Top Items:

Haven't We Lived Through This Primary Before? — I'm thinking of a Republican primary. It starts with a candidate (John McCain/Mitt Romney) who ran once before, came in second place, and won over the party's elite class without winning over its base. Other candidates, understandably unwilling …
Discussion:
Booman Tribune and No More Mister Nice Blog
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A tale of two speeches — After watching Mitt Romney's speech in New Hampshire last night, I went back and watched Barack Obama's speech in New Hampshire, delivered almost exactly four years ago. The contrast told me quite a bit about the two candidates. — Obama, who'd just lost …
Discussion:
FP Passport, Balloon Juice and Alas, a Blog


Ron Paul To Everyone But Mitt: Drop Out — Campaign says unite behind Ron Paul to defeat Romney. — (Getty Images / Chip Somodevilla) — MANCHESTER, New Hampshire—Rep. Ron Paul's campaign called on the rest of the Republican field to drop out of the race and unite behind him in order to defeat Mitt Romney.


Mitt Romney vs. the dead-enders — HOOKSETT, N.H. - Any remotely sympathetic observer would have to say that Mitt Romney easily cleared the bar on what he needed to do in the New Hampshire primary, and in the process took a big step toward the Republican presidential nomination.
Discussion:
CNN, Michelle Malkin, The Mahablog, Taylor Marsh and Wall Street Journal

Romney likens work at Bain Capital to Obama's auto industry bailout — On the heels of his decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary, Mitt Romney took the attacks on his private sector record used by GOP rivals and turned them against President Obama. — Romney's critics have accused …
Discussion:
CNN, The Strata-Sphere and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Romney Looks Strong in South Carolina and Beyond — The conventional wisdom holds that South Carolina is likely to be the toughest test yet for Mitt Romney's campaign. But I'm not so sure that's true. From my vantage point, Mr. Romney's position there looks fairly robust.
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, The Politico, Washington Post, New York Times, The Caucus, Daily Kos, Democratic Strategist, Politics and Saint Petersblog

First Thoughts: Next up: The last stand
Discussion:
Time, Saint Petersblog, The Political Carnival and ABCNEWS

Conservative activists scramble to stop Mitt Romney
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Little Green Footballs, Hit & Run, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, The Politico and Taylor Marsh

Gingrich Touts War Against Christianity, Gay Adoption In South Carolina
Discussion:
Washington Post and AKSARBENT

Santorum to spend fundraising haul immediately in S.C.
Discussion:
The Hill and Ballot Box

Attack Film Depicts Romney as ‘Ruthless’ Rich
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal, Indecision Forever, Jezebel, ThinkProgress, Campaign 2012, Applesauce, American Spectator, The Moderate Voice, Naked Politics, Riehl World View, The Other McCain, The Caucus, The Enterprise Blog, Guardian, The Politico, News Desk and Taegan Goddard's …

Poll: Romney, Santorum tied with Obama in Florida
Discussion:
The Politico and Reuters

Santorum gambles, and loses, in NH
Discussion:
The Politico, The State, NY Daily News, msnbc.com, CNN and Reuters

Biden Jabs Romney, Compares Republican Candidates to ‘Brush’
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and CNN

Mitt Romney still must answer 5 questions after New Hampshire
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Monthly, ABCNEWS, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and The Huffington Post

Romney raises impressive $24M in fourth quarter
Discussion:
GOP 12, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Donklephant, Washington Post and Hot Air

Rush Limbaugh: Newt Gingrich ‘Sounds Like Elizabeth Warren’
Discussion:
Don Surber, Firedoglake, Washington Post, Rush Limbaugh and EconoSpeak

Blaming U.S. and Israel, Iran Reports Killing of Nuclear Scientist — LONDON — At a time of growing tension over its nuclear program and mounting belligerence toward the West, Iran reported on Wednesday that an Iranian nuclear scientist died in what was termed a “terrorist bomb blast” …
Discussion:
YID With LID, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, Global Public Square, News Desk, The Lede and The Impolitic
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Iran car explosion ‘kills nuclear scientist’ in Tehran — BBC's Mohsen Asgari: “It seems a motor cyclist pasted a bomb to his car which he was in with two other passengers — A university lecturer and nuclear scientist has been killed in a car explosion in north Tehran, reports say.
Discussion:
Truthdig, nation.foxnews.com, The Gateway Pundit and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Another Iranian Nuclear Scientist Assassinated, and What it Means — It's groundhog day in Tehran. Another nuclear scientist, this one identified as Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, who worked at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, was killed when an explosive was attached to his car. Several questions arise:
Discussion:
National Review

No tension with husband's aides — PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO — Michelle Obama said depictions of friction in a new book, “The Obamas,” between her and former top aides to her husband, President Obama, aren't true. — In a wide-ranging interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Don Surber and The Raw Story
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Michelle Obama denies White House tensions
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Weasel Zippers and nation.foxnews.com

Romney: Questions about Wall Street and inequality are driven by ‘envy’ — Mitt Romney had a remarkable exchange on NBC this morning that may not be as attention-grabbing about his “fire people” gaffe — but may actually be just as revealing and significant. And I hope it gets some attention.
Discussion:
The Loyal Opposition, Daily Kos and Riehl World View


In Greece, fears that austerity is killing the economy — ATHENS — Deeply indebted and nearly bankrupt, this Mediterranean nation was forced to adopt tough austerity measures to slash its deficit and secure an international bailout. But as the Greek economy slides into free fall …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Hullabaloo, Paul Krugman and ECHIDNE of the snakes


Mayor's plan to limit booze sales — Party pooper! — First, Mayor Bloomberg went after smoking in public places. Then trans-fats, salt and sugary drinks. — Now Bloomberg — known for sipping fine wine and downing a cold beer from time to time — wants to crack down on alcohol sales …
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared, Gothamist, The Raw Story and Capital New York


John Castle, 76-Year-Old Palm Beach Plutocrat, Breaks Insolent Waiter's Finger — It's an age-old and vexing question: How much is it fair to shave off the tip at a high-end restaurant to signal dissatisfaction with the waitstaff? Two percent? Five percent? Should you stiff them?
Discussion:
DealBook


About New York: Belgian Tourist Arrested, but Crime Never Happened — Just before he was loaded into the police car, Aaron Vansintjan said, one of the officers looked at him. — “He said, 'I'm embarrassed,' ” Mr. Vansintjan said. — That was no obstacle to a bad situation's getting more perplexing by the minute.