memeorandum: This Is the Most Boring New Hampshire Primary Ever (Walter Shapiro/The New Republic)

9:50 AM ET, January 9, 2012

Top Items:

Romney holding steady in NH — Mitt Romney continues to be headed for a comfortable win in New Hampshire. PPP's final poll there finds him with 35% to 18% for Ron Paul, 16% for Jon Huntsman, 12% for Newt Gingrich, 11% for Rick Santorum, 3% for Buddy Roemer, and 1% for Rick Perry.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, americanthinker.com, The PJ Tatler, FiveThirtyEight, Washington Post and The Politico

New York Times:

Pro-Gingrich PAC Details Ads Against Romney's Bain Role — MANCHESTER, N.H. — Thanks to a $5 million donation from a wealthy casino owner, a group supporting New Gingrich plans to place advertisements in South Carolina this week attacking Mitt Romney as a predatory capitalist who destroyed jobs …

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

The Boffo Awfulness — In the preceding post I referenced this swift-boat-style ‘documentary’ on Mitt Romney and Bain Capital which the Gingrich-backing SuperPAC (Winning Our Future) has bought and will use as the battering ram against Romney in South Carolina. They've put up a trailer for it now which you can see after the jump.

Discussion: Campaign 2012, No More Mister Nice Blog, Balloon Juice and Political Mojo

Mark Maremont / Wall Street Journal:

Romney at Bain: Big Gains, Some Busts — Mitt Romney's political foes are stepping up attacks based on his time running investment firm Bain Capital, tagging him with making a fortune from the rougher side of American capitalism—even as Mr. Romney says his Bain tenure shows he knows how to build businesses.

Discussion: The Enterprise Blog, Campaign 2012, Taegan Goddard's … and ABCNEWS

Quinnipiac University:

Romney Has Big GOP Likely Voter Lead In Florida, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Most Voters Say They Might Change Their Mind — With 36 percent of Florida Republican likely primary voters, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a double-digit lead three weeks before the nation's …

Discussion: The Hill and The Caucus

WMUR:

Poll Shows Battle For 2nd In Primary; Romney Keeps Lead — Huntsman Moves Into Tie With Santorum — MANCHESTER, N.H. — The top spot in the latest WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll still belongs to Mitt Romney, but the race for second and third place is very close.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Ballot Box, GOP 12, ABCNEWS and Swampland

Walter Shapiro / The New Republic:
This Is the Most Boring New Hampshire Primary Ever

Discussion: ABCNEWS

Mike Allenand Jim Vandehei / The Politico:
New Hampshire primary: The land of make-believe

Discussion: New Yorker, ABCNEWS, Ballot Box and CNN

Matt Viser / Boston Globe:
Mitt Romney says he knows the fear of a possible pink slip, but does not provide details

Discussion: US Politics

Meghashyam Mali / Ballot Box:
Romney tells voters he knows what it's like to fear getting a ‘pink slip’

Discussion: The Politico

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico: Debate shows super PACs' strength

ABCNEWS:
Mitt Romney Says He Feared Getting ‘Fired’

Discussion: Riehl World View and PERRspectives

Buzzfeed Politics / Politics:
Romney's Inexplicable Debate Fibs

Discussion: Washington Monthly, 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, Weekly Standard, National Review, Firedoglake, The Mahablog, Power Line and BuzzFeed

Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:

Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11 — More Americans identify as Democrats than as Republicans, 31% to 27% — PRINCETON, NJ — The percentage of Americans identifying as political independents increased in 2011, as is common in a non-election year …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Politico and National Review

Kevinliptak / CNN:

TRENDING: Christie takes on protesters chanting at Romney rally — Exeter, New Hampshire (CNN) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fired back at protesters at a rally Sunday for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in New Hampshire. — The brash Republican governor …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and The Politico

Katrina Trinko / National Review:
Christie Squares Off with Occupiers at Romney Rally

Discussion: Washington Post, americanthinker.com, Ed Driscoll and Nice Deb

Alex Spillius / Telegraph:

White House ‘covered up’ Tim Burton-staged Alice in Wonderland Halloween party — The White House covered up an Alice in Wonderland-themed Halloween party staged by film director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp for fear of creating the wrong impression during a recession, a new book on the Obamas has claimed.

Discussion: Big Journalism, The Gateway Pundit and blogs.telegraph.co.uk

New York Post:
White House threw secret ‘Alice in Wonderland’ bash during recession

Discussion: Verum Serum, Weasel Zippers, Big Journalism, The PJ Tatler, Big Hollywood, Don Surber, Atlas Shrugs, The Lonely Conservative, Doug Ross and New York Magazine

Carol E. Lee / Washington Wire: New Book Portrays Explosive White House Dynamics

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

America's Unlevel Field — Last month President Obama gave a speech invoking the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt on behalf of progressive ideals — and Republicans were not happy. Mitt Romney, in particular, insisted that where Roosevelt believed that “government should level the playing field …

Discussion: ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/*, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather

Bill Keller / New York Times:

Just the Ticket — THE beginning of a new year is a time for resolutions, and Hillary Clinton's admirers are already busily, lovingly resolving on her behalf. On one sideline, her friends tell me that after a few years of hyperactive globetrotting what she really needs is to put her feet …

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and Prairie Weather

New Jersey Online:

N.J. Legislature to introduce bill legalizing gay marriage — TRENTON — In a dramatic move, Democratic leaders plan to announce at a news conference Monday that a bill legalizing gay marriage will be the first measure introduced in the new session of the Senate and the Assembly …

Discussion: Towleroad News #gay and Box Turtle Bulletin

David Eldridge / Washington Times:

Ex-Times Editorial Page Editor Tony Blankley dead at 63 — Tony Blankley, a noted conservative author and commentator and former editorial page editor of The Washington Times, died Sunday morning, according to family sources. He was 63 and had been battling stomach cancer.