Top Items:
David Weigel / Slate:
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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Reuters:
Newt Gingrich: I crossed the line — SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Newt Gingrich signaled Wednesday that he believes his criticism of Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital is a mistake — and that he's created an impression that he was echoing Democratic rhetoric. — Gingrich conceded the problem …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
The Politico:
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
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
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.
Zeke Miller / Politics:
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.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Hit & Run, The Politico, The Other McCain, Hot Air, Associated Press, The Daily Dish, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Questions and Observations, Shakesville, ThinkProgress, No More Mister Nice Blog, American Spectator, Pirate's Cove, CNN, The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, Flopping Aces, Ballot Box and Gallup
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
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:
Rush Limbaugh, CNN, Big Government, The Strata-Sphere, The Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Washington Post
Washington Post:
Conservative activists scramble to stop Mitt Romney
Conservative activists scramble to stop Mitt Romney
Discussion:
The Impolitic, Little Green Footballs, Hit & Run, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, The Politico and Taylor Marsh
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
Gingrich Touts War Against Christianity, Gay Adoption In South Carolina
Gingrich Touts War Against Christianity, Gay Adoption In South Carolina
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Washington Post and AKSARBENT
msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Next up: The last stand
First Thoughts: Next up: The last stand
Discussion:
Time, The Political Carnival and ABCNEWS
Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Mitt Romney still must answer 5 questions after New Hampshire
Mitt Romney still must answer 5 questions after New Hampshire
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ABCNEWS and The Huffington Post
ABCNEWS:
Biden Jabs Romney, Compares Republican Candidates to ‘Brush’
Biden Jabs Romney, Compares Republican Candidates to ‘Brush’
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and CNN
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Santorum gambles, and loses, in NH
Santorum gambles, and loses, in NH
Discussion:
The Politico, The State, NY Daily News, msnbc.com, CNN and Reuters
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Romney raises impressive $24M in fourth quarter
Romney raises impressive $24M in fourth quarter
Discussion:
GOP 12, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Donklephant and Washington Post
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
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
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Ben Smith / Reuters:
Mitt Romney New Hampshire primary win: Time to take him seriously
Mitt Romney New Hampshire primary win: Time to take him seriously
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and The Politico
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney raises $24 million in fourth quarter, ends 2011 with $19 million on hand
Mitt Romney raises $24 million in fourth quarter, ends 2011 with $19 million on hand
Discussion:
Indecision Forever, Saint Petersblog and New York Magazine
A.Killough / CNN:
Poll: Romney, Santorum tied with Obama in Florida
Poll: Romney, Santorum tied with Obama in Florida
Discussion:
The Politico and Reuters
Mary Lu Carnevale / Washington Wire:
Obama Scores Easy Win; Rivals Pick Up 18% of N.H. Vote
New York Times:
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, Washington Post, Salon, The Moderate Voice, Global Public Square, The Daily Dish, News Desk, The Lede and The Impolitic
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Gordon Corera / BBC:
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:
nation.foxnews.com, The Gateway Pundit, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Truthdig
Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic Online:
Another Iranian Nuclear Scientist Assassinated, and What it Means
Another Iranian Nuclear Scientist Assassinated, and What it Means
Discussion:
National Review
Michelle Obama / CBS News:
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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Joel B. Pollak / Big Government:
Axelrod Defends Jeremiah Wright, Says He Was Victim of Selective Editing
Axelrod Defends Jeremiah Wright, Says He Was Victim of Selective Editing
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Telegraph, The PJ Tatler and Weasel Zippers
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
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 Political Carnival, The Loyal Opposition, Daily Kos and Riehl World View
Carl Campanile / New York Post:
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, New York Magazine, The PJ Tatler, Gothamist, The Raw Story, Capital New York and PolitickerNY
Faiz Shakir / ThinkProgress:
GOP Strategist Frank Luntz: ‘Conservatives Should Not Be Defending Capitalism’ — Last year, Mitt Romney told a Tea Party gathering, “I believe in free enterprise, I believe in capitalism.” Now, Romney's practice of “vulture capitalism,” in Rick Perry's words, is coming under attack.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Rush Limbaugh, Don Surber and Fox News Insider
Jim Dwyer / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
The Awl, Gawker and New York Magazine
Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:
Gov. Walker Accused Of Over 1,000 Violations Of Campaign Finance Law, Could Face $557,500 Fine — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) may have violated his state's campaign finance law over 1,000 times in the 2010 gubernatorial campaign by failing to properly report contributions, according to a new report.
Discussion:
The Political Carnival
Anthony Faiola / Washington Post:
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
John Cook / Gawker:
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
Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Senator Brings Dinner From Montana — THE space between Senator Jon Tester's 1,800-acre ranch outside Big Sandy, Mont., and the nation's capital is metaphysically and culturally large. But mostly, it's just plain large. — Traveling from his ranch to the airport in Great Falls, Mont., takes 90 minutes by truck.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and New York Magazine