memeorandum: Gingrich hits Romney, says he'll continue to fight (Shannon McCaffrey/Associated Press)

9:25 AM ET, January 4, 2012

Top Items:

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: ABCNEWS, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, CNN, Guardian, Yahoo! News, Saint Petersblog and Lynn Sweet

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

Santorum Surge in Precinct Numbers Exceeds Poll Projections — UPDATE 8:55 p.m. CT: The latest with 31% of precincts: — Mitt Romney ...... 7,844 (23%) — Rick Santorum .... 7,726 (23%) — Ron Paul ............. 7,655 (23%) — Newt Gingrich ..... 4,440 (13%) — Rick Perry ........... 3,433 (10%)

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Datechguy's Blog, American Prospect, GayPatriot, Thoughts From A …, Saint Petersblog, Catholic Bandita, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, Doug Ross, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, The Hinterland Gazette, IowaPolitics.com and Pat Dollard

John Garver / The Daily Caller:

The trouble with my uncle, Rick Santorum — If you want another big-government politician who supports the status quo to run our country, you should vote for my uncle, Rick Santorum. America is based on a strong belief in individual liberty. My uncle's interventionist policies …

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

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 …

Discussion: Ballot Box, ThinkProgress, Firedoglake, The Caucus, The Politico, The Atlantic Online, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Iowa Caucuses, Feministing, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Post, Campaign 2012, ABCNEWS, The Iowa Republican, Marbury and The Page

Allahpundit / Hot Air:

“We have nearly reached the Rubicon when the ‘not Romney’ crowd is pining for Jon Huntsman” — So says Erick Erickson. Is he right? … Can he atone for that flipping of the bird before next Tuesday? Ninety-five percent of you will say “NO” in the comments, but let's …

Discussion: Erick's blog, Pirate's Cove, CBS News, The Daily Dish and ABCNEWS

Brian Bakst / Associated Press:

Campaign manager says Bachmann may drop out — WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Michele Bachmann's campaign manager says it's hard to tell whether she will continue her campaign after a bleak showing in the Iowa caucuses. — Asked if he could say with certainty whether she would go forward …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

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: Washington Examiner, The Hill, New York Times, Questions and Observations, Washington Wire and Prairie Weather

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 Politico, GOP 12, Ballot Box, Riehl World View, Talking Points Memo, Pundit & Pundette, The Gateway Pundit and Saint Petersblog

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: Weasel Zippers and PoliPundit.com

NBC's Ali Weinberg / msnbc.com:

After strong Iowa showing, Santorum campaign looks ahead to SC — CHARLESTON, S.C. - As Rick Santorum's supporters celebrated his strong Iowa showing, they were also making preparations for a push through South Carolina that will begin even before the New Hampshire primary vote. — Andrew Burton / Getty Images

Discussion: The Reaction

Emily Schultheis / The Politico:

McCain to endorse Romney tomorrow — John McCain will endorse his '08 rival Mitt Romney tomorrow, a top Republican source confirmed to POLITICO. — The Arizona senator fought a bitter nomination battle with Romney four years ago, though Romney has worked to mend the relationship since then.

Discussion: Power Line, Sister Toldjah and The Radio Patriot

Jennifer Jacobs / Iowa Caucuses:

Mitt Romney wins Iowa caucus by 8 votes — Mitt Romney speaks to supporters at the Hotel Fort Des Moines Tuesday evening. (Rodney White/The Des Moines Register) — Rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum waged a down-to-the-wire battle for the Iowa Republican caucuses Tuesday …

Discussion: Investor's Business Daily, Weasel Zippers, Towleroad News #gay, Taegan Goddard's … and Truthdig

Shannon McCaffrey / Associated Press:
Gingrich hits Romney, says he'll continue to fight

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Indecision Forever and Truthdig

David Weigel / Slate:
Rickrolled: Three Lessons from Iowa

Discussion: The Politico, Austin American-Statesman, Washington Monthly, Don Surber, Balloon Juice, Iowa Caucuses, The New Republic, RedState and LifeNews.com

