memeorandum: Jon Hunstman, It Turns Out, Just Isn't That Good a Politician (Kevin Drum/Political Mojo)

10:05 PM ET, January 16, 2012

Top Items:

Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:

Activists say pro-Santorum vote was rigged — A civil war is breaking out among evangelical leaders over allegations of a rigged election and ballot stuffing at a Saturday gathering of religious and social conservatives. — At the meeting about 150 religious conservative activists at the Benham …

Discussion: The Caucus, Washington Monthly, Big Government, The BRAD BLOG, Outside the Beltway, Fox News, American Prospect, Betsy's Page, ABCNEWS, Political Mojo, The Mahablog, Ballot Box, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal

Mark Halperin / The Page:

“Easy Answer,” Hard Ad — FIRST ON THE PAGE: New Santorum South Carolina TV spot finally goes where many conservatives (and commentators) expected Romney rivals to go. — Hits on Palmetto State TV stations Tuesday. — The script: … Watch it here. » — HALPERIN'S TAKE

Discussion: The Other McCain

Wallacegw / CNN:

CNN Poll: Obama tied with Romney & Paul in November showdowns — Washington (CNN) - Mitt Romney is all tied up with President Barack Obama in a likely general election matchup, with the president showing signs of weakness on the economy and Romney seen as out of touch with ordinary Americans, according to a new national survey.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Hinterland Gazette and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Frank Newport / Gallup:

Romney Has 23-Point GOP Lead Nationally — Romney is up 13 points since just before Iowa caucuses — PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney has climbed to a commanding 23-point lead over his nearest competitor among Republican registered voters nationally, based on interviewing conducted Jan. 11-15.

Discussion: Opinion L.A., Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Poll Watch Daily and Daily Kos

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

Romney way up in Florida — Mitt Romney's in a strong position to win this weekend in South Carolina, and he's in an even stronger position to follow it up with a big win in Florida. Our first Sunshine State poll of 2012 finds Romney with a 15 point lead at 41% to Newt Gingrich's 26% …

Discussion: Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Campaign 2012 and Poll Watch Daily

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

National Polls Suggest Romney Is Overwhelming Favorite for G.O.P. Nomination — While most of the political world's attention has been focused on South Carolina, Mitt Romney has moved into a clear lead in a set of national polls conducted since his victory in the New Hampshire primary.

Discussion: Hit & Run, CNN, Washington Post and Don Surber

Huma Khan / ABCNEWS:
Romney in Line of Fire at SC Debate

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and Hot Air

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

Discussion: CNN, The Other McCain and Daily Kos

A.Killough / CNN: Gingrich pitch to conservatives: Don't vote for Santorum

Fox News:
Conservatives talk social issues in South Carolina, but money is still on their minds

Discussion: Daily Kos, NO QUARTER, Washington Post, And So it Goes in Shreveport and Rush Limbaugh

A.Killough / CNN:
Santorum's wife: Rick doesn't hate anyone

Discussion: TBogg

Amanda Peterson Beadle / ThinkProgress:
On MLK Day, Romney Campaigning With Anti-Immigrant Official Tied To Hate Groups

Discussion: Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars, The Hinterland Gazette and Hullabaloo

Kevinliptak / CNN:
TRENDING: Group spends $6 million linking Obama to Solyndra in ad

Discussion: Ballot Box and The Impolitic

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Newt tweaks Mitt for losing to McCain

Discussion: Hot Air and CNN

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Gingrich: A vote for Rick Santorum is a vote for Mitt Romney

Discussion: Hot Air, The Other McCain, ABCNEWS and The Lonely Conservative

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

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, Vodkapundit and Verum Serum

NY Daily News:
Newt Gingrich, natural woman

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Daily Caller

Jim Rutenberg / The Caucus:
Huntsman Leaves Race With Plea for Party Unity

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

Congressman Allen West / Facebook:

Mr. President, please don't play the race card in 2012... Mr. President, please don't play the race card in 2012 — I was born in the inner city of Atlanta in 1961, when segregation was still rife, at a time when I would have been barred from visiting the very beaches that make up part …

Discussion: Pat Dollard, Zandar Versus The Stupid, UrbanGrounds, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hinterland Gazette, Weasel Zippers and Campaign 2012

Mj Lee / The Politico:
Holder: Same voting issues as MLK

Discussion: Big Government, Weasel Zippers, Taylor Marsh and Freedom Line Blog

Paul Krugman / New York Times:
How Fares the Dream? — “I have a dream,” declared Martin Luther King …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, JustOneMinute, THEROOT.COM and Concurring Opinions

Nancy Hass / The Daily Beast:

Before Karen Met Rick — The GOP contender's hard-core pro-life wife once dated an abortion provider. Nancy Hass on their time together. — Karen Santorum, the ultra-pro-life wife and mother of seven home-schooled children, has been the perfect complement to her husband, Rick, as he chases the Republican presidential nomination.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Other McCain, Joe. My. God. and Connecting.the.Dots

Kevin Drum / Political Mojo:

Jon Hunstman, It Turns Out, Just Isn't That Good a Politician — Since I'm feeling lazy this morning, I'm going to outsource my Jon Huntsman commentary to a reader. As it happens, he says exactly what I was thinking anyway about Huntsman's exit from the race:

Discussion: The Caucus, The Reaction, The Politico, The Atlantic Online, Salt Lake Tribune and Washington Monthly

David Weigel / Slate:
Jon Huntsman's Presidential Campaign, RIP

Discussion: Democracy in America, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog and Towleroad News #gay

James Antle / Guardian:
Jon Huntsman: chronicle of a defeat foretold | James Antle

Discussion: American Spectator and Datechguy's Blog

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.

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, This Just In, msnbc.com, Bits, TechCrunch and The Daily Caller

Washington Examiner:

York: Final count could show Romney lost Iowa — A pile of counted ballots for the Republican presidential nominee sit on a table in the cafeteria at Kennedy High School during a caucus in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Tuesday, January 3, 2011. (AP Photo/The Gazette, Cliff Jette)

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Brad DeLong

Brian Maloney / The Radio Equalizer:

Arianna Huffington Critical Of Michelle Obama Over Seeming Indifference To Poverty — HUFF: THAT'S NOT ENOUGH — Arianna To MO: Watch The Bel Air Trips — How will they pin this one on conservatives? — From our establishment media friends, nearly every criticism of Michelle Obama …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, nation.foxnews.com and NewsBusters.org

Manu Raju / The Politico:

Scott Brown, Elizabeth Warren call for Super PAC cease fire — BOSTON — Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Scott Brown on Monday demanded a cease-fire of the third-party spending that's certain to play a major role in this state's pivotal Senate race.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Indecision Forever and Wonkette