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” …
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:
Don Surber, Outside the Beltway, Saint Petersblog, Hot Air, Guardian, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, LifeNews.com, The PJ Tatler, GOP 12, Campaign 2012, National Review and CNN
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:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Riehl World View
A.Killough / CNN:
Perry donor defects to Romney, citing Bain attacks — Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) - One of Rick Perry's leading financial supporters in South Carolina is defecting to Mitt Romney - and he told CNN Thursday that Perry's sharp criticisms of Romney as a “vulture capitalist” were the main factor in his decision.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, The Political Carnival, msnbc.com, Hot Air, Shakesville, Don Surber, The Caucus and The Lonely Conservative
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 …
CBS News:
John McCain defends Romney's record at Bain
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, Taegan Goddard's …, Slate, Sky Dancing, Daily Kos and Washington Post
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Romney Makes History
Discussion:
The Daily, New York Times, The Politico, The State and The PJ Tatler, more at Techmeme »
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Mitt Romney's extreme defense of capitalism
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, FAIR Blog, Sky Dancing, Riehl World View and Applesauce
Benjy Sarlin / 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com:
TPM2012 — Dems Prepare To Hammer Romney With The REAL Bain Onslaught
Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Newt Gingrich: South Carolina will be ‘Armageddon’
Discussion:
The Politico, CNN, Booman Tribune and Daily Kos
Publius / Big Government:
BREAKING: Palin Urges Romney to Release Tax Returns, Provide Proof of 100,000 Jobs Created at Bain Capital
NBC's Andrew Rafferty / msnbc.com:
Santorum: Attacks on Romney are attacks on capitalism
Discussion:
WFAA-TV, Washington Wire, Wonkette, TechCrunch and The Lonely Conservative
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 …
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Jay Rosen / Pressthink:
So whaddaya think: should we put truthtelling back up there at number one?
Discussion:
Brad DeLong and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »
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:
Steve Clemons / The Atlantic Online:
U.S. Soldiers Give Ammo to Taliban
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs
Ali Gharib / ThinkProgress:
While U.S., Afghans, NATO Condemn Marines Urinating On Dead Taliban, Right Wing Says ‘I Could Care Less’
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Washington Post and The Politico
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs:
CAIR Condemns Alleged “Desecration” of Dead Jihadists by U.S. Marines in Afghanistan
Discussion:
Washington Post
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, CNN, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Saint Petersblog and USA Today
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, Big Journalism, Washington Wire, Christian Science Monitor, Applesauce, Media Decoder, CNN, ABCNEWS and Taylor Marsh, more at Techmeme »
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, Hot Air and The New Republic
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Justice Department memo argues Obama recess appointments were legal — The Department of Justice offered a defense Thursday for President Obama's controversial decision to make several recess appointments while Congress was holding pro forma sessions. — In a memo, Justice argued …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Congressman Diane Black, Weasel Zippers and The Huffington Post
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, The Daily Caller and Jammie Wearing Fools
Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
GOP Rep. Jerry Lewis to retire from House — Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), the former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, will retire at the end of this term, he announced on Thursday. — Lewis, a 17-term lawmaker from southern California, was pushed into a Democratic-leaning district …
Discussion:
CNN and The Website …
RELATED:
Ben Goad / Press-Enterprise:
2012 ELECTIONS: Veteran Rep. Lewis to retire
Discussion:
Daily Kos and FlashReport
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 and Firedoglake
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
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:
Big Journalism, Nice Deb and CNN
RELATED:
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Obama Campaign Raises $42 Million in Fourth Quarter
Discussion:
The Loyal Opposition and Outside the Beltway
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