memeorandum: Finding Fault in the Palestinian Messages That Aren't So Public (Isabel Kershner/New York Times)

3:10 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: Democracy in America, Firedoglake, Washington Monthly, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, Hullabaloo, 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, The New Republic, The Apothecary, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, AlterNet, PolitiFact, Patterico's Pontifications, US Politics, National Review and Poynter

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

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
Politifact's Bizarre “Lie of the Year”

Discussion: Political Mojo and National Review

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

The Caucus:

Vander Plaats Endorses Santorum — Bob Vander Plaats, speaking in Iowa in March, endorsed Rick Santorum on Tuesday. — 12:51 p.m. | Updated CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Two weeks before the Republican nominating contest opens at the Iowa caucuses, former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania …

Discussion: The Politico, American Prospect, 2012 Decoded, Iowa Caucuses, Hot Air, Swampland, The Other McCain, Towleroad News #gay, Right Wing Watch and The Huffington Post

Rich Lowry / National Review:

Paul, the Fringe Frontrunner — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is in a bid to make history in Iowa. Can he become the first marginal, conspiracy-minded congressman with an embarrassing catalog of racist material published under his name to win the caucuses?

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

Newt Gingrich / Washington Post:

2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Obama is handling [ITEM]? Do you approve/disapprove strongly or somewhat? — NET Strongly Somewhat NET Somewhat Strongly opinion a. The economy 41 17 24 56 13 43 2 b.

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

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

Discussion: The Caucus, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Wonkette, Trail Blazers Blog, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Public Policy Polling

James Hohmann / The Politico:
Paul's new ad calls him The One …

Discussion: The Humble Libertarian, CNN, Washington Wire and The Gateway Pundit

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

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, ThinkProgress, USA Today and Washington Post

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

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

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

Schumer predicts GOP will fold in payroll fight — Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday predicted the GOP will fold and said Democrats should wait out the House Republicans over the payroll tax cut extension. — “In a few days, they will fold unless someone falls for these subterfuges …

Discussion: CNN and Weasel Zippers

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

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Outside the Beltway and CNN

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
Mr. Speaker, your weakness is showing

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

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

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

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

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: ThinkProgress, 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: American Prospect, Gallup, The Politico, Guardian, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story, Weasel Zippers, Booman Tribune and Slate

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

Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:

Ron Paul's Shaggy Defense — The Times notes that Ron Paul's racism newsletters are, again, becoming an issue. The standard defense has generally been Paul didn't write the newsletters. I think an honest reckoning with that defense would have someone question the faculties of an adult …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, The Daily Dish and Balloon Juice

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

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Latest Open Salon Blog, The Raw Story, Townhall.com, FrumForum, The Politico, The Huffington Post and Campaign 2012

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, Outside the Beltway, Daniel W. Drezner, Guardian, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, Gothamist, FP Passport, Belmont Club, Michael Totten and Gawker

Wall Street Journal:
Portrait of New Leader Takes Shape

Discussion: Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, The Humble Libertarian, ABCNEWS, New York Times, americanthinker.com, National Review, NationalJournal.com and Patterico's Pontifications

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: Gawker, Mediaite, The Hill, The Politico and No More Mister Nice Blog

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

Discussion: ThinkProgress

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

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: PERRspectives, No More Mister Nice Blog, Esquire, The Impolitic, Don Surber, 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 …