memeorandum: Scott Walker Recall Drive Is Closely Watched (Monica Davey/New York Times)

1:50 PM ET, January 16, 2012

Top Items:

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:

Huntsman Says He's Quitting G.O.P. Race — CHARLESTON, S.C. — Jon M. Huntsman Jr. informed his advisers on Sunday that he intends to drop out of the Republican presidential race, ending his candidacy a week before he had hoped to revive his campaign in the South Carolina primary.

Politics:

Axelrod: Huntsman Dropped Because He Wouldn't Sell His Soul — Obama's top strategist tells BuzzFeed in an email: “He was simply unwillingly to make the Faustian bargains with the Right that Romney has so willingly made.” — Jon Huntsman's withdrawal offers an opportunity for Democrats …

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette

Fox News:

Fox News Poll raw data: Romney hits record high, but still tied with Obama — While far more Republican primary voters view Rick Santorum as the true conservative, Mitt Romney has become the clear leader in the race for the GOP nomination, according to a just-released Fox News poll.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Hot Air, Guardian, The Politico, Outside the Beltway, Balloon Juice, Campaign 2012 and National Review

NewsMax.com:

SC Poll: Romney Lead Grows, Gingrich Second — More ways to share... Mixx — Stumbled — LinkedIn — Vine — Buzzflash — Newstrust — Technocrati — Forward Article — An exclusive InsiderAdvantage poll released Sunday night shows GOP front-runner Mitt Romney gaining …

Discussion: Ballot Box, Vodkapundit, Globe and Mail and The Hinterland Gazette

Jim Rutenberg / The Caucus:

Huntsman Leaves Race With Plea for Party Unity — Updated MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah formally ended his once promising Republican presidential run with a call for party unity, asking the five candidates he leaves on the field to end their negative ads …

Discussion: A plain blog about politics, The Moderate Voice and Gawker

Politics:

Huntsman, Trapped In 2009, Never Had A Chance — The Utahn dropped out today, but the whole campaign was a fantasy. — Huntsman looks over Sarah Palin's shoulder at a meeting with Obama on December 2, 2008 in Philadelphia. — Jon Huntsman had his moment.

Discussion: msnbc.com and Balloon Juice

Wallacegw / CNN:

DeMint: I will not endorse — (CNN) - One of the most sought-after South Carolina politicians said Monday he would not endorse a candidate ahead of the Palmetto State's primary. — Sen. Jim DeMint, who has offered praise to all of the candidates in the field, said in a statement …

Discussion: The Politico, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway and The Lonely Conservative

Washington Examiner:
Huntsman: A boutique candidacy that didn't sell

Discussion: American Spectator, Hot Air, Datechguy's Blog and Outside the Beltway

Mj Lee / Reuters:
Rev. Jesse Jackson: Talk race at GOP debate

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Hinterland Gazette, The Politico, CNN and The Hill

Juana Summers / The Politico:
Jon Huntsman drops out, endorses Mitt Romney

Discussion: Indecision Forever

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Huntsman Withdrawal Should Aid Romney

Discussion: Firedoglake

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Santorum calls on Romney to release tax returns

Discussion: CNN

Kevinliptak / CNN:
Romney nabs Florida endorsement

Discussion: The Politico and Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog

Alicia M. Cohn / Ballot Box:
GOP poll: Gingrich wins for ‘nastiest’ campaign

Discussion: Hot Air

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Sources: Huntsman to drop out of 2012 race tomorrow, endorse Romney

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, No More Mister Nice Blog and Towleroad News #gay

Washington Post:
Jon Huntsman quits Republican presidential race, endorses Mitt Romney

Discussion: The New Republic, ABCNEWS, msnbc.com, Prairie Weather and Booman Tribune

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Huntsman to exit, back Romney

Discussion: USA Today, ABCNEWS, The Week, Shakesville, Ballot Box, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Taylor Marsh, Zandar Versus The Stupid and Greg's Opinion

David Goldman / ABCNEWS:
Huntsman to Drop Out of GOP Race; Will Endorse Romney

Discussion: Salt Lake Tribune, The Hill, Scared Monkeys, National Review, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Post, Michelle Malkin and Campaign 2012

Fox News:
Huntsman to withdraw from race for Republican presidential nomination

Discussion: American Prospect, The Spectacle Blog and Fox News Insider

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:
Huntsman Drops Out: Is Set To Endorse Romney, Whom He Called ‘Unelectable’

Discussion: CBS News, Washington Monthly, Comments from Left Field, Daily Kos, Firedoglake, Campaign 2012 and US Politics

Associated Press:
Campaign officials: Huntsman to quit US race

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Washington Post and The Moderate Voice

Tony Hsieh / blogs.zappos.com:

No Way! Free Next Day Shipping On Clothing M-F. Order Today, Wear It Tomorrow! Plus Free Returns. Learn More — 24/7 Customer Service (800) 927-7671

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, TalkLeft, Mediaite, Computerworld, msnbc.com, This Just In, Bits, TechCrunch and The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »

The Atlantic Online:

The Wreck of the Costa Concordia — On the night of Friday, January 13, the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia, with more than 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members on board, struck a reef, keeled over, and partially sank off Isola del Giglio, Italy. Six people are now confirmed dead …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Daily Mail:

Forget women and children first. Burly crew men led the race for the lifeboats — Survivors tell of panic as men ignore order that women and children should go first and passengers fight to get on boats — Foreign Secretary William Hague says all British passengers and crew have been accounted for and are safe

Discussion: Pundit & Pundette, Guardian and Vox Popoli

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Beast:

Andrew Sullivan: How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics — The right calls him a socialist, the left says he sucks up to Wall Street, and independents think he's a wimp. Andrew Sullivan on how the president may just end up outsmarting them all. — You hear it everywhere.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Daily Dish, Big Government, Belmont Club, Taylor Marsh, Big Journalism, Althouse and The Mahablog

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:

Jobs take center stage in Keystone fight — When U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue proclaimed that the Keystone XL pipeline would create 250,000 jobs, he touched a nerve in the environmental community. — “That's just not true,” Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, director …

Washington Examiner:
Only Obama and Big Green oppose Keystone pipeline

Discussion: Across The Fence …

Jim Fox / Ledger:
Canada: Harper Looks to Asian Countries To Sell Natural Resources Bounty

Discussion: Wake up America, Questions and Observations, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, Conservatives4Palin and Hot Air

Monica Davey / New York Times:

Scott Walker Recall Drive Is Closely Watched — MILWAUKEE — Thousands of volunteers have raced to collect signatures near busy intersections and malls all over Wisconsin, at makeshift “drive-through” operations in parking lots, during Green Bay Packers viewing parties and New Year's Eve pub crawls …

Discussion: The Raw Story

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

CNN amplifies Romney's bogus jobs claims — Yesterday the Romney campaign distributed a memo to reporters that attacked Obama's record on jobs as a “failure.” To support this conclusion, the memo cited, among other things, the “net” job loss that has occurred on Obama's watch.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, Daily Kos and A plain blog about politics

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

How Fares the Dream? — “I have a dream,” declared Martin Luther King, in a speech that has lost none of its power to inspire. And some of that dream has come true. When King spoke in the summer of 1963, America was a nation that denied basic rights to millions of its citizens, simply because their skin was the wrong color.

Discussion: JustOneMinute and Concurring Opinions