memeorandum: Thousands of Women Mass in Major March in Cairo (David D. Kirkpatrick/New York Times)

9:40 AM ET, December 21, 2011

Top Items:

The GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco — How did Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama? — GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Business Insider, No More Mister Nice Blog, Ballot Box, Washington Post, Daily Kos, The Lonely Conservative, The Moderate Voice, Washington Times, Hot Air and The Hill

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

McCain: Payroll-tax fight ‘harming the Republican Party’ — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the failure of the House to approve the bipartisan Senate bill to extend the payroll-tax cut is “harming the Republican Party.” — Speaking Tuesday on CNN's “Situation Room,” McCain …

Discussion: Don Surber, The Caucus and New York Times

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Obama's Hawaii Christmas dilemma — President Obama faces a most difficult decision with the payroll tax extension up in the air, and it isn't whether to compromise with Republicans. — The toughest call for the president this holiday season may be whether to join his family for Christmas in Hawaii or stay in lonely Washington.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Pundit & Pundette

Major Garrett / NationalJournal.com:
Congress's Payroll Standoff — Who Blinks First?

Discussion: Swampland and The Hill

Associated Press:
Obama blames Republicans for upcoming tax increase

Discussion: New York Magazine and Truthdig

Washington Post:
Obama blasts GOP after House Republicans defeat two-month payroll tax cut

Discussion: The Huffington Post, USA Today, Political Mojo, THEROOT.COM, The Moderate Voice and The Hill

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Rep. Jackson Lee: Obama should use executive power to extend payroll tax cut

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, The Hill, The Right Scoop, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, Ballot Box and Hot Air

Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Republicans in House Reject Deal Extending Payroll Tax Cut

Discussion: Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, The Hill and Prairie Weather

Erik Wasson / The Hill: Rep. Pelosi on Speaker Boehner: ‘He is not Lucy and we are not Charlie Brown’

Jim Newell / Gawker:
Why Republicans Are So Concerned about a Bust of Winston Churchill

Discussion: Political Mojo and Mediaite

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Instead Of Extending Tax Cut For 160 Million Americans, House Commissioned Bust Of Winston Churchill

Discussion: Daily Kos, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Politico, The Hill and No More Mister Nice Blog

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

You, sir, are no Teddy Roosevelt — In a speech to be delivered in Bedford, N.H., this evening, Mitt Romney will push back explicitly on Barack Obama's recent invocation of Teddy Roosevelt in a speech the president used to frame the 2012 campaign in terms of “fairness.” Here's what Romney will say:

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Caucus and New York Magazine

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney leads Obama — For the first time in PPP's monthly national polling since July 2010 Mitt Romney's taken a lead, albeit a small one, over Barack Obama. He's up 47-45. — Romney has two main things going for him. He leads the President 45-36 with independents.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Ballot Box, The Politico and Althouse

Scott Clement / Washington Post:
Poll: Paul as third party candidate could doom GOP in 2012

Discussion: CBS News, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Hit & Run, Los Angeles Times, National Review and Campaign 2012

A.Killough / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama gains strength in 2012 matchups

Discussion: Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, 2012 Decoded, Swampland, ABCNEWS, The Politico, Indecision Forever and JustOneMinute

A.Killough / CNN:
Perry presses ‘outsider’ message as closing Iowa argument

Discussion: The Politico, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, ThinkProgress and The Humble Libertarian

Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:

Gary Johnson to drop out of GOP primary to run as Libertarian — Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party nomination instead, POLITICO has learned. — The former two-term New Mexico governor, whose campaign for the GOP nomination never caught fire …

Discussion: CNN, Hotline On Call, Washington Post, Good As You, The Humble Libertarian, Booman Tribune, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Joe. My. God., Ricochet Conversations Feed, Hit & Run and Iowa Caucuses

Jordan Weissmann / The Atlantic Online:

How Kim Jong Il Starved North Korea — What kind of disastrous economic policy results in the death by starvation of up to 3 million people in a nation with the population of Texas? — Reuters — When North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il died of a coronary this weekend after 17 years in power …

Discussion: Hit & Run

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org:
Whoopi Goldberg: Communism Is ‘a Great Concept’ That ‘Makes Perfect Sense’ on Paper

Discussion: Doug Ross

Jason Clayworth / Iowa Caucuses:

Newt Gingrich to gay Iowan: Vote for Obama — Gingrich and his wife Callista at tonight's event in Oskaloosa. (Jason Clayworth/The Register) — Oskaloosa, Ia. - Newt Gingrich told a gay man and longtime resident of Oskaloosa here today that he should vote for President Obama.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, LGBTQ Nation, Outside the Beltway and Joe. My. God.

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Many Americans Dissatisfied With All Presidential Candidates — Nearly half say there is no candidate who would make a good president — PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are divided when asked if there is any candidate running who they think would make a good president, with 48% saying yes …

Discussion: The Politico and National Review

Stephen Gutowski / MRCTV:

Liberals Cry About New Tom Clancy Game — The next iteration of Tom Clancy's blockbuster Rainbow Six series has been announced. The series goes back over a decade and has produced some of the best shooters ever made. However, this release, Rainbow Six: The Patriots …

Discussion: RedState and Hot Air

William Booth / Washington Post:

More Predator drones fly U.S.-Mexico border — CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — In the dead of night, from a trailer humming with surveillance monitors, a pilot for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency was remotely flying a Predator drone more than 1,000 miles away.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Agonist

Reid J. Epstein / The Politico:

Source: Bob Vander Plaats asked Michele Bachmann to quit — DES MOINES - Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats called Michele Bachmann and urged her to drop out of the race and endorse Rick Santorum, a source with knowledge of the conversation told POLITICO Tuesday.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Other McCain, CNN, Hot Air, Business Insider, Hullabaloo and The Hill

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

The Long Run: Conservatives Remain Suspicious of Gingrich — WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich arrived in Washington in January 1979 as a brash congressman dreaming of a Republican revival. Not quite four years later, frustrated at the pace of change, he quietly sought counsel from a man he had once worked to defeat: Richard M. Nixon.

BBC:

South American states ban Falklands vessels from ports — Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which lie 400 miles from its coast — A South American trading bloc has agreed to close its ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag.

Discussion: The Other McCain and Biased BBC

BBC:

Iraqi PM urges Kurds to hand over VP Tariq al-Hashemi — Nouri al-Maliki admitted that the Iraqi government still had a long way to go to find stability — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has urged the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq to hand over Iraq's Sunni Vice-President, Tariq al-Hashemi.