Top Items:
Justin Sink / Ballot Box:
Poll: Romney slipping in South Carolina, holds just 2 point lead over Gingrich — Despite a historic sweep of the first two nominating contests in the GOP field, Mitt Romney holds just a two percentage point lead in South Carolina, his smallest lead of 2012.
RELATED:
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
‘When Mitt Romney Came to Town’ — We knew the short film from Newt Gingrich's Super PAC, targeting Mitt Romney's private-sector work, was on the way. We didn't know just how devastating it would be. — Probably the easiest-to-see version of “When Mitt Romney Came to Town” …
Dan Primack / Fortune:
Gingrich's ‘Bain bomb’ fizzles — The “Bain bomb” is full of wet fuses. — We've been keeping regular track of claims made about Mitt Romney's business history over at our Mitt Meter, but today's video “documentary” from the Gingrich-affiliated Winning Our Future PAC requires its own post.
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Giuliani to Newt: ‘What the hell are you doing?’ — Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has recently called Mitt Romney “a man without a core,” defended the GOP frontrunner's record as an executive at Bain Capital, calling the attacks against him “ignorant and dumb.”
Discussion:
Riehl World View and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Romney Makes History — South Carolina is the last chance for most of his rivals, but the front-runner needs to better answer the Bain attacks. — In an open race for the GOP nomination, no Republican has won both Iowa and New Hampshire, as Mitt Romney has.
Discussion:
The Politico, The Daily, Weekly Standard, The State, New York Times, St. Petersburg Times, The PJ Tatler and CNN
Reid J. Epstein / Reuters:
Mitt Romney readies Bain Capital counterattack
Mitt Romney readies Bain Capital counterattack
Discussion:
CNN, USA Today, Metro, Sabato's Crystal Ball, ABCNEWS, Crooks and Liars, New York Times, Hot Air, Washington Post, The Caucus, Campaign 2012, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Politico, Daily Kos, Big Government, The Raw Story, The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake, New York Magazine and Saint Petersblog
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney's extreme defense of capitalism
Mitt Romney's extreme defense of capitalism
Discussion:
Brad DeLong, FAIR Blog, Sky Dancing, Washington Monthly, The Daily Dish, Riehl World View and Applesauce
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Newt Gingrich: South Carolina will be ‘Armageddon’
Newt Gingrich: South Carolina will be ‘Armageddon’
Discussion:
The Politico, Guardian, Booman Tribune and Daily Kos
Mj Lee / The Politico:
Sarah Palin on Mitt Romney: Needs Bain show & tell
Sarah Palin on Mitt Romney: Needs Bain show & tell
Discussion:
M.JOSEPH SHEPPARD'S … and Daily Kos
Arthur S. Brisbane / The Public Editor's Journal:
Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante? — I'm looking for reader input on whether and when New York Times news reporters should challenge “facts” that are asserted by newsmakers they write about. — One example mentioned recently by a reader: As cited in an Adam Liptak article on the Supreme Court …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Washington Monthly, Vanity Fair, New York Times, The Awl, Hullabaloo, The Daily What, Sky Dancing, Boing Boing, FAIR Blog, Poynter, No More Mister Nice Blog, Althouse, Shakesville, Daily Kos, emptywheel, US Politics, Balloon Juice, First Draft, Mediaite, Gothamist, New York Magazine, Wonkette, JustOneMinute, National Review, Discourse.net, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Gawker, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Jim Romenesko:
NYT public editor on reaction to Truth Vigilante post — What I was trying to ask was whether reporters should always rebut dubious facts in the body of the stories they are writing. I was hoping for diverse and even nuanced responses to what I think is a difficult question.
Discussion:
New York Times, more at Mediagazer »
Jay Rosen / Pressthink:
So whaddaya think: should we put truthtelling back up there at number one? — Somewhere along the way, telling truth from falsehood was surpassed by other priorities to which the press felt a stronger duty. Arthur Brisbane, public editor of the New York Times, was unaware of this history …
Discussion:
New York Times, Poynter, Brad DeLong and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »
Adam Clark Estes / The Atlantic Wire:
Yes, The New York Times Should Definitely Be a Truth Vigilante — Updated (3:55 p.m.): Journalists flooded Twitter with side-splitting remarks about New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane's latest column, (provocatively?) wondering in the headline, “Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante?”