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

Discussion: The Politico, RedState, Firedoglake, Democracy in America and Balloon Juice

New York Times:
Candidates' Electability and Principles Divide Iowa Voters

Discussion: NPR, Indecision Forever, American Power and The Caucus, more at Mediagazer »

NBC / msnbc.com: NBC sources: McCain to endorse Romney

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

Discussion: Betsy's Page and CNN

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Iowa caucus results: Romney edges Santorum; Paul finishes third

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review, New York Times, US News, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, The Daily Dish, Iowa Caucuses, CNN, The Week, Political Mojo, Prairie Weather and The BLT

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

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and The Politico

William M. Welch / USA Today:
Romney narrowly wins Iowa caucuses

Discussion: Guardian and ABCNEWS

Associated Press:
Victory in hand, Romney looks to NH

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit and Nice Deb

New York Times:
Backers Hope Paul's Iowa Strategy Will Move His Message

Discussion: Mediaite and Campaign 2012

The Politico:
Iowa's field of mediocrities

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

Wall Street Journal:
Two Locked in Iowa Dead Heat

Discussion: The Politico, Wake up America and Washington Wire

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

Discussion: Balloon Juice and Newshoggers.com

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Ron Paul supporters heckle Santorum

Discussion: Reuters, The Reaction, CNN, The Politico, msnbc.com, ABCNEWS, Datechguy's Blog, The Other McCain and Hot Air

Ezra Klein / Washington Post:
Why Iowa gets to go first, and other facts about tonight's caucus

Discussion: CNN, The Moderate Voice and The Reaction

Guardian:

Release deal for Taliban leaders at Guantánamo — US agrees in principle to releasing top officials from Afghanistan insurgent group in exchange for starting process of negotiations — The US has agreed in principle to release high-ranking Taliban officials from Guantánamo Bay …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys, Jihad Watch, Weasel Zippers, Thoughts From A … and americanthinker.com

John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Obama's Surrender of Afghanistan Continues Apace?

Discussion: Jihad Watch, Pat Dollard and Guardian

New York Post:

Suspect confesses in Queens firebombings: cops — A man hurled crude firebombs at an Islamic cultural center in part because he wasn't allowed to use its bathrooms and targeted four other New York-area sites on New Year's Day because of personal grievances, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.

Discussion: newsfeed.time.com, Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Perry Chiaramonte / Fox News:
New York City Police Arrest Suspect in String of Firebomb Attacks

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hinterland Gazette, The Gateway Pundit, The Jawa Report and Bare Naked Islam

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

Live Blogging the Iowa Caucuses — Welcome to FiveThirtyEight's live blog of the Iowa caucuses. — The real action will not get underway until 8 p.m. New York time, when caucuses convene around the state — and it is likely to be at least another hour or so after that before we start seeing the first results.

Discussion: 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop, Poynter, BuzzFeed, New York Times, Flopping Aces, Atlas Shrugs and Wake up America

Robert Wright / The Atlantic Online:

The Greatness of Ron Paul — By introducing moral imagination to the foreign-policy conversation, the Republican candidate is doing the nation an important service. — A dispute has broken out among fans of Ron Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy about whether he's a strategic liability.

Discussion: Rod Dreher, Wonkette, emptywheel, The Daily Dish, The Mahablog and US Politics

Graham Bowley / New York Times:

3 In-Laws of Afghan Girl, 15, Are Held in Her Torture — KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan girl's nails had been pulled out, her skin on her ear and nose had been twisted with pliers, and she had been kept in a dark, filthy basement bathroom without proper food or water for five months …

Discussion: msnbc.com and The Moderate Voice

RealClearPolitics Video Log:

Michelle Obama Jokes: “I Kind Of Like” Being Called “Your Excellency” — First Lady Michelle Obama is to make a guest appearance on an upcoming episode of the popular Nickelodeon show iCarly. — In the episode, which airs on January 16, the First Lady helps the show's title character Carly …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit