Romney says his effective tax rate is 15%  —  Florence, South Carolina (CNN) - Mitt Romney said Tuesday he pays roughly a 15% effective tax rate on his income - an acknowledgment that the multi-millionaire pays a smaller percentage of taxes on his income than many middle-income Americans.

TRANSCRIPT: Fox News Channel & Wall Street Journal Debate in South Carolina  —  Here's a full transcript from tonight's GOP debate in South Carolina:  —  BAIER: Thanks, Bill, and welcome to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and the Republican presidential debate.

Democrats to file 1 million signatures for Walker recall  —  By Patrick Marley and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison - Democrats and organizers will file petitions with more than a million signatures Tuesday afternoon as they seek to force a recall election against Gov. Scott Walker …

Romney, Dewhurst lead in Texas  —  Rick Perry's Presidential campaign is doing about as bad in Texas now as it is everywhere else in the country.  When PPP last polled the state in September he was at 49%, leading Mitt Romney by 39 points.  Now Perry's support has declined by 31 points, leaving him in 3rd place at 18%.

English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout  —  To: English Wikipedia Readers and Community From: Sue Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director … Today, the Wikipedia community announced its decision to black out the English-language Wikipedia for 24 hours, worldwide …

Will frontrunner Romney keep debating?  —  MYRTLE BEACH, SC — After a debate in which Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney faced attacks from all sides, the Romney campaign says it has not yet accepted invitations to participate in two high-profile debates leading up to the January 31 Florida primary …

Obama warns left: You won't like 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 the left's gloom …

An Economic Recovery Is Not Fated for 2013  —  Can this be fixed by 2013?  - Calculated Risk job loss chart Click to see enlarged original at CR  —  I've seen a spate of stories recently suggesting that a economic recovery is fated to happen by 2013, and whoever wins the Presidential election …

Nancy Pelosi: GOP knows Mitt Romney can't win  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday launched political grenades at Mitt Romney, arguing that Republicans haven't coalesced behind the GOP frontrunner because they don't believe he can beat President Barack Obama in November.

Newt Gingrich and the Art of Racial Politics  —  That's the way I like to spend my Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: watching Newt Gingrich sneer at Juan Williams, a black man, for having the temerity to ask him if his condescending remarks about the work ethic of poor black people are indeed condescending:

Santorum Staffer Says Women Shouldn't Be President Because It's Against God's Will  —  In an article about the reasons Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign fizzled, the Des Moines Register points to “sexism among conservatives,” singling out an offensive email written by a staffer to Rick Santorum:

New Polls Show Signs Of Serious Vulnerability For President Obama  —  There are plenty of Democrats and even some Republicans who view the Republican primary as a gift to President Obama.  Sixteen debates, web videos and “you can't even make this up” candidate behavior …

Obama to speak at Bank of America stadium  —  On the final night of this fall's Democratic National Convention, President Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech at Bank of America stadium, party sources told the Observer on Monday night.  —  Convention officials are expected …