memeorandum: Rick Santorum, Social Conservative Hero (Amy Sullivan/The Atlantic Online)

12:15 PM 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: National Review, CNN, Newshoggers.com, neo-neocon, Saint Petersblog, Patterico's Pontifications, The Week, Firedoglake, A plain blog about politics, Iowa Caucuses, Wake up America and The Other McCain

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, ABCNEWS, Guardian, News Desk, The Moderate Voice, Mediaite, The Daily Dish, Weasel Zippers, CNN, Taylor Marsh, TalkLeft, Saint Petersblog, Lynn Sweet and Yahoo! News

Erick Erickson / RedState:

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: TalkLeft, 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, BizzyBlog, Daily Pundit and Erick's blog

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

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 …

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

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

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

Kevinliptak / CNN:

BREAKING: Bachmann ends GOP presidential bid — (CNN) - Michele Bachmann ended her bid for the Republican presidential nomination Wednesday, hours after a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. — The Minnesota congresswoman suspended her campaign, a legal technicality …

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Taylor Marsh

Russell Goldman / ABCNEWS:

Michele Bachmann Drops Out of Presidential Race — Rep. Michele Bachmann will “suspend her campaign,” a senior campaign official told ABC News today, hours after placing last in the Iowa caucuses and vowing to continue in South Carolina. — Bachmann cancelled plans to travel to South Carolina …

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

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire: Gingrich Floats Idea of Anti-Romney Alliance

msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: What we learned from last night

Discussion: The Politico and Associated Press

Amy Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:
Rick Santorum, Social Conservative Hero

Discussion: neo-neocon and Outside the Beltway

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

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

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

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

Kasie Hunt / Associated Press:
Bachmann cancels SC trip after poor Iowa finish

Discussion: Reuters, Guardian and The Raw Story

Scott Johnson / Power Line:
A weak frontrunner

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Associated Press

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

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

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

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

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Mediaite and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

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

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

Emily Schultheis / The Politico:
McCain to endorse Romney tomorrow

Discussion: Sister Toldjah and The Radio Patriot

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

Discussion: USA Today and The Agonist

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

New York Times:
28 delegates The Race in Iowa

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

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

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

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Oedipus Rex Complex — American politics bristles with Oedipal drama. — Sons struggling to live up to fathers. Sons striving to outdo fathers. Sons scheming to avenge fathers. Sons burning to one-up fathers. Sons yearning to impress fathers who vanished early on. Sons leaning on fathers.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Prairie Weather

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

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

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 and The Hinterland Gazette