memeorandum: Mitt Romney: “We're going to win this thing” (Tony Leys/Iowa Caucuses)

8:40 PM ET, January 2, 2012

Top Items:

Joe Klein / Swampland:

1 Day Till Iowa: I Approve This Message — I saw a very effective anti-Ron Paul ad on the air last night, but I don't know who was responsible for it. It was about gay marriage, which Paul tolerates because he doesn't believe the state should involve itself in marriage.

Discussion: Truthdig and Saint Petersblog

Roger Simon / The Politico:

Mitt don't need no surges — DES MOINES — If Mitt Romney wins the Iowa caucuses, the race for the Republican nomination is over. — If Mitt Romney comes in second in Iowa, the race for the Republican nomination is over. — And if Mitt Romney comes in third in Iowa, the race for the Republican nomination is over.

Discussion: CNN, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Week, NO QUARTER, American Prospect, The Greenroom, The Reality-Based Community, Daily Pundit, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, nation.foxnews.com, Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …, Talking Points Memo, Telegraph, The Daily Beast and Ballot Box

NBC's Alex Moe / msnbc.com:

Gingrich: 'I don't think I'm going to win' in Iowa — INDEPENDENCE, Iowa — Newt Gingrich said Monday that he doesn't expect to win tomorrow's Iowa caucuses in a bow to his sinking poll numbers in the state. — The former House Speaker, who led in polls of likely Iowa caucus-goers as recently …

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, National Review, The Daily Caller, Campaign 2012, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Indecision Forever and Saint Petersblog

Wallacegw / CNN:

TRENDING: Ron Paul: Santorum is ‘very liberal’ — (CNN) - Ron Paul dinged rival Rick Santorum Monday for being a “very liberal” candidate, saying the former Pennsylvania senator and staunch social conservative voted for too much spending during his time in Congress.

Discussion: 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Mediaite and The Moderate Voice

Wallacegw / CNN:
Santorum's fundraising soars along with his poll numbers

Discussion: The Politico, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Hot Air, The Week, National Review and Rajiv Sethi

Tony Leys / Iowa Caucuses:
Mitt Romney: “We're going to win this thing”

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Politico, Hot Air and Taegan Goddard's …

New York Magazine:
Battered in Iowa, Gingrich Plans to Rip Romney in New Hampshire and Beyond

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, Iowa Caucuses, Guardian and The Politico

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Headed for a Photo Finish in Iowa

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
‘Iron Lady’ goes back up on Iowa TV

Discussion: PolitickerNY, The Politico and Towleroad News #gay

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Iowa Race Tightens in Final 48 Hours

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, CNN, Associated Press, Ricochet Conversations Feed, Religion Dispatches, The Huffington Post, Iowa Caucuses, Daily Kos, Washington Post, Balloon Juice and The Politico, more at Mediagazer »

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

For no reason, Santorum ‘singled out blacks’ — Over the weekend, Rick Santorum told an Iowa audience, “Diversity creates conflict. If we celebrate diversity, we create conflict.” It seemed like an odd thing for a presidential candidate to say. — The line does, however …

Discussion: CBS News and Verum Serum

James Crugnale / Mediaite:

TLC's The Duggar Family Endorses Rick Santorum — Reality TV star Jim Bob Duggar, from TLC's 19 Kids and Counting, endorsed Rick Santorum today at a rally in Polk City, Iowa. “All the people in America that have conservative family values have to get behind Rick Santorum for President,” Duggar said.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Truth Wins Out and Weekly Standard

Elise Foley / The Huffington Post:
Rick Santorum Saves Cash, Gains A Surrogate, By Turning To Daughter

Discussion: Daily Kos

Niall Stanage / Ballot Box:
On eve of Iowa vote, Santorum focusing attacks on Romney

Discussion: The Politico, RedState and Sister Toldjah

Ted Robbins / NPR:
Santorum's Support Builds Ahead Of Iowa Caucuses

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Booman Tribune and Washington Monthly

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

Cantor can't handle the truth about Reagan — CBS's “60 Minutes” ran a good profile on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) last night, but there was one portion of the interview that was especially important. — In this video, it starts at about the 10:19 mark.

Discussion: Liberal Values, CANNONFIRE, The Raw Story, PERRspectives, Connecting.the.Dots, Balloon Juice, Outside the Beltway, The Political Carnival and The Mahablog

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

“60 Minutes” Grills Eric Cantor on Why He's Republican in Sunday Night Hit Piece (Video) ...Update: Washington Monthly Continues to Misrepresent Reagan — “60 Minutes” grilled Majority Leader Eric Cantor on why he is Republican. — “You've taken a lot of criticism from American Jews …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, nation.foxnews.com and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

CBS News:
The Majority Leader: Rep. Eric Cantor

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and The Caucus

BuzzFeed:

Ron Paul's Secret Plan To Actually Win — He probably can't. But with stealthy preparations in Bismarck, Boise, and Minnetonka, he can be a huge pain in Mitt Romney's neck. — Ron Paul — poised to finish strong in the Iowa caucuses - has begun to implement a quiet …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Politico, The Week, The Other McCain, The Daily Dish and Saint Petersblog

Jonathan Bernstein / A plain blog about politics:

No, You Can't Skip New Hampshire Either — Rick Perry is apparently telling reporters that he'll skip New Hampshire and make a last stand in South Carolina. — Two things. First, presidential candidates always say that they're going to stay in the race no matter what.

Discussion: Associated Press

Chris Cillizza / Washington Post:
Does the New Hampshire primary matter?

Discussion: The Politico, 2012 Decoded, The Boston Globe, Swampland and The Daily Caller

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:
Romney's media strategy includes courting liberal news outlets

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs, Big Journalism and The Moderate Voice

ABCNEWS:

President Obama's Words: RNC Weapon of Choice in 2012 — On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the Republican National Committee is touting an expansive new video database that party operatives say is their most potent weapon for attacking President Obama in 2012.

Discussion: About.com US Liberal Politics and Daily Kos

Peter Wallsten / Washington Post:
GOP's election battle plan: Use Obama's own words against him

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Washington Monthly, NY1.com, Democratic Strategist, New York Magazine, Pat Dollard, National Review, Daily Kos and Vodkapundit

Dylan Welch / Sydney Morning Herald:

New to Twitter: the tweet Murdoch took down ... fast — “Either @rupertmurdoch is genuinely now on Twitter, or some disgruntled ex-NOTW journo just won the hacking Olympics.” — Less than two days after joining Twitter, media mogul Rupert Murdoch appears to have had his first brush …

Discussion: Boing Boing, Mediaite, Betabeat and Wonkette, more at Mediagazer »

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Nobody Understands Debt — In 2011, as in 2010, America was in a technical recovery but continued to suffer from disastrously high unemployment. And through most of 2011, as in 2010, almost all the conversation in Washington was about something else: the allegedly urgent issue of reducing the budget deficit.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Cafe Hayek, neo-neocon, The Other McCain, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, National Review and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Nick Allen / Telegraph:

Americans buy record numbers of guns for Christmas — Americans bought record numbers of guns last month amid an apparent surge in popularity for weapons as Christmas presents. — According to the FBI, over 1.5 million background checks on customers were requested by gun dealers …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Big Government, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Reaction, Pat Dollard and The Hinterland Gazette

Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:

The Roots Of Glenn Beck — Mark Lilla doesn't really like Corey Robin's new book on conservatism: … Better though, is his own perspective on the roots of conservatism and its current flight into the apocalyptic and reactionary: … It's interesting that Lilla raises Buckley here.