memeorandum: Whoa ho-ho! ‘Secret Santa’ hands out $100 bills in Reading (Peter Mucha/Philly.com)

8:45 PM ET, December 5, 2011

Top Items:

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPM SLIDESHOW: Meet The 2012 GOPers — Newt Gingrich — Pelosi knows more about Gingrich than perhaps any other major national political figure. She was a senior Democrat when Gingrich was House Speaker, served on the ethics committee that investigated Gingrich for tax cheating …

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Pelosi: I'll reveal information on Gingrich ‘when the time is right’ — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is holding back some information on Republican Newt Gingrich that could detract from his presidential campaign, according to a report published Monday.

Discussion: The Politico, Campaign 2012, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, The PJ Tatler, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Indecision Forever, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Michelle Malkin and Mediaite

Justin Sink / The Hill:

Gingrich fires back at Pelosi over threat — Newt Gingrich said that a threat from ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to disclose information she learned while serving on an ethics committee investigating him during his time as Speaker of the House would “totally abuse the ethics process” …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, nation.foxnews.com and National Review

The Politico:
Telling: Newt's critics shut up

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Examiner, Daily Kos, A plain blog about politics, Little Green Footballs, Betsy's Page, Rod Dreher and Connecting.the.Dots

Maggie Haberman / The Politico: Newt Gingrich: Nancy Pelosi comments on ethics are ‘early Christmas gift’

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Republicans See Gingrich, Romney as “Acceptable” Nominees — All other candidates seen as unacceptable by half or more of Republicans — PRINCETON, NJ — Newt Gingrich (62%) and Mitt Romney (54%) are the only two candidates Republicans say would be acceptable presidential nominees from their party …

Discussion: 2012 Decoded, Washington Post, Hot Air, Washington Wire, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, A plain blog about politics, NewsBusters.org, Outside the Beltway, Guardian, National Review and HotAirPundit

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Newt Gingrich defends Donald Trump from Ron Paul — After a nearly hour-long meeting at Trump Tower, Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich emerged for a joint press conference, where the former House Speaker defended The Donald from slams from Ron Paul that him moderating a debate would create a “circus” atmosphere.

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, The Loyal Opposition, Indecision Forever, ABCNEWS, The Political Carnival, The Page, The Spectacle Blog, Swampland, Daily Kos and Portland Mercury

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Send in the Clueless — There are two crucial things you need to understand about the current state of American politics. First, given the still dire economic situation, 2012 should be a year of Republican triumph. Second, the G.O.P. may nonetheless snatch defeat from the jaws of victory — because Herman Cain was not an accident.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, The Moderate Voice, Truthdig, US Politics, Washington Post and The Mahablog

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

The Morning Plum — * Top Romney operative admits ad attacking Obama was “propaganda”: This one should be seen as a defining moment for Campaign 2012. Check out the new defense of that dishonest ad attacking Obama that a top anomymous Romney campaign operative has now given to the New York Times' Tom Edsall:

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and The Impolitic

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Bob Vander Plaats Whips Up Support For Gingrich In Iowa: 'He's Had A Life Transformation'

Discussion: Swampland

Thomas B. Edsall / Campaign Stops:
The Reinvention of Political Morality

Discussion: Washington Post and The Reality-Based Community

New York Times:
Gingrich Surges, but Romney Organization Is Stronger

Discussion: ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Associated Press, The Caucus, Washington Post, Runnin' Scared, The Hill, ThinkProgress, Wall Street Journal, Prairie Weather, The Daily Caller, Booman Tribune, Taylor Marsh, Los Angeles Times and Ballot Box

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Biden jokes Gingrich inflates his importance

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:

Fox News Business: The Muppets Are ‘Brainwashing’ Young People To Hate The Oil Industry — Life's a happy song, but not when Fox Business is singing along. The network is upset that the new Muppets movie, The Muppets, features an oil tycoon as a villain, with various contributors complaining …

Discussion: The Reaction, Harry's Place and Media Matters for America

Jordan Zakarin / The Huffington Post:

The Muppets Are Communist, Fox Business Network Says … Muppets , Fox Business , Fox Business Network , Kermit The Frog , Kermit The Frog Miss Piggy , Muppets Communists , Fox News Muppets , Muppet Movie , The Muppets , The Muppets Are Communist , Entertainment News

Discussion: Mediaite, Indecision Forever and Washington Post

Leslie Bennetts / The Daily Beast:

