memeorandum: Romney in Iowa: 'We're Gonna Win This Thing' (ABCNEWS)

9:55 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, American Prospect, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Week, NO QUARTER, The Greenroom, The Reality-Based Community, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Pundit, Telegraph, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast and Ballot Box

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, NPR, Verum Serum, The Hinterland Gazette and Booman Tribune

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: New York Times and Mediaite

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

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

Evan McMorris-Santoro / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Rand Paul Calls Rick Santorum A War-Mongering Moderate

Discussion: Campaign 2012, The Moderate Voice, nation.foxnews.com and Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …

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

Discussion: PolitickerNY, The Politico, Online NewsHour and Towleroad News #gay

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

Discussion: CNN, The Politico, RedState and Sister Toldjah

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, Campaign 2012, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Indecision Forever, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Saint Petersblog

ABCNEWS: Romney in Iowa: 'We're Gonna Win This Thing'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rebecca Kaplan / CBS News:
Perry: Santorum can't beat Obama

Discussion: 2012 Decoded, Campaign 2012 and Daily Kos

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

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

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 Week, The Politico, The Other McCain, Guardian, The Daily Dish and Saint Petersblog

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:

Fox News' Alan Colmes Flips Out When Called Out For ‘Cheap Shot’ About Rick Santorum Baby (Updated) — In a wild exchange on Fox News' Happening Now, longtime contributor Alan Colmes lost it a little bit when National Review's Rich Lowry pressed him over an attack on Rick Santorum's handling of the 1996 death of his newborn son.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, 2012 Decoded, No More Mister Nice Blog, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Other McCain, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, nation.foxnews.com and The Atlantic Online

Angel Jennings / L.A. NOW:

Rose Parade 2012: Occupy activists form ‘peacekeeping’ team — Occupy the Rose Parade activists said they had assembled a “peacekeeping” team to thwart members who might try to cause trouble during the event. — A team of about 36 Occupy protesters will, in three groups …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys and The Gateway Pundit

Donald Douglas / American Power:
‘Occupy’ Crashes Rose Parade: Attacks ‘Corporate Greed’ With 70-Foot Nazi-Era Octopus Depicting Global Jewish Conspiracy

Discussion: The Informer, L.A. NOW, Atlas Shrugs, The BRAD BLOG, Doug Ross and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

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

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: Mediaite, Betabeat and Wonkette, more at Mediagazer »

John Hawkins / Right Wing News:

The 50 Most Obnoxious Quotes Of 2011 (8th Annual) — 50) Take the vehicle, I have 10 more. Police don't have anything else (expletive) to do except (expletive) with me. Do you know who I am? — Allen Iverson 49) Storms Kill Over 250 Americans In States Represented By Climate Pollution Deniers …

Discussion: YID With LID and Bookworm Room

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

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