memeorandum: Winning Ugly, but Winning — I don't care if you call it a win or a tie. (Nate Silver/FiveThirtyEight)

11:35 AM ET, January 4, 2012

Top Items:

Winning Ugly, but Winning — I don't care if you call it a win or a tie. In Iowa on Tuesday, Mitt Romney had a performance that looks ugly on the stat sheet , but which accomplished quite a bit when you consider it in its broader context. — The two most important things that Mr. Romney accomplished are as follows:

Discussion: ABCNEWS, National Review, CNN, Newshoggers.com, neo-neocon, Saint Petersblog, Patterico's Pontifications, The Week, A plain blog about politics, Firedoglake, Iowa Caucuses and Wake up America

BuzzFeed:

McCain To Endorse Romney Tomorrow — The 2008 Republican nominee will endorse his former rival in New Hampshire, a source tells BuzzFeed. The move will give Romney some high-profile good news after a close and ambiguous finish in Iowa. — (Getty Images / Mark Wilson)

Discussion: Hot Air, Balloon Juice, Guardian, The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, News Desk, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, CNN, Taylor Marsh, Yahoo! News, Saint Petersblog and Lynn Sweet

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:

Romney Wins Iowa Caucus by 8 Votes — “Onto New Hampshire, let's get that job done!” Mitt Romney told supporters before being declared the winner. More Photos » — DES MOINES — Mitt Romney's quest to swiftly lock down the Republican presidential nomination with a commanding finish …

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:

Everything You Heard Last Night Was Bull, Perry Might Want to Stay In, & a Newtlear Attack — As you wake up this morning, Rick Santorum only lost to Mitt Romney by 8 votes. Santorum spent about a dollar per vote and Romney spent hundreds of dollars for his votes.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Slate, National Review, The Politico, Ballot Box, GOP 12, Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, Campaign Stops, The Gateway Pundit, Pundit & Pundette, Riehl World View and BizzyBlog

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:

Bachmann Ends Presidential Run — Source — Rep. Michele Bachmann is suspending her presidential campaign, said a senior Republican official with direct knowledge of the lawmaker's plans. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Minnesota lawmaker, a favorite …

Discussion: Big Government, Indecision Forever, The Caucus, The Hinterland Gazette, Right Wing Watch and Towleroad News #gay

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:

Bachmann cancels South Carolina trip — Per a tweet from the AP, Michele Bachmann has canceled her planned trip to South Carolina, and has called a press conference for 10 a.m. central time. — I've emailed a campaign spokeswoman and haven't heard back. — But after Bachmann's …

Discussion: Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Daily Kos, PoliPundit.com and The Other McCain

Paul Begala / The Daily Beast:

Iowa Results Show Romney's Weakness Even Against GOP ‘Unelectables’ — What can you say about an alleged frontrunner who could barely top the Man-on-Dog guy? If Mitt Romney can't beat Rick Santorum, he ought to find another party to run in. — You gotta love a party in which Mitt Romney …

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Saint Petersblog

David Weigel / Slate:

Rickrolled: Three Lessons from Iowa … - Is the Virginia Law Keeping Perry and Gingrich Off the Ballot Constitutional? — The Real Threat to Marriage Isn't Gay Marriage—It's Straight Civil Unions — The App That Keeps You Going to the Gym by Charging You Money When You Don't

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Politico, Washington Post, FrumForum, The Spectacle Blog, Austin American-Statesman, Don Surber, Wonkette, Balloon Juice, Political Mojo, Iowa Caucuses, The New Republic and LifeNews.com, more at Mediagazer »

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:

DNC chairwoman: Romney's Iowa caucus win is ‘a loss’ — The chairwoman for the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday sought to slow Mitt Romney's momentum as the winner of the Iowa caucuses, the first vote of the 2012 primary season. — “When is a win a loss?

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and Weasel Zippers

msnbc.com:

First Thoughts: What we learned from last night — NBC's Chuck Todd and David Gregory assess the results from the Iowa caucuses and discuss where the race goes from here. … By NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Brooke Brower — *** What we learned from last night …

Discussion: The Politico

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

Gingrich Floats Idea of Anti-Romney Alliance — In an interview with Laura Ingraham, Newt Gingrich raised the possibility of creating an anti-Mitt Romney alliance with Rick Santorum. — Ingraham: Can you see a scenario under which the two of you would align together to try to defeat the establishment candidate, Mitt Romney?

