memeorandum: Gingrich, Romney Go to a Tie; More See Obama as Competitive (Gary Langer/ABCNEWS)

2:20 PM ET, December 20, 2011

Top Items:

Lie of the Year 2011: ‘Republicans voted to end Medicare’ — Republicans muscled a budget through the House of Representatives in April that they said would take an important step toward reducing the federal deficit. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the plan kept Medicare intact …

Paul Krugman:

Politifact, R.I.P. — This is really awful. Politifact, which is supposed to police false claims in politics, has announced its Lie of the Year — and it's a statement that happens to be true, the claim that Republicans have voted to end Medicare. — Steve Benen in the link above explains it, but let me just repeat the basics.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, pandagon.net and Balloon Juice

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

PolitiFact ought to be ashamed of itself — The fact-checking website PolitiFact has announced its “Lie of the Year” for 2011. It made a poor, credibility-killing choice. … This is simply indefensible. Claims that are factually true shouldn't be eligible for a Lie of the Year designation.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Patterico's Pontifications, The New Republic, PolitiFact, US Politics and Poynter

Sam Baker / The Hill:
Attacks on Paul Ryan's Medicare reform proposal named ‘lie of the year’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Jonathan Martinand Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Will Ron Paul kill the caucuses? — SIOUX CITY, IOWA -The alarms are sounding in Iowa. — Conservatives and Republican elites in the state are divided over who to support for the GOP nomination, but they almost uniformly express concern over the prospect that Ron Paul and his army …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, JustOneMinute, New York Magazine, ABCNEWS, Indecision Forever, Christian Science Monitor, Betsy's Page, Campaign 2012, New York Times, Hot Air, Iowa Caucuses, Booman Tribune, The Daily Dish and Vox Popoli

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

Gingrich, Romney Go to a Tie; More See Obama as Competitive — Newt Gingrich has relinquished sole front-runner status almost as quickly as he gained it, landing at a dead heat with Mitt Romney in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll. And as the GOP hopefuls battle it out, ratings of Barack Obama's prospects have warmed.

Discussion: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Trail Blazers Blog, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Public Policy Polling

James Hohmann / The Politico:

Paul's new ad calls him The One—Dave Camp to endorse Romney—Gingrich gets a pastor—Perry's new ad highlights populist message—DCCC outraised NRCC in November — Good morning from DUBUQUE, Iowa, where only two weeks remain until the caucuses. — EXCLUSIVE - PAUL'S NEW AD …

Discussion: Washington Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Don Surber and Global Public Square

Newt Gingrich / Washington Post:
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Obama is handling [ITEM]? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat?

Discussion: Pundits Blog, Firedoglake, Clemson University, Mediaite, Ballot Box, Outside the Beltway, CBS News and Hot Air

Rich Lowry / National Review:
Paul, the Fringe Frontrunner

Discussion: Campaign 2012, Bloomberg, The Daily Dish and Rush Limbaugh

New York Times:
Bias in Ron Paul's Newsletters Draws New Attention

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Latest Open Salon Blog, Los Angeles Times, The Raw Story, Townhall.com, FrumForum, The Politico, The Huffington Post, Campaign 2012 and Runnin' Scared

msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Cornered — House Republicans find themselves …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress, USA Today, Washington Post and Taegan Goddard's …

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Vander Plaats Endorses Santorum

Discussion: Iowa Caucuses, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Towleroad News #gay, Right Wing Watch, The Huffington Post and New York Times

Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:
Ron Paul's Shaggy Defense

Discussion: The Daily Dish

Washington Post:
Poll: Gingrich, Romney in dead heat nationally

Discussion: Boston Globe, CBS News, Outside the Beltway, ABCNEWS, Hot Air, Fox News, CNN, americanthinker.com, Donklephant and Los Angeles Times

David Dayen / Firedoglake:

House Republicans Find Smarmiest Way Possible to Reject Payroll Tax Deal — Speaker Boehner weeps over payroll tax cut (Image: DonkeyHotey) — The procedural wizards in the House Republican caucus stayed up late last night to concoct this scheme, a way to dispose of the Senate's payroll tax deal by voting affirmatively.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Open Congress and The Hill

The Politico:

Name calling prevails over compromising — ‘Do you want to do this for 60 days ... or do you want to solve the problem?’ Hensarling asks. AP Photo — Close — With a tax increase looming for 160 million Americans on New Year's day, House lawmakers spent Tuesday morning throwing names …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Outside the Beltway

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Mr. Speaker, your weakness is showing — On Saturday, None other than House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) seemed relieved by the Senate's bipartisan compromise on a payroll tax cut. He called it a “good deal” and a “victory,” and took it to his caucus hoping they'd follow his lead.

