memeorandum: Romney Has 23-Point GOP Lead Nationally (Frank Newport/Gallup)

10:00 AM ET, January 17, 2012

Top Items:

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: Taylor Marsh, The Other McCain, 2012 Decoded, Hot Air, The Hill and USA Today

Emily Goodin / The Hill:

Attacks fly in Republican debate — Newt Gingrich was put on the defensive with the first question of Monday night's GOP presidential debate when he was asked about his recent attacks on Mitt Romney. — The former speaker repeatedly avoided making the same strident attacks on Romney's private-sector record he's made in recent weeks.

Discussion: CBS News, The Hinterland Gazette, Daily Kos, Michelle Malkin, The Moderate Voice, Ballot Box, Shakesville and Media Decoder

Justin Sink / Ballot Box:

GOP debate: Crowd gets rowdy when candidates talk foreign policy — The crowd at the GOP debate in military-heavy South Carolina got rowdy during a discussion of foreign policy, booing Ron Paul heartily and whooping and cheering when the other candidates took a hard line on foreign involvement.

Discussion: The Mahablog and Weasel Zippers

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Gingrich pushes Romney to release tax returns before SC primary — Newt Gingrich says Mitt Romney should release his tax returns before primary voters head to the polls in South Carolina on Saturday. — “It's interesting that Romney agreed that he ought to release his income taxes …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

New York Times:

Forceful Attack Against Romney in G.O.P. Debate — MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Mitt Romney came under forceful attacks during a debate here on Monday evening, with his Republican rivals lining up to question his business background, wealth and character, as they implored voters to scrutinize …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Don Surber, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, The Caucus, The Politico, Wall Street Journal and The Page, more at Mediagazer »

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

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: Washington Post, Opinion L.A., Outside the Beltway, Firedoglake, Ballot Box, Daily Kos, Poll Watch Daily and The Lonely Conservative

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: The Atlantic Online, Prairie Weather, Daily Kos, Poll Watch Daily and Hot Air

Gary Langer / ABCNEWS:

Riding Electability & Expectations, Romney Rolls to 35 Percent Support — Bolstered by the twin engines of electability and perceived inevitability, Mitt Romney's on a roll, advancing in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll to a 2-to-1 lead over his closest competitor in support for the Republican presidential nomination.

Discussion: The Page

Zeke Miller / Politics: Santorum Rattles Mitt Romney

Wallacegw / CNN:
CNN Poll: Obama tied with Romney & Paul in November showdowns

Discussion: Washington Post, Scared Monkeys, The Moderate Voice, Ron Paul 2012 Presidential …, New York Times, The Hinterland Gazette, Fire Andrea Mitchell! and Ballot Box

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

Discussion: CNN and The Politico

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:
Gingrich pitch to conservatives: Don't vote for Santorum

Discussion: The Politico, Hot Air and Vodkapundit

John Hoeffel / Los Angeles Times:
Santorum demands pro-Romney super PAC pull down ‘false’ attack ad

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, Political Mojo, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and NY Daily News

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

Discussion: The Other McCain, Hot Air, The Lonely Conservative, The Politico, ABCNEWS and Campaign 2012

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

Discussion: TBogg

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Newt Claims To Be More Electable than Rick . . .

Discussion: Washington Post, msnbc.com and Fox News

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
National Polls Suggest Romney Is Overwhelming Favorite for G.O.P. Nomination

Discussion: Hit & Run, Carolina Live, CNN and Washington Post

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

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, Crooks and Liars, The Hinterland Gazette and Hullabaloo

Ralph Z. Hallow / Washington Times:
Activists say pro-Santorum vote was rigged

Discussion: The Caucus and The Democratic Daily

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: Campaign 2012, The Other McCain, Nice Deb, Mediaite, Joe. My. God. and Connecting.the.Dots

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: Connecting.the.Dots, The Hinterland Gazette, nation.foxnews.com and Weasel Zippers

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Obama administration warns the left: You will not like our budget — Top White House officials are warning liberal and labor leaders to brace themselves for President Obama's budget proposal. — Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, sought in meetings last week to lift …

Discussion: The Politico, Pirate's Cove and Prairie Weather

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, Washington Post, Nice Deb, Brad DeLong and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Measuring futility — The Times' analysis looked at six specific yardsticks for legislative activity: the amount of time each chamber spent officially in session; the total number of bills that passed; the number of floor votes each chamber took; the number of pages amassed in the Congressional Record …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Big Government, Outside the Beltway and Seeing the Forest

Fox News:
Reid on bipartisanship: Republicans, drop the Tea Party ‘extremism’

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

David Edwards / The Raw Story:

GOP debate audience boos Romney's Mexican heritage — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may be in the lead in the Palmetto state, but that doesn't mean South Carolinians necessarily like him. — During a Fox News debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Monday …