memeorandum: As political season heats up, Politico's Web traffic cools down (Josh Peterson/The Daily Caller)

9:45 PM ET, December 22, 2011

Top Items:

House Republicans Agree To Payroll Deal — House Republicans on Thursday crumpled under the weight of White House and public pressure and have agreed to pass a two-month extension of the payroll-tax cut, Republican and Democratic sources told National Journal.

Discussion: Hot Air, Firedoglake, NO QUARTER, American Prospect, The Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo, White House Dossier, Campaign 2012, Daily Kos, Ricochet Conversations Feed, American Power, National Review, Wake up America and Indecision Forever

Susan Jones / CNSNews:

‘Waa, No Pizza Night’: Sad Stories Roll In at Request of Obama White House — (CNSNews.com) - The White House says it's been flooded with responses to the question it posed Wednesday: “What does $40 mean to you?” — One day after the White House asked “working” people to …

Discussion: The Lonely Conservative, The Jawa Report, Michelle Malkin, Doug Ross and Hot Air

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

House Republicans cave in payroll fight — This morning, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other leading officials from his caucus told reporters that House Republicans would stick to their guns when it comes to extending the payroll tax break. If Democrats wanted to avoid a tax increase …

Discussion: The Impolitic

Brian Beutler / tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com:

TPMDC — BREAKING: House Republicans Cave, Agree To Two-Month Payroll Tax Cut Extension — A top Senate Democratic aide says House Republicans have privately offered up the terms of their surrender on the payroll tax cut, pending sign off from their notoriously unwieldy caucus.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Mediaite

The Politico:

On payroll tax cut, GOP caves to Obama — House Republicans caved to President Barack Obama's demand for a two-month payroll tax cut extension, ending an impasse that threatened to raise taxes on millions of Americans on Jan. 1. — The capitulation came fast Thursday afternoon …

Discussion: msnbc.com, CBS News, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Swampland, The PJ Tatler, ABCNEWS, Indecision Forever, Sky Dancing, ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, CNN, Daily Kos, Opinion L.A. and Roll Call

msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: What we learned from the Romney interview

Discussion: Reuters, Washington Monthly and The Politico

New York Times:
House G.O.P. Leaders Agree to Extension of Payroll Tax Cut

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Prairie Weather and The New Republic

John Parkinson / ABCNEWS:
Boehner Asks White House to Negotiate, but Obama Declines Invitation

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:
House GOP agrees to 2-month extension of payroll tax cut

Discussion: Calculated Risk

CNN:
House GOP relents on payroll tax cut deal

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Mediaite, Indecision Forever, The Lonely Conservative and This Just In

The Politico:
McConnell: Pass short-term extension

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg, USA Today, Gawker, Booman Tribune, The Mahablog, Daily Kos and US Politics

Tim Mak / The Politico:
Rep. Dave Camp floats 3-month extension

Discussion: Opinion L.A. and Daily Kos

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
McConnell sides with Dems over Boehner

Discussion: Associated Press, Firedoglake, The New Republic and Talking Points Memo

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate GOP worries tax standoff could cost them chance at upper chamber

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Michelle Malkin, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Prairie Weather and ThinkProgress

Joe Holley / Rick Perry 2012 Campaign for President:

Bush 41 backs Romney for president, admits he's not Gingrich's ‘biggest advocate’ — 1,587 — Less than two weeks before Iowa Republicans make their crucial caucus choices on the night of Jan. 3, George H.W. Bush offered words of support, if not an official endorsement, to an old friend, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Discussion: The Caucus, Reuters, American Prospect, USA Today, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Politico, The Hill, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Campaign 2012, Hot Air, GOP 12 and The Raw Story

Andrew Cain / Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Bachmann, Huntsman, Santorum not on Va. primary ballot — Four Republican presidential candidates - Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Ron Paul — submitted paper work in time to qualify for Virginia's March 6 primary ballot. — No other GOP contender will be on the Virginia ballot.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Ballot Box, Hot Air and msnbc.com

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Santorum: Vander Plaats said ‘he needed money to promote the endorsement’

Discussion: Iowa Caucuses, The Politico, Good As You, National Review, The Other McCain and GOP 12

Kevin Hoffman / The Blotter:

Gay community apologizes to Amy Koch for ruining her marriage — The gay and lesbian community of Minnesota has issued a letter of apology to recently resigned Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch for ruining the institution of marriage and causing her to stray from her husband and engage in an “inappropriate relationship.”

Discussion: LGBTQ Nation, Box Turtle Bulletin, Mediaite, Gawker, Truth Wins Out, Boing Boing, Daily Kos, Firedoglake and Hot Dish Politics

Bill Adair / PolitiFact:

Fact-checking in the Echo Chamber Nation — At a Republican campaign rally a few years ago, I asked one of the attendees how he got his news. — “I listen to Rush and read NewsMax,” he said. “And to make sure I'm getting a balanced view, I watch Fox.” — My liberal friends …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Wizbang, Daily Kos, US Politics, Campaign 2012, Pressthink, Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and ThinkProgress, more at Mediagazer »

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:

Paul in 1995: Say, have you read my newsletters? — Mitt Romney can breathe a sigh of relief, because Andrew Kaczynksi has shifted his attention to Ron Paul this week. Andrew dug up a 1995 interview with C-SPAN, a year before running for Congress after a decade out of office.