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Schumer predicts GOP will fold in payroll fight

Discussion: CNN and Weasel Zippers

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Reid Won't Appoint Negotiators To Hammer Out Payroll Tax Cut Deal

Discussion: Daily Kos

Washington Post:
House Republicans intent on killing Senate payroll tax cut deal

Discussion: The Politico, Bloomberg, Wonkette, Prairie Weather, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, msnbc.com, 2012 Decoded, Hot Air, The Week and New York Times

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
House Republicans Pushed Two-Month Payroll Tax Holiday In January 2009

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Washington Post

Max Abelson / Bloomberg:

Bankers Seek to Debunk ‘Imbecile’ Attack on Top 1% — Jamie Dimon, the highest-paid chief executive officer among the heads of the six biggest U.S. banks, turned a question at an investors' conference in New York this month into an occasion to defend wealth.

Discussion: Felix Salmon, Outside the Beltway, The Future of Capitalism, Paul Krugman, Gothamist, New York Magazine, Corey Robin, Shakesville and Gawker

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

CNN Poll: President's approval nearing 50% — Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's approval rating, a crucial indicator of his reelection chances, is on the rise, according to a new national survey. — A CNN/ORC International Poll out Tuesday also indicates that the partisan battle …

Discussion: Gallup, Guardian, The Politico, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story, Weasel Zippers and Booman Tribune

Washington Post:
Obama's job-approval rating is highest since summer, Post-ABC poll finds

Discussion: The Caucus, ThinkProgress, Hot Air and Outside the Beltway

New York Times:

In Kim's Death, an Extensive Intelligence Failure — Televisions at an electronics store in Seoul, South Korea, featured reports on Monday about the death of Kim Jong-il, the North Korean Leader. North Korea said Mr. Kim, 69, died on Saturday. More Photos »

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Gothamist, FP Passport, Belmont Club, Michael Totten and Gawker

Mj Lee / The Politico:

Bill Clinton: Newt Gingrich tall tale on the budget — Former President Bill Clinton called out Newt Gingrich on Tuesday for claiming more credit than he deserves, saying the Republican presidential candidate actually led the opposition to efforts in 1993 to balance the nation's budget.

Discussion: CNN

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Romney: ‘Get rid of these super PACs’

Discussion: Political Mojo and CNN

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

Instead Of Extending Tax Cut For 160 Million Americans, House Commissioned Bust Of Winston Churchill — While House Republicans couldn't get their act together to approve an extension of the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits last night, they were able to do something far more frivolousness …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hill and The Politico

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Boehner: We'll take Churchill bust in the Capitol

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Mj Lee / The Politico:

Blogs bash Obama's historic claim — NewsBusters calls Obama's statements made during his ‘60 Minutes’ interview ‘laughable.’ — Newt Gingrich isn't the only one on the campaign trail who sees himself as a towering historical figure. President Barack Obama has just joined the club.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The PJ Tatler and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Examiner:

GOP unhappiness with field fuels buzz for Jeb Bush — There's no doubt some Republicans remain unhappy with the GOP presidential field. They wish other candidates — Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush — had entered a long time ago. But the Iowa caucuses are in two weeks.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Don Surber, The Impolitic, americanthinker.com and Instapundit

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Pays Homage to Obama—But Not Jesus — (CNSNews.com) - The 63-foot Sierra White Fir lighted at the U.S. Capitol Grounds on Dec. 6 as the official 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree includes a prominently displayed ornament paying homage to President Barack Obama …

Discussion: The Jawa Report, The Gateway Pundit, Shakesville, Weasel Zippers and The Lonely Conservative