Ginger White on Herman Cain's Exit, His Arrogance—and Her Sex Claims — Ginger White, who dealt the death blow to Herman Cain's campaign by alleging a 13-year relationship, talks to Leslie Bennetts about: — A few hours after Herman Cain announced the end of his presidential campaign …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, PolitickerNY, Guardian, neo-neocon, Gawker and Business Insider

myfoxatlanta.com:
Source: Herman Cain to Endorse Newt Gingrich Monday

Eason Jordan / Poll Position:
Post-Cain, Gingrich edge 14%

Discussion: Ballot Box, CNN and Wake up America

The Politico:

Parties roll out dueling payroll tax proposals — House Republicans and Senate Democrats are on a collision course over extending a payroll tax break as the two sides intensify their legislative gamesmanship ahead of a crucial year-end deadline. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The New Republic, Washington Wire, Opinion L.A. and The Spectacle Blog

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Democrats shrink payroll tax cut to lure GOP support

Discussion: tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com, msnbc.com, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh and Hullabaloo

Kate Andersen Brower / Bloomberg:
Obama Has Populist Message on Consumer Chief, Tax Cuts

Discussion: Big Journalism and Daily Kos

Joe Weisenthal / Business Insider:

CHART OF THE DAY: Something Has Really Shifted In Europe This Time — It's tempting and easy to just say that whatever European leaders are cooking up right now is bound to fail, like every other past attempt at ending the crisis. — But here's a noteworthy market fact: Italian yields are collapsing today.

Joe Weisenthal / Business Insider:
Italian Yields Are Collapsing

Discussion: The Daily Dish, Questions and Observations and Economist's View

CBS News:

NASA finding feeds talk of a new Earth — Artist's conception illustrates Kepler-22b (NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech) — NASA has found a new planet outside Earth's solar system that is eerily similar to Earth in important aspects. — Scientists say the temperature on the surface of the planet is about a comfy 72 degrees (22 Celsius).

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Balloon Juice and Shakesville

The Playlist / Indiewire Blogs, Film News and Reviews:

Exclusive: ‘Dragon Tattoo’ Producer Scott Rudin Replies To David Denby's Upcoming New Yorker Review Embargo Break — “They reviewed what?” — If you follow movie insider baseball news you may have heard the embargo on Sony's “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” is about to break tomorrow …

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Poynter and Gothamist, more at Mediagazer »

David Denby / New Yorker:
DOUBLE DARE … - BOOKS - MOVIES - ART - MUSIC …

Discussion: Guardian, Gawker, AllThingsD and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Radley Balko / The Huffington Post:

SWAT Raids, Stun Guns, And Pepper Spray: Why The Government Is Ramping Up The Use Of Force — In February of last year, video surfaced of a marijuana raid in Columbia, Mo. During the raid on Jonathan Whitworth and his family, police took down the door with a battering ram …

Discussion: Hit & Run

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

George Orwell on the Evil Iranian Menace — “Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them” — The U.S. has long had Iran virtually encircled as a result of the American occupation of Afghanistan on Iran's Eastern border …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Danger Room, Unqualified Offerings, The Long War Journal and Israel Matzav

John T. Bennett / The Hill:
Rep. Kucinich: Downed drone plane ‘a step’ toward war with Iran

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Cynthia R. Fagen / New York Post:

Occupier gets an occupation — She's gone from Occupy Wall Street to occupying a job on Wall Street. — Down-on-her-luck protester Tracy Postert spent 15 days washing sidewalks and making sandwiches at Zuccotti Park — then landed a dream job at a Financial District investment firm thanks …

Discussion: NY Daily News, City Room, Gothamist, Ed Driscoll, The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway, Campaign 2012, DealBook and Jammie Wearing Fools

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Rove says RNC should ‘discourage’ Trump-moderated debate — GOP veteran strategist Karl Rove said Monday the head of the Republican National Committee should step in to “discourage” presidential candidates from attending the upcoming debate moderated by Donald Trump.

Discussion: Sky Dancing and Business Insider

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:
Trump: Huntsman Has To Tell The Truth 'Because He's A Mormon' (Updated)

Discussion: GOP 12, The Raw Story and Business Insider

oecd.org:

Society: Governments must tackle record gap between rich and poor, says OECD — The gap between rich and poor in OECD countries has reached its highest level for over over 30 years, and governments must act quickly to tackle inequality, according to a new OECD report.

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg, Real Time Economics, Guardian, The Politico and ThinkProgress

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Reporter's Notebook: Behind the Scenes at the Fox News Forum — Backstage can be something of an inner sanctum at a presidential debate: even though they are appearing on live television before millions of Americans, the candidates are used to having their clubhouse hermetically sealed …