Discussion:
The Public Editor's Journal, Balloon Juice and JIMROMENESKO.COM
Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:
3 billionaires who'll drag out the race — Meet the three billionaires who could drag out the GOP presidential primary, bloody up front-runner Mitt Romney and weaken the odds of defeating President Barack Obama: Sheldon Adelson, Foster Friess and Jon Huntsman, Sr.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Time, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Wire, Big Journalism, Media Decoder, Applesauce, CNN, ABCNEWS and Taylor Marsh
RELATED:
Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:
Santorum Cites a Local Legend
Fox News:
Panetta orders probe of video allegedly showing Marines urinating on dead Taliban — The top commanders of the Marine Corps U.S. forces in Afghanistan are investigating a video that purports to show U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Panetta: Apparent Marine desecration of Taliban corpses is ‘utterly deplorable’
Panetta: Apparent Marine desecration of Taliban corpses is ‘utterly deplorable’
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Current.com
Steve Clemons / The Atlantic Online:
U.S. Soldiers Give Ammo to Taliban
U.S. Soldiers Give Ammo to Taliban
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs
Al Kamen / Washington Post:
President Obama's got sons? — President Obama, speaking last night in Chicago at a fundraiser at a private home, unloaded this bombshell: — Obama, according to the White House transcript, talked about “The first bill I signed — a bill that said that we're going to have equal pay …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Sense of Events, The Daily Caller and Jammie Wearing Fools
Jeremy Wallace / HT Politics:
Laura Bush wanted Jeb to run for president in 2012 — SARASOTA — Former first lady Laura Bush wishes there were one more candidate in the Republican presidential primary: Jeb Bush. — Speaking to a sold-out Sarasota audience on Wednesday, Bush said she had hoped that her brother-in-law …
Discussion:
GOP 12, Indecision Forever, Outside the Beltway, Guardian, CNN, The Daily Caller and Saint Petersblog
Dan Savage / The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper:
Canada's Conservative Government Turns My Husband Back Into My Boyfriend — After issuing thousands of marriage licenses to same-sex couples from United States and other nations where same-sex marriage is not yet legal—marriage licenses that did not come with a disclaimer or an asterisk …
Discussion:
Globe and Mail
RELATED:
Kirk Makin / Globe and Mail:
Despite legal about-face, Harper has ‘no intention’ of reopening gay marriage
Despite legal about-face, Harper has ‘no intention’ of reopening gay marriage
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Poliglot and Firedoglake
Josh Gerstein / Reuters:
Justice Department approved recess appointments — President Barack Obama's decision last week to snub Congress and make a series of recess appointments while the Senate claimed it was technically in session had the legal blessing of the Justice Department, according to a formal legal opinion released Thursday.
Discussion:
Hot Air, The Heritage Foundation, CNN and The New Republic
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Justice Department memo argues Obama recess appointments were legal
Justice Department memo argues Obama recess appointments were legal
Discussion:
The Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Weasel Zippers, Congressman Diane Black and The Huffington Post
Peter Schroeder / The Hill:
President Obama requests $1.2T debt hike over GOP objections — President Obama on Thursday made an official request that Congress raise the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion over the objections of several House Republicans. — Obama's formal notification gives both chambers 15 days to vote on whether to approve the hike.
Discussion:
Big Government and Weasel Zippers
RELATED:
David Nakamura / Washington Post:
Obama asks Congress for debt limit hike
Obama asks Congress for debt limit hike
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Conservatives Remain the Largest Ideological Group in U.S. — Overall, the nation has grown more polarized over the past decade — PRINCETON, NJ — Political ideology in the U.S. held steady in 2011, with 40% of Americans continuing to describe their views as conservative, 35% as moderate, and 21% as liberal.
Discussion:
The PJ Tatler and The Big Picture
The Onion:
Scandalous Photos Reveal Grover Norquist Carried On Secret Affair With Taxes For Years — WASHINGTON—In a scandal that strikes at the very heart of the American anti-tax movement, a series of incriminating photos surfaced online Thursday, revealing that, for decades, leading Republican power …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online and The Hill
Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Ron Paul's Delegate-Focused Campaign Strategy Came From Obama '08 … GOP Convention , Mitt Romney , Republican Primary , Ron Paul , Ron Paul 2012 , South Carolina Primary , Mitt Romney 2012 , Paul Puerto Rico , Ron Paul Delegates , Ron Paul Money Ball , Politics News
Discussion:
Saint Petersblog