Kasie Hunt / Associated Press:

Bachmann cancels SC trip after poor Iowa finish — DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann canceled her campaign trip to South Carolina on Wednesday after a dismal showing in the Iowa caucuses. — Campaign manager Keith Nahigian told The Associated Press …

Discussion: Reuters, The Raw Story and Guardian

Kevinliptak / CNN:
BREAKING: Source: Bachmann to suspend campaign

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
“We have nearly reached the Rubicon when the ‘not Romney’ crowd is pining for Jon Huntsman”

Discussion: CNN, Erick's blog, americanthinker.com, Pirate's Cove, The Daily Dish and CBS News

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:
Santorum Surge in Precinct Numbers Exceeds Poll Projections

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Datechguy's Blog, Outside the Beltway, Reaganite Republican, American Prospect, Nice Deb, GayPatriot, CNN, Thoughts From A …, Scared Monkeys, Saint Petersblog, Catholic Bandita, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, Doug Ross, The Hinterland Gazette, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and IowaPolitics.com

Ronald Brownstein / NationalJournal.com:
Why Romney and Santorum Fought to a Draw in Iowa

Discussion: Betsy's Page and CNN

Washington Examiner:
Facing embarrassing Iowa loss, Romney squeaks by

Discussion: FrumForum and Hot Air

Brian Bakst / Associated Press:
Campaign manager says Bachmann may drop out

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

James Hohmann / The Politico:
Iowa caucus results: Reality check coming for Santorum

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Week, New York Times, USA Today, ABCNEWS and Ballot Box

Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:
Mitt Romney wins Iowa caucus by 8 votes

Discussion: Investor's Business Daily, CNN, Greg's Opinion, Boston Globe, The Strata-Sphere, msnbc.com, The Iowa Republican, Taegan Goddard's …, Weasel Zippers, Truthdig and Towleroad News #gay

Emily Schultheis / The Politico:
McCain to endorse Romney tomorrow

Discussion: Power Line, Sister Toldjah and The Radio Patriot

John Garver / The Daily Caller:
The trouble with my uncle, Rick Santorum

Discussion: Ross Douthat, Yahoo! News, Mediaite, Indecision Forever, EW.com, iOwnTheWorld.com, The Political Carnival, The Hill, Hit & Run, The New Republic, I'm With Kanye, Telegraph, Guardian, Iowa Caucuses, Cato @ Liberty and Los Angeles Times

NBC's Ali Weinberg / msnbc.com:
After strong Iowa showing, Santorum campaign looks ahead to SC

Discussion: USA Today and The Agonist

Monika L. McDermott / CBS News:
Iowa's bad track record for picking GOP winners

Discussion: Associated Press, Brilliant at Breakfast, The Politico, TalkLeft and The Week

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Why I'd Bet on Santorum (and Against My Model)

Discussion: The Reaction, The Moderate Voice, RedState, The Politico, Balloon Juice and Democracy in America

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Jon Huntsman: Mitt Romney Would Be An Agent For The Big Banks

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Campaign 2012, Taylor Marsh and The Politico

Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS:
Is Eight Enough? Where Mitt Romney And Rick Santorum Go From Here (The Note)

Discussion: Alas, a Blog and Capital New York

Associated Press:

AP sources: Obama bucks GOP, OKs consumer watchdog — WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defiant display of executive power, President Barack Obama on Wednesday will buck GOP opposition and name Richard Cordray as the nation's chief consumer watchdog even though the Senate contends the move is inappropriate …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill, The Hill, The Volokh Conspiracy, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story and White House Dossier

Ben White / The Politico:

Romney wins Iowa by 8 votes - Fallout: Perry done; Santorum strong; Gingrich angry - Cordray recess appointment? - Oil surges on Iran fear — By Ben White (bwhite@politico.com; Twitter: @morningmoneyben) — ROMNEY WINS IOWA BY 8 VOTES - With 100 percent of Iowa precincts reporting …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, New York Times, The Hill, Moe Lane, Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, Questions and Observations and Prairie Weather

WSJ Blogs - WSJ:
White House Concludes It Can Appoint Cordray

Discussion: ThinkProgress and americanthinker.com

Grace Wyler / Business Insider:

Ron Paul May Have Secretly Won The Iowa Caucuses — DES MOINES — Ron Paul may have officially come in third tonight, but if the campaign's caucus strategy went off as planned, then Paul may actually be the real winner of the first Republican voting contest.

Discussion: A plain blog about politics, Guardian, The Politico, Hit & Run, New York Times, americanthinker.com and Truthdig

New York Times:
28 delegates The Race in Iowa

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Caucus, Freakonomics, FiveThirtyEight, Feministing, Washington Post, Poynter and Prairie Weather

David Frum / FrumForum:
Ron Paul's Personal Responsibility

Discussion: Power Line and The Daily Dish

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

Conservative elites to huddle — A group of movement conservatives has called an emergency meeting in Texas next weekend to find a “consensus” Republican presidential hopeful, POLITICO has learned. — “You and your spouse are cordially invited to a private meeting with national conservative leaders …

Discussion: GOP 12

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
Stuff in Politico That Makes Me Want to Guzzle Antifreeze, Field of Mediocrity Edition

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Newshoggers.com

The Politico:
Iowa's field of mediocrities

Discussion: CNN, The Reality-Based Community, Daily Kos, NewsBusters.org, New York Times and News Desk

Mackenzie Weinger / The Politico:

Ron Paul calls Newt Gingrich a ‘chickenhawk’ — Ron Paul came out swinging Wednesday against Newt Gingrich for calling him a dangerous candidate, dubbing Gingrich a chickenhawk who avoided the Vietnam War. — “I don't want to fight a war that's unconstitutional and I'm the dangerous person?

Discussion: Hot Air