Discussion: The New Republic, The Daily Dish, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Business Insider, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Right Wing News, Leon_H_Wolf's blog, Don Surber, Mediaite, Hit & Run, Big Journalism, Outside the Beltway and Pirate's Cove

Alex Alvarez / Mediaite:
Hey, CNN? Can We Talk About What's Going On Between You And Ron Paul?

Discussion: Gawker, The Week, Daily Kos, THEROOT.COM, Firedoglake, The Moderate Voice, The Reaction and The Humble Libertarian

Jason Zweig / Total Return:
The Ron Paul Portfolio

Discussion: Daily Kos, Hit & Run, ProfessorBainbridge.com and Pundits Blog

Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:

Romney Says He Won't Release Tax Returns — Mitt Romney, who is one of the wealthiest men ever to seek the presidency, said on Wednesday that he had no intention of releasing his tax returns if he became the Republican presidential nominee, breaking with a long tradition in both parties.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, TBogg, msnbc.com, Daily Kos and Washington Monthly

David Ng / Culture Monster:

Sarah Palin criticizes Obama holiday card — and the dog — So much for the holiday spirit. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is once again targeting the Obama administration, leveling a critical glare at the official White House holiday greeting card for not emphasizing Christmas.

Discussion: Indecision Forever, Show Tracker, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Spectacle Blog

Sam Greenhill / Daily Mail:

Baby born out of wedlock must be adopted - to save her from honour killing by her own Muslim family — A baby girl born out of wedlock must be adopted to save her from the risk of being slaughtered in an ‘honour killing’, a court ruled yesterday. — If the unmarried Muslim woman's father found …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and americanthinker.com

Mj Lee / The Politico:

Chris Christie opens door to VP job — Chris Christie says that while he and Mitt Romney have never discussed a potential vice presidential role for the New Jersey governor, it would still be “presumptuous” for him to turn his back on the possibility. — In an interview with Fox News …

Discussion: Runnin' Scared

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
Christie's open to V.P. nod

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

New York Post:

Former Congressman Anthony Weiner's wife gives birth to baby boy — After a year filled with ridicule and scandal, disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner finally has something he can feel proud about — a new baby boy. — Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, gave birth to the wee Democrat yesterday …

Discussion: Gothamist, The Daily Caller, Runnin' Scared, Mediaite and msnbc.com

ProPublica:

How Democrats Fooled California's Redistricting Commission — This spring, a group of California Democrats gathered at a modern, airy office building just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The meeting was House members only — no aides allowed — and the mission was seemingly impossible.

Discussion: The Politico, RedState, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Politics Blog, Big Government, Hotline On Call, Political Mojo, Campaign 2012 and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Josh Peterson / The Daily Caller:

As political season heats up, Politico's Web traffic cools down — New independent circulation numbers show a sharp decline in readership of Politico and other left-leaning news websites, an ominous trend for the suburban Virginia-based news outlet and its peers as Americans head into an election year.

Discussion: Big Journalism and Wake up America

Alex Massie / Spectator:

Say what you will about North Korea, at least they're authentically Korean — Drivel, of course, and the kind of thing you'd expect to find in the Guardian. One expects rather more from the Times but, nay, here is a piece of Simon Winchester's column (£) today:

Discussion: timesplus.co.uk, Outside the Beltway and Samizdata.net

GRAMMY.org:

ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, GLEN CAMPBELL, ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM, GEORGE JONES, THE MEMPHIS HORNS, DIANA ROSS, AND GIL SCOTT-HERON HONORED WITH THE RECORDING ACADEMY® LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD — DAVE BARTHOLOMEW, STEVE JOBS AND RUDY VAN GELDER HONORED WITH TRUSTEES AWARD CELEMONY AND ROGER NICHOLS TO RECEIVE TECHNICAL GRAMMY AWARD®

Discussion: ArtsBeat, The Atlantic Online, Washington Post and Engadget

Keith Koffler / White House Dossier:

Did Bo Return From Hawaii for Obama's Photo Op? — Bo Obama was supposed to be in Hawaii. Instead, he showed up at President Obama's side Wednesday shopping for treats at PetSmart — According to Michelle Obama's press office, the first dog was planning to go to Hawaii with the first lady and the Obama daughters.

Discussion: National Review, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Political Mojo and The Lonely Conservative

The Politico:

Sources: Mitt's fourth quarter at least $20 million — Mitt Romney is set to close out the fourth fundraising quarter of the year with his largest haul yet of at least $20 million, several fundraising sources told POLITICO. — The numbers will be well north of the $18 million he raised between April and June.

Discussion: GOP 12

Stephen Colbert / The State:

Colbert guest editorial: Naming rights, state mottoes and the GOP primary + video — As a proud son of South Carolina I must address recent unsubstantiated rumors published in The State that I, Stephen Colbert, tried to buy the naming rights to the 2012 Republican primary.

Discussion: Mediaite, Los Angeles Times, msnbc.com and 2012 Decoded