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.
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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” …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, CNN, The Huffington Post, Feministing, The Other McCain, Democratic Strategist, msnbc.com, Smartypants and The Daily Dish
Publius / Big Government:
BREAKING: Palin Urges Romney to Release Tax Returns, Provide Proof of 100,000 Jobs Created at Bain Capital — Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has called for Gov. Mitt Romney to release his tax returns, as well as the data that could substantiate his claim of having created 100,000 jobs as CEO of Bain Capital.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Erick's blog, GOP 12, The Raw Story, The Daily Dish, Riehl World View, Pirate's Cove and Conservatives4Palin
Rasmussen Reports:
Florida GOP Primary: Romney 41%, Gingrich 19%, Santorum 15% — Mitt Romney is now running away with the race in the latest Rasmussen Reports' survey of the end-of-the-month Florida Republican Primary. — Coming off his decisive win in Tuesday's New Hampshire Primary …
Discussion:
GOP 12, Guardian, LifeNews.com, The PJ Tatler, Campaign 2012 and National Review
Reid J. Epstein / Reuters:
Mitt Romney readies Bain Capital counterattack — COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mitt Romney's done defending his Bain Capital record. He's going on offense. — The former Massachusetts governor arrived here Wednesday fresh off his New Hampshire primary win armed with a new plan for a multi-pronged response …
Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Dems Prepare To Hammer Romney With The REAL Bain Onslaught — Thanks to Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, Bain Capital is all over the news this week, prompting an upset MItt Romney to accuse his rivals of turning to “the bitter politics of envy” in order to halt his momentum.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, CNN, New York Times, Don Surber, Taegan Goddard's …, Campaign 2012 and The Lonely Conservative
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Newt Gingrich: South Carolina will be ‘Armageddon’ — GOP primary campaigns have a history of turning ugly once the campaign trail heads to South Carolina. — And to hear former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) tell it, this year will be no exception. — Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune and ABCNEWS
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 Daily, The Politico, The State, New York Times, St. Petersburg Times and The PJ Tatler
NBC's Andrew Rafferty / msnbc.com:
Santorum: Attacks on Romney are attacks on capitalism
Discussion:
WFAA-TV, Wonkette, The Lonely Conservative, Hullabaloo and New York Times
Karl / Patterico's Pontifications:
A bigger problem than Bain?
Discussion:
Sabato's Crystal Ball, Sky Dancing, Riehl World View, The Politico, CNN, The Moderate Voice, The Caucus and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Donald Johnson / The Politico:
Mitt Romney's Bain Capital days: A black box
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Fortune and Right Wing News
Wallacegw / CNN:
Gingrich: South Carolina will be ‘Armageddon’ of attacks
Discussion:
The Politico and Washington Post
Keach Hagey / The Politico:
Mitt Romney's Bain Capital days: A black box
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, The Raw Story, The Mahablog, New York Times, National Review, New York Times and Daily Kos
Kevinliptak / CNN:
DeMint advisers to endorse Romney
Discussion:
The Caucus, The Hill, USA Today, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Politico and Politics
Michael Isikoff / msnbc.com:
The latest political headlines powered by NBC News and msnbc.com
Discussion:
The Hill
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:
JustOneMinute, Poynter, Balloon Juice, emptywheel, US Politics, Shakesville, The Awl and Boing Boing, more at Mediagazer »
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:
CNN, Hot Air, Time, Christian Science Monitor, Applesauce, Washington Wire, Media Decoder, ABCNEWS and Taylor Marsh, more at Techmeme »
Mark Hosenball / Reuters:
Homeland Security watches Twitter, social media — (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document.
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Glenn Thrush / The Politico:
Obama's 2011 fundraising haul: Bush's league — The Obama campaign and Democratic National Committee raked in a combined $68 million in the fourth quarter, bringing their total 2011 haul to $250 million — an impressive take but not quite up to the blistering pace set by the Bush-Cheney reelection machine over the same period.
Discussion:
CNN and Big Journalism
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Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Obama Campaign Raises $42 Million in Fourth Quarter
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
BBC:
Afghan leader Karzai condemns ‘US Marines body desecration’ video — Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned a video that appears to show US Marines urinating on the bloodied corpses of several Taliban fighters. — The Taliban has also criticised the video as “shameful” but said it would not derail attempts at peace talks.
Discussion:
FP Passport, Biased BBC and Joe. My. God.
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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:
The Politico and Taegan Goddard's …
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:
CNN
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Carrie Johnson / NPR:
Justice Department's No. 3 Stepping Down
Discussion:
Firedoglake and emptywheel
U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
The State of American Business 2012, Address by Thomas J. Donohue President & CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce — Washington, D.C. — Thank you very much, and good morning ladies and gentlemen. Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to the National Chamber Foundation for organizing …
Discussion:
Washington Wire and ThinkProgress
Deadline.com:
'Ferris Bueller's Ben Stein Sues Ad Agency & Client Claiming Political Discrimination — Economist and writer and humorist and actor Ben Stein has filed suit against Kyoscera Corp and advertising agency Seiter & Miller alleging that an agreement for him to appear in TV commercials …
Discussion:
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