memeorandum: Spotlight on Romney's marriage casts shadow on Gingrich's past (Maeve Reston/Los Angeles Times)

11:20 AM ET, December 24, 2011

Top Items:

Gingrich, Perry disqualified from Va. primary ballot — Former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the Virginia primary ballot, state GOP officials said Friday evening and early Saturday.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Los Angeles Times, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, CNN, americanthinker.com, The Other McCain, The PJ Tatler, The Lonely Conservative, Booman Tribune, Patterico's Pontifications, Outside the Beltway and Richmond Times-Dispatch

Associated Press:

Gingrich fails to qualify for Va. primary ballot — WASHINGTON - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has failed to qualify for Virginia's March 6 Republican primary, a development that complicates his bid to win the GOP presidential nomination. — “After verification …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, The Other McCain and National Review

Maeve Reston / Los Angeles Times:

Spotlight on Romney's marriage casts shadow on Gingrich's past — Romney says he's showing voters his own character, not trying to contrast himself with anyone — but his main threat for the Republican presidential nomination is now on marriage No. 3 and has a history of infidelity.

Discussion: Althouse

Rockland County Times:
Two's Company, is Three a Crowd?

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Right Scoop

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Perry ballot petition rejected in Virginia

Discussion: The Politico

Steve Contorno / Campaign 2012:
Gingrich, Perry won't make ballot in Virginia

Discussion: Bob Owens and Hot Air

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Perry knocked off Va. primary ballot

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Moderate Voice and RedState

Faiz Shakir / ThinkProgress:

Gingrich Defends South Carolina's Decision To Fly Confederate Flag At Capital — At an event in South Carolina yesterday, Newt Gingrich was asked by a town hall participant to offer his views regarding the state's decision to fly the Confederate flag at the statehouse in Columbia.

Discussion: The Politico and Booman Tribune

Jerry Markon / Washington Post:

Justice Dept. rejects South Carolina voter ID law, calling it discriminatory — REUTERS/Benjamin Myers (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) — The Justice Department on Friday entered the divisive national debate over new state voting laws, rejecting South Carolina's measure requiring …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Election Law Blog, Althouse, New York Times, Scared Monkeys, Wall Street Journal, Weasel Zippers, Instapundit and The Lonely Conservative

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Justice Department blocks South Carolina's voter identification law

Discussion: The Politico

Erik Wasson / The Hill:

Obama says he's not bound by Guantanamo, gun-control provisions — President Obama said Friday he will not be bound by at least 20 policy riders in the 2012 omnibus funding the government, including provisions pertaining to Guantanamo Bay and gun control. — After he signed the omnibus …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Taylor Marsh and Weasel Zippers

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

The Big Lie — So this is how the Big Lie works. — You begin with a hypothesis that has a certain surface plausibility. You find an ally whose background suggests that he's an “expert”; out of thin air, he devises “data.” You write articles in sympathetic publications …

Discussion: Paul Krugman and American Prospect

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Dems believe payroll tax victory bolsters chances of taking House — Democrats believe their chances of recapturing the House have improved significantly after what was widely seen as a GOP meltdown in the payroll tax debate. — Democrats believe the messy fight has helped narrow …

Discussion: The Right Sphere

Molly K. Hooper / The Hill:

Republican lawmakers frustrated with Boehner-Cantor soap opera — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) are being prodded by their House GOP colleagues to work through their battle-scarred relationship. — Republican lawmakers said they are frustrated …

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, The Hill, Campaign 2012, The Politico and The Caucus

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Payroll tax fight leaves Hill Republicans divided and angry

Discussion: New York Times, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos and Firedoglake

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters.org blogs:

Barbara Walters' Slobbering Interview With Obama: What Super Power Do You Want? — Barbara Walters, who famously asked Katherine Hepburn what type of tree she was, may have outdone herself in a slobbering interview with Michelle and Barack Obama. In previews of Friday's “20/20” segment …

Discussion: Doug Ross

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Christmas greetings replace partisanship in weekly addresses

Discussion: The Politico

Holly Bailey / Yahoo! News:
Congressman apologizes for criticizing Michelle Obama's ‘large posterior’

Discussion: The Humble Libertarian, Outside the Beltway and THEROOT.COM

Kevinliptak / CNN:

Trump dumps GOP — (CNN) - Donald Trump continued to tease a potential presidential run by changing his voter registration Thursday from Republican to “unaffiliated” and publicly denouncing the behavior of members of his former party. — Michael Cohen, an aide to Trump …

Discussion: DownWithTyranny!, americanthinker.com, The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, Iowa Caucuses, Outside the Beltway and Ballot Box

Simon van Zuylen-Wood / The New Republic:

Gingrich Gets An “A” From Niall Ferguson — I get that self-avowed “neo-imperialist” historian Niall Ferguson relishes his gig as academia's most celebrated colonial nostalgic/conservative reactionary. But this is too much: … This nugget of praise, apparently written in all seriousness …