pivotal Ohio Republican presidential primary, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney are running neck and neck in the Buckeye State …

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

Meghashyam Mali / Ballot Box:

Two polls find Romney, Santorum tied in Ohio — GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has pulled into a statistical dead heat with rival Rick Santorum in Ohio, two new polls find. — A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday shows Romney and Santorum tied with 32 percent support …

Discussion: Politico, Reuters and The Moderate Voice

ABCNEWS:

‘This Week’ Transcript: Newt Gingrich and David Axelrod — STEPHANOPOULOS: Good morning and welcome to “This Week.” — STEPHANOPOULOS (voice-over): Super Tuesday showdown. — NEWT GINGRICH, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I came here to recruit you. — STEPHANOPOULOS: Mitt Romney survives a scare in his home state.

Discussion: Washington Post

James Hohmann / Politico:
Mitt hits 5 straight in Wash.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, The Maddow Blog and Scared Monkeys

Fox News:
Romney notches fifth straight win with Washington state GOP caucuses

Discussion: The Daily Weekly and Hit & Run

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Romney Takes Washington Ahead of a Big Election Day

Discussion: Instapundit, The Moderate Voice, FiveThirtyEight, A plain blog about politics, Mediaite and The Caucus

CNN:
CNN projects Romney will win Washington state caucuses

Discussion: Hot Air, Los Angeles Times, State of the Union, Big Government, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Other McCain, americanthinker.com, Campaign 2012, Washington Monthly and Balloon Juice

Cincinnati.com:
Enquirer Endorsement: Romney deserves Ohio's support

Discussion: Ballot Box and GOP 12

Aaron Gould Sheinin / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Gingrich carries double-digit lead into Georgia primary

Discussion: CNN, Politico, Washington Wire and msnbc.com

Vicki Needham / Ballot Box:
Cleveland Plain Dealer endorses Romney

Discussion: CNN, Plain Dealer and Politico

Rush Limbaugh:

A Statement from Rush — For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke. — I think it is absolutely absurd …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Raw Story, Associated Press, Politico, Examiner, ABCNEWS, Runnin' Scared, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, blogs.forbes.com/johnmcquaid, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post, Sad Hill News, Sky Dancing, NewsHounds blog, Babalú Blog, ECHIDNE of the snakes, JustOneMinute, Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, American Power, The Jane Dough, Scholars and Rogues, Whiskey Fire, The Sundries Shack, Washington Examiner, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Little Green Footballs, Addicting Info, TalkLeft, The Daily Dish, Hullabaloo, Outside the Beltway, CBS News, The Last Tradition, Business Insider, The Lonely Conservative, American Spectator, ThinkProgress, Weasel Zippers, The Caucus, Mock, Paper, Scissors, KDVR.com is the website …, The Mahablog, Don Surber, Campaign 2012, The Page, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Daily What, msnbc.com, Althouse, Wake up America and The Right Scoop

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Have You No Shame, Rush? — AS a woman who has been viciously slashed by Rush Limbaugh, I can tell you, it's no fun. — At first you think, if he objects to the substance of what you're saying, why can't he just object to the substance of what you're saying? Why go after you in the most personal and humiliating way?

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Prairie Weather and Althouse

Faiz Shakir / ThinkProgress:

Sixth Advertiser — Carbonite — Drops Limbaugh Despite His ‘Apology’ Because He's Beyond The ‘Bounds Of Decency’ — Moments ago, Carbonite - a company providing backup software for computers - announced that it will no longer advertise on Rush Limbaugh's show.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Examiner, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, carbonite.com, Crooks and Liars and The Impolitic

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Rush: “I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke”; Update: Ironic tweet of the day

Discussion: Balloon Juice, NO QUARTER, Mediaite, American Power, BuzzFeed, The Daily Caller, Little Green Footballs and Michelle Malkin

The Huffington Post:
Rush Limbaugh Apologizes To Sandra Fluke For Calling Her A ‘Slut’

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and News One, more at Mediagazer »

Vinnie / The Jawa Report:
Rush Limbaugh Apologizes To Sandra “Not A Slut, I Just Like Having Sex Alot” Fluke

Discussion: The Last Tradition, Pirate's Cove, Little Green Footballs, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller and Sky Dancing

Keith O'Brien / Telegraph:

We cannot afford to indulge this madness — Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's most senior Catholic, sets out his opposition to the Government's plans to legalise gay marriage. — Elton John and David Furnish entered into a civil partnership in 2005 and now have a one-year-old son , born to a surrogate mother

Discussion: Althouse, Towleroad News #gay and Guardian

BBC:

Dublin patron saint's heart stolen from Christ Church Cathedral — The preserved heart of Dublin's patron saint has been stolen from the city's Christ Church Cathedral, officials say. — The thief would have needed metal cutters to prise open the iron bars protecting the wooden heart-shaped box holding St Laurence O'Toole's heart.

Discussion: Fausta's Blog

Reuters:

Russia's Putin seeks Kremlin return, critics cry foul — (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin sought a convincing victory in Russia's presidential election Sunday to strengthen his hand in dealing with the biggest protests of his 12-year rule, but faced allegations of widespread fraud.

Discussion: Pat Dollard and americanthinker.com

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Scholar and the Rascal — THE right-wing provocateur Andrew Breitbart and the neoconservative scholar James Q. Wilson, who died within 48 hours of each other last week — Wilson at the age of 80, Breitbart so unexpectedly at 43 — had one important thing in common: They were both prominent conservatives …

Discussion: National Review, Balloon Juice and Daniel W. Drezner

BigFurHat / iOwnTheWorld.com:
(bumped and sticky) Breitbart Is Here

Discussion: The Jawa Report, The Gateway Pundit, Big Government, Doug Ross and Atlas Shrugs

Annys Shin / Washington Post:

A million-dollar mortgage goes unpaid for years while couple fights foreclosure — The eviction from their million-dollar home could come at any moment. Keith and Janet Ritter have been bracing for it — and battling against it — almost from the moment they moved into the five-bedroom …

Discussion: EconLog and Booman Tribune

Inside Bay Area:

Three Occupy Oakland protesters arrested for robbery and a hate crime, both felonies — OAKLAND — Three Occupy Oakland protesters suspected of stealing an Oakland woman's wallet and making offensive remarks about her perceived sexuality were charged Friday with robbery and committing a hate crime, both felonies, authorities said.

Discussion: CBS San Francisco, Reuters, KTVU-TV, The Other McCain, Scared Monkeys, The Gateway Pundit, americanthinker.com, Power Line and Moe Lane

Mark Landler / New York Times:

Israel's Backers in Aipac Press Obama to Harden Iran Policy — WASHINGTON — On the eve of a crucial visit to the White House by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, that country's most powerful American advocates are mounting an extraordinary public campaign to pressure President Obama …

Discussion: Guardian, BuzzFeed, The Agonist, The Spectacle Blog, Israpundit and Israel Matzav