memeorandum: After the downgrades comes the downward spiral (Wolfgang Münchau/Financial Times)

9:00 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, The BRAD BLOG, Big Government, Outside the Beltway, Fox News, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Betsy's Page, American Prospect, ABCNEWS, Washington Post, Political Mojo, Ballot Box, Daily Kos, The Mahablog 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 Hinterland Gazette and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

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: CNN and Don Surber

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:

Santorum calls on Romney to release tax returns — Add Rick Santorum to the list of Republicans calling for Mitt Romney to release his tax returns. — “I don't know why he hasn't released his tax returns. I think he should,” Santorum said in an interview Monday on the Laura Ingraham radio show.

Discussion: CNN, The Other McCain and Daily Kos

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

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

Discussion: The Politico, CNN and Hot Air

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

Discussion: Ballot Box and The Impolitic

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

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

Discussion: Hot Air, ABCNEWS and Campaign 2012

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

Discussion: TBogg

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

Discussion: Hot Air and CNN

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

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, UrbanGrounds, Weasel Zippers, The Hill, The Hinterland Gazette and Campaign 2012

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

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

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.

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 Politico, Salt Lake Tribune and Washington Monthly

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

Discussion: CNN, Democracy in America, 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

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

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

The Atlantic Online:
The Wreck of the Costa Concordia

Discussion: Prairie Weather

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, Wonkette and Indecision Forever

NY Daily News:

$44 million bill from Bronx-Lebanon Hospital — ‘System error’ is blamed — Alexis Rodriguez got a bill exeeding $44 million for Bronx-Lebanon Hospital outpatient services. — The hospital cured his pneumonia, but the bill — for an eye-popping $44 million — made him sick.

Discussion: Runnin' Scared, The Raw Story and Gothamist